As a country grappling with political and infrastructural problems, there are very few issues that do not evoke extreme, often diametrically opposite, reactions in India. Population control Bills, vaccination policy, farmer income initiatives, river water sharing mechanisms or surrogacy laws—there is no dearth of topics that have triggered controversy, and led to public debates among experts and people in the past five years. Being a chronicler of the politics of development, environment and health, Down To Earth has captured such polarising issues as and when they occurred. Debates That Matter is a collection of such topics that have been in the news in the recent past and continue to stay relevant.