It is not just another feature film; new generation director Kamaleshwar Mukherjee's fictionalised depiction of the life and genius of iconic film-maker Ritwik Ghatak is in itself cinema at its best. Shoma A Chatterji reviews the film.

Shoma A Chatterji writes on Samanway 7, a unique theatre festival showcasing performances conceived of and crafted exclusively by women, which evolved into a well-blended expression of feminist questions that have sustained through the ages.

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.

At the 101st Indian Science Congress in Jammu, the Prime Minister reaffirmed his faith in the potential of biotechnology for agricultural development. Devinder Sharma discusses findings that raise questions about the basis of his conviction.

This India Together radio program features a talk by well known women's rights lawyer Flavia Agnes. She speaks on the current critical juncture for women and the women's movement.

Lijjat Papad does not turn its women into millionaires, but its the realization of dignified self-employment that is its success, says Arun Srivastav.

In Bilaspur's Saturday vegetable market, loaders complain of interminable waits each day to receive payments as low as Rs 5 from traders and vendors. In this fourth article in our SLUM DIARIES series, Ashima Sood notes that a plethora of labour laws are being flouted, with Chhatisgarh's minimum wages schedule not helping.

As the state clamps its annual ban on trawl boats along the Kerala coast, an old battle rages again, pitting traditional fishermen against trawl-boat owners who view the occupation quite differently. Each side feels that positive intervention by the state is required. M Suchitra and P N Venugopal report.

New Delhi recently allocated three blocks of coal in Orissa for projects that will produce liquid fuel from coal, in an attempt to increase oil supply. The decision appears to have overlooked a number of critical considerations, say Ananth Chikkatur and Sunita Dubey.

While the government's food security scheme has come under attack by many for its economic non-viability, Shankar Jaganathan argues that it may actually be both desirable and feasible if its reach is expanded.

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.

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.

What could the taxes, allocations and schemes in Arun Jaitley’s budget ultimately mean for the country and its people? Shankar Jaganathan takes a bird’s eye view of the government’s most anticipated annual document for the year.

In the second and concluding part of his exposition on India’s skill development efforts, Shambhu Ghatak traces the journey under the UPA and NDA governments, only to find that while the thrust remains the same, the end is far from sight.

A recent consultation on a national policy towards criminal justice reforms witnessed vigorous debates between students, lawyers, rights activists, policemen and heads of security services. Freny Manecksha reports.

The top brass doesn't agree with the State government's plan to draw-down forces in the Kashmir valley. But should the military air its view publicly, and how does that impact policy-making, wonders Firdaus Ahmed.

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 massive agitation is brewing in Kerala against the proposed widening of Natonal Highways 47 and 17. It is spearheaded by the NH47- NH17 Joint Action Council. P N Venugopal examines their case.

In March this year, Gil Penalosa of the Toronto-based NGO 8-80 Cities spoke in Mumbai and Bangalore of his global vision for liveable cities. Concluding his coverage of Penalosa’s talk, Darryl D’Monte explains why, despite a few isolated efforts, India requires a giant leap in initiative and attitudes to realise that vision.

The government continues with its blind focus on highways and expressways when infrastructure for water supply, waste management and mass transit system is in desperate need of attention. Kannan Kasturi says there is more to public infrastructure than just highways and expressways.

A filming crew's damage to the Kambalakonda wildlife sanctuary is brought before the courts. But how did it get this far in the first place? Kanchi Kohli reports.

Abuse of animals by humans in various garbs is a sad reality across countries and communities. Deeply moved by an HBO documentary, Malini Shankar explains why the issue of animal rights and prevention of cruelty must be inextricably linked to conservation efforts.

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 worse things have become in Anantapur district, the more fancy cars have shown up in town. Drought, says P Sainath, is the organised plunder of the poor.

Long before the drought bit deep, Anantapur was already in trouble. The close links between workers, farming and industry were broken by the new policies of the 1990s. P Sainath continues his series on farmer suicides in Andhra.

The elite wants a society geared to deal with rare disasters but shows no urgency at all when it comes to the destruction of the livelihoods of millions by policy and human agency. P Sainath turns our consciences towards Mumbai's demolitions of tens of thousands of the homes of slum-dwellers.

Converting water to a commercial good to be sold for profit invites disaster. Most of all for poor people whose already pathetic access to water will shrink swiftly, writes P Sainath.

The week-long 'Incredible India' campaign in New York aimed at boosting the vibrant image of an emerging, powerful India at 60 and showcasing its diversity. But the real action was at home, writes P Sainath.

Even nations that are far below us in the Human Development Index rankings - and which have nothing like our growth numbers - have done much better than us on many counts, writes P Sainath.

Ask for expansion of the NREGS, universal access to the PDS, more spending on health and education - and there's no money. But there?s enough to give away to the corporate world in concessions, writes P Sainath.

Five States did manage a significant decline in the average number of farm suicides between 2003 and 2010. However, more States have reported increases over the same period, reports 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.

Governments have been changing the rules of the RTI Act, trying all sorts of things to dilute its provisions. Most of these are done without consulting the public. Navya P K reports.

Policies on development have been ignored with impunity. Little wonder, then, that the language of people's demands now centers on "rights", says Videh Upadhyay.

Who can live in forested areas? What rights to they have over lands they have lived in for generations? Can they be relocated, and if so on what terms? Legislation in Parliament attempts to balance forest dwellers' rights with economic and environmental objectives. Kaushiki Sanyal presents a legislative brief.

Acquiring land for a 'public purpose' is claimed as a right by the state under its powers of eminent domain, but it accepts no duty to resettle and rehabilitate all the affected citizens. Instead, rehabilitation is presented as an act of benevolence, writes Kannan Kasturi.

Compared to the death penalty, life imprisonment is considered less harsh. The courts have preferred to leave undefined exactly how long such punishment should be, and commutation pleas are considered on a case-by-case basis. Ipshita Sengupta reports.

Although dropped for now, a Bill that seeks to disqualify the permanent resident status of J&K women who marry outside the state is pitting their equal rights and dignity against ‘Kashmiri identity’, argues Rekha Chowdhary.

To shield women from vilification, the National Commission for Women (NCW) is all set to recommend strict penalties against men who level false allegations of adultery against their wives in divorce cases. Tripti Nath has more.

The proposed Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill is a policy move in the right direction - to acknowledge the critical role women play in building and maintaining a household's assets, write Hema Swaminathan, Suchitra Yegnanarayan and Rahul Lahoti.

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.

With the SC striking down the Kerala Irrigation and Water Conservation Act, concerns over the Mullaperiyar Dam could create tension anew between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Could a new study contain a potential solution to the issue? P N Venugopal explores.

“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

The Modi government has moved fast and furious on charting a new policy regarding intellectual property rights but Shalini Bhutani’s recap of recent developments shows that much of it has been with an overt focus on industry.

While a list of approved amendments to the proposed law on regulation of real estate is yet to be made public, it is now clear that the Bill will apply to commercial projects as well. Here is a round-up of the recent developments, from PRS Legislative Research.

No, net neutrality is not just about IT and activists! If you're still wondering why over two lakh people have already written to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) about that, and whether you should follow suit, Supriya Unni Nair has some details for you.

Released in September 2006, Ruzbeh Bharucha's Yamuna Gently Weeps is both a documentary and book on slum demolitions through the eyes of the Yamuna Pushta (Delhi) episode of 2004, where the High Court ordered demolition of 40,000 homes. Anuradha Miraji chatted with Bharucha on the film and his take on filmmaking.

Beneath Jairam Ramesh's recent turnaround on a 400 MW MP hydel project, was a series of interventions by Digivijay Singh with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Himanshu Upadhyaya digs deeper.

An independent committee appointed by the state validates and upholds most of the objections raised by civil society against attempted privatisation of water supply in Khandwa. Shripad Dharmadhikary, Rehmat and Gaurav Dwivedi discuss the report.