What is good governance? How well can a person or a community access help or push for a needed change? How often are they heard? Village Square shines a light on the people and schemes making the biggest impact or providing the most unique solutions.
Governance
Campaign by tribal women groups brings down alcoholism in Attappadi
When women living around Attappadi Reserve Forest found that no development was possible due to chronic alcoholism among the tribal men, they banded together to rid the area of the menace and start a labor bank for employment
A tale of two women and a watershed
Two unlearned women in a remote area of Bihar have broken gender stereotypes to emerge as community leaders and manage the construction of a watershed that now benefits 12 villages
New education policy fails to address issues of equity
The 2016 education policy of India reinforces the status quo through its tacit acceptance of stratified education, the intense focus on regimented outcomes and competition, and its inability to decentralize and empower teachers
Small vegetable and poultry farmers severely affected by demonetization drive
Three weeks into the surprise announcement by the government to withdraw high denomination currency notes from circulation, it is now clear that producers of perishable commodities such as vegetable and poultry have been seriously impacted
Trade tumbles at Sonepur cattle fair after demonetization
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
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 by the Indian government that has led to a huge scarcity of lower denomination notes