Forty of India's biggest energy companies are being investigated by a wing of the Union Ministry of Finance for over-invoicing of imported coal. The artificially higher prices of coal have been passed on to electricity consumers across the country. The scam is conservatively estimated by government officials at no less than ₹29,000 crore, a third of which is in the form of higher power tariffs. Big names from the corporate sector, notably the Adani Group and Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, are being probed for their alleged involvement in the scandal. An exclusive report.

"Those that think that the market-led system is perfect are living in a dream... There is need for an optimal combination of around 70 per cent of market and 30 per cent state influence" - Ashok Gulati, Chairman Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, Ministry of Agriculture, in conversation with Ajay Jakhar and Paranjoy Guha Thakurta.

Corruption in India is as old as corruption itself. Why then have successive stories on corruption in high places hogged the headlines in newspapers and magazines, determining the topics tackled by television anchors, paralyzing the parliament, and dominating discourse in political circles?