The International Year of Millets is an opportunity to improve indigenous kids’ nutrition
About 4.7 million tribal children in the country suffer from chronic nutrition deprivation
How central Indian tribes cope with climate change impacts
Faced with erratic rainfall and extreme weather, tribal farmers of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh turn to bewar and penda forms of cultivation, …
Where is POSCO headed?
Odisha government has completed land acquisition for plant site but proposed mining in Khandadhar hills might stir up another struggle
18 tribal villages in Maharashtra get tendu rights, finally
Sulking contractors refuse to put in auction bids; state tribal development corporation to the rescue
Andhra Pradesh introduces lottery system for allotting sand mining leases
State’s new sand policy replaces auction system for allotting leases and bans inter-state transportation of sand
New rules to make FRA effective
Tribal affairs ministry's draft rules under Forest Rights Act give more authority to the community in the process of settling forest rights
FRA guidelines to help forest dwellers freely trade in minor forest produce
Tribals and forest dwellers don’t need to obtain transit passes to cart away the produce; minimum support price scheme for MFPs to be in …
Baigas cheated of community forest rights
Madhya Pradesh village given rights over agricultural and residential land instead of forestland
Victims of development
Schemes launched by the government in Attappady have reduced the area’s tribals to wage labourers and has disempowered them
Another village, this time in Odisha, gets official permit to sell bamboo
Though Jamguda was conferred community forest right two years ago, it was not allowed to cart bamboo out or sell it in the market
Union Budget: challenges of public provisioning in India
Will the first budget of the 12th Five-Year Plan make a serious effort to plug loopholes in revenue collection and increase spending on social …
'Grant of community forest rights to JFMCs in Andhra illegal'
Tribal affairs ministry says state has violated Forest Rights Act by giving titles to joint forest management committees
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 …
Odisha miners to pay royalty for tribal welfare
State CM approves formulation of new mining regulation; funds to be used for local infrastructure in Scheduled Areas
Deo slams MP government for denying forest rights to tribals in Mahan
Union tribal affairs minister says villagers’ consent to mining by Hindalco and Essar comprised more than 11,000 forged signatures
The widening nutrition gap
Difference in the nutritional status of Kerala’s general rural populace and that of Attappady could be as high as 50 per cent
Inclusive budget for inclusive growth
Budgets should not just talk about GDP and sops. It should ensure that basic rights and necessities of people are met in an effective manner
Forest dwellers plan palli sabhas in all affected villages in Niyamgiri
Odisha government sticks to its list of 12 villages despite reservations from rights groups and Union ministry of tribal affairs
Halfway through
Tribal affairs ministy attempts to give forest dwellers their due welfare benefits, through a compromise
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 …
‘Tribals turn extremists because states are too busy making money from land’
The world’s largest democracy is facing a surge in tribal uprisings. The recent killings of Mahendra Karma and other Congress leaders in …
‘Forest department is the encroacher’
When V Kishore Chandra Deo became the Union Minister for Panchayati Raj and Tribal Affairs three months ago, both the ministries were in inertia.…
'Most countries don’t want to recognise indigenous people as people'
Mohammed Taghi Farvar, former director of Avicenna University in Iran, is a well-known ecologist and social scientist. At present, he is the …
Polavaram fraud
The Polavaram dam on the Godavari could displace 400,000 people and submerge nearly 4,000 hectares of forestland. Most of the people threatened …