A petition filed by an NGO before the NGT seeks a phasing out of the use of plastic bottles and multi-layered plastic packaging, but there is a strong opposition to the proposal from a significant section of stakeholders belonging to the industry. Devanik Saha reports.

A new food processing company in Kerala proposes to market innovative products, the success of which could well place the largely neglected jackfruit in the focus of attention of bigger players in the state’s food processing industry. Shree Padre reports.

At a recent conference hosted by the environment ministry, attendees adopted several resolutions with a purported view to developing India’s environmental future. Kanchi Kohli analyses some of these and their real, likely portent.

The Southern region of India is expected to face high energy deficit this year while the Western and Eastern regions will have a surplus of energy generation. Kannan Kasturi explains why this regional skew in energy generation and energy consumption exists and what it will take to resolve it.

As per the National Waterways Bill recently introduced in the Parliament, 101 stretches of rivers in the country will be declared as National Waterways. There are many advantages of  waterways but these advantages will be realised only when certain conditions are met, and only under certain circumstances says Shripad Dharmadhikary.

As the countdown for the tenth Ministerial Conference of the WTO to be held in Nairobi, Kenya through 15-18 December commences, Shalini Bhutani emphasises the need for a cautious deliberation on how trade rules affect key sectors and all stakeholders.

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.

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.

Pradeep Baisakh looks at the effects of the economic reforms started 25 years ago.

Demonetisation is primarily about the Rule of Law in our country and the capacity of the state to ensure, and abide by, the Rule of Law, comments Harish Narasappa.

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.

Recent research by the Prayas Energy Group shows that notwithstanding a big spike in demand for LEDs in recent years, more steps are needed to phase out incandescent bulbs.

As the share of renewable energy rises, it brings with it new challenges. Going forward, the management of surplus power will be critical, says a new report from the Brookings Institute.

The monthly log of Goods and Services Tax collections by the government, since the introduction of the tax in mid-2017. This page will be updated each month, as new data is published.

Is India likely to hit the ambitious targets set for the growth of renewable power generation? A compilation of data from different sources by the Prayas Energy Group shows what's working well and where greater efforts are needed.

New developments in India's nuclear posture vis-a-vis China inevitably impact the Pakistani nuclear program as well. We must recognise this implicit risk in our attempts at military parity with China, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

India has not managed to bring the troubles in Kashmir to a close. And Pakistan has not dismantled the infrastructure of terror. In effect, little has changed since Kargil, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

At best the central police and paramilitary can hold an area once it is taken back, but clearing it and handing it over to them can only be done by the Army, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

Of course the military should be prepared for conflict. However, whether to engage in such conflict, and how, is a decision for the civilian leadership, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

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 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.

Let the mineral wealth of Central India remain untapped until the people there acquire the capacity to negotiate the terms for its use and benefit directly from doing so, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The multi-ethnic reality of India must find expression in its institutions, especially those charged with security. Plus, there are other reasons to broadbase recruitment further, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

Both India and Pakistan have independently concluded that they would be able to extract better concessions from the other at a later date, notes Firdaus Ahmed.

Still Voices, Tamal Sen's diploma film from the Satyajit Ray Institute looks at freedom of expression in the world's largest democracy, showing how it is suppressed in the name of the larger good, writes Shoma Chatterji.

For a number of reasons, the official strategic community is inadequate both at the bureaucratic and political levels. So we lurch from one bout of activism to the next, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

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.

Was India's emergence on the world stage a project of the superpower? And what is the role of the strategic community in keeping Indian and US interests convergent, wonders Firdaus Ahmed.

India would do well to consider its options in light of its national interests. Loose nukes are certainly a concern, but talk of taking them out is cavalier, and we must put the brakes on that, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

While the procedural track of talks between India and Pakistan may stay on course, nothing significant can be expected to emerge from them, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The proposed second round of defence reforms will make the armed forces more utilisable. Nonetheless, this should not blind us to the questionable impulse behind the reforms, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

India and Pakistan don't negotiate with a give-and-take approach. Instead, they hope to gain some advantage in the background while the negotiations continue. This makes the process meaningless, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

A discussion on the upward delegation of nuclear-related decision making is needed now. The defence sector cannot be reformed in isolation of its place in national security, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

Security hawks are expanding the list of terror suspects to include not just the illiterate poor, but also the well-to-do educated Muslims. Who does that leave out, asks Firdaus Ahmed.

Should bureaucrats working in the national security bureaucracy have a working knowledge of the defence sector, or would that just foster group-think? Firdaus Ahmed explores the question.

The case of the Army Chief's true age is only seemingly one of an individual's besmirched honour. It is instead one in civil-military relations, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The recent fracas was not merely the personal case of an officer exercising his right to grievance redress. It must be seen as a crisis in civil-military relations, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

Perceiving itself as outside the policy making tent, the military tends to dig in on its views. The solution is to remove the distinction between the uniform and the safari suits, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

Although officially at peace, the army's theatre of operations has grown steadily. It has responded by boosting its numbers, but that has its own challenges, says Firdaus Ahmed.

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.

The dark clouds gathered since the early nineties have not quite dissipated. Inevitably so, since the actions that should have been taken were never taken up, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

Outsourcing the policy-making function is bad enough, but the government should certainly not have allowed trespass on its domain by the Naresh Chandra Task Force, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The story of a heroic soldier captured by the enemy and tortured to death stirred strong emotions during the Kargil war. Why, then, is there a lid of secrecy around his death, wonders Firdaus Ahmed.

The new IB chief's track record has made it impossible for the government to ignore his claim. But for all that, there is more at stake, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

The gruesome beheading along the Line of Control should alert us that the intensity and the nature of the ongoing conflict with Pakistan is far worse than we are led to believe, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

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.

The slips in the use of words in India’s official nuclear doctrine may be inadvertent but, nevertheless, point to a worrying amateurishness in the domain, says Firdaus Ahmed.

PM Manmohan Singh’s plans to minimise nuclear risks, as articulated at a recent conference, revolves around formulation of a ‘global no-first-use’ norm. Firdaus Ahmed points to why a practical solution is less about global norms and rests more likely on issues closer home.

Regardless of how it is interpreted, India’s doctrinal promise of ‘massive nuclear retaliation’ in the event of nuclear first use by the enemy would be more than strategically flawed. At a time when India is now poised to review its doctrine afresh, Firdaus Ahmed digs deeper.

The aggression and pace of the new government’s decisions and activities relating to national security, just as in other areas, may be due to the eagerness to prove itself different from a sloth, ineffectual predecessor. However, the image that it creates comes with its own set of risks, writes Firdaus Ahmed.