Hershey Chief Executive Michele Buck said food companies have to be careful about tinkering with beloved brands to make them healthier. She is joined by Wall Street Journal reporter Annie Gasparro. Photo: Gabe Palacio for The Wall Street Journal

Clearly, there are few states as important as West Bengal with 42 seats, and the all-important question in Kidderpore on Saturday and all other nights in the run-up to May 16 is, will the fabled party machinery of the Left Front hold its 35 seats in the Lok Sabha?

Karat's magnificent effort to launch a national third alternative may simply fall apart. If the Third Front refuses to hold after May 16 and if the CPI-M fares badly in both Bengal and Kerala, the party will substantially lose its bite. If the CPI-M stands firm, however, Karat's party will roar like a lion in Delhi's concrete jungle.

'At the moment, we don't visualise any scenario where the support of the Left will be an indispensable factor. The Congress is comfortable with its present allies. We will add to their number in the coming days.'

'People of this state have suffered for long. Hence, their patience level is very low at the moment. We have to act double quick to improve the state of life in Bengal,' says senior Congress leader Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury.

In July the Chief of the Central Election Commission wrote to the Prime Minister outlining several proposals for further reforms in the electoral arena. Rasika Dhavse reports.

Atum Welly, a former Congress minister in Arunachal Pradesh who switched to the BJP, alleges that a fraudulent move threw him out of the election process, as the Election Commission of India accepted a forged letter of withdrawal. What’s more, he is not alone! Ramesh Menon reports.

Narendra Modi, who posted a resounding victory in the assembly elections, will be sworn in as Gujarat Chief Minister for the fourth time on December 26.

An expert committee appointed to review the existing marine fishing policy and suggest a new one has come up with recommendations favouring the bigger, foreign players, drawing the ire of the smaller fishing community. P N Venugopal has more.

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.

Most villagers in U.P.'s Hardoi district, except for a miniscule few associated with social or political organizations, were not aware of the passage of the new Employment Guarantee Law last year. Since then, its coming into force in 22 districts of U.P. has not impressed them either. Sandeep Pandey notes why.

While the argument for building in efficiency in the system appears to have some substance, the appointment of a CDS will impact other domestic sectors that rely as much on national resources says Firdaus Ahmed.

The two protagonist South Asian states got their independence in the middle of the last century, and it is about time that they seize control of their mutual and intertwined destiny, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The MoEF’s recent move introducing e-filing of applications for approval of forest land diversion may facilitate procedural agility and efficiency, but precludes the interpretation of environmental and human complexities critical to a fair process. Kanchi Kohli elaborates. 

The High Level Committee constituted to review key environmental laws has apparently focussed on a wide range of issues and mechanisms; however, as long as the focus in on speed, and not environmental outcomes, the reform process may be futile, writes Manju Menon and Kanchi Kohli.

The smart-card driven CORE-PDS system demonstrates the feasibility of introducing portability in social security systems without the use of biometrics. A student team from IIT Delhi surveys Fair Price Shops in Raipur district following the new system to assess how it has been faring.

Even in regions touted as India’s food bowl, Rs 3000 a month is all that a farmer earns for his family! Devinder Sharma crunches data from CACP to highlight the grave crisis in the agrarian economy.

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.

The aftermath of the December 2004 tsunami saw an unprecedented outpouring of goodwill. But with the traditional panchayats in Nagapattinam's fishing hamlets controlling relief, single women and dalits were systematically exlcuded. Two and half years later, nothing has changed, reports S Gautham.

infraSys, a development-driven enterprise that creates physical, financial, and knowledge infrastructure in rural areas.

Colonel Pavan Nair studies the allocations for defence and development efforts, and asks what's needed to reach even the modest standards of Brazil or Sri Lanka.

The first few weeks of the Value Added Tax have been shaky, with traders and some states threatening to bring down the whole system. Economic pundits too are angry at the diluted focus of India's version of the VAT. But the method has merit, and must be persisted with, notes Dinkar Ayilavarapu.

Vocational training could play a key role in bridging the gap that keeps millions of workers in the unorganised economy away from a better future. The needs of informal sector workers are complex, and mere training for income-generation is seen to be insufficient, writes Varupi Jain.

The recent clash between two eminent economists of our times, Amartya Sen and Jagadish Bhagwati, appears to be centred around the Food Security Bill. Shankar Jaganathan provides a historical context to show why their contradictions extend far beyond any isolated issue to a clash between two schools of the discipline itself.

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 proposed second round of defence reforms will make the armed forces more utilisable. Nonetheless, this should not blind us to the questionable impulse behind the reforms, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

Outsourcing the policy-making function is bad enough, but the government should certainly not have allowed trespass on its domain by the Naresh Chandra Task Force, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The increasing power and influence of veterans of the Indian army, known for their natural affinity towards the right wing regime in power, holds important implications especially when one considers the extent of its permeation into the serving structure. Firdaus Ahmed explains.

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.

Making Comprehensive Mobility Plans mandatory for cities has been beneficial, but a lot more is needed to ensure they are effective in achieving the goals of national transport policy, writes Madhav Pai.

The anger against the multilateral trade regime is pushing developed countries on the defensive before the forthcoming WTO Ministerial, says Devinder Sharma.

India's current account deficit reached alarming levels in the year 2012-13. Kannan Kasturi provides a historical context and lucid explanation of the phenomenon and rues the government's shocking lack of action.

Without the right kind of thinking, relief for victims of disasters may actually hurt more than help says Dilip D'Souza.

A critique of the process and research used by the Justice Malimath Committee to recommend reforms to the Criminal Justice System. This is the first of a two part series.
Click here to read Part II

In the second and concluding part of the series on the Malimath Committee's report, Bikram Jeet Batra looks at the detailed recommendations in terms of implications for Human Rights.
Earlier: Part I

The introduction of One Person Companies in the 2013 Companies Act eyes fast economic gains; however, as Shankar Jaganathan points out, it also calls for a more considered approach and provision of safeguards to protect the smaller creditors and employees.

The deficiencies in the prison system, especially from a human rights perspective, are many and grave, but the plight of non-native inmates calls for special focus, writes Ruchika Nigam.

“We need a change in mind set, where the wilful or non-cooperative defaulter is not lionized as a captain of industry, but justly chastised as a freeloader on the hardworking people of this country,” said the RBI governor in his recent lecture at IRMA, Anand. An unedited transcript of his speech

It is commonplace to cite the number of cases pending in Indian courts as evidence of a judicial crisis and suggest reforms based on the same. Aparna Chandra highlights why the numbers themselves need to be questioned and understood better for effective reform.

On 18 March, at a discussion organised by Daksh India, Nick Robinson from the Harvard Law School explored in detail the phenomenon of judicial delays, sharing insights from his work in both India and the US. Pavan Kulkarni summarises the points raised.

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.

In a candid conversation with India Together, eminent scholar, author and historian Ramachandra Guha shares his thoughts on leaders of the past and present and their legacies for the future of India.

Panchayats of Madhya Pradesh provide reservation of up to 50 per cent for women, but the participation of women in governance has gone beyond such new roles. Shirish Khare reports on how women leaders are transforming the very traditions and symbols of grassroots politics.

Varupi Jain traces the life of household and other waste in India and Germany, and finds both hope and apprehension.

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) is being implemented in Orissa in stops and starts. But by pressing for information on NREGA benefits using the sunshine law, citizens are able to hold officials accountable and are able to remedy the situation by themselves in some cases. Pradeep Baisakh has more.

As in many other struggles around the country, in Kalinganagar too there are fractures within the opposition to the proposed industrial plants, and families are torn apart by bleak choices. Freny Manecksha reports.

The new army chief, Lt. General J J Singh, has drawn much attention as the first Sikh to head the army. More interesting than this sidelight, however, is the fact that he takes office at a time of great opportunity for peace, as political relations with Pakistan have taken a small turn for the better. Firdaus Ahmed welcomes the new commander.

India currently does not count the costs of defence pensions, para military forces and the defence ministry itself as part of budgeted defence expenditure. Correcting for this and converting to purchasing power terms, we are the third largest spender on defence in the world next only to the US and China, writes Pavan Nair.

The furore over the counting of minorities in the armed forces has taken attention away from what such a survey might reveal. Are the minorities adequately represented in the security services? This question too should concern secular-minded citizens, says Firdaus Ahmed.

The bomb blasts in Delhi and elsewhere have brought this UP district uncomfortably into the national spotlight. The 'terrorist' label is widely resented, but that doesn't mean residents have answers to all the new questions. Puja Awasthi reports.