This is a story of a bunch of gritty women in a small Andhra village who used their traditional resources and knowledge to fight poverty and create a source of livelihoods for others. A group of 34 women, most of them illiterate, at village Pyalayaram, which falls in Deccan region of Zaheerabad mandal in the state of Andhra Pradesh.decided to set up a community grain bank with a little help...

The monthly farmers' grievance meeting held here at the district collectorate on Friday witnessed a slew of demands from farmers ranging from early desilting of PWD channels to release of crop loans to opposition of proposed power projects. There was a collective demand for desilting of PWD channels before water was released from the Mettur Dam. Transparency in the number of channels listed for desilting, along with works cost involved for...

"India lives in several centuries at the same time. Somehow we manage to progress and regress simultaneously." Arundhati Roy Controversies, protests and violence have marred land acquisition for projects in India. Protests against acquiring agricultural land, inappropriate compensation or environmental impact have been the main reasons for these protests. In most cases, the protests are by farmers who are hardly compensated after their fertile agricultural land is taken over in for...

Delhi High Court today told the Centre to form a committee of technical and medical experts to examine potential health hazards from mobile phone towers, saying the issue was more important than monetary considerations. The court order said whether radio waves “pose any serious health threat or not, and what precautions are required to be taken so that there are minimal chances of causing any threat to the health of...

Newly released National Sample Survey data shows that the proportion of students in private educational institutions has increased at the cost of those in government institutions, but private education remains affordable only to upper classes. Meanwhile, expenditure on education, particularly private education, is growing much faster than household budgets. The NSS 64th round (2007-8) records data on participation and expenditure on education after a gap of 11 years. The NSS...