When villages plug in

A Consumer movement is catching on in Nepal.Communities are extending the grid to villages.This threatens to undo the effort put in small-scale …

NDA introduces changes in MGNREGA

Rural development ministry to make social audit compulsory; create more durable assets in blocks and districts, instead of villages

Union budget 2020-21 - explained in 15 charts

Nirmala Sitharaman's budget has little to offer rural India. Allocation to several schemes were slashed below 2019-20 revised estimates&…

Another poll sop: MGNREGS wage to be hiked from April 1

Move was preceded by series of initiatives to woo rural voters; these include money to construct toilets and insurance benefits

Some nets and sunshine

Fishers in a Tamil Nadu village save cost and improve catch with solar panel-fitted boats

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 …

Centre launches awareness campaign for MGNREGA

'Kaam Mango Abhiyan' aims to popularise the ambitious flagship programme of the UPA government

Liberal politics of Economic Survey 2011-12

The Economic Survey 2011-12 showcases the dividends of economic liberalisation started by the ruling party. But admits: growth is not possible …

Micropowerful

A microhydel project a day. Communities snatch the initiative from the government to electrify rural Nepal

Panchayat Raj Half a cheer for democracy

There is a great push to make panchayats the fulcrum of rural development in India. But 16 years after the third tier of government was created, …

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 …

Scheme against jobs

Government is bent upon shrinking jobs for the poor by fundamentally changing the rural employment guarantee scheme against the advice of its …

Bank at your doorstep

Technology is helping public sector banks find customers in rural India. This is part of the Centre’s efforts to include villages in the …

Distressed handloom weavers seek bailout

The allocation for handloom sector was reduced to Rs 620.5 crore in 2014-15 from Rs 2,960.5 crore in 2012-13 budget

Infant deaths continue in Attappady

As advisor to prime minister visits the tribal block panchayat, activists demand special care for pregnant adivasi women

Phulmai's walk - a day in the life of a headloader

Headloaders - collectors of fuelwood in India's woodlands. On the one hand, seen as forest destroyers, on the other, they are the sole support of …

Walk the village talk

After raising the political profile of village councils, government wants to downsize them

India's genome saviours

Farmers and organisations who have won government recognition this year for conserving seeds of indigenous crops and plant species

Khap panchayat bans paddy

Rice cultivation has led to waterlogging and soil salinity in Haryana’s Jhajjar district

Drought is in the mind

GOOD NEWS: There is more evidence to show that water harvesting can go a long way in dealing with drought and solving the water crisis, and even …

Political harvest

Report card: A scheme that can help solve the water crisis has become a tool to promote political interests of the ruling party Success level: Poor

Learning the mantra

Report card: The government realised its failures and learned from the civil society. Despite cases of corruption and some errors in planning, …

COVID-19: Augmenting farmer access to long-term credit

Failing to protect farmers amid the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic can worsen India’s agrarian distress.

A natural secret

Policymakers don't need to go too far to eradicate poverty. The solution is as close as is a village well to a villager

Sarguja Losing battle

First district for tribal development Rampant deforestation Malnutrition and starvation deaths