The government's agenda for water privatisation has relied heavily on the supposed success of the chosen model in Chile. A new book reveals we may be learning the wrong lessons. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.

Quick identification of the London bombers of 7/7 and early success in making an arrest testifies to an excellent investigation by Scotland Yard. In contrast, getting photographs, fingerprints and other records from government departments are far more difficult for India's police detectives, says Arvind Verma.

While successful efforts are sadly rare, a few telecentre initiatives have done good work in bridging the digital divide and have positively impacted disadvantaged communities, writes Vivek Vaidyanathan.

A permanent solution should be sought to defend ships and their crew who, refusing to be party to unscrupulous trade, end up being eliminated, with their deaths portrayed as suicides, writes Shabeena Zaheer who lost her son.

27-year-old Nandlal Master was born into a saree weaver's family. Today, he is a leader in the Mehdiganj area of Varanasi District, and runs classes for children who would otherwise be stranded. He has also led a local movement on water that has become a problem for Coca Cola as well as the local administration, writes Sandeep Pandey.

When a Pune-based die-hard transparency activist went to a government book depot in the city on 15 October morning to buy a copy of the new Right to Information Act, he was surprised to see that there were already 50 odd citizens in line for copies. True, bureaucrats have also planted landmines, but the citizens may yet win, says Prakash Kardeley.

Stocks edged higher, rebounding from sharp losses on Monday, though caution about Spain's debt crisis lingered ahead of a pivotal weekend election in Greece. Steven Russolillo reports on Markets Hub. Photo: Reuters.

Spike Jonze's one-act play for Opening Ceremony, Naomi Campbell outshines Kendall Jenner, David Beckham supports his wife and more from Day 4 of New York Fashion Week.

GoPros on the runway at Rag & Bone, a 4-D fashion show at Ralph Lauren and more from the tech-heavy fifth day of New York Fashion Week.

Elephants at Oscar, Picasso at Tory and more culottes--this time, from J.Crew in the New York Fashion Week runway recap.

By the seventh day of New York Fashion Week, after dozens of shows and hundreds of clothes, some clear-cut trends began to emerge.

This year's CES tech show in Las Vegas might not have had an overarching theme, but it certainly was high on invention. WSJ's Katherine Bindley tries out the most interesting contraptions on display, from Segway's new personal transporter and Samsung's rotating TV to a pair of huge robotic arms and, yes, motion-tracking pajamas. Photo/Video: Emily Prapuolenis

Oprah Winfrey, Rex Tillerson, and Abby Wambach were just a few of the notable people chosen to give commencement addresses that stressed integrity, truthfulness, and courage. Here are some highlights from this year's speeches.

The Massachusetts governor struck a deal for N95 masks from China, but he needed a way to transport them. The New England Patriots plane ended up making the delivery. Photo: New England Patriots

Therese Tucker, founder and chief executive of BlackLine Inc., tells WSJ's Veronica Dagher how she got her big idea and advanced in the technology industry, and what she's learned about wealth.

Combining provisional voter turnout data and the perceptions of MP performance based on the Daksh-ADR survey, Srinivasan Ramani attempts to make reasonable assessments about what could be behind the high turnouts in this Lok Sabha elections.

Phase IV: Most candidates from Rajasthan

The coronavirus outbreak is forcing 2020 candidates to suspend rallies, town halls and other events they typically use to connect with voters. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Keiko Neutz, 87, died of Covid-19 in March. Her family wasn't able to be by her side, so they said goodbye through a series of video chats. Photos: Neutz family

The second attempt of the NDA government to create a market for farmers' produce may not fare much better than the first one, for the same reason - it fails to address the asymmetry of power between the farmers and buyers, writes Kannan Kasturi.

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.

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.

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.

In the recent history of development in India, examples of interconnected success -- in local autonomy, forest rejuvenation and agriculture -- such as this, are rare. For Nagaland, it all started under the stewardship of Achyut Madhav Gokhale. Surekha Sule has it all.

The impact of 9/11 has brought in a greater permissibility in the use of force by states. With terrorist attacks taking their toll of innocents by design, a move away from the earlier restrictions on use of force appears defensible. Like its strategic partners, India too might act on this higher latitude for war, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The Integrated Child Development Services scheme was launched to address the nutrition, health and learning needs of all children below six years of age. Ankita Aggarwal shares findings from a survey that point to the huge variations in implementation and effectiveness. 

One aspect of the recent south Asian earthquake disaster that has received little media attention so far is its effect on livelihoods. But employment and livelihoods are not the stuff of which headlines are made – unless, of course, it is in the context of the corporate world, or when it cannot be ignored such as a nation-wide strike, says Ammu Joseph.

Findings from the CAG's audit of India's flagship nutrition programme show that hunger and malnourishment among children prevail even in the most prosperous of India's states. Himanshu Upadhyaya reports on the disturbing findings of the ICDS audit.

Wage delays, inadequate manpower and the indifference of authorities to real issues on the ground are stripping the employment guarantee programme of its strong potential to improve rural lives, and budget cuts have only made it worse. Ankita Aggarwal reports from Jharkhand.

When this social communication event hit Kolkata in 2002, the entire ambience spilled over with empathy and a deep understanding for films – documentary, fiction and docu-fiction – made on or about the marginalised and the oppressed. Very little of all that was in the air during the 2007 version, writes Shoma Chatterji.

Indian cinema has, of late, witnessed high-decibel debates over the desirability of dubbing Hindi films into regional languages. But does dubbing really pose a threat to vernacular cinema? Shoma Chatterji explores.

An ancient matrilineal tribe of northeast India has a thriving culture and an increasing population, while a similarly ancient Dravidian matrilineal tribe is in danger of vanishing. Linda Chhakchhuak reports on what the Dravidian tribe can learn from the northeastern tribe to revive its culture and population.

Craftspersons must be equal partners in the production, marketing of crafts and in deciding the government policy says Jasleen Dhamija.

A traditional rural residence is almost always based on adaptations to the local environment, and is often built with the labour of the villagers themselves without the need for external mechanised inputs. Surekha Sule reports on the Rural Building Centre, a NIRD initiative showcasing several such homes.

This Kochi's couple's one-year-old enterprise is perhaps the only serious attempt to market snow ball tender coconut so far. And in their response to irregularity of supply, they introduced the coconut lassi. Shree Padre has more.

Expansion of social security benefits, a focus on infrastructure, easing of fiscal deficit targets and rationalisation of the tax structure - these were some of the most prominent features of Arun Jaitley's budget. A look at some of the provisions.

With private car ownership in the large cities outpacing population growth, the central government is waking up to the need to introduce traffic restraint schemes in the metros, writes Darryl D'Monte.

Italian farmer group Coldiretti is ushering in a new paradigm in farming, and has emerged as a powerful lobby for the interests of the small farmer. Keya Acharya reports on the campaign and wonders if Indian agriculture can emulate the same.

Across 20 villages of Bankura and Birbhum districts in West Bengal, 800 families are learning to farm dry land anew in a sustainable manner, resulting in increased income, better health and nutritional outcomes, and food security. Ajitha Menon reports from Bankura.

While single-minded pursuit of exports has helped China touch record growth figures, millions have been left behind, besides incurring huge environmental costs. And without even the limited dose of welfare that China offers its poor farmers, India must wary of copying China's SEZ-approach, writes Bhaskar Goswami.

Church income has fallen sharply as the laity have gone into debt in Wayanad. But the larger reality is also more complex. While the church does reflect the pain of its farmer base, it is also, in some cases, a source of at least a few of the dues that worry them, notes P Sainath.

In Jadcherla, 13 candidates fought the same Assembly seat but contested for, not against one another. P Sainath reports.

Compared to other bus corridors world-wide, the Delhi effort is a very limited one. The current design is only a busway, and the government must push forward to build a full-fledged Bus Rapid Transit system, say Dario Hidalgo and Madhav Pai.

As Delhi prepares to choose its leaders for the 16^th Lok Sabha, Navya P K presents a look at the leaders who represented the key urban constituencies in the last session of Parliament.

For decades now the beautiful state of Manipur has been suffering from the violent insurgency and the excesses of the Indian army. Pushpa Achanta visits the state and narrates her experiences which shows how much is not known about the state or its people.

Shoma Chatterji writes about the challenges faced and efforts being made in the Northeastern states of India to encourage and support film making.

The new law's provisions are infusing into the proceedings of the Gram Sabhas a democratic character that they have lacked so far. From a conservation standpoint too, the law is proving to be positive, writes Tushar Dash.

Militaristic theories of Gulf War II's implications must not be allowed to sabotage India's national interests, says Firdaus Ahmed .

The award by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the dispute between India and Pakistan over the Kishenganga hydroelectric project has several dimensions that could hold important lessons for settling water disputes within the country, says Shripad Dharmadhikary.

The Assamese small tea sector has seen impressive growth over a relatively short span of time, thanks to the efforts of growers and support from the Tea Board. All it needs now is state support to take it to the next level, reports Ratna Bharali Talukdar.