"We were pushed out of the queues for food, relief material, an even drinking water", says Bama Rajazhagan, a dalit. But not all is gloomy in Nagapattinam; district machinery, voluntary organisations, and the army are lending support to rebuilding. Krithika Ramalingam reports.

The National Food Security Act proposes to lower ration prices, but also reduce the quantity of grain that is given to each family. Devinder Sharma suggests a Zero Hunger programme instead.

Multinationals producing genetically modified foods attempt to force open Third World markets, even as consumers in the wealthier countries reject the risky science behind their products, says Devinder Sharma.

2004 is being celebrated as the International Year of Rice, and the starchy grain has undergone a complete metamorphosis, says Devinder Sharma.

India Together

6 years ago, Punukula village in AP was no different from many other cotton farming regions. Pesticide overuse and environmental poisoning were rampant, and so were pests. But by 2004, the village had successfully charted a simple escape route. Devinder Sharma looks at the lessons.

On 3 May, the Ministry of Environment and Forests cancelled its earlier approval for commercial cultivation of three varieties of transgenic Bt cotton seeds in Andhra Pradesh. How must one read the decision of the GEAC? Kanchi Kohli says the developments may only be a breather.

The Ministry of Agriculture moves to introduce adoption of genetically modified crops in India, in the name of food security. Scientists, however, are critical of this move. Neha Saigal reports.

The Kerala assembly issues a thumbs-down on plans to divert water away from the state, catching the Ministry of Water Resources off-guard.

Empowered local communities can tackle water problems, and have little need for New Delhi's grand designs. More importantly, the spin-off social and economic benefits are significant, too.

The Supreme Court keeps issuing orders on water disputes, but these rarely prevail. Videh Upadhyay urges the Court to seize the opportunity to change that, permanently.

The Permumatty grama panchayat of Kerala's Plachimada village has appealed to the Supreme Court for revocation of a recent High Court order granting permission to Coca Cola to draw water upto 5 lakh litres per day. The High Court's ruling was based on an investigation that has raised more questions than answered. P N Venugopal and M Suchitra report.

The expectations with which the Haryali watershed management programme was introduced are slowly being dashed. The programme's poor guidelines, along with power struggles and inadequate local knowledge, have made it victim to the same old politics. Surekha Sule reports.

In many part of rural India, women spend most of their time walking long distances to collect water for their household's needs. Nitin Jugran Bahuguna visits the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand where the women no longer have to worry about fetching water from long distances thanks to an intervention that has brought potable water right to their doorstep.

How do we bring back to our streets the Indian identities they once had? The answer lies in documenting and codifying the many elements of construction in the past, for evolving an architecture with an Indian identity, writes Kiran Keswani.

Concluding the six-part series on civil society and governance, Jayaprakash Narayan lays down the framework for addressing India's governance crisis.

The Maharashtra elections are just around the corner and analyses are beginning to emerge on candidate background disclosures. But not long ago, 541 MPs were elected to the Lok Sabha. Samuel Paul and M Vivekananda of the Public Affairs Centre report findings from an analysis on our MPs' backgrounds.

Still dodging the constitutional requirement for devolution of powers to local bodies, the Centre is now demanding that cities fall in line with the 74th Amendment. The National Urban Renewal Mission is deeply flawed, and civic groups that have proposed steps to rectify it should be heeded, writes Kathyayini Chamaraj.

Are ancient structures the relics of a past that we no longer want to remember? As the 139-year-old Crawford Market in Mumbai faces the demolition squad, Darryl D'Monte looks at the pitfalls of a 'development' model that could have cities across the world sporting the same skyline.

The health, efficiency, relevance and role of our over-centralised security agencies in an ostensibly federal set up need greater debate. This is all the more important, as the politicians' approach to the nature of violence in the country lacks seriousness, writes K S Subramanian.

People are shunning civil litigation in the states where there is no hope of obtaining justice in a reasonable amount of time, where instead of relief from the court all they can expect is a new date for the next court hearing. Kannan Kasturi reports.

As the massive disaster in flood-stricken Uttarakhand unfolds, Himanshu Upadhyaya draws attention to the glaring inadequacies in disaster management preparedness and risk reduction in the state, as well as the nation, as exposed by recent audits.

Blanket surveillance of the kind envisaged by India's Centralized Monitoring System achieves little, but blatantly violates the citizen's right to privacy; Snehashish Ghosh explores why it may be dangerous and looks at potential safeguards against such intrusion.

Red, yellow and green are not just about traffic lights any more. Colour coding the air quality in cities is a critical step towards dissemination of pollution data among citizens. But does India’s air quality index satisfy all the necessary conditions for optimal use? Sarath Guttikunda has more.

An Uttar Pradesh district's local functionaries feel the grassroots media's reporting of development needs deepening. A two-part series by The Hoot.org.

Recently, the Chennai High Court ruled that a PPP project falls within the ambit of the RTI Act. The court's reasoning gives hope for a more liberal interpretation of the law itself in the future. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.

Central Information Commission asks MoEF to make an environment expert panel's report public, outlining arguments that could be used for disclosure of many other documents. Krishnaraj Rao writes.

Abysmal pay, low dignity and zero benefits and security unite government-appointed social health activists from Punjab and UP at a protest meet in the capital. Amrita Nandy reveals some of their shocking tales of exploitation and deprivation.

Kobe Bryant, the former Los Angeles Lakers superstar, died in a helicopter crash on Sunday, NBA officials confirmed to league employees. He was 41 years old. Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, was also killed in the crash. Photo: Getty Images

WSJ's Sudeep Reddy checks in on Mean Street with the World Bank's dim outlook for global economic stability over the next several years. Photo: Getty Images.

Gail Simmons, food expert and Top Chef judge, tells WSJ's Veronica Dagher how she learned to say no to some opportunities, value her time and follow her passions.

The White House announced new guidelines Monday to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, and asked the public to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people. Photo: Erik S. Lesser/Shutterstock

Wall Street Journal investigative reporter John Carreyrou recounts some of the more unusual experiences he had while uncovering the story of Theranos's business practices.

Adults often think teens just zone out on Instagram and Snapchat, but when WSJ's Julie Jargon sat down with high schoolers in Sherman Oaks, Calif., they said there are times when social media socializing gets to them and they have to put the phone down. They also shared their decisions to make their accounts private or public-and why it's better not to post every feeling. Photo/Video: Emily Prapuolenis/The Wall Street Journal

President Trump outlined new federal guidelines on April 17 to reopen the country, saying governors should take a "phased and deliberate approach" to restart their state economies. Photo: William Volcov/Zuma Press

Pollsters say Jayalalithaa will sweep Tamil Nadu, but in Tuticorin she may bite the dust.

The Left party workers are keenly aware that the election for the 15th Lok Sabha is the severest test for the party ever since it took power in Bengal 32 years ago.

'Dr Manmohan Singh's contribution is to end the strategic isolationism of India.' K Subrahmanyam, the doyen of India's national security experts, on the prime minister.

National Conference leader Dr Farooq Abdullah was not upset about being given the charge of the relatively unknown Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, according to his son, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.Dr Abdullah too denied reports about him being miffed with the low-profile portfolio. "I will make the ministry high-profile with my work and dedication. I am not angry. But my officers may get angry with me as I make them work," Dr Abdullah said.

'A majority in Parliament is not necessary to run the government,' says Constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap, explaining the legal options before the President once the election results are declared.

'It has everything to do with the West Bengal government's policies. They were too much in a hurry. They should not have hurried through with the land acquisition,' feels RSP leader T J Chandrachoodan.

Jayaprakash Narayan on the famous verdict of May 2004 that saw the BJP-led NDA evicted from power. This feature includes a brief interview.

The aggressive stance of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar in exiting the NDA is not really a big surprise, but whether that can lead to the formation of a viable government by an United Third Front at the Centre leaves room for scepticism, says B.S. Nagaraj.

Mainstream media may play up the parliamentary contest as a battle of Goliaths, but statistical analysis reveals the true diversity in the Indian party system and the inevitability of coalitions. Srinivasan Ramani brings us the real picture.

Days before the much-hyped showdown between Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal in Varanasi, Prabhu Mallikarjunan pays a visit to the holy city to know more about the loyalties and concerns of people on the ground.

Any election campaign and process needs money, and as long as the exercise of money power is well-regulated, it can never thwart the power of the people, feels P V Rajeev.

The results of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections apparently point to an abysmal failure of new politics as championed by the Aam Aadmi Party, but a deeper look by Himanshu Upadhyaya suggests all may not be over just as yet.

The Election Commission of India is introducing The National Electoral Roll Purification and Authentication Programme (NERPA) with a view to eliminating duplication and erroneous deletions in electoral rolls across the country. Chinmayi Shalya reports.

M Karunanidhi, who is keen on ensuring that all his children are well settled before he passes into the ages, needs to learn from President Kalam's example.

'If a scheme like the NREGA can yield such handsome dividends, imagine the likely impact of an initiative to provide universal healthcare, free primary education, safe drinking water, affordable housing and social security.'