By bringing the benefits and the knowledge of science to their people, Haseena and Tajunnisa have helped secure the future for the resources on which their families depend. Their home, Agatti, has, now become a model, writes Papri Sri Raman.

'I run up to every neta who campaigns on the roads and tell him about our problem. It is not only me but the rest too have not been paid. It is not as though we don't work. I work from 8 am to 6 pm.'

With the energy import bill rising all the time, and enormous energy needs still to be met, the government as well as private players are looking at biofuels as an alternative to traditional petroleum. K V Prayukth reports.

The central government has just announced that it plans to "dope" petrol with 5% of ethanol, a biofuel made from sugar cane, from November 1. However, this also poses some problems; cars, not people, will be responsible for most of the increase in global grain consumption this year, writes Darryl D'Monte.

India is well on its way to a low-carbon economic future, but its global image suffers because we lack the public discourse to bolster our argument, unlike China and the Western countries, writes Darryl D'Monte.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Interactions at the WSF, Tunisia with activists and thinkers from vastly diverse fields, united only by their dream for transformation and alternatives to well-being, inspire Ashish Kothari to hope for another world.

A new scheme launched by PM Narendra Modi envisages development through a model in which every MP chooses a village to develop, with people’s participation. Vikas Jha looks at the numbers and realities to explore the real needs of rural development at the panchayat level.

If Lt. Col. Purohit's activities are only one instance of something wider, then the Army has a real problem - namely, the penetration of majoritarian religious ideology into the historically secular defence forces, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

Smriti Van's proximity to bustling urban settlements may have made its land captive to a Rs.370 million flyover project, says Kanchi Kohli.

Concerned at the alarming decline in the forest cover of the country, the Supreme Court has sought to regulate the operations of wood-based units. But success has been limited; not all the illegal operations have been shuttered, and many others face the loss of their businesses from the Court's blanket orders. Kanchi Kohli reports.

For some time now, the Central Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court has been reviewing the decisons of the Forest Advisory Committee, which grants permission for converting forest land for non-forest use. But this oversight may be coming to an end. Kanchi Kohli reports.

A Jindal group-Government of Tamilnadu firm attempted to get forest clearance for mining in the Eastern Ghats forests of TN. Both the Ministry of Environment and a Supreme Court monitoring committee rejected clearance. Kanchi Kohli has more.

How can forests be protected and sustained during these times of changing climates and the related uncertainties? This question was explored at a recent conference. Darryl D'Monte reports.

Limited, quick-fix solutions that do not address the underlying causes of the deep-rooted problem of rape have clearly not worked in the country, writes Ammu Joseph in the first of a two-part article examining the many layers of the issue.

With the law of small numbers threatening to take over, we need a public discussion of the good life, a search for truth done by individuals in association with others, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.

The decline of politics and of intellectual discourse is related to the struggle between politics and economics as the arbiter of the moral commons and the role of the developmental state in this fight, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.

Political parties have displayed moral outrage over the recent expose of misuse in MPLADS funds. The scheme itself violates the Constitution, and second, MPs have had a free hand in doling out contracts to build and sustain patronage. The decision to retain the scheme is shortsighted, points out Sudhirendar Sharma.

Political parties have displayed moral outrage over the recent expose of misuse in MPLADS funds. The scheme itself violates the Constitution, and second, MPs have had a free hand in doling out contracts to build and sustain patronage. The decision to retain the scheme is shortsighted, points out Sudhirendar Sharma.

Public audit of an organisation or individual by a statutory authority is proven to give teeth to enforcement. Why then has India's CAG failed to instill fear in the various government departments and enterprises it monitors? A new book by B P Mathur tackles this and more, says Himanshu Upadhyaya.

When river restoration translates merely into cosmetic beautification of its ‘front’, real estate and urban elite are the only ones to gain at the cost of the larger river ecology. Amruta Pradhan discusses the Sabarmati Riverfront Development project and others inspired by it to highlight the risks in the model.

The report of a high level committee under BJP MP Shanta Kumar proposes radical restructuring of the PDS and reduced coverage of the food security act. But is the estimate of leakages in the report flawed in itself? Shambhu Ghatak presents alternative findings.

Well-known experts presented `Water: More Nutrition Per Drop' at the April 20 meeting of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development in New York. Sudhirendar Sharma reviews the report and its considerations of the Indian situation.

Five and a half years ago, a visit to nine Karnataka farmers who were trialing Bt cotton showed regulatory breakdown. Six years on, despite fresh criticism by NGOs, scientists and the media, India's regulatory practice with transgenic crops appears to have offered a repeat performance of its 2000 conduct, says Keya Acharya.

Sick soils, declining yields, growing debts and rising malnutrition stalk the Punjab farmer, as the practices of the boom years catch up with him, writes Bhaskar Goswami.

The Centre, mulling over the Delhi High Court verdict on Section 377 of the IPC, should recognise a basic principle of democratic freedoms - we are free when others are free. The India Together editorial.

The leading ladies of Bengali theatre in the late 19^th and 20^th centuries presented an intriguing portrait of women caught between two worlds, liberated in a way, yet shackled in others. A recent performance as tribute to these artists leads Shoma Chatterji to reminisce their lives and times.

The Government of India's draft community radio (CR) policy proposes to allow NGOs and other non-profit organisations to run low power radio stations with limited advertising. The policy is expected to go to the Cabinet for approval soon, but CR advocates and broadcasters are keeping their fingers crossed, notes Surekha Sule.

The environmental benefits accruing from green buildings and living spaces are widely known, but it is often inertia that prevents the adoption of these alternatives. Chandrashekar Hariharan discusses a few easy steps that could foster greener urban infrastructure.

Surekha Sule contrasts the transgenic research of ICRISAT with the self-dependence of women farmers in Zaheerabad, AP.

Found abundantly along the coasts of the country, seaweeds offer the potential to help meet nutrition and food security needs, and also hold other advantages in medicine and farming. But technology, labour and quality issues impede the realisation of this potential. Prayukth K V reports.

The establishment's appetite for large dams diminished marginally in the late nineties, but encouraged by the World Bank's low-key decision to restart funding, Indian governments are ready to start building again. But are large dams worth the expenditure? Tarun Jain and Ashima Sood report on the findings of a new research paper.

A conference on September 14-16 this year at New Delhi will bring together political decision makers, representatives from entrepreneurial associations and corporate partners, and civil society to discuss growth in Asia. It is backed by Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Planning Commission of India.

Apart from its high literacy rate, richer natural resources, and green public consciousness, the Kerala Government's decision to go for a green budget this year makes this tiny southernmost state a model to look up to. Darryl D'Monte has more.

With its recent move to let banks determine their own rates of interest paid to savings account holders, the Reserve Bank of India opens up new turf in the battle between banks for consumers.

In view of the usual thrust on packaged food distributed in the name of relief and rehabilitation in the aftermath of any disaster or human crisis, L S Aravinda warns against the tendency to sell out local food traditions to the industry.

With the paradigm of projecting profits as the sole end of business steadily on the wane, Darryl D'Monte reports on developments in the Indian financial sector that indicate a growing thrust on sustainability and social responsibility.

It is certainly not because of mere demand-supply mismatch. Kannan Kasturi deconstructs the supply chain dynamics and credit linkages in the vegetable markets to show how these, coupled with government impotence, have led to uncontrolled, spiralling inflation.

The recent verdict of the Gujarat High Court regarding the operation of multipurpose industries on land leased out by the MPSEZ could have critical implications for environmental clearance of SEZs in general. Kanchi Kohli reports.

In October 2014, a draft consultation paper from the Planning Commission detailed the many issues faced by India’s handloom sector and the failure of earlier schemes to solve the problems faced by weavers. Elizabeth Soumya summarises key points from the report.

The dramatic political transformation going on in Greece, with the victory of the leftist party SYRIZA, is worth watching closely for all those in India who hope for a just, sustainable future. Ashish Kothari deliberates upon the lessons to be learnt.

It was a Valentine’s Day vow with a difference. The bond between the private seed industry and the public agricultural sector received a fillip at the recently concluded Indian Seed Congress in Agra over the weekend, reports Shalini Bhutani.