-World Resources Institute India struggles with water scarcity, a problem that poses especially huge implications for the country's food security and rural livelihoods. The country has long-battled its scarcity issues through Watershed Development, a participatory approach to improve water management through afforestation and reforestation, sustainable land management, soil and water conservation, water-harvesting infrastructure, and social interventions. But while watershed development has been employed in communities throughout India, its potential long-term costs...

-PTI The maternal mortality rate in West Bengal has dropped sharply by 20% due to health reforms in the state, latest statistics say. Quoting a latest survey report prepared by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who also holds the health portfolio, told PTI that the maternal mortality rate (MMR) rate has fallen to 117 per 1 lakh childbirths during 2010-12. The figure during the...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Almost two out of every five large projects in the country are held up due to absence of clearance by the ministry of environment and forests, putting pressure on the government to remove green roadblocks. According to ministry-wise data compiled by the government for projects worth over Rs 1,000 crore, nearly 38% are related to MoEF, which many view as the most powerful inspector, followed by...

-The Hindu There is no disparagement of subsidies in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh because those who attack the social welfare policies of the Congress regard them as examples of good governance by a party of the Right Three propositions dominate explanations of the Congress party's rout, the Bharatiya Janata Party's impressive victory and the Aam Aadmi Party's stunning success in Delhi in the recent Assembly elections. One, that there is a strong...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: A dalit rally organized by the All India Confederation of SC/ST Organizations (AICSO), an umbrella body of dalit organizations, at Jantar Mantar on Monday demanded that the Lokpal Bill be more inclusive and the institution have representation from SC, ST and OBC communities. Attended by BJP leader Nitin Gadkari and Congress leader K Raju, the rally slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for not making its...