-The Hindu India is the world's largest open air lavatory with over 620 million people practising open defecation in the country. Seeking to address this persisting problem, the UPA government has widened the scope of its flagship Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to include works relating to rural sanitation in collaboration with the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan (NBA) Scheme. This interlinking is aimed at strengthening the base of rural...

-Newclick.in Malnutrition is a big contributor to the low child sex ratio in Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh. The girls of the Kol tribe are suffering. The first white tiger, Mohan, ever found in natural history was in the jungles of Govindgarh in Rewa district in Madhya Pradesh in 1951. It was caught by the then king and imprisoned in his palace till its death. Located in the northeast part of the...

-BBC A survey done earlier this year shows that public facilities in the poorest regions of India have steadily expanded, improving the lives of people there, writes development economist Jean Dreze. Once upon a time, not so long ago, public facilities in the poorest districts of India were few and far between. Most people were left to their own devices and they lived in the shadow of hunger, insecurity and exploitation, with no...

-Newsclick.in How malnutrition and death have gripped the tribals of Attappadi in Kerala after land alienation in 1996. Neha Dixit reports. Last month, E. K. Bhushan, Kerala Chief Secretary informed the tribal people of Attappadi Hills that they are now entitled to restore 530 hectares of land in the area. This is out of the roughly 4370 hectares of land that was alienated from the tribals after the Tribal Land Amendment Act...

-Down to Earth India faces a surplus of foodgrains. Is exporting a good option? With India's grain mountain set to implode, the government is desperate to push the exports of rice and wheat. However, a global glut and the resulting depression of prices are dimming the prospects of foodgrain exports. According to the Food Corporation of India (FCI), the nodal agency for grain trade in the country, India is sitting on 34 million...