The honeymoon is over for Mumbai Metro One Ltd, the entity that is to give the city the first phase of its Rs 19,500-crore, 146.5-km metro project. A PPP between Reliance Energy, the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) and an international company, it isn't exactly off the tracks, but there's serious bad weather building.

Whenever Kanta Devi's family in Anu village of Shimla district aren't busy looking after their small apple orchard, they sit down to watch TV

Spread over 140 sq km, East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW) is the kidney of Calcutta. Listed as a Ramsar site (an international convention on conserving wetlands), it is a mosaic of ponds, lakes, canals and swamps

As India unthinkingly denudes its own forest base, it's almost as if it clears the ground for a bout between 'doers' and 'sceptics'. A third of the country covered with trees by 2012 sounds like a comforting prospect. But the government lacks the resources to meet this stated goal.

Wet Runs: There are 32 ongoing water projects with private sector participation, as also 22 hydro power projects with private participation. Some 20 states are undertaking water sector reforms.
Farm Woe: Net irrigated area in India is 55 mn ha against a net crop area of 142 mn ha.

Fast Dwindling: Forest cover has gone down by 1,409 sq km between 2003 and 2005.

As the debate on food security rages on, it's worth looking at the success of Deccan Development Society (DDS), a sustainable model with woman farmers in Andhra Pradesh's Medak district. These 5,000 women from 75 villages, says DDS director P.V. Satheesh, are 'multiple-marginalised' both economically and in terms of gender and caste.

The process of development is never simple. It presents so many difficult questions: which programmes will be the most effective? What is the best way to reach those people in need of assistance? Are the government programmes we support making the difference we all want to see on the ground?

With abysmal levels of penetration and awareness, how do you sell the concept of health insurance to the rural poor?

Cases of brain cysts, caused by tapeworm, are rising sharply in cities across India
The incidence of neurocysticercosis, or cysts in the brain caused by tapeworm eggs, is reaching epidemic proportions in our cities
The vast majority of cases are caused by eating vegetables grown in soil or water contaminated by sewage

The core point in your story Sane Cow Mi/let (Feb 11) is off the mark as it seems to convey that marker assisted breeding, (mab) is not genetic modification, thus is less risky than GM technology. Agreed, mab is more refined than conventional plant breeding, but it still is GM technology