Managing Editor, Down To Earth. He has been associated with the fortnightly since 1997 and has written extensively on rural affairs and development matters
Making sense of `Make in India'
Manufacturing needs to get a boost. But what to manufacture and how are two critical questions
Why people want to be poor
Crisis in Chhattisgarh over implementation of food security law has crucial lessons for India's public distribution system
Walk the village talk
After raising the political profile of village councils, government wants to downsize them
Farewell to welfare
The budget is a patch work of abandoned schemes revived or existing ones being re-named. This is all for rural development
Presidential panchayat
India's third-tier of government has a few lessons for those seeking presidential form of government
Drought forever
Severe drought strikes India every eight to nine years and is a major reason for perpetuating poverty
New leader, old challenge
India’s first PM born after Independence will face the old problem of poverty eradication
The national local elections
Bangladesh loses an opportunity to revive its most important local government—upazilla parishad—as competing national parties turn …
The curious case of panchayats in Delhi
The Nagar Swaraj Bill will usher in decentralised governance in the city state, but what happened to rural panchayats?
Will welfare schemes win votes for UPA?
An analysis of Brazil’s last three elections suggests that peopleÔÇêdo vote for parties for such initiatives, but only when …
New state of poverty
It’s time we acknowledged ecological impoverishment as one of the poverty indicators
Second disempowerment
Tribals have lost their decision-making power twice; first to the state then to the Maoists
Vedanta, have faith; tribal belief is ecological
Tribal religious beliefs are codes to preserve resources critical to their people's survival. The recent Supreme Court order on the Vedanta …
Boss, the real beehive!
Rahul Gandhi’s idea of governance needs fresh focus. How about more autonomy to nearly 240,000 panchayats?
Myth of onion
The humble vegetable’s price is not a lethal weapon against politicians but their victim
Land grab fallout
Scramble to buy land in foreign countries to grow more food leaves more people hungry
World's poor mostly reside in ecologically fragile areas
Looking at how poverty has reduced and where, it is clear that economic growth alone will not lead to poverty eradication. Global efforts must …