India's community conservation areas (CCAs) are nowhere near prosaic; they are instead heartening and remarkable pools of ecological and biodiversity rejuvenation in a country beset with environmental degradation in its bid to industrialise. Keya Acharya identifies the silver lining.

A theatre festival was held in Kolkata between November 1 to November 4 dedicated to the memory of Nati Binodini (1863-1941), a versatile actress whose dramatic and tragic life had more twists and turns than a film script. Shoma Chatterji attended, and has more.

The Centre, mulling over the Delhi High Court verdict on Section 377 of the IPC, should recognise a basic principle of democratic freedoms - we are free when others are free. The India Together editorial.

As parties firm up their candidates in various constituencies, several celebrity names - new and old - are doing the rounds yet again. Shoma Chatterji looks at a few examples from the years gone by to question what we may really expect from these star-turned-politicians.

This India Together radio program features a talk by well known women's rights lawyer Flavia Agnes. She speaks on the current critical juncture for women and the women's movement.

The environmental benefits accruing from green buildings and living spaces are widely known, but it is often inertia that prevents the adoption of these alternatives. Chandrashekar Hariharan discusses a few easy steps that could foster greener urban infrastructure.

Jobless growth and regional imbalances have collectively spurred migration, and this is the larger malaise behind recent mass murders on ethnic lines, says Swati Narayan.

The Thanjavur region in TN is currently an economy in distress. Lalitha Sridhar captures the voices, concerns and the many questions.

Colonel Pavan Nair studies the allocations for defence and development efforts, and asks what's needed to reach even the modest standards of Brazil or Sri Lanka.

The April 2005 deadline for a nationwide Value Added Tax regime is only months away. But what exactly is on the cards, and what will it achieve? Dinkar Ayilavarapu considers the rationale for the shift, and finds that many of the goals have been whittled away already.

Although the government has spent large sums of money tackling problems, most social and economic indicators in the country are far short of the goals. Jaydeep Biswas and Debashish Sircar say we need better interim assessments of how money is spent, and social infrastructure to complement physical nation-building.

The Kerala government gives the entertainment industry a huge tax break, by reducing dues from the operations of amusement parks. With no political party interested in opposing the drain on the treasury, taxpayers will be left to foot the bill for this largesse, note M Suchitra and P N Venugopal.

Even if activists and trade unions in India succeed in pushing up wage scales in the garment industry, manufacturers are likely to point out that with higher labour costs and hence billing, the high profit global retail buyers would shift their business to cheaper nations like Bangladesh or Indonesia. Is there a way out? Anuja Mirchandaney finds out more.

The recall of the decommissioned French warship Clemenceau back to France in the wave of protests worldwide opens a great opportunity for India to clean its ship breaking yard in Alang, and improve conditions for its workers. A thorough assessment of facilities at Alang is much needed, notes Ramesh Menon.

In a few seconds, advertisers tell us stories from a fairy-tale world of the strongest, whitest, coolest and simply the best. And alas, like most fairy-tales, advertisements are often false. How can consumers be better informed? Varupi Jain talked with VOICE, a New Delhi-based consumer rights non-profit.

A new report from TERI, the first of its kind for India, argues that compliance with environmental, social and governance criteria would better differentiate Indian stocks in comparison to issuers from other emerging markets for high quality investors. Rajni Bakshi has more on why India must care.

A conference on September 14-16 this year at New Delhi will bring together political decision makers, representatives from entrepreneurial associations and corporate partners, and civil society to discuss growth in Asia. It is backed by Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Planning Commission of India.

To check corruption under the MGNREGA, the Centre is routing funds through banks and POs. But this has resulted in delayed payment and loss of faith in the system among people. Pradeep Baisakh argues the case for the earlier cash payment system.

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 relationship between professionals such as doctors, lawyers and teachers and the society they serve is increasingly and radically changing. The reasons behind the same, however, may go deeper than the obvious mercenary tendencies of the former. Shankar Jaganathan ruminates.

The recent verdict of the Gujarat High Court regarding the operation of multipurpose industries on land leased out by the MPSEZ could have critical implications for environmental clearance of SEZs in general. Kanchi Kohli reports.

Innovative use of information technology through mobile phones is enabling improved financial literacy and increased access to credit for economically disadvantaged women in rural and urban areas. Swapna Majumdar reports.

The findings of a recent study by scholars at the University of Oxford point to the adverse outcomes and poor economic returns associated with large dam projects. Amruta Pradhan summarises the findings and shows how they have been consistently borne out by empirical observations in Maharashtra.

Narendra Modi’s attention to the woes and plight of farmers during election campaigning has raised a lot of hope for improvement among members of the beleaguered community, but can he deliver? Devinder Sharma presents an 11-point prescription for turning the agricultural sector around.

Several recent studies bring out the abysmal deprivation from entitlements among India’s vast internal migrant population. Shambhu Ghatak throws light on the problems faced by migrants and explores if the UID can indeed live up to its promise of making mobility a smoother process.

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.

As has been the historical trend, most of the budget announcements on agriculture this year, too, are geared towards benefitting agribusiness rather than augmenting farm income, writes Devinder Sharma.

PM Modi's vision of smart cities will remain unrealised till we have environmentally-smart urban centres, equipped to mitigate the severe chronic air pollution levels. But what will it entail? Sarath Guttikunda analyses.

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.

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.

Should we believe the promises politicians make to us this time around? Whatever it is you want the government to do about terrorism, begin by asking who will do it, and how. The India Together editorial on the Mumbai terror attacks.

India claims that Pakistan is stockpiling more nuclear weapons than it needs for minimum deterrence. But this could just turn out to be an excuse for it to do likewise, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

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 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 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 recent episode in which a mysterious boat was intercepted off the coast, and blew itself up, may or may not have anything to do with Pakistani terror, but has important implications for national security strategy, external relations and domestic political dynamics. Firdaus Ahmed explains.

As India takes on the role of a mature power centre in the Indian Ocean region, Firdaus Ahmed wonders if it will stick to its traditional defensive culture or if the move to a rightist polity will bring about a different doctrine altogether.

For the last 15 years, India has been unable to deal with a fasting, frail poet! Anjuman Ara Begum writes  how Irom Sharmila has been waging a protest against the cruel Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, enforced in her home state of Manipur and other parts of northeast India.

The recently released joint doctrine shows a movement in India's strategic, nuclear, conventional and sub-conventional doctrines. Firdaus Ahmed claims that this necessarily will not make India any safer.

While other cities in India are planning new Metro systems to address their transport woes, Ahmedabad has thrown its weight behind Bus Rapid Transit instead. And given the may advantages this enjoys over rail - cost, potential, flexibility - it may prove to be the wiser choice, writes Madhav Pai.

As the most significant region yet to be urbanised, India presents a unique opportunity for capturing impacts of urbanisation on the spatial dimension, writes Madhav Pai.

Gil Penalosa is an indefatigable evangelist for public transport. In the first of a two-part report, Darryl D’Monte details his observations at a Mumbai presentation on streets as public space and the need to make them pedestrian-friendly.

A filming crew's damage to the Kambalakonda wildlife sanctuary is brought before the courts. But how did it get this far in the first place? Kanchi Kohli reports.

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.

Italian farmer group Coldiretti is ushering in a new paradigm in farming, and has emerged as a powerful lobby for the interests of the small farmer. Keya Acharya reports on the campaign and wonders if Indian agriculture can emulate the same.

In 25 villages across Rayagada district of Odisha, tribal village women have reclaimed the denuded commons and achieved a remarkable turnaround in food security and livelihoods through eco-friendly alternatives to shifting cultivation. Abhijit Mohanty highlights a few successes of the project.

Venu Govindu reviews Globalization and its Discontents, by Joseph Stiglitz, the winner of the 2001 Nobel prize for economics.

The World Bank, IMF and WTO want 'coherent' operations, but poor nations worry that behind this vague objective is a determined effort to hijack their aspirations.

A proposed new charity for intellectual property will simply legitimize the biopiracy of developing nations' traditional knowledge, says Devinder Sharma.

Varupi Jain concludes a two part series on the country's messy Geographical Indications regulatory system through the eyes of MP's Chanderi fabric, one of first serious applicants for a GI.