-The Economic Times If India is now debating opening the books and operations of political parties to the public, it's because of these six people who pulled strategic levers and applied relentless pressure. Soma Banerjee traces a four-year effort that converted intent to action Balwant Singh Khera, a politician from Hoshiarpur in Punjab, is not a name that will strike a chord in mainstream politics or social discourse today. It might in...

-The Hindu Switching to renewable energy sources in the country's midday meal programme will save millions of rupees. But only a few kitchens are doing anything about it, says the author. This is a story of facts and figures and sheer size. Of an auditorium-sized room dense with hot steam from cooking. Of seven tonnes of cooked rice and four tanker-loads of steaming sambar that needed 70 pairs of hands for cutting...

-The Times of India BANGALORE: Ever wondered why the country is fast losing its forest cover? The simple answer is that large tracts of forest land are being handed over to public and private agencies in the name of development projects. Digest this: According to recent data acquired through RTI from the ministry of environment and forests by a group of environmentalists, the extent of forest land being diverted across the country...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: A Delhi government circular that excludes migrant children from availing quota facility under the economically weaker section (EWS) category is under the scanner of Delhi High Court. Justice G S Sistani recently issued notice to the Delhi government and sought its response on the validity of the circular. HC was hearing a petition filed by a street vendor seeking EWS benefits for her five-year-old child and...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Unhappy with failure of state authorities to preserve and protect the fast diminishing water bodies in the capital, the Delhi High Court has issued contempt notice to the environment secretary and the DDA vice-chairman. Justice G S Sistani recently sought a response from the state government and DDA's top officials why they should not be charged with contempt of court for being unable to effectively curb...