Informal Sector

Identify farmers for income support scheme: NITI Aayog to states

States resort to under-reporting of manual scavengers in the final verification stage

Thousands of farmers march to Delhi against the looming agrarian crisis

Government focusing on Ganga clean-up and not its rejuvenation: Environmentalists

As per the agricultural statistics of 2014, nearly 430 people depend on farming in India while 263 million people are either farmers or agricultural workers. Farmers are major contributors to the growth of Indian economy and their concerns impact policies in the country. 

India’s flagship sanitation programme, Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), highlights both the importance of latrine use, and also of “safe and proper disposal”. Since most of urban India is not connected to sewers, the SBM recommends that cities work towards technological, financing and governance initiatives that would ensure safe faecal sludge management. In practice, this means mechanical (i.e.

We have just a year to go for Swachh Bharat Mission’s (SBM) deadline of making India open-defecation free (ODF). In the last four years, the government has built 86.08 million toilets (as on September 26, 2018) throughout the country as a part of this flagship programme on providing safe sanitation to all by October 2019.

The family of Somesh Manikpuri of Amasivani colony in Raipur is still in shock of his sudden demise from jaundice in May this year. Six similar deaths have been reported from Raipur since April 2018. Memsingh Chandrakar, a resident of Naharpara, another locality in Raipur, was also affected by jaundice in May.

The recent plastic ban in Maharashtra has opened a can of worms and has raised many uncomfortable questions—about the setting of rules with clarity and foresight, better research to understand the challenges in implementing them and the role of citizens in making it a success.

My first trek in the Himalayas was a transcendental experience. Even a decade after, I remember the intense beauty of every vignette I came across. That’s why I was excited about the Himalayan Cleanup, held on May 26 this year.