Fifth Schedule and the fate of scheduled areas
Will the Xaxa committee report impact the Supreme Court’s impending judgment on Fifth Schedule?
Rs 60 crore for 250,000 panchayats
The Centre's decision to reduce Panchayati Raj Ministry's budget and transfer its schemes to states has left the ministry bewildered about its …
Machiavellian moves
Rajasthan's decision to bar illiterate people from contesting elections to panchayats is one more example of a state government dominating …
Where are rural courts?
The Gram Nyayalaya Act was passed in 2008 to make the judicial process participatory, inexpensive and accessible to rural India. But rural courts …
Govt wants to dump excess food grain in Africa
Food Corporation of India storages are spilling from excess food stocks and the new Kharif procurement season is only a month away
9 DRC communities fight a century-old land conflict with a palm oil firm
They filed a complaint with German Development Bank accusing them of funding a palm oil plantation company in spite of being aware of a …
NITI Aayog begins business without action plan
Will the Aayog's vision be any different than the top-down approach of its predecessor, the Planning Commission?
Cabinet expansion: does it herald improvement in governance
Experts feel that the change in the cabinet has nothing to do with improving governance, but is a way of appeasing local sentiments
Democracy's better half
Exclusive women's village councils are beginning to make a difference in India's rural areas. Are state governments ready to share power with them?
JJP emerges kingmaker in Haryana
JJP, as well as the opposition Congress had promised to deal with agrarian crisis and massive unemployment, especially among the state’s Jats
Widow starves to death in Jharkhand after being deprived of Aadhaar-linked benefits
Investigation reveals how bank account was opened under a dead person's name and Aadhaar-linked benefits were transferred to that account
Nagaland tribal bodies are protesting reservation for women in local bodies
Women’s rights activists say that it shows the unwillingness of tribal bodies to share power
India to bid adieu to Five Year Plans
The country will still have Plan documents but they would not adhere to a five year time period
Three villages get land rights 38 years after being displaced by Tehri dam
The villages are now officially recognised and have been renamed as Tehri Bhagirathi Nagar, Ghonti Village and Chhaam
World Bank pulls out of Amaravati construction project
The Bank, which was to lend $300 million to the project has said it will no longer be involved, given the project’s non-compliance of its …
Bonds to the rescue?
Urban local bodies across India are floating bonds to raise money. This may render them unviable and make city living costly
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
Gond tribals, Madhya Pradesh government fight for 4000 hectares of land
Two government departments and landless people are locked in a legal battle over 4,000 ha in Madhya Pradesh whose outcome would have countrywide …
People of no land
Jharkhand's decision to allow the use of tribal land for non-agricultural purposes could lead to mass displacement
Spinning industry seeks government help
Industry association recently published advertisements in newspapers, seeking govt attention
Cattle slaughter ban to turn today’s girls into anaemic women: study
The research paper says that women exposed to the ban in their year of birth are 10% more likely to be anemic in their prime reproductive age
Harvard University accused of land grab & violation of indigenous people's rights: study
The university's endowment fund, meant to support educational and research goals, was misused to acquire 850,000 hectares of farmland across 5 …
Government quells homestead land rights protest with yet another assurance
Activists have been demanding that the land reforms Bill be brought in Parliament since 2012
As Sardar Sarovar dam's gates get shut, 192 villages fear submergence
But the government is not sure who all will get submerged, let alone rehabilitate them
Small incentive, big draw: How an officer makes PDS work
Jyoti Kakwani plugs pilferage in fair price shops by giving surprise gifts to those who demand receipts from the shopkeeper