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.

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.

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.

This summer, stories of the impacts of drought and water scarcity highlighting the conditions of farmers, cattle, and domestic water supplies in villages, towns and cities have been regular. What is not reported is the situation with industries, particularly the coal based thermal power plants, reports Shripad Dharmadhikary.

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.

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.

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.

Despite two high-level recommendations to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, the law remains in place. The Army is right to insist on its view, but there are things that can be done to improve matters, 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.

India and China make competing plans for the river's precious waters, ignoring the functions it already performs - in sustaining rich ecosystems, flora and fauna, cultures and a wide range of livelihoods. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 increasing power and influence of veterans of the Indian army, known for their natural affinity towards the right wing regime in power, holds important implications especially when one considers the extent of its permeation into the serving structure. Firdaus Ahmed explains.

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.

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.

Several recent media reports as well as scholarly literature point to a deep-seated communal bias in certain sections of Indian society. Firdaus Ahmed looks closely at the military and its mutations to explore if it can remain insulated from similar prejudicial leanings.

The Indian military has so far maintained a dignified distance from the civilian and government affairs. But now there appears to be an increasing proximity between the military and the government. This does not bode well for India, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

Our government and the National Security Adviser are promoting 'defensive offence' as India's Pakistan strategy. Firdaus Ahmed explains why that's not the case and that our strategy is more 'offensive-compellence' than 'defensive offence'.

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.

A mega Indian Army exercise aimed at sharpening Army's deep strike capabilities in enemy territory concluded last month in Rajasthan. Firdaus Ahmed analyses why having the strike capabilities in this nuclear age might be a mixed blessing.

Nothing is lost by abandoning the principle of seniority, but the armed forces need restructuring says Nitin Pai.

Firdaus Ahmed ponders if India’s nuclear weapons are in safer hands or not.

Pokhran-II  happened on May 1998, Firdaus Ahmed writes if nuclear weapons have made us more secure in these last twenty years.

Engineering is often the only factor considered during design and implementation of junction improvements plans at key locations where flyovers are built. But the reality is that these locations are commonly filled with pedestrians and used as transit points, and any plan that overlooks this is doomed from the start, writes Madhav Pai.

Work zones are an important source of traffic disruptions, and, if not properly managed, can cause both hardship and accidents. But the cost of planning and managing them is often only a tiny portion of the infrastructure costs, and the resultant savings in time can be very high, writes Madhav Pai.

With private car ownership in the large cities outpacing population growth, the central government is waking up to the need to introduce traffic restraint schemes in the metros, writes Darryl D'Monte.

A massive agitation is brewing in Kerala against the proposed widening of Natonal Highways 47 and 17. It is spearheaded by the NH47- NH17 Joint Action Council. P N Venugopal examines their case.

The Supreme Court's order on the removal of tinted films from vehicles is being implemented across the country, amidst complaints from the public. Navya P K reports.

Compressed Natural Gas is by no means a clear cut winner in the race to find a clean burning fuel for our vehicles. The real solution is in promoting public transport, and better design of our cities, writes Madhav Pai.

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.

From lumpen political elements to the courts, various parties have, in their own ways, come out against toll plazas along different highways in the country, but Darryl D’Monte makes a strong case for collection of charges from motorists.

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.

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.

Is modernisation of transport the sole answer to air pollution problems in Delhi? In view of the NGT's proposed ban on older vehicles in Delhi, Sarath Guttikunda draws attention to several problems that need to be addressed for cleaner air in the NCR.

The ban on old diesel vehicles in Delhi and the NCR is a first step towards addressing the grave air toxicity in the region, but a well-designed BRTS could go a long way in achieving the real end. Darryl D’Monte compiles notes from a recent conference.

The government continues with its blind focus on highways and expressways when infrastructure for water supply, waste management and mass transit system is in desperate need of attention. Kannan Kasturi says there is more to public infrastructure than just highways and expressways.

Darryl D'Monte analyses why the proposed Bullet Train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad is not the need of the hour, nor worth the cost.

Responses to the disappearances of the common house sparrow have been muted, although the change is clearly a sign of the extent to which our urban environments have been altered. Monitoring programs would protect the birds, and also better inform us about our environment. Vasudha V reports.

A grim picture emerges out of a performance audit of the Arunachal Pradesh government's work on 12 protected areas. The Comptroller and Auditor General's recent report is a telling comment on the state's commitment to wildlife protection. Himanshu Upadhyaya has more.

Mindless disruption of human settlements in the name of wildlife protection, and the corresponding restrictions on the rights of people living within forests destroys the very wildlife for which it is being done. The story of the Asiatic lions of Gir bears witness to this, writes Nandini K Oza.

India’s forest staff operate in appalling conditions: open toed footwear, lack of simple facilities like torches, jeeps, wireless sets or guns. How is the fight against poaching to be won? Malini Shankar has more.