Sharmila Vaidyanathan

Gender-responsive technologies and climate-smart practices can reduce labour burdens and emissions, but risk deepening inequalities without supportive policies and alternative livelihoods for women..

Plant biologist P.V. Shivaprasad received the Tata Transformation Prize 2025 in the Food Security category in recognition of his research on climate-resilient rice varieties.
Shivaprasad highlights how epigenetic research can aid in developing crops that can withstand climate impacts and provide good nutrition for India’s growing population.

A new study finds that farmers in India allocate large areas of cropland to rice irrespective of price fluctuations and climate-related losses. Shifting to more climate-resilient crops can reduce climate-induced production losses by 11% and increase net profits by the same rate.

Food walks in Bangalore connect people through the city’s local cuisine, revealing its cultural and historical layers. These walks not only celebrate hyperlocal food traditions but also encourage reflection on urban growth and environmental conservation.

Colonial policy entangled Mahua’s fate with the alcohol it delivers. But rooted in the flower’s deep cultural significance is a movement to revive and reframe the distillation of Mahua as heritage and craft.

As rising temperatures and unseasonal rains reshape India’s forests, the mahua tree, once a steady marker of season and sustenance, finds itself out of rhythm.

Despite being a keystone forest species and a cultural linchpin, many aspects of the Mahua’s life remain shrouded in mystery. As it garners mainstream interest, conservationists call for a closer look at mahua’s ecological interactions.

Upcycling ventures, though impactful, face significant challenges, particularly when it comes to securing funding.

Researchers have developed a new dataset that shows global drivers of deforestation at a one-kilometre spatial resolution. For Asia, the analysis reveals that wildfires were the dominant drivers at 65.4% followed by logging at 26.3% and permanent agriculture at 2.5%.
However, the researchers in India share that the one km spatial resolution is not sufficient for a thorough analysis in India which has several small patches of forest land.

Apps taking on big pollution source are drawing funding from the likes of Flipkart.

After heat exhaustion in summer, erratic rainfall has increased the price of vegetables and made it difficult for people to exercise, say doctors.

Global studies highlight the potential negative impacts of climate change on people living with diabetes. Despite India’s staggering count of people with diabetes, a lack of data on the effect of climate change on the condition is concerning.

The health and wellbeing of adolescents across the world has reached a tipping point, a Lancet Commission report has found, with focus on obesity, overweight, and mental disorders as significant causes for concern.

Once a prominent leitmotif across communities in India, seasonal eating is finding its way back onto plates with consumers diversifying their diets to address the nutritional demands of modern-day lifestyles.

A new study looked at the changes in tree cover, project longevity, and the changes in income and assets for participating households in select tree-planting projects, that received carbon credits till 2022. While the tree cover increased by 48% in five projects, the longevity and durability depended on long-term engagements with the farming communities and economic benefits to the participants.