The Better India

Army Veteran Revived a Hill School From 30 to 180 Kids Who Build Circuits & Grow Food Forests

As a child growing up in Dehradun, Rohit Chaudhary’s gaze often lingered upwards, on the villages perched on the shoulders of the Uttarakhand mountains. School treks that took him there stayed etched in his memory. While he found life in the hills fascinating, he had no inkling that he would one day find himself back there. In 2022, life handed Rohit an opportunity that took him right into the heart of Uttarkashi’s Dunda village, which sits at an elevation of 1,158 metres above sea level. That

30+ Baiga Children Have Died in Balaghat. What Healthcare Facilities Are They Entitled To?

More than 30 Baiga children have reportedly died in Balaghat’s tribal belt. The Baiga community is an indigenous Scheduled Tribe (ST) in central India and is officially classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG). As a PIL brings the deaths before the Madhya Pradesh High Court, The Better India looks at the healthcare safeguards that are supposed to be available to a Baiga child living in a remote habitation — from Mobile Medical Units and health sub-centres to child screening, v

Silicon Valley Engineer Left Coding to Grow 10 Lakh Native Saplings for Butterflies

How Your Phone Can Give India’s Small Artisans a Marketplace Beyond Their Towns

This story is part of “How Tech Changed It” — The Better India’s series that looks at how technology has transformed the sectors, systems and everyday experiences around us. From how we travel and learn to how we farm, build, communicate and access healthcare, each story traces the journey from what it was like before to what it looks like today. Because technology isn’t just about new gadgets or breakthroughs — it can change how an entire sector works, making things faster, smarter, safer, more

How to Grow a Perfect Urban Garden in a Tiny City Apartment? Engineer Shares Steps

Originally reported and written in August 2023, this story has been republished as part of our archival content. How can I grow curry leaves at home? How can I make liquid fertiliser? How to make compost using kitchen waste? These are some of the questions that Komal Singh, an engineer from Bihar addresses through her Instagram page ‘Urban Home Vibes’. One of the most common complaints of city folk is the lack of space to have a garden. But Komal’s green oasis in her 2 BHK apartment complex

The Forgotten Forest Officer Who Helped Protect Kaziranga’s Rhinos From Poachers

He Removed 250 Kg of Waste From the Ganga

250 kg of waste. One 21-year-old. And a river he calls home. 🌊 Shivam grew up beside the Ganga, playing by it, praying beside it and seeing it as a mother. But when he saw flowers, idols, plastic and oil-soaked cloth polluting the river, he decided to do something. He started cleaning the Ganga himself, despite infections, allergies, snakebite risks and people mocking him. Today, his efforts are inspiring others to think differently about keeping our rivers clean. Because change doesn’t always

Your Child Was Having Fun. So Why the Festival Meltdown? A Psychiatrist Shares Exactly What to Do

The house is full. Grandparents have arrived, cousins are running around, there are sweets on every table, and someone is constantly calling your child over for a hug, a photograph or a ritual. There is music playing in the background, new clothes to show off and perhaps a late-night family dinner to look forward to. Your child seems thrilled until suddenly they aren't. One minute they are happily playing with their cousins; the next, they are crying because someone touched their toy. They refu

The Eyes in the Sky Protecting Kaziranga’s Rhinos From Poachers

63-YO Artist From Bengaluru Creates Stunning Artwork Using 200 Kg E-Waste

How To Convert Peels, Tea Leaves & More Into Nutrient-Rich Compost at Home

‘My Electricity Bill Is Zero’: 74-YO Designed a 100% Sustainable Retirement Home for Himself

His Fields Flooded Every Year. He Turned the Water Into Fish Farms

In Alekhargul, a village barely five kilometres from Badarpur town in Assam’s Sribhumi district, the monsoon arrived every year with the same uncertainty. The rivers that fed the region’s paddy fields would swell past their banks. Within days, fields that families depended on for rice would disappear under murky brown water for months. Homes were swept away. Livestock drowned. Farmers watched their only source of income disappear, year after year, with seemingly no way to stop it — or make use o

Punjab Farmer Gave Up Wheat Farming to Grow Exotic Flowers, Earns Rs 1 Lakh/Acre

Originally reported and written in September 2023, this story has been republished as part of our archival content. Gurwinder Singh Sohi, who grew up around wheat fields in Punjab, decided in 2008 to harness the region’s favourable climate for the benefit of the farmers by switching from wheat farming to floriculture. “For generations, my family has cultivated wheat and rice. I’ve noticed that despite the hard work farmers put into their fields day and night, they struggle to earn a decent i