Delhi government budget: are we losing public transport agenda of aam aadmi?

The new budget is a step back and a gross deviation from some of the early budgetary promises we got in June 2015

A personal memoir of planned development

India's affair with five-year plans ends

Why the Budget should increase allocation towards health and family planning

Low spending by India in these two areas has caused growing inequality, insufficient access and poor quality of healthcare services

NITI Aayog begins business without action plan

Will the Aayog's vision be any different than the top-down approach of its predecessor, the Planning Commission? 

In my city, without my car

From an object of desire, cars will turn into an asset of shared mobility

This tribal district has become 'immune to drought' with people's participation

Jhabua continues to flourish and maintain its status as a model district while many others fail

Flood forecasting not happening ‘correctly’ and ‘timely’ in most states: CAG

According to the CAG report, out of 375 telemetry stations, 222 (59 per cent) were non-operational

What's your view of the road?

If we are not able to walk, we cannot really build a vibrant public transport network

No ambiguity on need for better urban planning

We need to operationalise policy on the assumption that increased frequency of extreme weather events and deepening impacts are the new baseline

From Africa, with will

For the first time, African countries flagged off urbanisation as a factor impacting climate change at the recently held Africa Carbon Forum …

A day in a ragpickers’ slum in New Delhi

Ragpickers have remained out of the formal system of employment or benefits, and their condition is getting worse due to alienating policies

Yojna Banao Abhiyan - then a hit, now a miss

The local administration in Jharkhand is undermining the decentralised scheme, created to enhance livelihood, manage natural resources and …

States violate community forest rights as Centre delays implementation of CAF Act

States exploit the delay in the drafting of rules for the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act to assert rights over land claimed by communities …

Repeal or amend CAF: tribal organisations

A petition by tribal organisations says the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act violates constitutional rights and affects livelihoods of …

Restrictions on airing condom ads is absurd at best

The least that the government could have done is issue guidelines for such advertisements

Why social health activists in India live a life of uncertainty

More than 0.87 million ASHAs in India are facing salary issues, lack of incentives and exclusion from social safety schemes

Environment, forest ministry finalising transfer of Rs 50,000-crore CAMPA funds to states

Compensatory afforestation funds belong to the state and it was kept temporarily with the Centre

When climate comes unhinged, we need to re-think how to build our cities

While reducing carbon emissions is key to tackling extreme weather events, there are various ways to make cities more resilient

Odisha tribal organisations protest against draft CAF Rules  

The protests are in opposition to the vague position of the Rules on forest-dwelling communities in the compensatory afforestation process

How are you utilising green funds worth Rs 75,000 crore? SC asks Centre

The Supreme Court has asked the environment ministry to submit a status report on whether these funds are being utilised for environment …

Women bear the brunt of Africa's urban disasters, such as the collapse of landfills

When it comes to urban disasters - both natural and otherwise - death has a gender

36 per cent cities to face water crisis by 2050

An estimated 400 million people currently live in cities with perennial water shortage. The number is slated to go up to 1 billion by 2050 due to …

When Indian women negotiate with local authorities to improve their lives in a slum

Women in a settlement in the north-eastern peri-urban part of Indore learnt that gentle, perseverant negotiation was the best way forward

If sanitation is treated as a community problem, we can make something happen for very little money

Just like a better iPhone is not the solution to poor telecom connectivity, sanitation cannot be solved by a smart, well-designed product, sold …

Bike-share companies are transforming US cities – and they're just getting started

The humble bicycle, aided by smartphone technology, is resurging as an urban transportation option