Our personal choices directly impact the pressure on managing infrastructure support that we all need for energy, water, and waste management, writes Chandrashekar Hariharan.

Both India and Pakistan have independently concluded that they would be able to extract better concessions from the other at a later date, notes Firdaus Ahmed.

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.

The risk to the unborn child from an HIV-infected mother is significant, but with advances in science and medical care, more women are hopeful about choosing to keep the child. Puja Awasthi reports.

The steel plant and port proposed by the South Korean mining giant in Orissa has remained on paper, as local opposition has successfully fought off the company's efforts. Kanchi Kohli reports.

A number of development organisations are working to diagnose deafblindess in children, and provide learning tools and techniques that can mainstream them. Freny Manecksha reports.

The official line is simple. Since we cannot afford to feed all the hungry, there must only be as many hungry as we can afford to feed. The truth is the government seeks ways to spend less and less on the very food security it talks about, writes P Sainath.

In mid-June, the Election Commmission of India directed Chief Electoral Officers of all states and Union Territories to enforce the law against "paid news" during elections. The institutionalised racket has been running into hundreds of crores of rupees. Ammu Joseph brings you up to speed.

Can Jairam Ramesh, who was the Minister of State for Power during his last tenure, suffer a change of heart suddenly and come down heavily on non-compliance by those power projects he once presided over? Himanshu Upadhyaya has more.

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.

How does one go about saving energy during construction or in the lifetime of a building when we live in it? A lot of this has to do with your being sensitized to this concept of 'embodied energy', writes Chandrashekar Hariharan.

Despite all that she has endured, Neelam Katara remains a picture of stoic determination and motherly affection. Vasudha Mehta visits her to learn what her son's murder and the subsequent trial have taught her about the justice system.

They forage the city, collecting and sorting often hazardous waste when the city sleeps and by day they are gone. We have no long-term policy in place that looks at their welfare or health, writes Kalpana Sharma.

We need a new mechanism for creating trust, a mechanism that is neither traditional nor institutional. Post-institutional technology holds more hope than rule-based institutions, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan

In North Sikkim, a familiar tale of subverting environment regulation is playing out, as plans to dam the Teesta river push past local opposition and ecological considerations. Kanchi Kohli reports

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.

Bauddhayan Mukherji's film series hands men a proactive role in tackling domestic violence, simply by letting abusers know that they are being observed. Shoma Chatterji reviews Bell Bajao!

A tigress recently attacked and killed a man inside the Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Karnataka. Malini Shankar digs deeper to find answers for the inevitable question.

Extracting enough gold to forge a wedding band leaves behind at least 20-30 tons of waste and environmental devastation. Mahazareen Dastur writes about the costs of gold mining in the first of a two-part series.

Gold mining wreaks havoc on the environment and humans alike, but some precautionary measures and fair practices can help minimize the damage. Mahazareen Dastur concludes this two-part series.