-Economic and Political Weekly The Indian weaver is dismissed in high places as an embarrassing anachronism, despite demand for his or her skills and products. In the new millennium, globalisation and a mindless acquiescence to imported notions of a good life threaten to take over, even as the West looks East for better concepts of sustainable living. Analysing today's crisis in the handloom sector, plagued by low-cost imitations from power looms,...

-Tehelka PeeBuddy is India’s first attempt at solving the health issue of contracting UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) every time a woman reluctantly decides to use a toilet of dubious sanitary standards in a public establishment. This is a country where 1.2 billion of its populace is used to not having proper public toilets, and women are more susceptible to assaults because they do not have a toilet in their homes. Hence, it...

-The Hindustan Times Despite paying as much as double the price, many health-conscious consumers who think they've gone organic really haven't. Information obtained by Crop Care Federation of India (CCFI) under the Right to Information Act proves that farms that claim to be organic regularly use chemical pesticides to protect their crops, yet market and sell their produce under the organic tag. Evidence of this practice came to light after information from...

-The Indian Express In his speech, PM Modi said that opening bank accounts is a step towards joining economic mainstream. Launching his government's first big ticket social welfare programme, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday gave a call for eradicating what he termed as "financial untouchability" of the poor by opening at least one bank account for every family in the country in less than...

-Grain.org "We take care of the cow and the cow takes care of us," says Marayal, a farmer in Thalavady, Tamil Nadu. Her two cows produce 6 to 10 litres of milk a day, which she sells for 30-40 cents per litre. Across India, there are millions of backyard dairy farmers like Marayal. Each owning just one or two cows, these farmers supply millions more families and hundreds of thousands of informal...