The agreement between the Kandla Port Trust in Gujarat and the Adani Port & Special Economic Zone Ltd appears set to be passed without the kind of environment impact assessment mandated for an eco-sensitive zone such as this. 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.

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.

As the country eagerly awaits the new government’s maiden budget, Shankar Jaganathan evokes the realities of the Indian economy to provide a reference framework within which to judge the Jaitley budget.

The erstwhile UPA government’s Food Security Act, now set to be implemented by the present government, could mean unendurable strain for the country’s public distribution framework. P V Rajeev spells out better alternatives to explore.

In the non-descript town of Beypore near Kozhikode, skilled artisans have revived in a big way the tradition of making luxury ‘urus’, or dhow-shaped boats, as they find a ready clientele in the royal family of Qatar. Akshatha M visits Beypore.

A recent conference organised by the AICCTU in Bangalore saw more than 5000 contract workers marching in protest against the prevailing work conditions, seeking regularisation of contracts as well as amendments in law. Here’s a list of the primary demands raised by the workers.

Ashish Kothari outlines the vision and processes of Vikalp Sangam, a movement that seeks to bring together a multitude of grassroots initiatives that are exploring alternative, inclusive and sustainable paths to human well-being.

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.

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.

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.

The Indian army’s evolving China strategy, leading to its preparedness for an offensive on that front, seems to have undergone a bit of dilution, as evident in North Block posturing. Is it merely a run-up to Modi’s China visit or is there more to it? Firdaus Ahmed explores.

Despite the inconsistencies in pollution data as well as measurement approaches in different Asian cities, there is now sufficient knowledge about the health risks of rampant and unchecked levels of motorisation, particularly in India's cities. A workshop for journalists at Indonesia sounded the warning bells again, writes Darryl D'Monte.

Enterprises that seek to address socio-economic problems through focused business models could make significant impact with a little more support. Seema S Hegde discusses an example from Bangalore, and explains how the state and big business often fail to recognise that.

The need for integrating land use with mobility has never been fully addressed within the profusion of plans for Bangalore. The revision of the Master Plan for 2031 may provide a good opportunity to develop a comprehensive mobility strategy, says Shrimoyee Bhattacharya and Sujaya Rathi.

In a changing landscape for power production and transmission, Indian Railways and the Government will need to make new choices, says a new report from Brookings India.

The ongoing vigorous debate between wildlife enthusiasts and tribal rights activists must be steered by a vital lesson from past conservation failures - that India's unparalleled riches of biodiversity can only be protected by working with, rather than against, the rural and tribal communities who live closest to them, writes Ramachandra Guha.

The Jerdon's Courser is the latest endangered species to be caught in the path of unregulated development. Its habitat in wildlife sanctuaries in Andhra Pradesh is threatened by illegal construction activity within the protected lands, and environmental activists have taken the matter to court. Kanchi Kohli reports.

The people-versus-tiger conflict haunts every protected habitat of the beast, and unless relocated communities' needs are met, conservation efforts will remain uncertain. Rajasthan's plans to relocate villagers from Sariska's core zone will have a profound impact on all other tiger reserves, writes Sudhirendar Sharma.

The tribal is invariably the crucial link in the poacher’s grisly chain in Indian forests. Their alienation has directly placed India’s precious wildlife and biodiversity under threat. Malini Shankar has more.

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.

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.

Can something be 'novel' if it is already well known? Patent offices in some countries require only that the patented bits be novel in their own country, and completely ignored the knowledge of other nations. Countries like India that are rich in biodiversity and traditional knowledge are seeking to end this biopiracy. Kasturi Das looks at the issues involved.

A new sop came into effect for net-foreign exchange earning businesses in designated export zones from February 10 -- a 15-year income tax holiday. But are the costs of the revenues foregone worth the claimed benefits of more investment and jobs? M Suchitra examines the reality and does not find a rosy picture.

In search of new funds to keep the growth story alive, the Centre opens the doors to foreign investment a little further.

India's current account deficit reached alarming levels in the year 2012-13. Kannan Kasturi provides a historical context and lucid explanation of the phenomenon and rues the government's shocking lack of action.

Two processes have hit Wayanad. One is the policy-driven commercialisation of education. And the second is the collapse of Wayanad's economy. For the first time in decades in this education-proud state thousands of students are dropping out of college and school. P Sainath continues his series on the agrarian crisis in Wayanad.

This is coffee territory, yet you cannot get the local brew in any restaurant here. Drop in at the Coffee Board in Kalpetta to enquire why this is so - and they offer you a cup of tea. P Sainath continues his series on the agrarian crisis in Kerala's Wayanad region.

While editors and columnists sang hosannas to the brave new world, the resident of Rashtrapati Bhavan showed he had not lost his connection with ordinary people. P Sainath remembers former President K R Narayanan, who passed away this week.

When many households spend less than Rs.225 a month per person, you really need to think of how people live. On what it is that they live. What can you spend on if the most you can spend is, on average, Rs.8 a day? And if close to 80 per cent of what you spend is on food, clothing and footwear, what else could you possibly buy, asks P Sainath.

The agrarian crisis in Vidarbha has spun almost out of control. Appeals for swift measures by many have fallen on deaf ears. The farm suicides are the tip of the huge crisis raging here, not its whole. They are, though, its most powerful symbol, writes P Sainath.

Disputes over output do not hide the trouble Maharashtra's cotton economy is in. Small farmers face another year of huge losses. The role of nature is very minor compared to conscious policy measures that have undermined the farmer and world cotton prices, writes P Sainath.

Converting water to a commercial good to be sold for profit invites disaster. Most of all for poor people whose already pathetic access to water will shrink swiftly, writes P Sainath.

In the long-time UDF bastion of Wayanad, the agrarian crisis has transformed things. All have been affected, writes P Sainath.

The Prime Minister's upcoming visit to Vidarbha has had an impact even before he's reached there. It would, however, be a transient impact if he does not see through the charade. The mess there starts right at the top. Vidarbha's condition is the product of design, not decay, writes P Sainath.

The decision to give quality cows to poor farmers in Vidarbha has only harmed the beneficiaries, writes P Sainath.

Claims of a cotton bumper crop in Maharashtra have faded. Farmers feel such talk was meant to push prices down further. Procurement delays could also force many to sell in distress to private buyers, writes P Sainath.

This time three years ago, there were around 300 cotton procurement centres at work in Maharashtra. This year that number is 56. The farmers are being pushed towards private traders. And much lower prices, writes P Sainath.

Knowing that big money is undermining the game as a whole, and pussyfooting around it, just isn't cricket, writes P Sainath.

Several women in Karnataka's Mandya district like Jayalakshmamma, whose husband committed suicide four years ago, still stand up to the unending pressure with incredible resilience, writes P Sainath.

By the Maharashtra government's own count, the 14,221 high-breed cows it gave farmers in Vidarbha add just 1.16 litres each to the milk collection in the region. These cows have cost already indebted farmers over Rs.7.5 crore. P Sainath reports.

Two years of drought has started to take its toll on the people of Vidarbha, with a failed crop leaving them with no income to tide over the crisis, writes P Sainath.

The slaughter of daughters in India may not continue forever; just by virtue of being scarce, girls will be desired again says Dilip D'Souza.

Left to “take its own course”, the law invariably manages to meander into a dead end. Time to make it chart a more meaningful course, says Dilip D’Souza.

The Kumbakonam and Ervadi tragedies may not have happened if our nation building process had taken a different turn decades ago. Dilip D'Souza on a patriotism that stems from concern for everyone.

In Samiyarpettai, sub-collector Rajendra Ratnoo had put together a disaster management plan as a test case just two months ago. When the tsunami came last December 26, Ratnoo's plan worked spectacularly. Over one hundred survived because of Ratnoo's plan. That was an achievement, says Dilip D'Souza.