Made it
Enabavi, a village of 52 families, is abuzz. It is hosting farmers from the nearby Kallem village who have come here for tips on profitable …
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 …
Cast away
After being at the receiving end of both militants and the state government, Kashmir's village heads are now threatening to boycott next year's …
MGNREGS: ‘Monument of failure’ or ‘saviour’?
On the 10th anniversary of the rural job guarantee scheme, Down To Earth evaluates its successes and drawbacks
How a water project put women in charge and turned the fortunes of a dry Bengal village
With men quitting agriculture to work as unskilled labourers, women lead measures to curb soil erosion
Study puts MGNREGS in Punjab under scanner
The employment scheme generated 20.23 average working days in the state against the mandated 100 days, according to a Punjabi University report
Centre to send babus to 255 water-stressed districts. Here’s what they should keep in mind
MGNREGS has implemented a slew of projects, but to hardly any effect. We need to look at the problem afresh
Telangana pushing for organic farming, but focus is now on giving respite to farmers
Telangana's Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister, Jupally Krishna Rao, says his government is offering loan waiver and subsidies to farmers
MGNREGS: How the employment guarantee scheme holds up after 14 years
The scheme helped villagers beat poverty, created assets; Despite criticisms, it's time to ready MGREGS 2.0
Budget 2023-24: Whither rural development? Allocation for livelihood and other schemes sees 14% cuts
Funds for central sector schemes and projects have been reduced to 113 crore from Rs 126 crore
A tribal family is building a 6-km road to connect an inaccessible Odisha village
Its work would have gone unnoticed if two social workers had not lost their way in the forest near the village
Supreme Court issues directive for implementing MGNREGA, food security Act to tackle drought
In a bid to provide relief to households in drought-hit areas, the apex court directed the Centre to release funds to states for providing …
Strings attached
Centre's purpose of reserving 50 per cent seats for women in panchayat elections defeated by puppet candidates
A job not done
As multiple states launch urban employment guarantee schemes, the need for a Central Act similar to MGNREGA becomes stronger
MGNREGS: Difficulty in finding work, delayed wages add to women workers’ woes
The employment scheme worked as a lifeline for rural Indian households during the COVID-19 pandemic
Expect budget to be rural-centric, focus on delivery to beneficiaries
PM Modi has already launched a major water conservation campaign, put the focus of his second tenure on revival of the agrarian economy
Interim Budget 2019: MGNREGA gets record allocation, but it’s still not enough
Looking at the increasing demand of work, the big amount of Rs 60,000 crore might still not be able to put an end to the ongoing rural crises
Political parties choose farm loan waiver for electoral gains, but at what cost?
Farmers have outstanding loan of Rs12.60 lakh crore, which translates to Rs 100,000 per cultivator
Poverty eradication - Why do we always fail?
The government plans to bring one crore households out of poverty by 2019. Such targets are announced each year, but why don’t they work?
It is not a drought
As they say, drought is a disaster one can see coming. Deficit monsoon creates situations for a drought. But it is not deficit monsoon, rather …
Budget 2017 Analysis with Sunita Narain
Centre for Science and Environment and Down to Earth analysed the 2017 Budget by Arun Jaitley. The major takeaway is that there is very little …
Great farm pond chase
According to Union Budget 2017-18, Centre expects to see one million farm ponds being built by March 2017. If the government continues to chase …
MGNREGA causing labour crisis: RBI
Rural households in six states said they prefer working under MGNREGA rather than traditional labour, leading to an agricultural labour crisis
MSP on crops has major impact on inflation: RBI
After government said that it will provide 1.5 times the MSP on cost of production of crops in the 2018-19 Union budget, RBI re-assessed the …
Congress promises Rs 72,000 per year minimum income for poor
Calling it the Nyaya scheme, Rahul Gandhi said it will be an extension of UPA government’s flagship MGNREGS