At a recent conference hosted by the environment ministry, attendees adopted several resolutions with a purported view to developing India’s environmental future. Kanchi Kohli analyses some of these and their real, likely portent.

The Southern region of India is expected to face high energy deficit this year while the Western and Eastern regions will have a surplus of energy generation. Kannan Kasturi explains why this regional skew in energy generation and energy consumption exists and what it will take to resolve it.

The multi-ethnic reality of India must find expression in its institutions, especially those charged with security. Plus, there are other reasons to broadbase recruitment further, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The case of the Army Chief's true age is only seemingly one of an individual's besmirched honour. It is instead one in civil-military relations, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The recent fracas was not merely the personal case of an officer exercising his right to grievance redress. It must be seen as a crisis in civil-military relations, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The story of a heroic soldier captured by the enemy and tortured to death stirred strong emotions during the Kargil war. Why, then, is there a lid of secrecy around his death, wonders Firdaus Ahmed.

PM Manmohan Singh’s plans to minimise nuclear risks, as articulated at a recent conference, revolves around formulation of a ‘global no-first-use’ norm. Firdaus Ahmed points to why a practical solution is less about global norms and rests more likely on issues closer home.

A recent announcement by the army chief that officers of all ranks of the army will donate a day’s pay to the PM’s relief fund for Kashmir floods has triggered an interesting exchange, throwing light on the broader trends of politicisation within the military. Firdaus Ahmed has more.

Firdaus Ahmed deconstructs the various levels of state and individual dynamics that have led to India’s recent military doctrine of ‘disproportionate response’ as evident in various instances of encounters and killings, including the recent crackdown at the Myanmar border.

Commanding general of Western Command, KJ Singh recently described Pakistan’s repeated military posturing in the broad framework of history as “the hallmark of being idiotic”. But can India really afford to say that? Firdaus Ahmed presents an incisive inward-looking analysis.

A mega Indian Army exercise aimed at sharpening Army's deep strike capabilities in enemy territory concluded last month in Rajasthan. Firdaus Ahmed analyses why having the strike capabilities in this nuclear age might be a mixed blessing.

A PPP project, hailed as a milestone in logistic infrastructure development at the time of launch shows scant growth three years later, costing the Cochin Port trust dearly in the process. P N Venugopal throws light on all that has gone wrong with it.

Two tigers have been relocated from Ranthambore to Sariska tiger reserve, but wildlife conservationists are not about to rejoice, given the extent of work pending at Sariska to reverse past wrongs. Malini Shankar digs deeper.

The Wildlife Institute of India's census report estimated 1,411 tigers in India’s Protected Areas. The report is significant for thorough and precise documentation of habitat loss for the tiger, writes Malini Shankar.

If all of India's tiger terrain was protected very well, including from cattle grazing conflicts from forest dwellers, it could potentially support 20,000 tigers, say some experts. Malini Shankar has more.

Both for vast array of species it shields and the sustainability of the ecosystems it inhabits, the tiger is the sentinel of the ecological destiny of the whole Indian subcontinent. Malini Shankar says tiger conservation is no longer a mere choice.

Revival of millet cultivation in Medak of Andhra shows how a variety of millets can fight hunger even during drought, keep farmers debt-free, and provide the much-needed nutrition without using pesticides, reports Ramesh Menon.

The focus for developing countries at the upcoming Cancun WTO Ministerial must be on food and agriculture, says Suman Sahai.

A new sop came into effect for net-foreign exchange earning businesses in designated export zones from February 10 -- a 15-year income tax holiday. But are the costs of the revenues foregone worth the claimed benefits of more investment and jobs? M Suchitra examines the reality and does not find a rosy picture.

The government's recent traditional knowledge digital library will send data to patent offices abroad, so that indigenous knowledge that India abundantly has is not patented overseas. Following India's example, other nations too are showing interest in similarly protecting their interests. Ramesh Menon reports.

The country's latest Geographical Indication certificate offers some new hope - of putting the sheen and colour back in a vital piece of Indian heritage, and livelihoods linked to it. Puja Awasthi reports.

On most indicators, Chandrababu Naidu ran the worst performing state in the south of India for nearly 10 years. Yet the more damage he did, the more his media standing grew, says P Sainath.

In Andhra Pradesh, the Naidu government's Janmabhoomi model of development gutted the panchayats and curbed local democracy. Hence, the panchayats have proved totally ineffective during the agrarian crisis, reports P Sainath.

About the time 50 Dalit houses were set ablaze in Gohana, the country marked 50 years of a law giving effect to the Constitution's abolition of untouchability. As if to rub it in, 25 more Dalit homes were torched the same week in Akola, Maharashtra, writes P Sainath.

The municipal polls verdict has a significance beyond Andhra Pradesh's borders. None of the excuses for the Telugu Desam's rout in the 2004 elections works this time. Voters are protesting the pro-rich, anti-poor measures that pass for 'reforms' in this country, writes P Sainath.

Had there been a waiver of debt of up to just Rs.25,000, more than 80 per cent of Vidarbha's farmers would no longer have owed the banks money. People thought that waiver would come. It didn't, and the sense of being let down is great, writes P Sainath.

Vidarbha's farmers are unhappy with the "relief packages" announced by the State and the Centre. Debt relief and access to credit are certainly important to them, but they want the larger issues driving the suicides addressed first, writes P Sainath.

While theatre struggles to survive in the metros, it thrives in Vidharbha where it draws audiences of thousands for plays that go on through much of the night, writes P Sainath.

Remember how keen so many of our national security experts were on sending our own troops into Iraq alongside those of the U.S.? Remember it was to have been such a good thing for India, asks P Sainath.

By the Maharashtra government's own count, the 14,221 high-breed cows it gave farmers in Vidarbha add just 1.16 litres each to the milk collection in the region. These cows have cost already indebted farmers over Rs.7.5 crore. P Sainath reports.

If you are worth Rs.50 million or more, you are 75 times more likely to win an election to the Lok Sabha than if you are worth under Rs.1 million. P Sainath does a different kind of electoral math.

Maybe the pro-farmer claim was a typing error. This is a budget crafted for, and perhaps by, the corporate farmer and agribusiness, writes P Sainath.

Geographical indications of Indian origin such as 'Basmati' rice and 'Darjeeling' tea continue to remain open to being wrongfully exploited internationally. Kasturi Das looks at the issue in depth.

The Post Office (Amendment) Bill 2006 proposes to give the Department of Posts an unaccountable monopoly role in the delivery of small letters and couriers, and introduces a registration system for private carriers. Kaushiki Sanyal presents a legislative brief of a Bill that harkens back to the license raj.

As Parliament prepares to pass new anti-rape legislation on the basis of the government-promulgated ordinance, Padmalatha Ravi discusses recommendations of the seminal report by the Committee that underlines the need for law that is better conceived.

PRS Legislative Research provides a quick summary of key amendments in effect in the final version of the Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill, that was passed by both houses of Parliament in December 2013.

The fierce political campaigns around the 2014 general elections have seen rampant communal rhetoric and instances of hate speech by followers of all camps. Tanvi Bhatikar digs deeper into hate speech law and judicial proceedings in India with a comparison to UK and Europe.

A quick summary of the recently passed Constitution (121st Amendment) Bill 2014 from PRS Legislative Research outlines the broad changes that it will bring about in the judicial structure of the country.

A recent UGC-sponsored seminar on the incidence of cyber crime, hosted in Kolkata, drew attention to the safeguards to be adopted as also the right procedure to be followed in order to obtain redress. Amrita Mukherjee reports.

It’s a big, bad world out there on the social network and nearly 73 percent of urban children aged 8 to 13 are active on such sites. Can adult influencers keep the children safe online? Supriya Unni Nair explores.

There is a lot that happens in the background to make sure that every Indian election - like the just concluded Bihar assembly election - is conducted fairly, freely and peacefully. Smarak Swain, who was on election duty in Bihar reports on the challenges faced by the Election Commission of India and how it is overcoming them effectively.

This past August the Code on Wages was introduced in the Lok Sabha and subsequently referred to the Standing Committee on Labour for examination. Vinayak Krishnan of PRS Legislative explains the Code and its pros and cons.

"In the Varadaraja Swamy Temple in Kanchipuram, I saw with my own eyes, just a year ago, how the late 17th-century murals were literally disintegrating. As you watch, they are going. It has happened in temple after temple". David Shulman talks to Lalitha Sridhar .

Abdul Nasser Madani, a key accused in the 2008 Bangalore serial blasts, waits in vain for his trial to be speeded up after countless adjourned sessions of court. PN Venugopal recounts the circumstances of the case and talks to Madani himself to discover how rules become exceptions in such cases.

After years of meetings, letters, discussions, workshops, petitions, and even some international pressure, New Delhi has decided to move forward and open up radio broadcasting in a way it never was until now. Subramaniam Vincent says radio will be the winner, and there's much more to be done.

As long as we engender a society that allow law enforcers to get away with their own crimes, law breakers will only be emboldened. We must make Police Complaints Authorities around the country meaningful, says Subramaniam Vincent.

As the Lok Satta party, with its crop of image-defying politicians, raises hopes for a new brand of politics, Subramaniam Vincent catches up with party leader Dr Jayaprakash Narayan on the party's hopes at the Karnataka polls and possibilities of a larger wave of political reforms in the country.

Around 80,000 children in Madhya Pradesh are suffering from severe malnutrition. So stark is the situation that one evaluation report has said that even if the children were saved, they may go blind due to lack of vitamin A. Sachin Kumar Jain chronicles continuing negligence in government departments in M.P.

Women of the Muslim Haila community in Madhya Pradesh continue to be manual scavengers and are subjected to inhuman treatment despite the law prohibiting it. But they are now determinedly fighting back, reports Shuriah Niazi.

The AAP manifesto may have talked at length about “a flexible and fair labour policy” and regularisation of contract workers, but for a vast section of daily wage-earners, such promises hold no meaning. Devanik Saha talks to one to find out why.