The National Biodiversity Authority has released a new set of rules to manage sharing of benefits generated through the use of biological resources. The Biological Diversity (Access to biological Resources and Knowledge Associated thereto and Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits) Regulation 2025 was approved by the Central government and …
Year to year variation of Indian monsoon rainfall is described qualitatively in some ancient Sanskrit texts. Interestingly, these are cyclic with periods of 3, 5, 7, 18 and 60 years. Time series analysis of actual seasonal rainfall data shows that at very near the above periods the spectrum has significant …
Development Alternatives (DA), a non- profit in New Delhi, recently organised a three-day Capacity Building Training on "Building for Future: Green and eco-friendly". Attended by students, architects and civil engineers from across India, the training programme aimed at creating awareness about sustainable building practices and green buildings.
This article interrogates the claims of intellectual property to be a right. Drawing on the political theory of rights, it argues that information, ideas and knowledge fail to meet the basic test of rights and intellectual property right prevents those who do not own it from accessing and exercising their …
Archita Bhatta and Rohini Rangarajan Met department is not the only one predicting weather in India. Forecasts are now sold by businesses to businesses
Aparna Pallavi and Archita Bhatta From what to sow to when to reap, farmers need weather forecast at every step. It can make or break them The monsoon forecast in May said India would receive good rains this year, and the onset was predicted for the first week of June. …
Latha Jishnu / New Delhi July 08, 2009, 0:42 IST For a country that has, perhaps, the most at stake in protecting its traditional knowledge (TK) which is part and parcel of its daily life, India remains strangely silent
In Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru, initiatives have been taken recently that raise hopes that mechanisms might be created to stop the further privatisation of knowledge and life. So far, progress has been disappointing, with fundamental problems remaining unsolved. Once again, it is up to local people to defend knowledge and …
An innate knowledge of astronomy among the traditional fi shers of the southwest coast of India has, for generations, helped them in their fi shing activities.
The Gonds, like all aboriginal people, are animistic, for whom nature, from where they derive all their sustenance, is everything, hence a power to pray to and also appease. However, it was Lingo, their first mentor, who inculcated in them any sense of values, gave them the philosophy of life …
The mercury based Indian traditional drug Ras-Sindoor is administered for the various ailments such as syphilis, genital disorders, and for rejuvenation. Pharmaceutical processing of Ras-Sindoor involves treating metallic mercury with sulfur and the juice of the aerial root of Banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis Linn.) and then controlled intermittent heating so …
Sthaulya is a deprecate state of human being. The physical morbidity of Sthaulya is paramount and enhances several disease processes. In the study, the role of Agnimantha (Premna obtusifolia R. Br.) as antiobesity agent has been studied in 26 subjects with severe form of Sthaulya and has been compared in …
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common form of heart disease which gets precipitated by increasing stress, dietary habits and urban sedentary lifestyle. Pulmonary functions are found to be influenced in congestive heart failure, left ventricular dysfunction and after cardiac surgery. Pranayama breathing exercises & yogic postures play an …
Recently Naga King Chili was rediscovered by the world scientific community when it was declared as the hottest chili of the world. Interestingly this particular type of chili with its unique hotness and aroma is native to the northeastern part of India, more particularly to Nagaland. In Nagaland, the crop …
The mighty river Brahmaputra and its tributaries are filled with rain water during monsoon season, which often creates moderate to severe flood situation in Assam. This is also the peak season of multiplication of a particular half-moon shaped snail species locally known as Junai samuk. During the era of Ahoms, …
Based on six indices, the warm subhumid to cool-humid Western Himalayan Region, consisting of the Kashmir valley, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, could be designated as an Agricultural Biodiversity Heritage Site. This region is rich in agro-biodiversity, with a large number of species being cultivated. Unique multicrop and horticulture based farming/production …
Rainfall prediction has prime importance in an agrarian country like India, wherein the agricultural production is solely dependent on the monsoon rainfall. Among various astro-meteorological methods for rainfall forecasting, the Antariksha method, which is based on sky observations, is most popular. The observations of rainfall conception based on 16 symptoms …
The traditional knowledge of healing plants and their treatment methods are rooted in the Ayurvedic compendia and in the unscripted dialects of the people in India. Scientific documentation of this vast information has been accelerated in the last few decades. A first time study of the medicinal plants used for …
