A hard rain’s falling

Sayantan Bera tells the story of a man and a state, paralysed inside the remote islands of Sundarbans

Make India drought-proof

Our smaller future

India becomes first country to adopt an agroforestry policy

Four-day world congress on agroforestry in Delhi pushes for accelerating growing trees on farms for sustainable agriculture and mitigating …

‘Restore land to tribals; allow them to be self-reliant’

K K Usha Raju took charge as president of Attappady block in Kerala seven months ago. She is 31 years old and belongs to Muduga tribal community. …

News Briefs

Last ditch attempt

UPA gives sops under MGNREGS to attract rural voters ahead of elections

Funds for social welfare cut drastically in revised budget estimates

Ministers write protest letters to prime minister and finance minister, saying it would greatly impact ongoing schemes

Nothing to bank on

The government’s much-hyped Direct Benefit Transfer programme has hit a roadblock. Banks have failed to meet the huge demand for opening …

Rice at risk

Growing paddy is not viable for small farmers of Kerala. Will the state be able to preserve the crop which delivers a number of ecological …

Supreme Court order triggers NREGS wage debate

How much should workers under rural employment scheme be paid if minimum wage fixed by a state is more than that of the Centre?

Green energy takes toll on green cover

A forest generated by residents in Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district is being destroyed to set up windmills

Cash transfers do not benefit

Jitendra visited three districts in Rajasthan to meet people who are supposed beneficiaries of UPA government’s much-touted Direct Benefit …

Budget through the years post liberalisation

Run up to Budget 2012-13

Mission possible

The Centre gives India just about eight years to free its villages of open defecation. This seems unlikely. But the states of Sikkim, Haryana and …

Workers missing from tea gardens of north Bengal and Assam

Rural employment guarantee scheme is keeping them engaged

Drought of equity

A large part of Maharashtra has been declared drought-hit. But distribution of water is quite incongruous. While the few who are politically and …

Rare takes on the year just passing by

Being a Down To Earth reporter entails merging the personal with the professional. The magazine you so dearly own has a fascinating world hidden …

How MGNREGA helps revive village infra, increase employment in Haryana

Villagers gain employment through the job guarantee scheme, used as a means to revive rural infrastructure like reservoirs, cattle sheds

COVID-19: Reverse migration sparks concern for Punjab’s paddy season

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh asked the Union government to allow labourers and cardholders under MGNREGA scheme to work in farm operations

Tensions that continue

While launching this newsmagazine, our founder-editor Anil Agarwal had said that in the years ahead, India will have to seize every possible …

Can MGNREGA cushion the COVID-19 lockdown blow for Moradabad’s returning villagers

There is a sharp rise in demand for work under MGNREGA in Moradabad and other districts of the state

Odisha’s big challenge: Meeting MGNREGS target of 200 million person days

Although the state govt picked up pace compared to recent years, there are reports of slowdown in work being done