-India Spend/ Scroll.in These programmes should look at skilling the workforce for paid jobs rather than unpaid, part-time volunteers. Central government programmes on water emphasise groundwater management by the community in a decentralised manner but, by and large, these schemes are silent on the availability, training and deployment of a skilled workforce for this task, especially in rural areas. Water management at the most decentralised, local levels is often a part-time, volunteer or...

-Down to Earth The arduous journeys of those who migrate for medical treatment in India Marta kya na karta (One can do anything when pushed to the wall),” says 40-year-old Rita Kumari from Supaul district of north Bihar. At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic was tightening its grip across the country Rita and her daughter, Sandhya, had to undertake multiple trips to hospitals in Nepal and Uttar Pradesh, before reaching the All...

-Hindustan Times The Total Fertility Level (TFR) – defined as the number of children a woman is expected to have in her reproductive age (15-49 years) – in rural and urban India in 2019 has been estimated to be 2.3 and 1.7 Smaller rural families and an increase in working-age population -- these are some of the findings from the latest report of the Sample Registration System (SRS; for 2019) which was...

-TheWire.in The widespread victories of lesser-known candidates in Punjab reveals voters’ entrenched anger with traditional parties in the state – an anger which AAP was able to capitalise on. Chandigarh: Even as the election verdict in Punjab sent shock waves across the country and beyond, it was less known faces that stole the show by defeating the bigwigs in the state. One of the major upsets of the election was the massive defeat...

-TheWire.in Despite increasing allocated funds, the Union government has been unable to significantly improve penetration of crop insurance in terms of enrolled farmers and insured areas. India’s agriculture sector, which provides employment to more than 50% of the labour force and contributes about 17% of the gross domestic product, currently faces multiple challenges. Smaller land holdings, unfavourable climate changes events, dismal public and private investment, low monthly incomes, a high proportion of...