Hershey Chief Executive Michele Buck said food companies have to be careful about tinkering with beloved brands to make them healthier. She is joined by Wall Street Journal reporter Annie Gasparro. Photo: Gabe Palacio for The Wall Street Journal

President Trump outlined new federal guidelines on April 17 to reopen the country, saying governors should take a "phased and deliberate approach" to restart their state economies. Photo: William Volcov/Zuma Press

Huawei is headed to battle against Apple and Samsung Electronics in the smartphone arena, and its weapon of choice is a camera.

'The BJP ran a miserable campaign and the Third Front, happily, was clueless. It also showed the disutility of a negative campaign where the BJP could not proffer any viable policy alternatives to Congress,' says Professor Sumit Ganguly.

'People of this state have suffered for long. Hence, their patience level is very low at the moment. We have to act double quick to improve the state of life in Bengal,' says senior Congress leader Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury.

'The demographics is that the majority of our voters and the majority of the population are youth, so we must make serious efforts,' says Biju Janata Dal MP 'Jay' Panda.

Greek architect Tilemachos Andrianopoulos provides a tour of his design: a triangular home that blurs the line between inside and the olive grove outside. "Even for a completely new structure, there is always something that already exists there," he says. Photo: Rob Alcaraz/The Wall Street Journal

All about last phase of LS election

The proactive engagement with business and corporate leaders and the reciprocation in turn indicate Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's ability to exploit the superficiality and lack of ideological depth on part of those preoccupied with profit and business isolated from a larger world view, feels Jatin Bhatt

An expert committee appointed to review the existing marine fishing policy and suggest a new one has come up with recommendations favouring the bigger, foreign players, drawing the ire of the smaller fishing community. P N Venugopal has more.

While the West has abandoned the realism of the past century and has now turned to cooperation in pursuing common goals, South Asia remains trapped in this old paradigm, says Firdaus Ahmed.

A large number of Ban Gujjar tribal families remaining within the Rajaji National Park are facing constant harassment from the state forest department. Their rehabilitation is mired in red tape. Aparna Pallavi reports.

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 unstated policy of murdering unwanted elements is wrong at every possible level, and it leads to a crisis of legitimacy of the state, while claiming to be a patriotic act, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.

The government's understanding of an 'inclusive' Budget is simply that it ought to be the provider of welfare for the lower income groups. The evidence so far suggests that this is an attempt doomed from the start, since the government is not very good at administering such programmes. Ashwin Mahesh says that there are better options.

Why does the government not allocate funds to meet all the rights that are protected under the law? Partly, this is because allocations in the Budget each year are made mechanically, without any thought the need for funds, or the rights that ought to be protected, says Videh Upadhyay.

A recent study from the Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy shows that Indian cities rest on a weak systemic foundation. Madhavi Rajadhyaksha highlights the key findings from the study to argue for a systemic overhaul of urban India.

The Internet has created democratic spaces where we can all blow-off steam and escape immediate physical violence. With faster and widening Internet access, blogging, where people create their own on-line diaries is gaining ground in India. The spirited, recent online backlash against eve-teasing is an example, says Kalpana Sharma.

One would think that Hindi and Kannada music would never play in Chennai on radio, and Bangalore because of its unique history would surely have Tamil and Telugu songs on air. And Hyderabad must have one Hindi station. Wrong, finds Vaishnavi Vittal. The Great Indian South is one big surprise!

Dr C S Lakshmi, the eminent Tamil feminist writer, who writes under the pen name Ambai, has been a researcher in women’s studies for the last several decades, and is also the Founder Trustee of Sound & Picture Archives for Research on Women (SPARROW), that has undertaken several oral history projects. She speaks to Pratibha Umashankar about issues concerning women.

A recent report from environmental research group Toxics Link exposes how multinationals are flagrantly violating the MoEF-notified rules on e-waste, even as the authorities empowered to enforce implementation remain passive. Richa Malhotra details the key findings.

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.

A massive tide of migration to metropolitan areas is changing the form and function of cities before our eyes, but not always in the manner that planners expect.

Non-performing assets in public sector banks have shot up by more than 400 per cent in the last five years, hitting Rs 164000 crore! Shripad Dharmadhikary summarises findings of a research report that unearths the real reasons underlying these bad loans.

Responsible governance, economic security for the maximum numbers and ecological sustainability are the three key challenges facing the country today. Ashish Kothari deconstructs the Congress, BJP and AAP manifestos to see what these parties promise on these fronts.

For over two decades now, agriculture has suffered overall neglect as successive governments, led by World-Bank prescribed growth models, have issued disproportionate doles to industry. While the present allocations do not spell much hope, Devinder Sharma suggests what the Modi government may still do to reverse the trend.

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.

Global oil prices have risen dramatically, and nationalised oil companies have been crying themselves hoarse over the government's reluctance to correspondingly increase retail prices. The sensible long term alternative is to move beyond fossil fuels, with clear policy initiatives. The India Together editorial.

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.

Have you ever wondered how forensic scientists help bring poachers to trial? Or how it feels to walk in forest land for three hours amidst torrential rain? From theory to practice, the exhilarating experience of wildlife conservation comes alive in a course for enthusiasts. Deepa Mohan recounts her experience.

The focus for developing countries at the upcoming Cancun WTO Ministerial must be on food and agriculture, says Suman Sahai.

Claiming highest quality standards in the world when it comes to its own agricultural imports, the United States has no qualms in exporting sub-standard wheat to India. US participation in India's wheat procurement cannot be at the cost of India softening quarantine standards, says Devinder Sharma.

The complex contractor-maistry system, the devastation of agriculture, an ineffective food-for-work programme, debt and debilitating mass migrions - these are an explosive mix. P Sainath continues his journey with the migrant exodus from Mahbubnagar
Part I : The bus to Mumbai

June 2003 - The bus we're on is one of about 34 leaving the Mahbubnagar region direct for Mumbai each week. That's against just about one a week, a decade ago. People are leaving in droves.

Drought? Mahbubnagar does have a problem. Quite a bit of that, though, is about the control, distribution and use of water. At 634 mm, the average rainfall of the last 14 years here is close to 30 mm above normal. Those, at least, are the official numbers. There have been deficit years. And a couple of truly awful ones -- as in a lot of other districts. This year, District Collector Madhusudhan Rao says, "the deficit is eight per cent so far". Unpleasant, but not crushing.

The United Progressive Alliance Government has no sense of how serious things are in the countryside. It seems to have forgotten what and who brought it to power. P Sainath has his own report card on the government's performance, and it's very different from the one with the Prime Minister.

In society's eyes, Kamlabai is a `widow.' In her own, she's a small farmer trying to make a living and support her family. She is also one of about one lakh women across the country who've lost their husbands to farm suicides since the 1990s, writes P Sainath.

India has changed greatly in the last two or three decades, but maybe we can still choose not to run each other out. Dilip D'Souza narrates a story from another time.

Allegations have been made repeatedly that the penal code's protection against matrimonial cruelty is often abused by women. But no evidence is given to support this claim, says Bikram Jeet Batra.

The introduction of One Person Companies in the 2013 Companies Act eyes fast economic gains; however, as Shankar Jaganathan points out, it also calls for a more considered approach and provision of safeguards to protect the smaller creditors and employees.

News reports and recent statements apparently point towards possible dilution of the new land acquisition law passed in 2013, resulting in less safeguards for affected owners and communities. Kanchi Kohli summarises the key debates around the likely changes.

A recent letter written by the CAG Shashikant Sharma to the finance minister, seeking access to required information through RTI, exposes once more the lacunae in the powers of the Supreme Audit Institution. Himanshu Upadhyaya analyses the debate around the issue.

The e-commerce space in India has been growing in leaps and bounds but inchoate rules and dated laws have created ‘grey areas’ that need to be cleared at the earliest. Akshatha M outlines the key issues in the debate.

Sir Mark Tully spoke recently in Bangalore on How certain should we be? The problem of religious pluralism. Revathi Siva Kumar caught up with him for this exclusive interview.

As long as we engender a society that allow law enforcers to get away with their own crimes, law breakers will only be emboldened. We must make Police Complaints Authorities around the country meaningful, says Subramaniam Vincent.

Varupi Jain visits Delhi's famous Panchkuian furniture market, where the city's plan for its Metro transit system threatens the livelihoods of hundreds of traders.

The Election Commission of India has ordered states to include children of Tibetan refugees born in India between 1950 and 1987 in the electoral rolls. Ramesh Menon finds that even as they acknowledge India’s gesture, the right to vote leaves them with mixed emotions.

Rolla Das and Suparna Banerjee comment on the rampant obscurantism and complete lack of informed public debate around the existing and proposed legislation in various states against social evils practised in the guise of religion and faith.

A one-on-one with India’s most well-known historian, Romila Thapar, who shares her thoughts on intellectuals protesting the growing communal discord, the ever-shrinking “liberal space” and the need for a dialogue that defines pluralism in the Indian context with Rashme Sehgal.

A state-wide campaign called “Yojana Banao Abhiyan” undertaken to plan for NREGA implementation in Jharkhand has sensitized the people and authorities to the potential of the scheme and recharged local democratic institutions. Ankita Aggarwal reports.

A delegation of entrepreneurs from Pakistan decided to spend Id in India, exploring opportunities for their businesses and forging friendly ties at the same time. Surekha Sule reports that there are many areas where the strengths of the two nations in global trade can be mutually beneficial.

India currently does not count the costs of defence pensions, para military forces and the defence ministry itself as part of budgeted defence expenditure. Correcting for this and converting to purchasing power terms, we are the third largest spender on defence in the world next only to the US and China, writes Pavan Nair.