While the Biological Diversity Act is touted by the government as a conservation legislation, its application does not show much evidence of this intent. Kanchi Kohli reports.

The Chair of the EAC should necessarily have an overarching environmental perspective, as s/he is supposed to ensure the environmental sustainability of projects that come to the committee. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.

A group of committed individuals in Alappuzha, Kerala are battling odds to revive cultivation of the unique Pokkali variety of paddy that had given way to the more lucrative business of shrimp farming. P N Venugopal reports.

From the paints in our homes to the discarded CFL tubes, the sources of toxic chemicals that pose a serious threat to our health and safety are omnipresent. Darryl D’Monte highlights why it is imperative for India to move faster and more determinedly in tackling this problem.

Per Biological Diversity Act, 2002 before using any Indian biological material for commercial or R&D purposes, public consultation is needed via the local Biodiversity Management Committees, which the National Biodiversity Authority wants to do away with. Kanchi Kohli and Shalini Bhutani ask why.

In this edition, we look into the odd-even traffic experiment going on in Delhi to combat its air pollution, how poor people lost eye sight in botched up cataract surgeries performed in Barwani, Madhya Pradesh, the skill deficit in the emerging work force of our country, an interview with the well-known Tamil feminist writer C S Lakshmi, and more.

Communities along the Shnongrim ridge are caught between the plans of mining companies and their own traditional livelihoods. Some are changing their minds, while others despair. Sonata Dkhar reports.

In an upper to middle income household a domestic help and her services are indispensable. Yet, she is not given the diginity, living wages and other benefits one gets in the organised sector. Pushpa Achanta talks to the activists working for the domestic workers' rights to find out more.

Had Gandhi chosen to stay on in South Africa, the Republic would have taken a less democratic shape. And the Congress may still have been a club for English-speaking gentlemen, writes Ramachandra Guha.

A senior advisor with the World Bank is quick to hail the establishment of water entitlements in India, but is it too quick? Merely promising quotas of water on paper, or setting up 'rights' that cannot be enforced, is hardly the same as actually providing water to meet citizens' needs, observes Videh Upadhyay.

For the third time in less than a decade, the dams that irrigate much of north-west India have been depleted to critical levels, as their management stumbles without clear policy directions. Himanshu Thakkar reports.

Environmental clearances in India have always raised questions, as noted in many reports in India Together. For years now, NGOs have opposed the Ministry of Environment, sometimes bitterly. Last year, the Ministry proposed a 're-engineered' regulation, and found a new opposition - the state governments. Kanchi Kohli has more.

Are ancient structures the relics of a past that we no longer want to remember? As the 139-year-old Crawford Market in Mumbai faces the demolition squad, Darryl D'Monte looks at the pitfalls of a 'development' model that could have cities across the world sporting the same skyline.

Even as the CAG audit findings find faults with SSNNL for diverting the central funds from canal construction to unintended purposes, permission has been granted to raise the Narmada dam height. Himanshu Upadhyaya. points out this irony and more.

As golf declines in popularity, communities across the country are struggling with how to best redevelop the land that’s left behind. WSJ visited the Tucson suburb of Oro Valley where the town is trying to figure out what to do with its municipal course.

WSJ's Joanna Stern "bumps into" Heidi Zak, the co-founder and co-CEO of bra brand ThirdLove. The two discuss proper bra care, the company’s algorithm that determines bra sizing and how ThirdLove is challenging Victoria’s Secret. Photo: Andria Chamberlin for The Wall Street Journal

Betsey Johnson gave fans a sneak peek at her dance moves when she brought “Dancing With the Stars” partner Tony Dovolani onto the runway after her New York Fashion Week show.

A business is only as strong as its foundation. Retired Gen. Michael Diamond joins Lunch Break's Tanya Rivero to share a process he developed through years of high-level military service that can strengthen any organization. Photo: iStock

Adults often think teens just zone out on Instagram and Snapchat, but when WSJ's Julie Jargon sat down with high schoolers in Sherman Oaks, Calif., they said there are times when social media socializing gets to them and they have to put the phone down. They also shared their decisions to make their accounts private or public-and why it's better not to post every feeling. Photo/Video: Emily Prapuolenis/The Wall Street Journal

Musician Imogen Heap gives advice for aspiring musicians, shares favorite lyrics and explains why she’s interested in a human-machine collaboration for an upcoming project.

WSJ's Joanna Stern "bumps" into General Motors CEO Mary Barra in the WSJ elevator and asks about self-driving cars, NAFTA and how GM is diversifying its workforce. Photo: Jeff Bush/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

Tim Draper is putting his celebrity to work as a venture investor. The billionaire investor, who starred in the reality TV show Startup U and tried to make Silicon Valley its own state, has raised $190 million for a seed fund.

National Conference leader Dr Farooq Abdullah was not upset about being given the charge of the relatively unknown Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, according to his son, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.Dr Abdullah too denied reports about him being miffed with the low-profile portfolio. "I will make the ministry high-profile with my work and dedication. I am not angry. But my officers may get angry with me as I make them work," Dr Abdullah said.

'It has everything to do with the West Bengal government's policies. They were too much in a hurry. They should not have hurried through with the land acquisition,' feels RSP leader T J Chandrachoodan.

A modern, 7,500 square-foot home connects owner Elizabeth Grossman to the nature and ‘spiritual vortex’ that drew her to Lanikai, a neighborhood on Oahu. She gives us a tour, and explains why it’s time to sell. Photo: Adam Falk/The Wall Street Journal

In a first, the Lok Sabha Election this year has at least four candidates from the traditionally under-represented transgender community. Prabhu Mallikarjunan looks at their participation, as well as the challenges that lie ahead.

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?

The coronavirus pandemic means we must wear masks. It also means unlocking an iPhone with Face ID is a challenge. WSJ’s Joanna Stern tracked down a woman who created a mask to get around it.

If the government fails to take on board some of the constructive suggestions made on the draft Women's Reservation Bill, it might not serve the purpose for which it has been conceived, writes Kalpana Sharma.

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.

While the West has abandoned the realism of the past century and has now turned to cooperation in pursuing common goals, South Asia remains trapped in this old paradigm, says Firdaus Ahmed.

A large number of Ban Gujjar tribal families remaining within the Rajaji National Park are facing constant harassment from the state forest department. Their rehabilitation is mired in red tape. Aparna Pallavi reports.

Access to and control over media are critical for the survival and sustenance of marginalised rural communities. Yet, this is elusive because media policy-makers rarely concern themselves with this, and focus instead on private and corporate media's expectations, notes Ammu Joseph.

Crores of taxpayer rupees are spent by government institutes each year on fisheries technology and research. How much does this impact the lives of the average fish hawkers who vend on foot? Is there any impact at all? M Suchitra visited one Kerala hawker, at a coastal village near Kochi.

Many micro-credit loans do no more than allow a family to juggle its finances for a month-to-month existance. As investors embrace this 'market', MFIs are increasingly under scrutiny. Jaideep Hardikar reports.

The assault at the Line of Control appears to be a well-planned ambush. It comes at a time when India and Pakistan are tentatively inching closer. It is a message not only to India but also to the Pakistani civilians keen on better relations with India, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

Darryl D'Monte analyses why the proposed Bullet Train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad is not the need of the hour, nor worth the cost.

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.

Have you ever wondered how forensic scientists help bring poachers to trial? Or how it feels to walk in forest land for three hours amidst torrential rain? From theory to practice, the exhilarating experience of wildlife conservation comes alive in a course for enthusiasts. Deepa Mohan recounts her experience.

For a number of reasons including frustration with chemical agriculture, improved economic prospects and concern for nature, some farmers in Punjab are growing organic. Kavitha Kuruganti travelled around parts of the state to meet a number of farmers and dealers of organic products last month.

With the Central government lobbing the ball into the states' court, the right to education bill has practically lost its very essence. Without a central legislation to support it, a constitutional guarantee will have little meaning, say most experts. Deepa A concludes the 'Lens on Education' series.

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.

A recent letter written by the CAG Shashikant Sharma to the finance minister, seeking access to required information through RTI, exposes once more the lacunae in the powers of the Supreme Audit Institution. Himanshu Upadhyaya analyses the debate around the issue.

“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.

Abdul Nasser Madani, a key accused in the 2008 Bangalore serial blasts, waits in vain for his trial to be speeded up after countless adjourned sessions of court. PN Venugopal recounts the circumstances of the case and talks to Madani himself to discover how rules become exceptions in such cases.

In conversation with Vinita Deshmukh, Magsaysay award winner Arvind Kejriwal talks about India's RTI movement, and worries that a formidable tool of empowerment might slip out of the hands of citizens if amendments proposed by the UPA government are enacted.

The Board of Directors of this company haven't been to college or school. They don’t have fancy cars, and haven't travelled more than 50 kilometers from their homes. What makes them even more unique is that they're all women who when displaced from their homes in the Ranthambhore forest overcame many challenges, learned new crafts, rebuilt their lives and made their own destiny, writes Supriya Unni Nair.

POSCO's attempt to separate the mining, steel plant and port components in getting environmental and forest clearances from the central government has been wrong-footed by the Central Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court. The committee took a wholistic view, but several concerns remain, says Kanchi Kohli.