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Q It is estimated that by 2050, 54 per cent of Indians will live in cities. But with such a high premium being placed on urban land, how are the cities going to host migrants, especially the poor?

Firstly, that estimate is probably incorrect. Already, as indicated by the 2011 Census, urban growth is slowing down - from 54 per cent in the 1970s to 32  per cent currently even though the Census has

Surekha Gaikwad is a high school graduate. She started picking waste along with her mother-in-law after getting married. Till five years back, she would not even bother to dress up as the day would be spent at a hot and filthy garbage bin. “Even if I had a bath in the morning, by midday I was stinking. So I never bothered to stay clean,” she says. But now Surekha wears a nice fresh sari to work, with a rose in her hair. She leads a team of eight waste pickers

It is an accident of history that tobacco became a legal product. It would be a fallacy to assume that a product which kills half its consumers was given a legal status by way of logic. When in the beginning of 19th century, tobacco was commercially used for the first

Thousands of years have passed, and a woman’s existence is still verified by that of a male in her life. We’ve all heard of the famous saying – “Behind ever successful man is a woman”, and people often say it in passing without realising its significance.

Somewhere between Alipur and Narela Sub City lies the village of Holambi Kalan. Around 47 km from Delhi's showpiece Connaught Place, this village was chosen for the relocation of families from JJ ( (short for jhhugi, jhompri) clusters on Minto Road and R.K. Puram, two of the most prime areas of the capital.

Despite spending crores of rupees on the birth control programme, the population of stray dogs has been increasing across India resulting in more attacks on humans, especially children, and retaliatory attacks on dogs. Stray dogs are also a great danger to wild animals and livestock in villages and protected areas. A petition currently being heard in the Supreme Court raises many questions on the government programme to deal with stray dogs. We talk to dog lover and researcher Meghna Uniyal about the concerns.

Cash notes worth over Rs 14 lakh crore have been junked by the government via its order on November 9 to curb black money. Pegged at over Rs 30 lakh crore, black money in India is estimated to be 20 per cent of the GDP. While most are optimistic about this move, many have also questioned if it will be worth the inconvenience people have been put to. Thankfully, we can always look back at history to know if we have done better than before. This is the third time India has gone through demonetisation of modern currency. In 1946, the British government demonetised hundred rupee currency and in 1978, currency notes of Rs 1,000 and above were demonetised.

A major change has taken over the Indian skies. Gone are the days of aluminium rod antennas decked with torn kites. The small direct to home (DTH) dish antennas of today signify the shift from terrestrial (over the air) transmission to satellite telecast. In India, this also implies easing out of the national public broadcaster Doordarshan (DD). While most would like to believe stiff competition from private channels and lack of autonomy are the only reasons for DD’s downfall, a five state study conducted by the Media Foundation throws up some interesting findings.