The atomic energy programme is an economic failure as well as an environmental disaster. Moreover, by its very functioning, the AEC has undermined the democratic ideals of the nation, writes Ramachandra Guha.

Beyond planting trees, what do we need to be really doing that makes for the difference we seek in use and abuse of resources? Chandrashekar Hariharan presents some directions that consumers, citizens, businessmen need to be taking.

The government's focus on solar energy is driven by the need to demonstrate a commitment to renewable energy. But equity too is vital for the success of the National Solar Mission, writes Sujatha Byravan.

How does one go about saving energy during construction or in the lifetime of a building when we live in it? A lot of this has to do with your being sensitized to this concept of 'embodied energy', writes Chandrashekar Hariharan.

Our personal choices directly impact the pressure on managing infrastructure support that we all need for energy, water, and waste management, writes Chandrashekar Hariharan.

The nuclear liability bill by capping the liability arising out of a nuclear incident appears to be an effort to protect the nuclear industry at the cost of the fundamental rights of the citizens writes Mathew Prasad Idiculla.

During the last 100 years, the production and consumption of power happened at two different places, miles away from each other. This will change in the future, writes Chandrashekar Hariharan.

Policy makers have understood the importance of producing energy, but have been much slower to promote measures for energy efficiency. This has to change, writes Girish Sant.

What should a town-planning engineer in a district or taluk headquarters know of the Energy Conservation Building Code to get it successfully implemented, without complicating things? Chandrashekar Hariharan provides some answers.

The mushrooming proposals for new thermal power plants must be managed better by State governments, considering the potential harm from such plants to local communities. Kannan Kasturi reports.

In the energy heartland of India, countless projects have wreaked havoc on the environment and displaced people extensively, sometimes more than once. With more projects planned, the future is just as bleak. Kanchi Kohli reports.

The National Green Tribunal orders a study of the threat of radiation near thermal power plants, potentially putting the brakes on a spate of project approvals by the Government. Kanchi Kohli reports.

When nuclear companies are unwilling to stake their financial health on the safety of a reactor, how can the Government ask local residents to risk their lives, ask M V Ramana and Suvrat Raju.

The construction of dam-related tunnels in the hills of Sikkim has led to questions about their potential impact on the fragile ecology of the region. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

Cross-border investments to acquire or lease thousands of hectares of lands are taking place, presumably to take advantage of cheaper input costs in some countries. Darryl D'Monte reports.

Shale gas and oil reserves are being eyed hungrily by an industry that is looking at the sunset of conventional reserves. But fracking is full of risks, and we must address those first, writes Shripad Dharmadhikary.

Will the Kudankulam nuclear power plant finally become operational this month as assured by the Prime Minister? Krithika Ramalingam takes an in-depth look at the long history of delays and conflicts that has plagued the project since its inception.

Based on data collected from 92 coal power plants in India, a 2012 study that went largely unreported estimated the mortality impact of electricity generated from coal at 650 deaths per plant per year! Shiva Prasad Susarla analyses the key findings of the report and the remediation measures suggested.

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has come under heavy fire after several of his personal aides have been found to have close links with a fraudster couple who have embezzled huge amounts of money out of investors. P N Venugopal provides a roundup of the sordid saga.

India's energy set-up requires a major overhaul in order to keep up with the growth imperative, but there may be no quick-fix solutions. Ashok Sreenivas and Sreekumar N outline the critical areas of concern that call for focused solutions beyond the ambit of private investment.

Both the Ministry of Renewable Energy and the Ministry of Environment and Forests appear loath to pay attention to the potential environmental impact of small hydel power projects in the country. Parineeta Dandekar underlines the shortcomings in the official stance towards such projects.

Fly ash, the residue from coal used in thermal power plants, is not only a headache for plant operators; its use in agriculture and other sectors violates environmental sanctity and poses a serious risk to human health. Shripad Dharmadhikary studies a new CEA report to bring us more.

The accusations of the Intelligence Bureau against foreign environmental NGOs appear hollow and misguided when one looks at the direction and substance of their work in India so far. Darryl D’Monte urges the government to refrain from stifling the expression of dissent by these NGOs.

It is often believed that coal-based power plants near the coast, by virtue of their proximity to the sea, do not create any pressure on water resources. Shripad Dharmadhikary’s visit to Krishnapattanam in Andhra Pradesh and parts of Tamil Nadu exposes the fallacy in that.

The Sikkim government’s irregular allocation of hydropower projects to a New Delhi-based power producer and the eventual turn of events have cost the state more than Rs 2400 crore, according to a CAG report. Soumik Dutta reports on the details of the case and other related discrepancies that have surfaced since.

In yet another contested environmental approval decision, a 300-MW power plant in Gujarat has been granted changes in technology, relaxing certain original conditions, without any public consultation. Kanchi Kohli reports on the grievances of the local people.

Pune-based NGO Prayas Energy’s ESMI programme provides easily comprehensible data on the extent and quality of power supply in regions across the country, which can be used to demand accountability as well as enable social research. Manasi Mathkar reports.

Has the CAG overstepped its mandate by auditing the capital’s three power distributors at the behest of the ruling Delhi government? While the recent High Court ruling seems to indicate that, Himanshu Upadhyaya argues why the draft audit report must not be rejected.

The 30th and 5th anniversaries this year of the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear power plant accidents respectively are the right occasions to examine India’s record in this sector, writes Darryl D’Monte.

In remote villages of Rajasthan women are assembling small, portable solar lamps and then travelling to different hamlets in the region to retail them. Renu Rakesh reports.

The energy sector is undergoing a massive transformation, with large customers option for direct access from producers and those in the middle looking for decentralised storage and consumption. Between these forces, the old distribution business faces serious risk, says a report from the Prayas Energy Group.

Women who have led some of India's best-known people's movements are angry at being sidelined when the struggle ends. Manipadma Jena reports.

Despite the severe social and political constraints in our country, the last 10 years have witnessed steady progress in women's political empowerment in India. George Mathew takes stock.

The question before us women is whether Pratibha Patil's imminent election as President has any meaning for us, whether it will make any difference to women in India, and whether we should welcome such a symbolic gesture on the part of the ruling alliance, writes Kalpana Sharma.

They cannot compete with Mayawati, or Jayalalitha or Sonia Gandhi. But the new breed of women politicians springing up in India's small towns will become a political force to reckon with in the years to come, writes Kalpana Sharma.

If the government fails to take on board some of the constructive suggestions made on the draft Women's Reservation Bill, it might not serve the purpose for which it has been conceived, writes Kalpana Sharma.

Commenting on the dress sense and looks of women in power is only one aspect of the tendency to run down their success. And women are expected to laugh this off, writes Kalpana Sharma.

High rhetoric and token gestures abound on International Women’s Day. Yet, a brave woman of the soil was threatened, attacked and prevented from holding a rally that would have voiced the real issues faced by many women. Freny Manecksha met Soni Sori days before she was attacked, and recounts her story.

The recently released `Status of Women Journalists in India' report, commissioned by the National Commission for Women presents a disturbing picture of women journalists. Malvika Kaul reports.

Newsletters in UP that began as a development effort to help women communicate among themselves have evolved into much more, addressing problems that are relevant to whole communities instead. Tarannum Manjul reports on a crop of 'alternate media' that is in fact very much the centre of the communities they serve.

"Women, Media and Transformations" was the leitmotif of a festival of documentary and short films for South Asian women filmmakers that concluded in Calcutta earlier this month. Shoma Chatterji was there and writes that the films offered a wide spectrum of subjects from ethnographic investigation to introspective, abstract journeys.

The idea of women as autonomous and equal citizens is sanctioned in our public sphere through the media, even as the media also endorses the idea that women are around to be gazed at through advertisements, films, contests, and the like. Shoma Chatterjee says that our women are paying a price for this contradiction.

Have male and female roles in Indian ads changed over the past decade? Have the images of men and women in ads softened over time, blurring the stereotypes, or have they hardened? Shoma Chatterji writes about change in the advertising scene and the importance of media literacy for women.

In an increasingly market-driven media climate, a network that nurtures value-driven journalism among women has proved to be a lifeline for professionals who believe that there's more to the media than news brands. Charumathi Supraja reports.

These rural, illiterate women from the Community Media Trust in Medak district of Andhra Pradesh wield the plough and the camera with equal ease and expertise. The final product are films that tell their stories. Charumathi Supraja has more.

For a show intended to promote women's empowerment, it wasn't too bright about it. Its messages were often self-defeating, because the women were heavily tinged with the politics of patriarchy. Shoma Chatterji looks back at television's first big impact-making serial.

For a show intended to promote women's empowerment, it wasn't too bright about it. Its messages were often self-defeating, because the women were heavily tinged with the politics of patriarchy. Shoma Chatterji looks back at television's first big impact-making serial.

The Sunanda episode leaves us with some hard questions, about the attitude of the media to women, about sexism and other hurdles that women face everyday at the workplace, writes Kalpana Sharma.

This first all-women community radio in Asia being aired from Medak district in Andhra Pradesh is a genuine story of rural and women empowerment. Ramesh Menon reports from Medak.

Maitreyee Chatterjee was a woman of great grit, and a crusader for the rights of women long before such efforts gained attention or recognition. Shoma Chatterji notes her passing.