Women in 65 villages of Karnal  district, Haryana, have transformed their lives through self-help groups and microcredit schemes The infant mortality and maternal mortality rates have both come down substantially 94 per cent of the women now have ante- and Post-pregnancy checks Institutional deliveries rising; anaemia in pregnant women down. No girl is married off before she’s 18 Taravanti clearly remembers the time, 19 years ago, when she got married...

In Danta village, 15km from Bhilwara city, 30-odd women start filing in at 8.30 am daily to resume work on building a concrete water reservoir. The women are among the 2,000 people in the village who have got work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) since the scheme, promising 100 days of work a year to one adult member of every rural family, was launched two years ago...

In a bold move that will not just prune the humongous fertiliser subsidy bill but also change the face of agriculture, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, aided by several Cabinet colleagues, today brought in a nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) regime. This will incentivise companies to innovate beyond a handful of products sold in the market presently and offer farmers choice based on soil needs. This is expected to trim the subsidy bill...

The global economic crisis has wiped out developing Asia's recent gains in poverty eradication as the meltdown is expected to have driven 21 million more people in the region into poverty. A joint report by the United Nations and the Asian Development Bank shows that the global economic slowdown has slackened trade, slashed export and tourism receipts and raised unemployment levels. This makes it difficult for the region to achieve its...

It is a step which is expected to reduce the room for political and technical whims and biases, bring in transparency and satisfy safety concerns about biotech products the country needs but is chary of embracing. The government has fasttracked a long-pending Bill to set up the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority. The Bill, revised and discussed by a committee of secretaries on Thursday, if cleared, would overhaul the current flawed regulatory...