The state is by far the biggest litigant, and contributes a large part to the staggering backlog clogging the courts. The Centre, States and public sector companies determinedly appeal every adverse verdict, despite winning only a small minority of them eventually. Kannan Kasturi reports.

These are unusual times - when even the most capitalist and free market proponents of the world see an important role for governments. But it is not a time to to look at government challenges through ideological prisms alone, writes C V Madhukar.

The draft notification specifying emission standards for coal-based thermal power plants is a welcome first step towards regulation, but needs much greater attention to detail and further calibration, writes Debadityo Sinha.

The present government completed one year in the office in May this year. It came to power by promising to bring achhe din for the Indians, who were frustrated with high inflation, corruption and policy paralysis during the last government. Pradeep Baisakh objectively analyses the performance of the Modi government in its first year.

Renault-Nissan Alliance CEO Carlos Ghosn talks with WSJ Deputy Managing Editor Alan Murray about the role of government support and subsidies in the future of the electric car.

'A majority in Parliament is not necessary to run the government,' says Constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap, explaining the legal options before the President once the election results are declared.

This does not sound like a ministry that is all set to revive the ailing Indian economy in a hundred days flat, as Dr Manmohan Singh vowed, does it?

But for the dispute between the Ambani brothers, the many errors and inactions of the government would not have come to the public's notice, writes Ashok Sreenivas.

June 5 is the UN World Environment Day. Ashish Kothari reflects on the challenges and opportunities for the new government and civil society.

The buzz on the global front should not distract us from pressing matters at home. This would also make our security agenda more human and less state-centric, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

S Venkatraman presents an interesting set of charts to capture the movement of the consumer price index and finds that the answer to this question may not be an easy one to arrive at.

The armed services have given a long wishlist of material to be procured, but the Defence Minister is in no hurry to accommodate them. In the process, he's ruffling some feathers, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The Prime Minister has received at least two letters in the past week from eminent economists, activists and citizen groups, raising their voices against dilution of the Rural Employment Guarantee Act, which seems imminent from recent announcements by the government.

Around 40 RTI activists in the country have been killed in recent years, several of them after the Whistleblowers Protection Act was passed. Satarupa Sen Bhattacharya explores why the said law has been unable to achieve its stated end.

If you want to beat up Hazare for his stubbornness, go right ahead. But before that, start with the Union Cabinet, notes Subramaniam Vincent.

"The main hurdle to the development of Jharkhand is political: the state’s resources are under the control of this criminal nexus, and people have no say." Jivesh Singh interviews Jean Dreze on Jharkhand's 10th anniversary.

Even as the state government refuses to accept the cause behind the recent 50 starvation deaths reported by the media, hunger stalks the people of Balangir and other KBK districts in Orissa portending more such tragedies, writes Pradeep Baisakh.

Bangalore Municipality's fourth quarter results round up and other updates from the city' Public Records of Operations and Finance (PROOF) campaign.

Suicides by consuming poison contribute to over two-thirds of the total autopsies performed at a sub-district hospital in interior Vidarbha, Maharashtra. "Pesticide could be bought from any Krishi Kendra. But for medicine, they've to walk miles before they could get it," says one health official. Jaideep Hardikar reports.

A audit of the Maharashtra government's post-flood disaster relief expenditure of the last two years has thrown up plenty of instances of misuse of funds. The audit has also gone into the causes of floods turning out to be disasters. Himanshu Upadhyaya has more.

Shattered by a complete failure of crop this year, and looming debt, the three-acre farmer in Yavatmal, Mahrashtra, followed what tens of other farmers have done in Vidarbha in the past. Jaideep Hardikar reports.

In Pune, bureaucratic meddling and lack of vision are threatening a simple, cost-effective eco-technology which treats heavily polluted water and turns messed-up water bodies into clean ones, reports Surekha Sule.

Since 1963, there have been repeated breaches in the Kosi's embankments, causing tremendous loss and tragedy. Yet, Bihar's governments have made little headway and argue each year as if the problems were new, says Dinesh Kumar Mishra.

Leaders of political parties on Friday expressed concern over the sad state of Odia migrant labourers stranded at different parts of the country.

The cancer of corruption eating into India’s medical sector is no secret. Reports of patients being prescribed unnecessary tests by unscrupulous doctors in league with labs abound.

Have to learn to live with Covid-19, says government

While appreciating where we stand today thanks to the efforts of the government in We-Shall-Do-It-Alone mode, I now feel that time has come for Narendrabhai to invite the rest of the India to join hands...

Did you know why the Indian lockdown is creating so much human suffering, even though we did relatively well on the Covid case numbers? Why is ours the only major country in the world where...

The decline in the number of admissions at government schools has often been a source of considerable chagrin among officials in the education department.

The video talks about the developed counties struggling to flatten the curve, bizarre statements by world leaders, lack of basics like facemasks and shifting the blame on the minorities for the spread of the virus.

The decision which has been both criticized and lauded by experts on the revenue and whether this is the best way to handle the long queues outside shops, the news has also inspired memes.

The Rs 1 lakh crore flagship Delhi-Mumbai Expressway project is scheduled to be completed within three years and and expected to cut down the travel time between Delhi and Mumbai to just 12 hours.

The global market is fearing that India would slide into a 'controlled economy', which would be very damaging, Basu added.

Italian footballers' union was unhappy with PM's announcement that individual athletes could begin training from May 4 but no team sports' practice could take place.

Serie A will hold an emergency general assembly on Friday and the possibility of the season being ended is likely to be on the agenda

Italian football would suffer losses of up to 800 million euros in TV rights, sponsors, ticketing and marketing in the event of the season being cancelled.

Premier League clubs will only return to training and playing with Government guidance, under expert advice and after consultation with players and managers

The Campania region is the second in Italy to allow its local Serie A club to recommence preparations, under strict health guidelines,

Pro League will review the "end of season terms and conditions" during its general assembly scheduled on May 15.

State Finance Minister T Harish Rao and agriculture minister Niranjan Reddy announced that over 51 lakh farmers will be benefit from this, with each of them receiving cash assistance of Rs 5,000 per acre of land.

As many as 3,817 prisoners were released last month on interim or regular bail, parole or extended parole.

At a meeting of the state cabinet, it was decided that the cess would vary from Rs 5 to Rs 25 per bottle according to the quality of liquor.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi launched an e-token system on Thursday for sale of liquor in Delhi.

The three hotels -- the Ginger, Vivek Vihar and two 5 star hotels, Leela Ambience and Park Plaza -- have been kept at the disposal of Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital which will oversee treatment of infected officials.