For the Railways, the key to crime-control is to concentrate on the smaller issues of orderliness, abatement of nuisances, petty crimes and rule of law.

Information technology can and must expand from merely being an agent of the trickle-down effect to active resource mobilization, says Krishna Rupanagunta.

Sajan Venniyoor asseses the upcoming public consultations on the second phase of FM Licensing in India.

What turns police personnel into instruments of violence against the underprivileged classes to which they often themselves belong? Arvind Verma has some answers.

We need to think about how RTI could be used to ensure more "systemic" solutions, where the performance of our government institutions are discussed in a regular, predictable manner says Ramesh Ramanathan.

An "All Fun, All Day Long, For Everyone” amusement park in Kerala's Kochi region has not been fun for the local panchayat, reports M Suchitra.

Ashwin Mahesh shows how some states wield more power in Parliament than they would if statewise seat shares were fixed on the basis of population alone.

Top-down water supply and sanitation schemes have failed the poor time and again. But for decentralization and community involvement to work, local governments -- municipalities -- must improve. Surekha Sule reports on the findings of a global assessment that included India.

Eight years and counting since the first local body elections, only a handful of the panchayats has woken up to the powers devolved into them. The Panchayat Academy is working to change that, helping local leaders learn from and teach each other how much more meaningful their leadership can be. Krithika Ramalingam reports.

When Executive Engineer S K Nagarwal reported corruption in railway track laying in West Bengal, his saga with colluding officials and contractors began. Now, supported by the S K Dubey foundation, a citizens' forum has sprung up to protect Nagarwal and other whistleblowers. Varupi Jain reports.

In our system of criminal justice, the state takes up the responsibility to prosecute offenders on behalf of victims. Although public prosecutors are theoretically independent, in practice they face a number of improper influences. Bikram Jeet Batra surveys the prosecution system in India, and finds it in need of much change.

Two different bodies established by successive governments have made recommendations for sweeping changes to the system of representation and governance in urban areas. The opportunity is now at hand to bring these together, and ensure that wards are accessible and accountable to urban residents. Vinay Baindur reports.

An early warning by China on impending floods in the Sutlej river helped avert major loss to human lives in June. Yet, India's disaster preparedness plans have been found wanting. India still does not have reliable information from China about glacial lakes that are prone to flooding the Himalayan rivers, writes Sudhirendar Sharma.

Quick identification of the London bombers of 7/7 and early success in making an arrest testifies to an excellent investigation by Scotland Yard. In contrast, getting photographs, fingerprints and other records from government departments are far more difficult for India's police detectives, says Arvind Verma.

One month ago, on June 27, Vadodara and surrounding areas received the first monsoon rains after a 15-day delay. Citizens spent the first two days of rains in jubilation. On the third day, things went wrong. Surekha Sule assesses the recent floods that devastated one of Gujarat's leading cities.

Reforms in urban governance are long overdue, and the cities are croaking under the weight of their neglect. But the National Urban Reforms Mission may be too much medicine, bypassing citizen input and consultation in a hasty drive for change. Vinay Baindur reports.

The Police Act Drafting Committee's term came to an end on 31 January. Any significant attempt to reform the Indian police must begin with the men at the bottom, the constabulary, not at the top. However, such changes would call for a struggle against the nature of Indian society itself, says former IPS officer K S Subramanian.

Two years after being appointed to the National Advisory Council, Aruna Roy has decided to decline a new term. While expressing happiness over some of the work the NAC has been able to do in the past, she now believes that the space for the advisory body to function as a forum for public consultation has diminished.

Both the Supreme Court and the Prime Minister recognised that rehabilitation for Sardar Sarovar dam on the Narmada river was incomplete, but neither was willing to fulfil their legal responsibility to actually stop construction. Instead, the the Shunglu Committee is now "independently" investigating rehabilitation and it appears compromised, worries Mike Levien.

Certainly, there are flaws in the National Urban Renewal Mission, and mistakes will be made as it is rolled out. But this imperfect solution still represents the collective and well-intentioned efforts of many stakeholders, and we must engage with it. Ramesh Ramanathan responds to Kathyayini Chamaraj's criticism of the Mission.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's proposal for a North East Water Resources Authority to steer development along the Brahmaputra river basin in an integrated manner is both grand and glamorous. But how will the proposed Authority succeed where the Brahmaputra Board failed? This is still unclear, says Videh Upadhyay.

The state is by far the biggest litigant, and contributes a large part to the staggering backlog clogging the courts. The Centre, States and public sector companies determinedly appeal every adverse verdict, despite winning only a small minority of them eventually. Kannan Kasturi reports.

Are ancient structures the relics of a past that we no longer want to remember? As the 139-year-old Crawford Market in Mumbai faces the demolition squad, Darryl D'Monte looks at the pitfalls of a 'development' model that could have cities across the world sporting the same skyline.

While successful efforts are sadly rare, a few telecentre initiatives have done good work in bridging the digital divide and have positively impacted disadvantaged communities, writes Vivek Vaidyanathan.

Systematic and chronic under-investment in public goods such as education, law enforcement and infrastructure has already impacted our cities. And yet, we have not asked and answered a number of questions as a nation. C V Madhukar begins a new series.

These are unusual times - when even the most capitalist and free market proponents of the world see an important role for governments. But it is not a time to to look at government challenges through ideological prisms alone, writes C V Madhukar.

The loss of faith in government can be extremely detrimental to the very foundation of our democracy. Improved performance by government is a national imperative, writes C V Madhukar.

A permanent solution should be sought to defend ships and their crew who, refusing to be party to unscrupulous trade, end up being eliminated, with their deaths portrayed as suicides, writes Shabeena Zaheer who lost her son.

Law enforcement cannot make a distinction between 'our' goons and 'their' goons. It has to make a distinction between goons and law abiding citizens, and only then can we be secure, writes Harish Narasappa.

Policy issues in the mainstream media tend to be about the economy. It is time that we pay closer attention to education, health, environment and foreign affairs, writes Ramachandra Guha.

Jhunjhunu's example can be emulated by other towns of this size. The work of the local groups has been diluted by institutionalisation, but mobilising people continues to pay dividends, writes Kalpana Sharma.

Four years on, positives seem to be weighed down by negatives -- thanks mainly to the aggressive land acquisition for mega real estate projects by the ruling LDF coalition. P N Venugopal wonders if the government’s confidence is at its low ebb.

This time around, there is too much pressure - from opposition, media, and people at large - on the standing committee and Parliament for them to sit over the bill and let it lapse, writes Mathew Prasad Idiculla.

Governments have taken to announcing monetary compensation for victims' kin in cases of criminal acts as well, but it hardly masks their failure to impose the rule of law or bring about systemic improvements, says Harish Narasappa.

A complete and accurate database of dams and rivers in the country is the first pre-requisite for analysing hydrological issues and safety, but an analysis by Himanshu Thakkar shows that the authority entrusted to maintain such records clearly has a long way to go.

A spate of arrests and high profile cases may have led to a partial let-up in the feudalism and violence in the politics of northern Kerala, but many are disillusioned as newer forms of evil take root, finds Nileena M S.

Apathetic, inefficient government and mindless pursuit of Western consumerist ideals by a few have brought India's marginalized millions to a state where the judiciary has to intervene to enforce the most basic of rights. Often, without effect, as Sakuntala Narasimhan finds.

It is an opportunity for the President to assert the authority and independence of his office by rejecting a clearly political move that is a slap in the face of constitutional morality, writes Nitin Pai.

A performance audit of NREGS implementation in Karnataka reveals several anomalies, delays and variance with what had been envisaged; yet, 60 per cent of surveyed beneficiaries report a positive impact on their lives. Himanshu Upadhyaya presents a summary of key findings from the audit.

Basic education and subsequent employment opportunities are issues that India has continued to grapple with. Could highly educated parliamentarians necessarily drive these forward? Tanvi Bhatikar analyses findings of a recent voters’ survey in search of an answer.

In view of the alleged corruption in rehabilitation of affected families, the Jabalpur HC has imposed a stay on the decision to raise the height of the Narmada dam further. Recalling the history of the project till date, Himanshu Upadhyaya asks why a higher dam should be considered at all.

Municipal corporations in India have neither any grip on the number of staffers employed and their skillsets nor any mechanism to ascertain these. Madhavi Rajadhyaksha discusses several studies including the ASICS from Janaagraha to expose what ails urban local bodies.

A Consortium of 7 IITs is working on a plan that will form the basis for the long-term vision for the government’s much-talked about Ganga rejuvenation programme. Shripad Dharmadhikary reviews an initial summary released by the Consortium as the framework within which the final plan will be drawn up.

With the thrust on Ganga rejuvenation, rivers in India have become the focus of attention from several international players. Manoj Misra points out how this may explain some recent statements from the government's partner in Yamuna restoration, JICA.

India Rivers Week held in November 2014 was a first-of-its-kind gathering in New Delhi, which celebrated rivers and those trying to protect them, while charting out a road map to mitigate the threats they confront. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports on the proceedings.

India’s decision and actions in appointing the first president of the BRICS New Development Bank will signal its thrust on social and environmental sustainability, not only within the new financial order but also domestically, writes Sunita Dubey.

In the aftermath of the recent developments within the Aam Aadmi Party, Himanshu Upadhyaya’s straight-from-the-heart essay describes the loss of hope and feeling of dejection among many idealists, who had fondly seeded and nurtured dreams of a politics of alternatives.

The present government completed one year in the office in May this year. It came to power by promising to bring achhe din for the Indians, who were frustrated with high inflation, corruption and policy paralysis during the last government. Pradeep Baisakh objectively analyses the performance of the Modi government in its first year.

The Ishrat Jahan case has again hit the headlines with former home minister P Chidambaram being accused of rewriting an affidavit to prove the 19-year-old’s innocence. Ramesh Menon presents a recap and investigates where things stand now.

The Draft National Water Framework Bill, put out for public comments recently, represents an important and progressive step forward despite some shortcomings and challenges involved in its implementation, writes Shripad Dharmadhikary.