The State Information Commissioners are supposed to uphold the RTI Act in their respective states. But their own appointments are shrouded in secrecy, writes Krishnaraj Rao.

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.

Garments made in Bangladeshi factories that major retailers have banned as unsafe are finding their way onto Amazon's site for sale in the U.S. WSJ investigates Amazon's apparel supply chains and the impact of its marketplace on garment factory workers. Photo: Karan Deep Singh for The Wall Street Journal

Clothing sizes are broken and as shopping has shifted online, the problem has worsened. WSJ retail reporter Suzanne Kapner breaks down the issue and explains what startups are doing to solve it. Photo: oonal/Getty Images

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

Ferrari employees who are going back to work pass through a series of steps designed to keep the coronavirus out, including blood tests for antibodies. WSJ’s Eric Sylvers reports from the car maker’s factory near the center of Italy’s outbreak. Photo: Francesca Volpi for The Wall Street Journal

Underneath the gloss of the UPA victory on 16 May lies a sober reality. Around the country, adivasi women are known for their leadership qualities, and yet, they do not get equal opportunities to contest elections, finds Manipadma Jena.

With the manifestos of all major national parties finally released, Himanshu Thakkar presents a comparative reading with a lens on environment and natural resource management.

Mainstream political parties do not give sufficient opportunity to women so that their representation has remained poor. Voters, however, view them as equal performers, as a recent survey has shown. Prabhu Mallikarjunan presents some interesting findings on the issue.

Did corruption as an issue only create noise, or did it really impact voter choice in the 16^th Lok Sabha elections? Prabhu Mallikarjunan finds that the answer may not be very straighforward or simple.

The proactive engagement with business and corporate leaders and the reciprocation in turn indicate Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's ability to exploit the superficiality and lack of ideological depth on part of those preoccupied with profit and business isolated from a larger world view, feels Jatin Bhatt

To assume that Narendra Modi chose Hindi only to reach out to a national audience because he had prime ministerial ambitions was more than a stretch, says Mahesh Vijapurkar.

'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.'

Efforts to rein in massive emissions of pollutants, and to reduce volumes of water consumed by coal-based thermal power plants have been thwarted by endless delays in implementing the regulations that were to take effect last year. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.

As the Kerala government takes steps to re-inspire citizens to engage in grassroots level governance, P Mohammad Nizar draws attention to certain critical issues that must be addressed for the Panchayati Raj Institutions in the state to be effectively revitalised.

The draft Broadcast Bill does not reflect a nuanced understanding of the complex and contentious issues relating to media ownership. At the same time the objections raised by India's media industry do not acknowledge the fact that media regulation in most 'mature democracies' includes restrictions on media ownership, writes Ammu Joseph.

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.

Is brazen unaccountability a national disease in our country, asks Himanshu Upadhyaya as he reads through yet another performance review by the CAG of India, this time of its own performance in carrying out auditing functions.

A recent study from the Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy shows that Indian cities rest on a weak systemic foundation. Madhavi Rajadhyaksha highlights the key findings from the study to argue for a systemic overhaul of urban India.

In Jahangirpur Gram Panchayat of Bihar’s Kishanganj district, Rs 30 lakh meant for pregnant Muslim women had already been misappropriated, when a community-driven project launched by Oxfam decided to tackle the corruption head on. Ajitha Menon reports.

West Bengal officials recently called off screenings of various films scheduled to be shown at Kolkata's premiere culture centre, apparently displeased over one of the entries at the film festival. Shoma Chatterji reports on the government's censorship, and the outcry following it.

In Chhatisgarh's Durg district, there is no shortage of farmers who have taken their lives - the district ranks second in the state on this count. But equally, there is no shortage of those who don't see these suicides. Shubhranshu Choudhary reports.

The West Bengal government remains under a cloud due to violence over its industrialisation plans, but in other areas, its procurement and off-farm processing support for farmers has helped them far more than Maharashtra's approach to its own farmers. Jaideep Hardikar visited Burdman district.

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.

The huge number of voters among the youth could well emerge to be the real game-changers in the parliamentary elections of 2014. Tanvi Bhatikar looks at the manifestos of the three main parties to see what they have to lure young voters.

The media frenzy over Narendra Modi’s first 100 days in office is complemented by the cheer in markets, but Devinder Sharma sounds a caveat against judging the performance of the government by the standards of markets alone.

Prime Minister Modi’s clarion call to manufacture in India signifies a lofty vision, but can that be realised without some critical reforms that would make manufacturing sustainable and rational? Amar Kumar raises pertinent questions.

The declining participation of labour force in agriculture could have been treated as a natural, inevitable phase in India's transition towards industrialisation, but for the employment trends visible in the industrial sector. Kannan Kasturi’s analysis captures the real cause for worry.

The ruling government has allocated 7,060 crores of rupees for development of smart cities, but do our realities allow for westernised ICT-driven smart cities? Darryl D’Monte dwells on what would really make our cities smart, based on deliberations at the second Urban Age conference.

A recent conference organised by the AICCTU in Bangalore saw more than 5000 contract workers marching in protest against the prevailing work conditions, seeking regularisation of contracts as well as amendments in law. Here’s a list of the primary demands raised by the workers.

The Skill India Mission aims to provide skills training to around 402 million people by the year 2022. In the first of a two-part series, Shambhu Ghatak upholds estimates of skilled workforce from various reports to highlight the yawning gap that needs to be bridged.

This summer, stories of the impacts of drought and water scarcity highlighting the conditions of farmers, cattle, and domestic water supplies in villages, towns and cities have been regular. What is not reported is the situation with industries, particularly the coal based thermal power plants, reports Shripad Dharmadhikary.

Recently Darryl D’Monte interviewed the famous physicist Fritjof Capra at the annual meet of Greenaccord international environmental journalists in Italy. Here he reports on Capra’s separate remarks about the environment, along with quotes from his books and blogs.

The right lesson from the recent Chhatisgarh encounter is that only the army can do the job. If it is politically inexpedient to use it, then there is no alternative to a peace process, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

Firdaus Ahmed ponders if India’s nuclear weapons are in safer hands or not.

Gil Penalosa is an indefatigable evangelist for public transport. In the first of a two-part report, Darryl D’Monte details his observations at a Mumbai presentation on streets as public space and the need to make them pedestrian-friendly.

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.

Numerous species of Indian birds are critically endangered. Only strict conservation laws can help them survive. Experts fear that many will be wiped off as the environment deteriorates. Unless we have emergency measures, it will be too late says Ramesh Menon.

Three and half decades after a scientist demonstrated the idea, chappals made with areca leaf sheaths have hit the market from Kerala. Shrikrishna D writes about the early success and challenges.

Going back on its promise made in the Common Minimum Programme, the UPA government has put Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. on the carving table, allegedly to fund health and education. But the proceeds from the proposed sale of equity in BHEL are a fraction of what could be raised by different, less repulsive means, says P Sainath.

In society's eyes, Kamlabai is a `widow.' In her own, she's a small farmer trying to make a living and support her family. She is also one of about one lakh women across the country who've lost their husbands to farm suicides since the 1990s, writes P Sainath.

In Anantapur, farm suicides are fewer than they were in 2002. But they still happen and could rise again in this fragile region. As elsewhere, agriculture is plagued by uncertainty, writes P Sainath.

As a believer in the promise of democracy first and above all, I long for the checks and balances of competing ideologies. Yet for too long in this country, we heard only, or largely, the voice of the left, and the right that did emerge eventually was itself flawed, writes Dilip D'Souza.

A draft bill in Parliament attempts to mandate the care of elderly citizens in law, and envisions the establishment of tribunals to ensure its functioning. But its definitions and methods leave many questions unanswered. Priya Narayan Parker presents a legislative brief.

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.

While India satisfies all conditions for emerging as an attractive surrogacy hub, confusion over legal requirements and conditions reigns supreme as the Assisted Reproductive Technologies (Regulation) Bill hangs in limbo. Vinita A Shetty has more on why formal legislation is critical to the growth of the practice.

A series of recent executive orders, amendments to law and ministerial directives either seek to curtail avenues of public participation and consent over projects of critical impact, or do away with them altogether. Kanchi Kohli tracks the trend.

In the shrill discourse over freedom of speech, the selective publication, and even overt suppression, of actionable development data is often overlooked. Amid calls for a next-gen data revolution, Biraj Swain highlights this and other challenges that lie in its path.

''First - there is a law, then there is awareness, then comes assertion and then action,'' says Leila Seth, former Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh and first woman judge at the Delhi High Court. Charumathi Supraja caught up with her in Bangalore recently.

Rolla Das and Suparna Banerjee comment on the rampant obscurantism and complete lack of informed public debate around the existing and proposed legislation in various states against social evils practised in the guise of religion and faith.