Panchayati Raj Institutions

Featured Articles
April 6, 2021 Significantly reduced the daily drudgery of women in rural areas
The water requirement for the scheme is being fulfilled through borings, submersible pumps, and distribution pipelines implemented by the Department of Panchayati Raj, Government of Bihar. (Image: Sehgal Foundation)
December 7, 2020 The new farm related bills will spell doom for women workers who form the bulk of small and marginal sections of Indian agriculture, warns Mahila Kisan Adhikaar Manch (MAKAAM).
Farm women, overworked and underpaid (Image Source: India Water Portal)
October 24, 2019 An intern with Watershed Organisation Trust narrates his field experience from the villages of Madhya Pradesh, where farmers are using farm ponds to conserve water.
A farm pond constructed by Sheshrao Dhurve in Karaghat Kamti village of Madhya Pradesh
October 22, 2019 A forum discusses the need to stop illegal land transfers and land alienation of the poor.
The maldharis from kutch on their own road trip (Image: Malay Maniar, Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
October 21, 2019 In this interview, Joy talks about his work as an activist working in rural Maharashtra, and how he came to work on water conflicts in India.
KJ Joy speaks at a felicitation for the late Professor Ramaswamy Iyer.
September 30, 2019 The recently concluded 4 day conference in Bangalore looked at the current state of global water resource challenges & future pathways to achieve the SDGs, while ensuring equity in access to all.
Charles Vorosmarty, Chair, COMPASS Initiative, Water Future at the opening plenary on advanced water system assessments to address water security challenges of the 21st century.
Covid-19 hits women’s access to menstrual hygiene products
The lockdown has adversely impacted access to menstrual hygiene information and products, reveals a survey by the Menstrual Health Alliance India. Posted on 04 Jun, 2020 08:49 AM

In an effort to raise concerns around effective menstrual health, Menstrual Health Alliance India (MHAI), a network working on menstrual health and hygiene in India, Dasra, a philanthropic organisation and Change.org, a technology platform for social change hosted an online workshop recent

Menstrual cycle and personal hygiene items (Image: Marco Verch, Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0); Flickr Commons)
Technology to build knowledge and capacities beyond COVID
The time has come to utilize technology to build resilience of communities by training them to strive for better livelihood opportunities where they want to. Posted on 22 May, 2020 09:14 AM

The COVID-19 crisis has brought the world to a standstill. Government, civil society and volunteers are rallying to ensure that social and economic inequalities do not dictate how this crisis draws lines between the “haves” and “have-nots”. Nonetheless, the crisis seems to have deepened the existing divide.

Bringing the digital revolution to the hands of real India (Image: CXOToday.com)
Covid-19: Managing the disaster in rural India
There is a need to rethink our disaster management policies and the top-down approach that it follows. Posted on 17 May, 2020 09:45 PM

With an attempt to contain the spread of deadly Covid-19, Indian government had announced a complete nation-wide lockdown from March 25 onwards. For the first time, the provisions of the National Disaster Management Act, 2005, were invoked since the law came into being after the 2004 tsunami.

Drought in Marathwada (Image: Flickr Commons)
Ensuring food security in times of Covid-19
A study conducted in 47 districts indicates that over half of the surveyed households are eating less during lockdown. Posted on 15 May, 2020 02:37 PM

The study, ‘Covid-19 induced lockdown - How is hinterland coping’, based on a large survey undertaken by a consortium of civil society organisations undertook a rapid assessment of the impact of series of lockdowns on rural poor households.

The prolonged lockdown has increased the dependence of farmers on food supply through the public distribution system as well as the need to grow a good crop in kharif season. (Image: UNESCO)
Building resilience of communities during and beyond Covid-19
Interventions that increase dependencies and use of local resources to resolve challenges locally can help increase resilience of farmers. Posted on 14 May, 2020 01:12 PM

Covid-19 pandemic has unleashed multiple challenges in different geographies, especially for the vulnerable groups living in areas that already have existing issues of water and food security.

People were following social distancing in villages while collecting water (Image: INREM)
Need to build inclusive cities in the post-pandemic world
It’s time that public policy focuses on a radical re-envisioning of urban spaces and on improving social inclusion of migrants in urban settings. Posted on 12 May, 2020 08:36 PM

When migrants headed home after Covid-19 lockdown 1.0, Sarojini was suddenly caught off-guard. She decided against moving, after an initial urge to leave for her village in Samastipur, Bihar. Her two sons stay with her at Delhi, doing daily wage labour work, while she works as a domestic help.

Migrants on their way home during the countrywide lockdown (Image: Stranded Workers Action Network)
Coping with Covid-19: Options before small and marginal farmers of rainfed regions
There is a need to have basic institutional structures such as market, credit, insurance, research, extension service etc., in place in rainfed regions. Posted on 09 May, 2020 03:11 PM

The global crisis due to Covid-19 has hit India after coursing through western Europe. India’s response to curtail the spread of the disease was quite decisive.

Community economies - Reconstructing rural economy with ecological sustainability and ethics of equity
Collective management, participation and equity are the foundations on which community economies are sustained. Posted on 08 May, 2020 05:59 PM

The exodus of migrant workers from urban areas back to their villages in the wake of country wide lockdown has brought rural poverty into sharp focus. Reconstruction of rural economy therefore needs policy and planning attention.

Johads in Nanduwali nadi region (Image: Farhad Contractor, IWP Flickr)
Village institutions take a lead in Covid-19 response
Institutions are a key arsenal in rural India's pandemic fight. Posted on 07 May, 2020 09:23 PM

Covid-19 will have major implications in rural areas where the Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), a non-profit organisation has been working towards conservation of natural resources through collective action of local communities. Experience indicates that the complete lockdown to contain the spread of the disease has resulted in loss of rural incomes.

In the light of disrupted food supply systems, especially for fresh produce, the village institution arranged for harvesting and sale of produce. (Image: FES)
Transforming lives in the Covid-19 context: MGNREGS and its potential
India can use its flagship public employment program (MGNREGS) to transform lives of its underprivileged population in the Covid-19 context, and live up to its promise of a welfare state. Posted on 05 May, 2020 04:11 PM

As India continues to unravel the actual scale of economic impacts in a world infested by the dangerous Covid-19 virus, lingering images of daily wage labourers and migrant workers attempting a near impossible walk home have been etched in public consciousness.

Women working on an NREGA site building a pond to assist in farming and water storage. Gopalpura, Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh (Image: UN Women/Gaganjit Singh, Flickr Commons)
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