M Karunanidhi, who is keen on ensuring that all his children are well settled before he passes into the ages, needs to learn from President Kalam's example.

To be hip at Silicon Valley startups these days, one must leave the flip flops and hoodies at home and dress up on Fridays. WSJ's Andy Jordan reports from San Francisco on the "anti-Casual Friday" that's come to be known as "Formal Friday."

"The Bay Lights" light installation, inspired by the 75th anniversary of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, is officially unveiled March 5. Here's a preview of what it will look like, and a conversation the artist, Leo Villareal.

Should you Zoom or FaceTime? How about a Houseparty? Amid social distancing, in-person events have been replaced by pixels on a screen. WSJ's Nicole Nguyen offers tips for navigating the new video-chat reality. Photo: FaceTime

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.

'We have tried both DMK and the AIADMK. What have we gained? Nothing! Now, let us give him a chance. If he doesn't perform, we can change him then.'

More and more women in Tripura are participating in NREGA works, ensuring success of the scheme. The challenge lies in involving the menfolk too and implementing NREGA in insurgency-hit regions. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

Land pooling has helped steer development in Ahmedabad more equitably than in many other Indian cities, but with some limitations and challenges still to be overcome. A World Resources Institute report provides insight.

The central government prefers that large multipurpose storage projects are not converted into run of the river hydro-electric schemes by the states. Not stopping there, at a meeting last year, top officials of the water and power ministries made it clear that they wanted their preference to be binding on all the states. Himanshu Thakkar has more.

The laying of the foundation stone by the PM for a project that is not even legally cleared is an indication of the mood in which the current dam building spree is being pushed, especially in Arunachal Pradesh, which has most of the untapped hydel potential. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.

US-based environmental group Sierra Club has decided to encourage organisations in India that promote green livelihoods. Can this civil society initiative help the country cut down on its carbon emissions? Darryl D'Monte reports.

As the nuclear world appears poised to pry open a vast market for power plants and arms in India, Darryl D'Monte reports voices from a corner of the world that was witness to an earlier, Soviet-era nuclear rush.

Cross-border investments to acquire or lease thousands of hectares of lands are taking place, presumably to take advantage of cheaper input costs in some countries. Darryl D'Monte reports.

India's energy set-up requires a major overhaul in order to keep up with the growth imperative, but there may be no quick-fix solutions. Ashok Sreenivas and Sreekumar N outline the critical areas of concern that call for focused solutions beyond the ambit of private investment.

Pune-based NGO Prayas Energy’s ESMI programme provides easily comprehensible data on the extent and quality of power supply in regions across the country, which can be used to demand accountability as well as enable social research. Manasi Mathkar reports.

The recently released `Status of Women Journalists in India' report, commissioned by the National Commission for Women presents a disturbing picture of women journalists. Malvika Kaul reports.

In an increasingly market-driven media climate, a network that nurtures value-driven journalism among women has proved to be a lifeline for professionals who believe that there's more to the media than news brands. Charumathi Supraja reports.

The recent government crackdown on Greenpeace in particular, and the activism sector in general, reeks of arbitrariness and illegitimacy, says Ashish Kothari in a scathing critique. The question is will the people give in to the state’s tactics?

35 Irula (ST) candidates had contested in the recent local body elections in Tamilnadu and 15 won panchayat presidentships. And this, Irulas hope, will translate into creation of a vocal pressure group of leaders that will ensure development for them. Krithika Ramalingam has more.

Pakistan, under pressure in the Global War on Terror (GWOT), has restrained its hand in the proxy war. By most accounts, Kashmir appears headed towards peace. This is the right juncture to approach the issue politically, both in its external and internal plane, says Firdaus Ahmed.

The happenings in Pakistan, which have culminated in the unfortunate assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, are equally portentuous for India. India needs to contain the Pakistani predicament at the border, notes Firdaus Ahmed.

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.

The refrain of late has been that a Muslim middle class is developing, implying that Muslims are beginning to do well in the country. Why, then, is it so hard to find Muslim children in elite schools, asks Firdaus Ahmed.

India’s foreign policy moves under Narendra Modi have so far been aggressive, but sustaining the heat on the external front, sans resolution of critical internal and regional positions, comes with its own risks, writes  Firdaus Ahmed.

Until women are provided adequate access to information, both about their rights and available budgetary resources, Joint Forest Management (JFM) programmes will only lead to more disempowerment for them, says Madhu Sarin.

For eight years, the Supreme Court has been taking a proactive role in forest conservation. But the court's rulings have been most controversial in the north eastern states, where its actions have been misread as reinforcing centralised power over local communities, say Ritwick Dutta and Kanchi Kohli.

In Kerala's Marayoor forest, the sandalwood tree faces an uphill battle against destruction. With politicians implicated in illegal cutting, and forest officals' hands tied by inadequate legislation, the last remaining tract of the fragrant tree in the state faces elimination. Deepa A reports.

The widening rift in the conservationist movement has allowed the bigger and more powerful forest encroachers to hide behind the public controversy over tribal lands and sharing of forest resources. While activists for and against 'tribals in forests' argue and bicker, the rich squat pretty on encroached forest lands, says Keya Acharya.

Buried within the new law's sweeping recognition of the rights of forest dwellers is a thicket of legislation that effectively makes these gains difficult to obtain, in practice. What the law has achieved is to move the struggle for these rights to a higher political plane, notes Aparna Pallavi.

For some time now, the Central Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court has been reviewing the decisons of the Forest Advisory Committee, which grants permission for converting forest land for non-forest use. But this oversight may be coming to an end. Kanchi Kohli reports.

A new Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha, ostensibly to re-green India, is actually a blow to the environment. Rather than conserve forests, it advocates market mechanisms to make money off afforestation in degraded lands. Kanchi Kohli writes.

Defining a clear land-use policy, integrating indigenous people along with their skills, encouraging mutual exchange between tribals and the outside world can help make the process of change easier for the indigenous folk. Malini Shankar digs deeper.

Tribal women in Uttarakhand are standing up for their community rights, and resisting the dispossession of their lands by a nexus between powerful landlords and the government machinery. Puja Awasthi reports.

The Cabinet Commitee on Investment, set up with the express aim of expediting projects considered critical to economic growth, has passed several orders overturning regulatory mandates instituted earlier. Kanchi Kohli on where that leaves the environmental laws of the land.

The MoEF’s recent move introducing e-filing of applications for approval of forest land diversion may facilitate procedural agility and efficiency, but precludes the interpretation of environmental and human complexities critical to a fair process. Kanchi Kohli elaborates. 

The central government is pushing state governments to give forest rights to tribals by the end of this year. Kanchi Kohli cautions that the intent behind settling these rights claims under the Forest Rights Act in such haste is not what it appears to be.

Plantations or reforestation cannot replace natural forests, which provides an essential ecosystem. Unless policy makers realise this, our natural forests will continue to be used for various purposes shrinking the forest cover further, says Meenal Tatpati.

The green bench of the Supreme Court transferred several forest cases to different institutions for decision making, in order to expedite the disposal of these long pending cases. Kanchi Kohli explains how this could influence forest governance in India.

The proposed new Indian Media Council must live up to the best traditions of the press council concept, which is fundamentally based on cooperation between the media and the public to protect key human rights. Many good models for this are available around the world. Ammu Joseph begins a new column.

Ammu Joseph

For some time there has been an impasse between media and the government over the media regulation and the Broadcast Bill, with citizens left on the sidelines. A set of documents is being released into the public domain to stimulate public debate. Ammu Joseph has more.

In mid-June, the Election Commmission of India directed Chief Electoral Officers of all states and Union Territories to enforce the law against "paid news" during elections. The institutionalised racket has been running into hundreds of crores of rupees. Ammu Joseph brings you up to speed.

The pressure of ill-informed popular sentiment coupled with a retributive judicial system may lead to an award of capital punishment for rapists, as it has in the Delhi 2012 case, but that does very little to address the much larger problem of VAW in all its dimensions. Ammu Joseph explains.

The pressure of ill-informed popular sentiment coupled with a retributive judicial system may lead to an award of capital punishment for rapists, as it has in the Delhi 2012 case, but that does very little to address the much larger problem of VAW in all its dimensions. Ammu Joseph explains.

On World Radio Day, Ammu Joseph looks at the representation of women in Indian radio and wonders if the medium can play a more significant role in ensuring empowerment and equal participation.

New forms of power and influence are emerging in the 21st century, with opportunities no longer controlled by the west. So why are we harking to outmoded forms of power, asks Rajesh Kasturirangan.

Corruption is much broader than what we usually imagine it to be, which focuses on bribes and similar illegal monetary transactions. A number of other practices are corrupt, even if they are legal, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.

The High Level Committee constituted to review key environmental laws has apparently focussed on a wide range of issues and mechanisms; however, as long as the focus in on speed, and not environmental outcomes, the reform process may be futile, writes Manju Menon and Kanchi Kohli.

When a large hydropower projects results in the conversion of forest land, or its submergence, what is the right amount of money to be paid as compensation for this ecological loss? Himanshu Upadhyaya finds that developers are seeking creative arguments to lower the costs to themselves.

Given the diversity within its expanding membership base, the AAP is likely to witness more debates over issues such as foreign investment in retail and subsidies. Shankar Jaganathan questions if these discourses will gradually alter the party’s basic ideology as it evolves, or if that is written in stone.