Real or fictional, these women are heroines of all time

From the spirited Bathsheba to Mandakini Amte, from unrecognised midwives and unsung domestic labourers to fearless tribal activist Sumani Jogdi, …

Sukhomajri's failing development model

A model Haryana village, which had pulled itself out of poverty by managing natural resources, shuns the very model of development

How cow became the mother of demigods

The current political discourse on cow protection disregards the history of beef eating in India

Sick(le) charade

The NDA government's new and revised schemes to augment rural development are yet to show any results

Starting young, changing lives

This boy from Bihar does not leave a single stone unturned to ensure that children in his village can study in proper schools

Three-year action plan identifies gaps in rural development schemes

Over the next three years, the government wants to focus on strengthening implementation and monitoring of existing schemes

Jharkhand’s MGNREGA sahayta kendras show the way

MGNREGA budget has declined in real terms over the years, despite claims of “highest ever” allocations

India’s criminal wastage: over 10 million works under MGNREGA incomplete or abandoned  

Since April 2014, the rate of work completion has been declining at rapid pace, indicating that crucial assets for villages are not getting created

Cost of importing food is expected to rise 6% in 2017

The global food import bill is rising despite robust output in 2017, says UN

Impact of MGNREGS: household income on rise, so is agricultural productivity  

In the last one decade, it has also helped increase groundwater table by virtue of implementing a range of water conservation measures

Rural women have resilience to cope with climate risks: study

Women use creative ways to manage food and nutrition security in their households in lean months, shows an ongoing study in Faizabad, Uttar …

Allocation for schools in tribal areas increased, but funds for other education schemes heavily slashed

Funds for hostels and pre-matric scholarships for ST students sustained a drop of 94 per cent and 75 per cent respectively

Data shows corporates are consistently favoured over rural India

Corporate India gets indirect subsidy equivalent to 60 per cent of government expenditure on rural areas

Presidential panchayat

India's third-tier of government has a few lessons for those seeking presidential form of government

Panchayat elections are set to become all the more important

These village-level governments have all the ingredients to make or break a political party’s fortune

78% MPs yet to identify villages for development under Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana

With just nine months to go, Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, a scheme that is low on priority of the Lok Sabha and Rajya MPs, is way off the target …

A solar water purifier, with a difference

Scientists at the Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute at Phaltan in Maharashtra developed a solar water purifier, that does not require …

Govt's share of spending on nutrition, public health reduces in the last four years

Even the outstanding liabilities of states have been growing at double digits

The others too

The MeToo campaign comes at a time when women are being courted for electoral gains. Is it good or bad?

'State govts acquire land by subverting rights and bending the law’

The Centre for Science and Environment filed RTI queries to 28 states to understand how states are circumventing the land acquisition law. The …

Education, infrastructure saving grace for top districts: NITI Aayog report

Top performing districts still lag behind in development parameters like health and nutrition

Indian firms' CSR spending needs more accountability and transparency

Corporate India is investing well to meet its social goals, but the funds seem misdirected

Smart tech will only work for women when the fundamentals for its uptake are in place

If we want to tackle the underlying causes of gender inequality, to build smart and innovate for change, then technology is good

The wise debate

As the world debates the effectiveness of industrialised agriculture, the good-old small farmer emerges victorious

MGNREGA scheme failed on many counts: report

In the last five years, the average person days of work generated per household under MGNREGS remained less than 50 across years