After a week in office, Modi government sets its agenda
The new government faces its first parliamentary session. Down To Earth puts together the agenda of the government in key sectors
Tapping the skills of the gun makers of Munger
Traditional gun makers in Bihar's Munger district are exceptionally skilled; with a little help they could find jobs in legal arms factories
Sure cure: how to tackle India's undernutrition crisis in 10 steps
The finance ministry and the planning department can play an overarching role by ensuring health programmes get sufficient resources
The poverty quibble
Government claims a huge drop in poverty numbers but critical indicators—health, malnutrition and wages—continue to be grim. So how …
Channels of change
Two villages in Uttar Pradesh have reversed the trend of migration by digging six kilometres of channels to bring water to drought-hit farms
Union Budget 2021-22: Time to step up public investment in nutrition
Nutrition interventions, with an already faltering coverage, hit a blockade due to COVID-19 disruptions; the Union Budget is a critical …
COVID-19: Even skilled workers line up for MGNREGA in Kurukshetra
With economic recovery uncertain, those who would earlier avoid central job schemes are now ready to take up work
Usage of toilets in India is over 95 per cent, reveals new NSSO survey
This finding is, however, from a two-month rapid survey, considered too short by experts
Centre eases rules for accessing watershed programme funds
States that are currently facing severe drought are the ones who have spent the least on soil conservation and water conservation
Gaps galore
BRANCHING OUT: JOINT FOREST MANAGEMENT IN INDIA Nalini Sundar et al • Oxford University Press • New Delhi • 2001 • 289pp
INEVITABLE TRAGEDY
SOPAN JOSHI travels through Andhra Pradesh, only to find that beyond the immediate crisis of state-wide farmers' suicide lies one decade of …
Will rural flagship schemes change under Modi?
Officials admit that MGNREGS and rural road development programmes suffered shortcomings in UPA regime
NDA introduces changes in MGNREGA
Rural development ministry to make social audit compulsory; create more durable assets in blocks and districts, instead of villages
Nepal's poor carry it off
As the Himalayan country's forestry scheme for the poor reaps rich dividends, its government entrusts more degraded areas to the underprivileged. …
Raw Deal
Scepticism hangs over Kerala's Tribal Rehabilitation and Development Mission and its master plan
As told to Parliament (December 22, 2022): Around 60% of India prone to earthquakes
Around 11% of India falls in Zone V, which is the most seismically active
'Social protection: a safety net for agricultural households'
In the run up to World Food Day on October 16, a Food and Agriculture Organization report focuses on the role of social protection in …
Water-stressed in India: Lessons from Telangana’s Sangareddy district
From Kakatiya mission in 2016 to Jal Shakti Abhiyan in 2019 — how de-silting of Pedda Cheruvu tank helped fix groundwater levels &…
Centre launches awareness campaign for MGNREGA
'Kaam Mango Abhiyan' aims to popularise the ambitious flagship programme of the UPA government
West Bengal fares poorly in MNREGS
Only 25 days of work provided per family as against the guaranteed 100 days of work; wages paid late in 55 per cent cases
India has approved ratification of Nagoya Protocol
Environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan calls for partnership between developed and developing countries to meet the challenges of protecting …
At the crossroads
As the debate continues, the Northeast must stamp the decision: log out of forest bureaucracy and log in to local-based prosperity
The verdict
Read between the lines: the Supreme Court order has a development model hidden for the Northeast
The accused
Governments clinically interpret the ban to make space for the forest bureaucracy, alienating people from their own habitats
Can rural Uttarakhand retain its COVID-19 returnees
Deserted villages are springing back to life as residents return due to lockdown. The state government has announced several schemes to retain …