Governance

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November 6, 2022 In 2020, 559 million children were affected by four to five heatwaves a year; numbers could increase four-fold by 2050, as per a report by UNICEF
Heat-related mortality is four times higher among children under 1 year of age than in persons aged 1–44 years (Image: Taqver, Wikimedia Commons)
October 22, 2022 Role of MGNREGA in the year after the 2020 lockdown: Survey findings from Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh
MGNREGA provided income support or security to vulnerable households during the pandemic (Image: UN Women)
October 14, 2022 Arthan organizes a fireside chat to highlight the need for more data talent for social impact
There is a need to integrate data science into the existing education system (Image: Mohamed Mahmoud Hassan, Public Domain Pictures)
September 9, 2022 Highlights from a new report released by iFOREST
An old coal-fired power plant has been dumping vast quantities of ash out in the open for many years. (Image: Lundrim Aliu/ World Bank; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
July 14, 2022 The river is faced with the dual problem of flood plain encroachment and growing levels of water pollution
Illegal transverse check dams (Badhals) built on Ichamati near a village in Basirhat (Image: Prithviraj Nath @ TheWaterChronicles)
July 10, 2022 People in India fleeing disasters like drought more likely to have experienced trafficking or modern slavery than those fleeing floods or cyclones
The country's climate change assessment suggests things are only going to get worse (Image: Saurav Karmakar, India Water Portal Flickr)
Water and facilities flow better into cities
An analysis of Census 2011 data confirms many known facts--the urban beats the rural when it comes to treated tap water supply, access to water testing labs and much more. Posted on 05 May, 2015 01:35 PM

Sixty eight percent of India's population lives in rural areas but when it comes to facilities -- including the availability of safe drinking water -- cities and towns corner most of them.

Rural-Urban Drinking Water Supply Gap, Census 2011
SC denies land to Coca-Cola in Chharba, Uttarakhand
Policy matters this week Posted on 05 May, 2015 11:30 AM

After Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand also bids goodbye to Coca Cola

The scrubland that the Coca Cola company requires
Don't forget this Ambedkar Jayanti
Brutal reprisals on unarmed tribal and Dalit protesters are not uncommon, and Kanhar is just the latest. Here's how the next set of protesters could avoid being shot at. Posted on 04 May, 2015 06:40 PM

If Babasaheb Ambedkar had been alive today -- April 14, 2015 -- he would have been 125 years old. In the predominantly tribal and dalit district of Sonbhadra, it was natural that Gambhira Prasad, President of the Kanhar Bandh Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti (KBVSS), decided to mark the day.

The women of Sundari village protest
Niyamagiri hills get temporary respite from Vedanta
Violation of the Environment Protection Act, the Forest Conservation Act and the Forest Rights Act put an end to Vedanta's bauxite mining plans but for how long? Posted on 03 May, 2015 07:09 PM

The Niyamagiri hills in the Eastern Ghats is peopled by indigenous groups such as the Dongria and Kutia Kondhs -- or 'primitive tribal groups’ in official phrasing. For them, these hills which spread over 300 sq kms in Rayagada and Kalahandi districts in southwestern Orissa, is the sacred abode of Niyamraja, their God.

The hills and the streams are their soul
Delhi Govt bans use of groundwater in city parks
Policy matters this week Posted on 28 Apr, 2015 11:03 AM

Stop use of fresh groundwater in city parks: Delhi Government

The Nakshatra Garden
Watershed development in India: Learning through experience
Implementing good watershed management practices can go a long way in dealing with the increasing water crisis in India in recent years. Lessons learned from three World Bank projects are detailed. Posted on 25 Apr, 2015 11:18 PM

India's water availability in the future is predicted to be bleak if proper steps are not undertaken to deal with the management of the available water resources in the country. The report titled 'Watershed development in India

Water, a valuable resource
Causes of agrarian stagnation: A tale of two regions
Agrarian stagnation was the same in Saurashtra and Vidarbha until 1990. However, Saurashtra’s agriculture has been growing, while Vidarbha’s farmers continue to suffer. Why? Posted on 25 Apr, 2015 06:25 PM

Vidarbha region in Maharashtra has continued to be in the news over the years because of its severe agrarian crisis with reports of severe droughts, loss of crops and increasing farmer suicides. Relief packages have done very little to solve these problems.

Farmer couple ploughing their fields
88% irrigation projects lying unused in Maharashtra
News this week Posted on 20 Apr, 2015 09:27 PM

Nearly 88% irrigation projects lying unused in Maharashtra

A water-deprived region
Task force appointed to forge consenus on river interlinking
Policy matters this week Posted on 20 Apr, 2015 09:22 PM

Centre appoints task force, with an aim to speed up implementation of river interlinking

River interlinking (Source: AmyNorth)
Facing uncertain rains, farmers dig in
Bankura in West Bengal receives 1000 mm of rainfall a year, yet thousands of adivasi farmers in the area were faced with irrigation issues -- until 'happas' came to the rescue. Posted on 20 Apr, 2015 12:40 PM

Amulya Soren couldn’t get stable yields in the kharif (monsoon) paddy in his farm. A member of the Santhal tribe, he was the beneficiary of a surplus land redistribution programme in Hirbandh block of Bankura, West Bengal. The undulating terrain in which his farm lies receives sufficient rainfall of about 1000 mm a year, yet sufficient irrigation was an issue.

Farmers constructing happa; Image: PRADAN
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