The severe scarcity of currency notes have resulted in business at India’s largest cattle fair, which is conducted entirely in cash, crashing to a halt with most sellers returning home empty handed
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Currency tsunami hits Kerala fisher village
The poor women of Anju Thengue island village in Kerala have been caught unprepared by the ban on banknotes that has seen prices crash and a near total collapse of the fish market
Small vegetable farmers in Maharashtra suffer blow from demonetization
The people in rural Pune are past the initial shocks of demonetization and are now coming to grips with it, but there are signs of distress among growers and sellers of fruits and vegetables
Rural Tamil Nadu shows resilience as currency crisis disrupts life
For villagers in Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur, particularly the poor, the trashing of high-value banknotes is another hardship among many that they have to face
Farmers, daily wage laborers in Odisha badly hurt by demonetization
Farmers and those in rural areas who make a living as daily wage laborers in Odisha have been left stranded by the demonetization drive that has led to a huge scarcity of lower denomination notes
Demonetization and the rural poor in five dimensions
The junking of high value currency notes has led to an unprecedented situation where the poor are more at risk from manipulation by the unscrupulous than from any crippling financial loss in the short or medium terms, barring exceptions
Tamil Nadu fishermen leverage smartphone technology to boost fish yields
For fishing communities in coastal Tamil Nadu, the uncertainties of finding richer fishing areas in sea has been significantly reduced through a phone app called Fisher Friendly Mobile Application
Women are leading the sanitation campaign in Bihar villages
Although Bihar has been a laggard in implementing the Swachh Bharat program, there is heartening progress in places such as Rohtas, Sitamarhi and Khagaria, where women are driving the change
Cardamom hills of Kerala face daunting drought
After the failure of both the South West and North East monsoons, cardamom farmers of Idukki in Kerala are staring at massive losses
Political turmoil leaves Kashmir’s education sector in tatters
Four months of closed schools in the middle of an academic year has left an entire generation of Kashmiri students in the lurch although there are some scattered efforts at makeshift community schools
Tackling malnutrition in India needs thinking out of the box
If India has to improve its rank on the global Hunger Index, there has to be an emphasis on alternative and participatory approaches of delivering nutrients to underserved populations
Women in Guphu show power of collective action
Collective action has enabled many women in Khunti in Jharkhand to rise out of poverty, providing them with new opportunities and ensuring greater choice in their lives
Community initiative recharges water table in Kumbharwalan village
Collective action through a pani panchayat (water council) has enabled a remote village in Pune district of Maharashtra to provide for adequate irrigation in this rain shadow area prone to droughts
Another autumn of uncertainty for Kashmir’s saffron farmers
A most prized harvest, the falling production of saffron in the villages of Pulwama is now a serious concern for farmers who have been traditionally growing the rare flower
Social forestry provides useful lessons in participatory democracy
The road to participatory democracy cannot be paved with good intentions alone but needs resources, sustained work and self-critical reflection by villages and voluntary organizations alike
Gorang Valley battles water woes as perennial springs retreat
Drying streams in Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand have made life difficult for women as they wait for watershed management to bear fruit in a couple of years
Can this crisis in the heart of India be allowed to continue?
The economic exploitation and developmental neglect of the core tribal areas of India’s eastern plateau and hills across Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand have to be tackled through practical solutions unhindered by ideological blinkers
Camel herders of Kachchh fall into decline as commons shrink
The unt maladharis (camel pastoralists) of Kachchh have seen their herds dwindle as pastures are appropriated and the unique swimming camel struggles to find mangroves to graze upon
Solapur’s example holds key to chronically water-stressed Marathwada
The patchy soil and water conservation efforts of the Maharashtra government seem to have learnt nothing from Solapur’s example
Is rural India headed for a demographic disaster?
An army of sickly and poorly educated children growing up in villages will continue to drag down the country as adults unless the nation’s nutrition and education delivery systems are made more efficient