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.

With only 14 functional State Security Commissions in the country, and those too with flawed compositions and diluted roles, the efforts towards minimising government interference in police functioning have naturally been lax. Navya PK cites critical findings of a CHRI Report that shows the present sad state of our SSCs.

The recent SC order directing the Centre to protect people, who come forward to help accident victims, from legal and other hassles, is a significant step towards reducing road accident fatalities. Shoma A Chatterji examines the broader social psyche and issues to be addressed to make the world more humane.

“We need a change in mind set, where the wilful or non-cooperative defaulter is not lionized as a captain of industry, but justly chastised as a freeloader on the hardworking people of this country,” said the RBI governor in his recent lecture at IRMA, Anand. An unedited transcript of his speech

A recent UGC-sponsored seminar on the incidence of cyber crime, hosted in Kolkata, drew attention to the safeguards to be adopted as also the right procedure to be followed in order to obtain redress. Amrita Mukherjee reports.

The recently promulgated ordinance amending the national law related to land acquisition dilutes several clauses of the earlier legislation that were meant to protect the rights of holders. Kanchi Kohli summarises the key changes brought in by the ordinance.

Around 40 RTI activists in the country have been killed in recent years, several of them after the Whistleblowers Protection Act was passed. Satarupa Sen Bhattacharya explores why the said law has been unable to achieve its stated end.

The government’s push to the amended land acquisition law overlooks provisions in other acts that address closely related issues such as food security and conservation of biodiversity, writes Shalini Bhutani.

On 18 March, at a discussion organised by Daksh India, Nick Robinson from the Harvard Law School explored in detail the phenomenon of judicial delays, sharing insights from his work in both India and the US. Pavan Kulkarni summarises the points raised.

Effective district-level bodies could have played a critical role in ensuring legal environmental protection for coastal zones and communities. Manju Menon, Kanchi Kohli and Meenakshi Kapoor discuss how these have been continuously disregarded. 

No, net neutrality is not just about IT and activists! If you're still wondering why over two lakh people have already written to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) about that, and whether you should follow suit, Supriya Unni Nair has some details for you.

In the shrill discourse over freedom of speech, the selective publication, and even overt suppression, of actionable development data is often overlooked. Amid calls for a next-gen data revolution, Biraj Swain highlights this and other challenges that lie in its path.

There is a lot that happens in the background to make sure that every Indian election - like the just concluded Bihar assembly election - is conducted fairly, freely and peacefully. Smarak Swain, who was on election duty in Bihar reports on the challenges faced by the Election Commission of India and how it is overcoming them effectively.

M P Veerendrakumar is a staunch opponent of FDI. He predicts that the new deals signed in the Indian media will hit small and medium newspapers and open the floodgates to foreign control.

Shabana Azmi's six year term in Parliament came to an end in August 2003. She spoke to Lalitha Sridhar.

The All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) describes itself as a 'left oriented women's organisation committed to achieving democracy, equality and women's emancipation'. Sudha Sundararaman, 46, took over from Brinda Karat in November. Ambujam Anantharaman caught up with the new leader of AIDWA.

K N Govindacharya, the pracharak-turned-politician who led the Bharatiya Janata Party into power in the 1999 elections, is today a staunch campaigner against the politics and economics of globalization. He now promotes swadeshi development and says he has renounced party politics. N P Chekkutty caught up with Govindacharya.

Many believe that in business, environmental values and a pro-poor focus are liabilities. But a set of global factors are going to change the rules of the game, warns Stuart Hart, a leading authority on the implications of sustainable development and environmentalism for business. An India Together exclusive interview.

Narendra Jadhav is Principal Adviser and Chief Economist at the Reserve Bank of India. He is also a Dalit and strong advocate of reservations in the private sector. His recent book Untouchables : My Family's Triumphant Journey Out of the Caste System in Modern India has received wide acclaim. India Together's Subramaniam Vincent talked with him recently.

The Bt Cotton debate is a vexing one. Proponents praise the technology, while NGOs charge that it has failed farmers and is too risky. Dr Ronald Herring teaches political economy and political ecology at Cornell University and has been studying the transgenic movement in India. He talked with India Together's Subramaniam Vincent.

Ashwin Mahesh talks with 2007 Ramon Magsaysay award winner P. Sainath.

Rural women have nothing to lose by speaking out. Urban women have their bank accounts, education certificates and some 200-300 saris in the cupboard. They have a high tolerance for violence, says Ruth Manorama, in this interview with Charumathi Supraja.

Journalist, teacher and author of Black Lentil Doughnuts and Dreams for the Dying, C K Meena decimates stereotypes in her writing. A free-wheeling conversation with Charumathi Supraja.

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.

Meet M B Santosh, one of India's only three FIFA-accredited referees, who drives an auto-rickshaw and works as caretaker of an apartment in Kottayam, Kerala to support a family of five. Here, he shares the incredible story of his life and passion with P N Venugopal.

Given the complex and dynamic political scenario in India today, where is the country's leadership headed? How will people vote in the assembly elections this year and how will it impact the national outcome? Eminent political scientist Sandeep Shastri shares his views on that and more with Satarupa Sen Bhattacharya

In a candid conversation with India Together, eminent scholar, author and historian Ramachandra Guha shares his thoughts on leaders of the past and present and their legacies for the future of India.

With the government clearing Telangana as India's 29th state, long-standing demands for separate states in other parts of the country have gained fresh momentum. This could be a foretelling of many more states to come, but would that necessarily augur ill for the unity of India? Noted historian Ramachandra Guha shares his thoughts.

In December 2012, retired Justice K S Puttaswamy filed a PIL that recently culminated in the Supreme Court passing an interim order, forbidding authorities to make Aadhaar mandatory for provision of essential services. Bosky Khanna finds out what his key objections to this ambitious project are.

Abdul Nasser Madani, a key accused in the 2008 Bangalore serial blasts, waits in vain for his trial to be speeded up after countless adjourned sessions of court. PN Venugopal recounts the circumstances of the case and talks to Madani himself to discover how rules become exceptions in such cases.

If you want to beat up Hazare for his stubbornness, go right ahead. But before that, start with the Union Cabinet, notes Subramaniam Vincent.

As the Lok Satta party, with its crop of image-defying politicians, raises hopes for a new brand of politics, Subramaniam Vincent catches up with party leader Dr Jayaprakash Narayan on the party's hopes at the Karnataka polls and possibilities of a larger wave of political reforms in the country.

Shruti Gupta on a project in Madhya Pradesh and Jharkand that uses technology to enhance income generation opportunities through productive use of natural resources.

2004 saw many victories for the survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy, giving them and their supporters more hope. Both courts in India and the US ruled to bring justice closer and campaigners pressured a reluctant Central government to finally act on their behalf. Kavitha Kuruganti reports.

With the state government abdicating its responsibility to rehabilitate dam oustees on cultivable land, middlemen and officials in Madhya Pradesh have connived to create a huge land scam that has been forced into the light in the courts. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.

Women of the Muslim Haila community in Madhya Pradesh continue to be manual scavengers and are subjected to inhuman treatment despite the law prohibiting it. But they are now determinedly fighting back, reports Shuriah Niazi.

Twenty years ago Sehore was a very livable town. It had a beautiful microclimate and was surrounded by forests and water bodies that never dried up. Today it is becoming a village again, finds Kalpana Sharma.

The stilled waters of the river that always sustained them have now become polluted. Yet, this muddy river is their only source of drinking water, bringing with it illness and disease. Neeta Deshpande's concluding article in this series on uprootment and survival in the Narmada valley.

The CAG recently suggested that there may be huge losses to the government from improper allocations of coal bocks to companies. All eyes are now on the next set of allocations to be made. Kanchi Kohli reports.

Panchayats of Madhya Pradesh provide reservation of up to 50 per cent for women, but the participation of women in governance has gone beyond such new roles. Shirish Khare reports on how women leaders are transforming the very traditions and symbols of grassroots politics.

Delhi's Right to Information Act (RTI) is increasingly being used by citizens to pressure offiicials into delivering on projects and services says Arvind Kejriwal.

Another ongoing story on the pressure being created by citizens using the Right to Information Act in Delhi, this time on the Public Distribution System's (PDS) ration shops.

A thriving Sunday book market on pavements competes handily with trendier retailers, but must fight off the system too. Varupi Jain reports.

Sex sells, but prevention of rape does not. Planners who take deterrence seriously could contribute in creating women-friendly urban environments, says Pratiksha Baxi.

This Delhi non-profit's initial success in effective enforcement of Delhi’s Right to Information Act has woken up the establishment just as much as it has informed citizens, reports Varupi Jain.

Varupi Jain reports on the steady progress in transparency in Delhi's public distribution system.

Delhi's High Capacity Bus System promises enormous gains, but has been a long time coming. Dr. Geetam Tiwari of the IIT-Delhi sheds some light on the project and the difficulties in the making it happen.

Ration shopkeepers won't divulge their records, Food Department officials wont file complaints, and the police wont act on their own or accept complaints from the public. But the cycle of corruption can still be broken.

The displacement of the Panchkuyian Road furniture market by the construction of the third line of the Delhi Metro has caused much uproar for almost a year. Many threats and agitations later, the market is still physically in place but hardly anymore a place to be in. Varupi Jain reports.

Employees of the Delhi based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) have been celebrating recently. The Padma Shri award, the Stockholm Water Prize and the Chameli Devi Jain award have come in quick succession. Ramesh Menon tracks the growth of CSE and Sunita Narain, its director.