Namaste, and welcome back to Today’s India. This week: a no-drone zone for migrating birds, a town that is rethinking its food waste, and a little girl who came home.
1. Assam bans drones near Amur falcon roosts
Every autumn, Amur falcons stop in Northeast India on one of the longest migrations of any bird of prey. More than one lakh of them have arrived in Assam this year. On 6 November, the Assam Forest Department banned recreational, commercial and other non-essential drone flights around their roosting sites at Umrangso in Dima Hasao and Dharamtul in Morigaon.
The order aims to keep the birds’ “resting, feeding and migratory movement” undisturbed. It follows research showing drones can scare small birds, and an earlier roost at Habang that the falcons abandoned because of human disturbance. Forest officers will map sensitive areas and can declare temporary No-Drone Zones. The conservation group Aaranyak, which had pushed for the rules, welcomed the decision. Read the full story
2. A Goa town is turning kitchen waste into manure in 48 hours
India throws away about 78 million tonnes of food a year. In Bicholim, Goa, some of it now becomes fertiliser through Nisargruna, a process developed by Dr Sharad P Kale of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.
Food waste is separated from plastic, shredded, mixed with microbes and aerated. Within 24 to 48 hours, one tonne of kitchen scraps gives about 150 kg of nutrient-rich manure for soil and gardens. Plans are under way to take it to more municipalities and village panchayats across Goa. Read the full story
3. After a failed first crop, a 57-year-old grows strawberries without soil
Ketan Sodha, a Mumbaikar with a commerce degree, had never farmed before 2016. His first crop of 5,000 strawberry plants in Mahabaleshwar was, in his words, “a disaster”. He kept going, expanded, and travelled to Italy, Spain, Egypt and Turkey to study how others grow.
Today his company, Berry Fresh Agrotech, runs a soilless polyhouse for 19,500 plants grown in cocopeat, with automated feeding, harvested rainwater and ozone-treated water. It has produced about 8,000 kg of fruit and around ₹44 lakh in sales, roughly 60% of it sold directly to customers. Read the full story
Most of Ketan’s strawberries go straight to the people who eat them. That kind of direct link is what keeps small growers, home bakers, music teachers and personal trainers going. But for many of them, every new customer still arrives through a friend of a friend.
OpenMap gives local businesses, tutors, coaches and trainers their own page and AI agent, so people (and the AI assistants they use) can find them and send them requests. It is launching in London first.
If you know independent makers, teachers or service providers like these, in London or wherever your circle reaches, please point them our way. Become an OpenMap partner
4. A Rajasthan collector brought AI maths tutors to 353 government schools
In Tonk, District Collector Saumya Jha, a 2017-batch IAS officer, launched Padhai with AI across all 353 government senior secondary schools. A bilingual AI tutor works through textbook questions step by step, explains again when a student asks, and gives extra practice to those who are struggling. Teachers choose the questions and track progress through weekly tests.
The portal ran for only six weeks before board exams, yet Tonk’s maths pass rate reached 96.4% in 2025, three points higher than the year before. One student, Aman Gujar, went from around 55 to 65 marks in his Class 10 maths board exam. Read the full story
5. Born seven weeks early, a Bengaluru baby is now off to daycare
Chikoo was born on 2 September 2025, seven weeks early, weighing 2.05 kg. At about a month old she needed a tracheostomy, a breathing tube in her neck. Her parents, Gouthami Ravi and Sharan Kulkarni, trained for around 20 days to care for her at home, changing the tube every 15 days.
Her care cost about ₹35 lakh, only partly covered by insurance. On 10 March 2026, the tube was removed for good. Chikoo is one now and goes to daycare. Her parents describe her as curious and full of energy. Read the full story
If one of these stories made you smile, forward this email to someone who could use some good news today.
See you in the next edition.
Team Today’s India