The government's stance towards biotechnology shows such disregard for the public interest that even its own Expert Committee is not privy to the proposed new policy. Suman Sahai protests the reckless endorsement of vested interests while many other stakeholders are kept in the dark.

The West Bengal government remains under a cloud due to violence over its industrialisation plans, but in other areas, its procurement and off-farm processing support for farmers has helped them far more than Maharashtra's approach to its own farmers. Jaideep Hardikar visited Burdman district.

Despite the high price of imported wheat, the government prefers this option to paying Indian farmers a higher support price for their crops. Bhaskar Goswami says that this amounts to a covert policy of dismantling the procurement and price support mechanisms.

The policy that reportedly favoured Indian consumers at the cost of farmers has come back to bite the consumers with a vengeance. And with the US and Europe embracing biofuels, things could get even worse, writes Kannan Kasturi.

Barely three days after the conclusion of the last of six public hearings, Minister of Environment Jairam Ramesh slapped a moratorium on the release of Bt Brinjal. Anupama Rao summarises key points from the Minister's note.

As Munnabhai has already tackled the callousness of our health system, and the greed of real estate sharks, how about tackling the one Indian tradition that refuses to die — that of dowry? I could imagine that such a film could work very well, says Kalpana Sharma.

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.

As a young country with many technical problems, we need an army of Holmeses who can solve them. But the Macaulay-inspired education has always suited the Watsons, who cannot. Until this changes, there will be little hope of swaraj in ideas, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.

Our deities can't be bullied into becoming soulless robotic creatures that yield to every new wave of political fashion. Madhu Purnima Kishwar wants protection from the new missionaries of uniformity.

The ritualistic form of worship, once rejected as superstitious and irrational, witnesses a steady resurgence in Kerala. Is it because of a strong wave of casteism, the interpolation of Hindu Brahminical philosophy or merely a yearning to go back to the roots? Nileena M S explores.

The leading ladies of Bengali theatre in the late 19^th and 20^th centuries presented an intriguing portrait of women caught between two worlds, liberated in a way, yet shackled in others. A recent performance as tribute to these artists leads Shoma Chatterji to reminisce their lives and times.

Having drastically curtailed the width of eco-sensitive zones in Sikkim, the MoEF seems intent on ignoring local sentiment as well as environmental norms in order to push forward the Tashiding HEP on the sacred Rathong Chu river. Soumik Dutta reports on the latest in the case.

Boregaon is a small village in Solapur district of Maharashtra where men have shunned the patriarchal mindset to support women’s political empowerment and gender equality, writes Suchismita Pai.

An ancient matrilineal tribe of northeast India has a thriving culture and an increasing population, while a similarly ancient Dravidian matrilineal tribe is in danger of vanishing. Linda Chhakchhuak reports on what the Dravidian tribe can learn from the northeastern tribe to revive its culture and population.

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.

The Government of India's draft community radio (CR) policy proposes to allow NGOs and other non-profit organisations to run low power radio stations with limited advertising. The policy is expected to go to the Cabinet for approval soon, but CR advocates and broadcasters are keeping their fingers crossed, notes Surekha Sule.

Researchers conduct experiments to study Kaushik Basu's idea that only bribe-takers should be punished, and get insight that may help anti-corruption efforts. Tarun Jain reports.

Humanity has collectively crossed the limits necessary for ecological sustainability. Ashish Kothari argues for a sustainable consumption line that would ensure individuals and communities do not partake of resources in a way that deprives others or endangers the environment further.

Why is it that large expenditure on food subsidy in India does not achieve more in reducing undernourishment? At a New Delhi public hearing earlier this year, Dr. Amartya Sen addressed this question.

Our economic and political leaders do not have much faith in the free market, or in trickle-down economics, despite their apparent support for both, says Ashwin Mahesh.

infraSys, a development-driven enterprise that creates physical, financial, and knowledge infrastructure in rural areas.

V Jagan Mohan says that Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) can be the vehicles for rural credit in a reforms era.

The hike in defence spending is one of the reasons Budget 2004 did not do enough justification for development expenditure, says Pavan Nair.

A government task force has recently made a series of tax and revenue recommendations designed to restore the nation's fiscal health. Ashwin Mahesh reports.

Among the traders at the crowded Crafts Bazaar in Secunderabad, the struggle for survival and economic security seems to be the only noticeable thing. But in some ways, their worries are those of ordinary merchants everywhere, thanks in part to Mahila Sanatkar. Safia Sircar reports.

The Kerala government complains that nearly all its revenue is used to pay the salaries of government employees. Why, then, is the government busy adding new members to its recruiting agency? P N Venugopal notes the contradictions, as the government's finances slide further into the red.

Forced by the Supreme Court to make its research public, the agency that claimed to have conducted feasibility studies on interlinking rivers puts out an incomplete document. Sudhirendar Sharma notes, however, that the politics of this mega-project will keep it alive, despite such incompetence and disregard for regulations.

Village economies are increasingly unable to adjust to the forces of globalisation, which is capital-intensive, and has a large urban footprint. Aparna Pallavi reports on a meeting to address the challenges villages face, and the suggestions thrown up by participants confident that the challenges can be met.

Allocations in the annual budget are the real indicators of the government's priorities. It is by studying these that we can really judge how committed the administration is to the goals proclaimed publicly. Jacob John examines Budget 2005 and finds a yawning gap between promises made and the money approved to achieve them.

The vendors and hawkers of the Chingrajpara slum in Bilaspur are the lynchpin of the slum’s homespun economy. In this seventh article in our SLUM DIARIES series, Ashima Sood notes that operating on small capital outlays, these petty retailers offer a humbling portrait of entrepreneurship in action.

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.

The establishment's appetite for large dams diminished marginally in the late nineties, but encouraged by the World Bank's low-key decision to restart funding, Indian governments are ready to start building again. But are large dams worth the expenditure? Tarun Jain and Ashima Sood report on the findings of a new research paper.

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.

Can transgenic cotton ever be a livelihood security measure for the majority of India's small-holder farmers? Keya Acharya is circumspect. She says that the Bt cotton story in India is one of confusion. Bt appears more to favour 'rich' farmers, who have access to water, better resources, and alternative support.

After three years after a loan disbursal to the Jindal Thermal Power Company Ltd. (Jindal) for a power project in Karnataka, the public-sector Power Finance Corporation has drawn flak from the Comptroller and Auditor General for having offered undue benefits to Jindal and causing a loss of Rs.13.48 crores to itself. Himanshu Upadhyaya digs deeper.

Vocational training could play a key role in bridging the gap that keeps millions of workers in the unorganised economy away from a better future. The needs of informal sector workers are complex, and mere training for income-generation is seen to be insufficient, writes Varupi Jain.

India has only 5,100 Industrial Training Institutes and 1,745 polytechnics compared to 5,00,000 similar institutes in China. The USA boasts of 1500 trade training programmes compared to India's 171. A national conference in Delhi this February recommended measures to bridge the yawning gap between growth and jobs, reports Varupi Jain.

The economy in the North East is still largely based on subsistence-oriented farming. There is plenty of frustration arising out of inability to meet modern aspirations. What are the options for people to engage in productive work and earn more money? Surekha Sule has more.

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.

The origins of today's law for land acquisition for SEZs act can be traced to 1824, when the British colonial power felt the need to codify the undisguised forcible seizure of land. While colonial rule has long gone, the unjust application of the principle of eminent domain remains, writes Kannan Kasturi.

A persistent push to develop large-scale rubber plantations as a livelihood alternative to slash-and-burn cultivation by tribals has resulted in a major economic upswing in Tripura. With market prices for rubber well above sustenance levels, the future looks bright too. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

The Indian economy is creating millions of varied job opportunities. Despite this, scores of educated youth are not readily employable and face a grim future. Companies are struggling to find and retain talent. Ramesh Menon on the challenges.

As the heaps of pineappples grow bigger, prices will go down drastically from Rs.5 to Rs.2 and finally to 50 paise per pineapple, says Priyalal Sharma, a Tripura grower, who has also started rubber plantation in some portion of his land. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

The many arguments offered in support of Public Private Partnerships don't stand up to close examination. The private sector is not more efficient than its public counterpart, nor is cheap money accessible to it as readily, write Shripad Dharmadhikary and Gaurav Dwivedi.

This Kochi's couple's one-year-old enterprise is perhaps the only serious attempt to market snow ball tender coconut so far. And in their response to irregularity of supply, they introduced the coconut lassi. Shree Padre has more.

The newly announced country assistance strategy for India is the continuation of what the World Bank has been pushing in this country and elsewhere in the last 15 years or so years, with nothing to show for it, writes Shripad Dharmadhikary.

In the old days, government was responsible for controlling inflation. Now if you feel the pinch of inflation, you have to fend for yourself, and especially because everyone is so busy looking after you, writes Pratap B Mehta.

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.