Governance

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Adivasis in Rajasthan demand better local governance

Villagers, especially women, are questioning panchayat institutions being used as tools to push government agenda that do not necessarily align with their needs, and want better local governance

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Bengal fishermen face livelihood quandary

Bottom trawling in banned near-shore areas has been destroying marine ecosystems, affecting traditional fishermen, and forcing some to work in those very trawlers to earn a living

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Can a pointed pickaxe pierce a pearl?

There are formidable challenges in delivering welfare services to scattered and disenfranchised groups of people in rural India, and the government machinery is ill-equipped to deal with it

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Farmers repurpose bore wells for rainwater harvesting

With abandoned bore wells turning hazardous for children, farmers in Tamil Nadu are on a voluntary drive to convert them into rainwater harvesting structures

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Gond children learn to conserve forests

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With their forests degrading for a variety of reasons, Gond elders are rekindling interest about forest biodiversity among the younger generation, and are inspiring villagers to protect the forests

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Can handlooms provide a viable rural livelihood?

There are reasons not to give up entirely on the rural handloom sector, and we can learn from northeast India on how artisanal weaving can still be an attractive livelihood option

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Mental health patients see better days in Jharkhand

Misconceptions about mental health lead to mistreatment of afflicted tribal people in Jharkhand. Awareness initiatives, community support and treatment are now improving their lives

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Lack of skilled professionals hamstring underdeveloped regions

The severely underdeveloped central and eastern hilly tribal belt in India is poorly served by skilled grassroots professionals such as teachers and paramedics, a problem that has no easy solutions

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Chemistry Nobel Prize has a rural Odisha connection

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People of Maligaon village in Odisha are for the first time using lithium ferro-phosphate batteries invented by Nobel laureate John Goodenough to store power from their solar mini-grid

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Shyok Valley farmers lack access to market

Despite growing apricots and apples, farmers in Shyok Valley in northern Ladakh are unable to turn a profit because lack of connectivity makes it difficult to sell their produce

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Archaic customs hold community back from development

With rigid traditions and customs such as not eating food cooked by other communities, the Thottinayakar community in Tamil Nadu is lagging in social, educational and economic development

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Rural BPO centers in Bihar open new doors for girls

Business process outsourcing companies in rural Bihar are providing local job opportunities for educated, computer-literate girls in their village, empowering them socially and financially

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Only neglected India lives in the villages

On Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday, a look at rural India shows that we have fallen much behind his ideal of self-reliant village republics, in part because of changed aspirations of modern times

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Kashmiri farmers struggle to sell bumper fruit harvest

Despite a good harvest of apples and pears, farmers in Kashmir are finding it difficult to sell their produce due to restrictions imposed by the authorities on transportation and communication facilities

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Odiya tribes shed tradition to space out childbirths

Odisha’s tribal women, suffering the adverse health effects of childbirths in quick succession combined with strenuous agricultural and household work, are breaking community norms to use contraceptives

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Native Amrit Mahal cattle need better conservation

There is an urgent need for better conservation of Amrit Mahal, a draughty, native breed of Karnataka that can toil and endure for long hours at a stretch, but have been dwindling in numbers

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Better awareness improves maternal and child health

Awareness meetings that equip women with knowledge on health and nutrition during pregnancy and after childbirth is helping to tackle malnutrition in rural Singhbhum in Jharkhand

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Digital tech in curriculum enriches participatory learning

By enabling teachers design applications and help students create artifacts, best practices in use of technological tools can facilitate contextualized learning and its application

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Bhunjia women need better care after childbirth

Women of Odisha’s forest-dwelling tribes face a greater health risk because of their preference for childbirth at home. Counseling by health workers is now slowly helping new mothers get better postnatal care

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Missing foot soldiers in the war on poverty

Unless the government improves the anemic delivery structure of rural health and education, the neglected and overworked frontline workers will not be able to fight underdevelopment adequately