Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac back about half of new mortgages in the U.S. Now, talks are heating up about reshaping or shrinking the two companies, a move that could impact millions of Americans. Photo: Heather Seidel/The Wall Street Journal

Nomadic communities make up about 7 percent of India's population, but policy makers have largely ignored them, says Bahar Dutt.

Half a century after it started funding the massive expansion of higher education, the University Grants Commission is gearing itself up to engineer a quality revolution.

The India Together editorial.

The National Advisory Council's civil society members assured us of their independence and continued focus on the public good. That promise met its first test during the past fortnight. The India Together editorial.

For Manmohan Singh, the tortuous road to the high office he occupies may be both fortuitous and a handicap. He is not the Prime Minister by right or popular mandate, but simply the man deemed most suited to occupy that role in the midst of the most notable political currents. The India Together editorial.

Regulation that is working well, as well as others that plainly speak of misgovernance, are both instructive; the road forward lies in separating regulation from the government, and vesting this instead in independent and autonomous bodies created by Parliament. The India Together editorial.

The idea of recycling is not new, but setting up a distribution network to enable scale and reach the poor, is. Goonj, a New Delhi-based NGO, works through partners in 14 states through 100 agencies. Other, smaller efforts are thriving as well. Chitra Balasubramaniam reports.

A quiet but steady revolution seems to be underway as both government and private individuals and organizations increasingly explore ways to make more data available to the people and in various innovative ways to facilitate application. Shamala Kittane reports.

In a temple in Almora, thousands of devotees come every year with petitions on, believe it or not, judicial stamped paper, complete with details of their woes, and offer it to Golu Devta with a hope that justice will dawn, even if the courts have failed. Ramesh Menon reports.

Mental health issues of women are gaining ground in the women’s studies discourse. Vibhuti Patel reports on current developments and advocates progressive directions.

At the receiving end of society's expectations and demands, many women find social work a natural calling. While their engagement of society's deepest problems may begin for very personal reasons, it often transcends these beginnings, and has much larger impacts, writes Puja Awasthi.

The Census thinks that prostitutes are not workers, not because they don't work, but because of traditional views that what they do simply should not be counted as work, writes Shoma Chatterji.

At a time when the position of women in India and their struggles in society are at the centre of public attention, it seems apt to invoke the legacy of one who was truly the pioneer of women's studies and activism in the country. Shoma A Chatterji pays tribute to Vina Mazumdar.

While debates over legalisation of sex work and rehabilitation of women in the trade continue without much tangible impact, sex workers themselves carry on the fight to win legitimacy, safety and social security. Pushpa Achanta brings us some voices from the twilight zone.

Manjari Singh reports on the opening of the Lucknow branch of Sheroes Hangout, a café run and managed by acid attack survivors under the guidance of the humanitarian organisation “Stop Acid Attacks”

New electronic trading exchanges promise to give Indian farmers better options for marketing their crops, eliminating middle-men costs substantially in the process. To gain market-share, the exchanges will have to help farmers become familiar with the system. Gagandeep Kaur reports.

A severe drought and acute water and electricity shortage is ending self-sufficient agri-livelihoods in the six districts of Madhya Pradesh's Bundelkhand region. Sachin Kumar Jain and Sumika Rajput ring the warning bells.

The India Together editorial.

A new report on finds agribusiness corporations from India and abroad are reneging on their promises to stop employing children in Andhra Pradesh. Gomati Jagadeesan reports.

Shivani Chaudhry

Many development projects now mandate cost-sharing by beneficiaries, but better-off citizens are exempted from the rationale used against the poor. Cash-strapped governments are also happy to subject the poor to a different logic, if it helps dilute their own accountability, writes Sudhirendar Sharma.

Popular ideas of development and management of common resources should be revisited in light of this year's Economics Nobel Prize, given to Prof. Elinor Ostrom, writes Prakash Kashwan.

Unlimited Girls explores the ideas and experiences of feminism in contemporary urban India. Sameera Khan reviews Paromita Vohra's film.

Acute poverty linked to armed conflict and displacement is a major reason for the growing number of commercial sex workers in Manipur. Drug abuse too is common, further impacting those turning to the world's oldest profession. Thingnam Anjulika Samom reports.

The Budhan Theatre Group has become the nexus for a movement to change attitudes towards denotified tribes both within Ahmedabad's Chharanagar community and outside it.

In the passing of Kalpana Chawla, the genuine feeling of loss expressed by so many reveals the thirst amongst the young for role models, says Kalpana Sharma.

The NCW's protection for women is selective; it bypasses our dignity and preaches an inconsequential morality, says Kalpana Sharma

Sania is the star today, but there are many more waiting on the horizon, expecting to be noticed and determined to excel. Sania has forced the media, and the country, to sit up and take note. Sania and her "sisters" will not be stopped, says Kalpana Sharma.

Although much amended and bent, the Constitution of India is still a charter for a democratic republic of men and women. But a recent experience made me realise that we are in danger of ceding highly resonant words to the men on our right, writes Ramachandra Guha.

Women like Mukta Jodia, the first recipient of the Chingari Award for Women Against Corporate Crime, are a reminder of the other India, the real India. What triggers their struggles is quite often the lack of transparency, writes Kalpana Sharma.

The Niketa and Harish Mehta case has thrown issues that concern individual choice, ethics, technology and the law. In each instance, there are no clear guidelines, there is nothing that is black and white, writes Kalpana Sharma.

In the run-up to the elections, only the dominant voices from "mainland" India will be heard. But we need to listen to what those living at the margins of this country are saying, writes Kalpana Sharma.

Why has this honest, intelligent, experienced man, whose appointment as prime minister in 2004 was so widely welcomed, been such a disappointment in office, asks Ramachandra Guha

Frederick Noronha reports on the success of World Comics India, which has created successful material, especially for the regional press.

Applying for and getting a license to set up a community radio station in India is convoluted. A new publication offers a step-by-step guide to the entire process along with useful information on how and what to prepare before applying.

In 50 percent of the killings of Indian journalists since 2010 there have been no arrests so far. We need to come together to protect our tribe, urge Geeta Seshu and Sevanti Ninan.

Bhor is a psycho-social journey into the minds and lives of inmates of a rehab centre, trying to build a world away from the mainstream. Shoma Chatterji reviews the play.

A division bench passed a series of orders last month while hearing a public interest litigation alleging that the West Bengal government had failed to enforce the ban against violence on children in schools. Shoma Chatterji reports.

The depressing sameness of the days for those locked-in as the epidemic rages, is relieved only by the 24X7 flow of electricity – the juice that keeps us all connected, informed, entertained and as summer...

Amidst this anomalous global pandemic, as the whole world wars against a sinuously strong, mutating virus what has metamorphosed is the human spirit. Whether it is a housewife who files her first writ petition to...

I turn 50 this week!!! Yup! Half a century on this planet! Not exactly the sparkling celebration I thought I’d have, given the lockdown and social distancing, but it’s certainly going to memorable with its...

The Uttar Pradesh government’s retributive approach to tackling the coronavirus outbreak is dangerously counterproductive. Its intention to firm up the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, merely needed a law to protect doctors, nurses and health workers...

During an interview with TOI, world No. 3 Thiem spoke about his comeback plans and how he is keeping himself ready for the season, as and when it restarts.

The absence of World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen took many by surprise. To clear the air, website promoters chess.com released a statement but ended up hurting none other than Carlsen.

French tennis chief Bernard Guidicelli admitted Sunday that Roland Garros, already controversially pushed back four months due to the coronavirus, could be staged behind closed doors.

Minister for Industries, mines and parliamentary affairs Prakash Mehta will attend the programmes regarding 26/11 on behalf of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Malegaon blast accused and BJP's Lok Sabha candidate Pragya Singh Thakur went on a temple run on Thursday, a day after the Election Commission imposed a 72-hour campaigning ban on her. The EC ban followed complaints against Thakur for her offensive remark against 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks martyr Hemant Karkare