In death as in life, Tamil Nadu’s enigmatic chief minister J Jayalalithaa retained her mystique. When she fell dangerously ill, people did not know – and were not told – w
Manish Sisodia is the de facto chief minister. He’s in charge of all important departments including finance, planning, urban development, education. It’s rare that
From Mahatma Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram to corporate talkshop Davos, it’s creating a buzz everywhere. If nothing is stronger than an idea whose time has come, then people in more and m
The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), in one of the world’s largest surveys of employment trends, found the number of women employed falling from 126.49 million (29.4 perc
Tribals in the land of the legendary Birsa Munda in Jharkhand are fighting against the amendments of the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNTA) and Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act (SPTA).
On October 1 last year, Mehtab Alam Ansari, 30, who worked as a tailor in Delhi, had arrived in his village, Chepa Khurd in Barkagaon tehsil of Harazibagh district, to celebrate Eid with hi
Whether it is for learning, banking, communicating, accessing government services, investing in the stock market or starting a social media campaign, access to the internet has gone beyon
The nutrition crisis continues to stare at us, despite the fact that India is the fastest growing large economy today. In running after GDP growth, the human development index
At one time these pale rooms of the Delhi commission for women looked like sleepy corners of officialdom; they are now best described as a bustling sarkari office. The woman who transform
Joseph A Cannataci is the UN’s first and current special rapporteur for the right to privacy appointed by the Human Rights Council (HRC) in July 2015. His appointment came with growing glob
People who have known the prime minister up close say his magic – which according to analysts handed the BJP a landslide victory in Uttar Pradesh despite anger over demonetisation – i
Thanks to the high-speed broadband connectivity, practicals and complex subjects are taught using YouTube at the school. “Life-saving activities like heart pumping during a cardiac arrest can
The Narendra Modi- Arvind Kejriwal antagonism has always been about two different kinds of populism. While it may not play out in a municipal election, the fact remains that a Kejriwal chastened
A giant yellow inflatable schistosomiasis worm, with ‘Making Schistory’ printed on it, floated on Lake Geneva, marking the five years since the London Declaration o
Rajkumar Shukla’s village Satwariya, now in West Champaran, is well connected with the rest of Bihar’s towns and villages. However, I see no pucca roads within the village. E
At Raymond Limited’s modern textile facility in Vapi, whenever a supervisor has to check up on the looms, he doesn’t go walking around the factory floor asking the workers. He just look
In many ways the story of Gross National Happiness in a country is the story of Bhutan and its modern history. There are two major transition points in Bhutan’s recent history, the beginnin
In 2014, Varanasi and Kyoto came in a ‘partner city’ relationship, a non-financial affiliation under which private firms (and not governments) from both cities finalise a set of theme
Just as farmers in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and elsewhere were gathering for violent protests to press their demands, the chief economic advisor to the government of India, Arvind Subramanian,
About 15 lakh engineers pass out every year; but there are jobs only for about a third of them. Most passouts have degrees in information technology and electronics, because the IT sector was boomi
On May 23 this year, the ministry of environment issued ‘Rules on prevention of cruelty to animals (regulation of livestock market)’ with the purported aim of regulating animal market
After KR Narayanan, India will have a second ‘dalit’ president. Will it change the condition of one-sixth of India’s population that still suffers caste slurs and discrimination
President Pranab Mukherjee, who demits office soon, has been known as a man “of the constitution”, a believer in it, and was called to be its custodian during the last five years. His
UN recently adopted the first-ever treaty to ban nuclear weapons. The ten-page treat is encompassing in its prescriptions: it prohibits a full range of nuclear-weapon-related activities, such as
TRAI chief RS Sharma, who was the director general of UIDAI at its inception, sits down with Governance Now journalists to talk about how the ambitious project was conceived. He also dispels the mi
Last year the nation marked the 25th anniversary of the launch of economic liberalisation. Back in those tumultuous days, Yashwant Sinha was an important part of the dramatis personae involved in
As India celebrates 70 years of freedom, Governance Now looks back and picks 70 words – or phrases, buzzwords, slogans, events – that best define this ancient nation and young democra
The figures of toilets made and to be made and the population that would be affected thus are indeed mind-boggling. Since its launch three years ago, Swachh Bharat Mission has already led to the
There are many surmises: was she killed because she was anti-establishment? Was she killed because of the rise of that right-wing that disliked her anti-Hindutva stance? Was she killed because she
Instant triple talaq – which the supreme court banned recently, while asking the government to legislate against the decadent practice – is something Muslim women had no doubt wanted to
Today, Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s first woman full-time defence minister, may appear a picture of poise and confidence. But 11 years ago, she wasn’t even sure if she should join the Bh
