As NGOs gain traction in public and policy spaces, they face increasing pressure from the political class and citizens to reveal their sources of funding, show impact of their work, and demonstrate who they represent DHAN Foundation in Madurai has had a remarkable run in the southern heartland for over a decade, focusing on livelihoods, water and food security . Its work, particularly in tank-based watershed development, is an exemplar....

This is much worse than the earlier Bill, say Kejriwal and Bhushan Government opposed to placing higher judiciary under Lokpal probe Representatives of civil society Arvind Kejriwal and advocate Prashant Bhushan on Monday accused the government of going back on its word and opposing bringing the Prime Minister under the purview of the Lokpal on the ground that it would render him dysfunctional if put under probe. “This is much worse than the...

How the global garment industry is using regressive customs in Tamil Nadu, enabling it to exploit young women workers… Behind the smiling exterior of a fast-growing economy lie the tears and tragedies of women like these workers. Girls. Dowry. The two go together. No matter what you do to separate them, they somehow get conjoined, like twins that have remained connected in one body. We are told this is one of the...

The revised blueprint for land acquisition envisages government retaining its facilitator role Contentious Issues     * Protests are often against land acquisition per se, regardless of compensation     * Most protests are against private builders acquiring land, changing land use. New norms don’t tackle this.     * Poor government track record in R&R does not inspire much confidence; merged bills won’t work for rehabilitation after natural calamities, etc     * Can the government, which...

-The Business Standard   Privacy issues are coming into focus as a result of a variety of government initiatives. The Aadhar programme, for issuing unique identity numbers, raises obvious questions of privacy as personal data are compiled in a central database. Then there is the proposed National Grid, designed as a network of 21 available databases across government and private agencies, and meant to help flag potential terrorist threats. On top...