“Nitrogen pollution restricts the safe margin for other environmental issues”   
India Science Wire- Vigyan Prasar, 01 Jun 2021  
“INI conferences always brought together the latest science to call for governmental action and evidence-based policies. Following the UN resolution on Sustainable Nitrogen Management, our task is to scientifically support its mitigation efforts”, said Nandula Raghuram, Chair of the INI. 

Eighth Global Nitrogen Conference focuses on sustainable development goals
Down to Earth, 31 May 2021
The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the main focus of the eighth triennial conference of the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI) being held virtually from May 31-June 3, 2021. Nandula Raghuram, chair of the INI and professor of biotechnology from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi, said:

8th Global Nitrogen Conference focuses on sustainable development goals
Indian Sentinel, 31 May 2021
“Reactive nitrogen compounds like NOx, ammonia and the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide impact air, water and soil quality, health, biodiversity and climate change, among others. These compounds are lost from fertilizers, manures and sewage as well as from fuel burning in transport and industry. Assessing and managing them sustainably will be crucial to achieve the 17 UN SDGs targeted for 2030”, said Nandula Raghuram, Chair of the INI and Professor of biotechnology from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi. 

8th Global Nitrogen Conference focuses on sustainable development goals
India Science Wire- Vigyan Prasar, 31 May 2021
“Reactive nitrogen compounds like NOx, ammonia and the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide impact air, water and soil quality, health, biodiversity and climate change, among others. These compounds are lost from fertilizers, manures and sewage as well as from fuel burning in transport and industry. Assessing and managing them sustainably will be crucial to achieve the 17 UN SDGs targeted for 2030”, said Nandula Raghuram, Chair of the INI and Professor of biotechnology from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi.

Researchers discover method to enhance nitrogen use efficiency in Paddy
Krishi Jagran, 23 January 2021
Presently, an integrative team headed by Nandula Raghuram, a professor of biotechnology branch working at New Delhi based Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) has discovered certain visually recognisable characteristics that decide NUE. Few genes that really can benefit crops develop NUE have also been found by them. “Frontiers in Plant Science”is the international journal where the findings of the research were published. 

Researchers identify phenotype to boost ‘nitrogen use efficiency’ in rice
Organiser, 22 January 2021
A team of researchers led by Prof. Nandula Raghuram from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, (GGSIU) New Delhi, has found the ‘phenotype’ or the visually identifiable features determining NUE. They also identified some associated genes that could help in crop improvement for NUE.

Researchers identify phenotype to boost ‘nitrogen use efficiency’ in rice
India Science Wire- Vigyan Prasar, 21 January 2021
A team of researchers led by Prof. Nandula Raghuram from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, (GGSIU) New Delhi, has found the ‘phenotype’ or the visually identifiable features determining NUE. They also identified some associated genes that could help in crop improvement for NUE.

Rice attributes that improve nitrogen use efficiency found
The Hindu, 20 January 2021
An inter-disciplinary team led by Nandula Raghuram from New Delhi’s Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University found that N-use-efficient (NUE) cultivars tend to be slow in germination and flowering, grow tall and deep with higher biomass and take longer duration to harvest but yield more with lesser N input. They also reported 34 genes associated with NUE for potential crop improvement. Their findings have just been published in international journal Frontiers in Plant Science.

Scientists find way to improve nitrogen use efficiency in paddy
The Hindu- Business Line, 20 January 2021
In a significant work, Indian biotechnologists have found a way to carry out crop improvement that would help reduce the wastage of nitrogenous (N)

Study points to nitrous oxide emissions derailing Paris climate accord temperature target

The Hindu, 08 October 2020

Current emissions are tracking global temperature increases above 3 degrees Celsius, twice the temperature target of the Paris accord

IP University Will Show Ways To Reduce Nitrogen Pollution In South Asia And Increase Crop Yield (Hindi)

Dainik Bhaskar, 09 June 2020

Single-use plastic, sustainable nitrogen management in focus at UN Environment Assembly
Devdiscourse News, 16 March 2019

The United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) has adopted two resolutions piloted by India on single-use plastics and sustainable nitrogen management.

Thousands Gather In Nairobi To Clean Up The Earth
The Charleston Chronicle, 15 March 2019

Heads of state, government ministers, business leaders, senior UN officials and grassroots activists are gathering in Nairobi this week for the fourth UN Environment Assembly – the world’s top body on the environment.

UN Passes Resolution for sustainable Nitrogen Management 
New Ag International, 15 March 2019

Delegates adopted the resolution calling for a coordinated and collaborative approach to sustainable nitrogen (N) management, referred to as UNEP/EA.4/L.16.

Annual UN report recognises the threats posed by nitrogen pollution
Down to Earth, 06 March 2019

The annual Frontiers report 2019 published by the United Nations (UN), has included a chapter on nitrogen pollution in its latest edition, in a sign that pollution caused by the reactive forms of nitrogen is now being recognised as a grave environmental concern on a global level.

Nitrogen is the 'new carbon'
Milennium Post, 6 March 2019

Growing demand in livestock, agriculture, transport, industry, and energy sectors has led to a sharp growth of levels of reactive nitrogen, discusses Akshit Sangomla

It is time to fix the broken nitrogen cycle says UN Environment Frontiers Report

UNEP, 4 March 2019

the disturbance of ecosystems, human health and economies by massively altering of the global nitrogen cycle through human activity.

‘Tighter regulations needed on nutrient effluents’
Down to Earth, 28 January 2019

Here’s N Raghuram, chairman of International Nitrogen Initiative, speaking with Down To Earth about the viability of United Kingdom’s project to tackle nitrogen pollution

India has three of the world’s 50 nitrogen emission hotspots
Down to Earth, 30 October 2018

The latest Greenpeace analysis finds areas in Delhi-NCR, UP, MP and Odisha as the biggest contributors of nitrogen pollution in India

Excess nitrogen fertilisers hamper germination, root growth in rice: study
Down to Earth, 03 October 2018 

“Our study shows that in laboratory conditions, excess of nitrogenous compounds such as nitrate and urea restrict root growth. In future, we would like to extend our work to field to check if similar patterns exist there as well,” explained N Raghuram, Professor at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and a member of the research team.

N Raghuram elected Chair of International Nitrogen Initiative
The Hindu- Business Line, 13 August 2018 

Indian scientist-academician, N Raghuram, has been elected Chair of the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI), a global policy making initiative. A professor at the GGS Indraprastha University, New Delhi, Raghuram is the first Indian and Asian to be elected to the Chair. He will succeed Mark Sutton of the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh.

Death by nitrogen
Fountain Ink, Jul 13, 2018

We are all familiar with the perils of a runaway carbon cycle but there is a lesser known one that may be worse, the rise of reactive nitrogen to dangerous levels.

Scientists assess how continuous use of fertilisers affects soil bacteria
Down to Earth, 12 July 2018

Application of Nitrogen Phosporus Potassium with farmyard manure increases the minerals' availability in the soil as compared to other treatments

India global hot spot for nitrogen pollution, say experts
Nature India, 02 July 2018 

Chemical fertilisers account for over 77% of agricultural nitrogen oxide emissions in India and cattle contribute to 80% of the country's ammonia production, says Nandula Raghuram, Dean of Biotechnology at Indraprastha University in New Delhi and President of Indian Nitrogen Group (ING), a voluntary body of over a hundred scientists and stakeholders.

"Since 2002, nitrogen oxides have replaced methane as the second largest greenhouse gas from Indian agriculture," says Raghuram, who co-authored the INA report that identified significant sources of reactive nitrogen and their contribution to regional, national and global nitrogen cycles.

Sterlite typifies all that's wrong with environmental governance in India

Down To Earth, 27 June 2018 

“This is not the first time India’s pollution regulatory institutions are being blamed for ineptitude,” says N Raghuram, president of Delhi-based Indian Nitrogen Group, a society of scientists working on nitrogen pollution.

Experts participating in the World Environment Day call for global initiative to tackle nitrogen pollution
Firstpost, 05 June 2018 

Prof. N. Raghuram, President of the Indian Nitrogen Group, noted, “as fertilizer, nitrogen is one of the main inputs to agriculture. But inefficiencies along the food chain result in wastage of about 80% of nitrogen, contributing to air and water pollution as well as greenhouse gas emissions. Timely scaling up of the recent initiatives of the Indian government towards improving nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency, rural toilets, sustainable fuels etc can moderate India's nitrogen footprint on a scale that few countries can match.”

Experts call for global initiative to tackle nitrogen pollution

The Hindu- Business Line, 05 June 2018 

Prof. N. Raghuram, President of the Indian Nitrogen Group, noted, “as fertilizer, nitrogen is one of the main inputs to agriculture. But inefficiencies along the food chain result in wastage of about 80% of nitrogen, contributing to air and water pollution as well as greenhouse gas emissions. Timely scaling up of the recent initiatives of the Indian government towards improving nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency, rural toilets, sustainable fuels etc can moderate India's nitrogen footprint on a scale that few countries can match.”

Nitrogen emissions going up: study

The Hindu- Business Line, 05 June 2018 

The Indian Nitrogen Assessment assesses the sources, impacts, trends and future scenarios of reactive nitrogen in the Indian environment, says N. Raghuram, Dean, School of Biotechnology, GGS Indraprastha University, who is one of the authors of the report.

Call for united global effort to tackle nitrogen pollution
Eurekalert, 04 June 2018 

Prof Raghuram, who co-led the first Indian Nitrogen Assessment (2017), added: "As fertilizer, nitrogen is one of the main inputs to agriculture, but inefficiencies along the food chain mean about 80% of nitrogen is wasted, contributing to air and water pollution plus greenhouse gas emissions, thereby causing threats for human health, ecosystems and livelihoods.

Foreign food trade impacts importing countries’ environment too
Down To Earth, 16 May 2018 

The study was conducted in more than 160 studies across 6 continents and the researchers analysed the left over nitrogen in the soil after a soybean crop is harvested. 

Leaves from nitrogen-rich trees can be potential fertilisers
Down To Earth, 19 April 2018 

Banaras Hindu University scientists have shown that application of leaves from nitrogen-rich trees in soil can increase the soil fertility and grain yield of rice

Case of missing nitrogen solved: It comes from the bedrock
Down To Earth, 10 April 2018 

This part of the nitrogen in the Earth’s system had been un-accountable until now and was considered as ‘missing nitrogen’ or the ‘mysterious gap’. Now, scientists say that the case of the missing nitrogen has been solved and it comes from the earth’s bedrock.

Study Shows Dangers of India’s Reliance on Nitrogen-Based Fertilizers
News18, 12 March 2018 

The study, called the Indian Nitrogen Assessment, was undertaken by the Indian Nitrogen Group (ING), led by Professor N Raghuram, the group’s president, and Dean of the School of Biotechnology, GGS Indraprastha University, Punjab.

Punjab, Haryana and west UP facing severe nitrogen pollution: Down To Earth expose
Down To Earth, 08 March 2018 

Nitrogen pollution can destroy soil health, contaminate water, lead to serious health problems, and trigger climate change

Fight against Nitrogen pollution in the environment could soon witness a paradigm shift
Firstpost, 29 December 2017

Speaking to the India Science Wire, Dr. Nandula Raghuram, a key member of the study team, noted that the startling finding could be because all this while, not much data was available on nitrogen pollution generated by domestic sewage. The study team was set up in 2006 by the Society for Conservation of Nature, a voluntary body of scientists. The task force was named Indian Nitrogen Group (ING). It consisted of experts from diverse backgrounds and was mandated to review the problem of pollution posed by reactive nitrogen in a comprehensive manner.

We have breached the planetary limit for nitrogen
Down To Earth, 15 December 2017

Yashpal Abrol, founder president and chief patron of SCN, told Down To Earth that “N2O is 300 times more potent as a greenhouse gas as opposed to CO2”.

When N means noxious
Down To Earth, 1-15 December 2017

Yashpal Abrol, founder president and chief patron of Society for Conservation of Nature, told Down To Earth that “N2 O is 300 times more potent as a greenhouse gas as opposed to CO2 ”. He adds, “While carbon has been debated upon extensively by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, it is time for us to look at N2 O and nitrogen pollution in general in a big way.”

Fertilisers leaking huge amount of nitrogen into soil, water
Nature India, 24 November 2017

A mammoth exercise in quantifying 'reactive nitrogen' in the environment has found that 65% of the nitrogen used in India as fertilisers may be getting leaked into soil, water and other natural resources, thereby significantly contributing to the country's greenhouse gas burden.

Kunming scientist works to change world with perennial rice
GoKunming, 11 August 2017

Nandula Raghuram recently visited farms growing Hu's rice. He is the Dean of Biotechnology at New Delhi's Indraprastha University, and explained what he saw in Yuxi:

"It seems very convincing and promising. [Hu's rice] reduces or eliminates the need for nitrogen fertilizer and reduces the pest/pathogen problems typical to monocultures...While the present varieties of perennial rice developed in China may be suited for Chinese agro climates, they do offer adequate proof of concept that they can be developed for other agro climates and markets."

Could perennial crops be an answer to climate change?
India.com, 7 August 2017

“It seems very convincing and promising,” said Raghuram, one of the 50 delegates from over a dozen countries who recently toured different perennial rice-growing sites in the Yunnan province and tasted the cooked rice. “Farmers we spoke to seemed enthusiastic about adopting perennial rice and possibly other crops because of lower input costs.”

Noting that perennial rice is a great idea, “next only to hybrid rice”, he said perennial legumes are also being developed and it may be possible to have both rice and legume grow perennially in alternative rows/plots on the same field. “This also reduces or eliminates the need for nitrogen fertiliser and reduces the pest/pathogen problems typical to monocultures,” Raghuram said.

Rampant Fertiliser Use Could Slow Down Nitrogen Cycle, Rajasthan University Scientists Say
The Wire, 23 March 2017

An interdisciplinary, international study reveals a new way fertiliser overuse could affect the soil. The team, led by two researchers from the Central University of Rajasthan, predicts that overusing ammonium in crop fields could throw the soil’s natural nitrogen cycle off balance.

Nitrogen pollution: the forgotten element of climate change
Down To Earth, 6 December 2016
Nitrogen emissions such as ammonia, nitrogen oxide and nitrous oxides contribute to particulate matter and acid rain

Nitrogen Overload
Down To Earth, 2016
Developed regions such as the US and Europe have published detailed reports about nitrogen usage and pollution. But India is nowhere close to aggregating something similar of its own, says Y P Abrol, founder of the non-profit Indian Nitrogen Group. “For over a decade we have been trying to convince various ministries dealing with nitrogen to take up data collection and a detailed plan of action. But there has been no concerted policy or regulation,” he adds.

‘Improving efficiency only way to control nitrogen pollution’
Down To Earth, 08 July 2015
Human-induced nitrogen emissions have surpassed natural emissions, damaging the environment and human health, says Mark Sutton, lead author of ‘Our Nutrient World’, a 2013 UNEP report

The precarious geopolitics of phosphorous

Down To Earth, 7 June 2015

Approximately 90 per cent of phosphate rock is used for fertilisers and animal feed supplements and the rest for industrial chemicals . Urbanisation and intensive agricultural practices have brought about the application of chemical fertilisers in order to produce adequate amounts of food.