“Why didn’t you spot the Tiha today, dear?” That’s what my mother used to remind me on the New Year eves, when I was a little child like you. The Indian Roller bird, or the Tiha in Odia, is a very good omen. Believed to be a harbinger of happiness, sighting it is considered auspicious, especially at the beginning of any major life event. In fact, such is the faith in its sanctity that its feathers are preserved as lucky charms. Do you know Odisha, Telangana, and Karnataka have also declared it as their state bird?

If there was ever a parliament of birds, then this avian would have delivered the most vociferous speeches. No doubt quirky artists caricatured it in their popular Angry Birds game. I’m sure you all must have enjoyed playing this viral pastime and gotten amused by the perpetual furious look on the birds' faces. Recognised as the most argumentative bird, the Jungle Babbler couldn’t be named more aptly... 

In lieu of the Modi era, the Budget 2024-25 took a step forward from 2021 when PM Modi launched 35 crop varieties to address climate change and malnutrition. FM Nirmala Sitharaman announced that new 109 high-yielding and climate-resilient varieties of 32 crops will be released for farmers in this financial year. The govt will undertake comprehensive review of research to develop climate resilient seeds.

Farmers in India face huge challenges in selling their crops profitably. So, they are demanding that the government should guarantee a Minimum Support Price (MSP) on all 23 crops that it provides for. MSP is the rate at which the government buys crops from farmers no matter what the crop’s prices prevail in the market. This assures an income to the farmers and offers them security. That is why they want that a legal guarantee should be provided for MSP.

A novel carbon-capturing method involving old basalt rocks—this proposal won a gold medal for India at the International Earth Science Olympiad 2022. *********************************** Global warming is a burning issue affecting the earth. Discussed in all forums at the international and regional levels, this issue is a worry worldwide because its impact is devastating. Various methods are being proposed to effectively combat this problem...

The cultivation of rice has occupied the pride of place in Kerala’s agriculture. Unending lush green paddy fields are a sight for sore eyes. But Paddy cultivation is declining in Kerala at an alarming rate. In the past 30 years, the state lost more than 70 per cent of its paddy fields. Rice producing districts like Wayanad once had 160 varieties of paddy. 55 of these varieties are now extinct. But there are people in the state who are trying to preserve this paddy biodiversity.