-Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) This publication highlights a range of pertinent issues primarily focusing on social sectors (such as education, health, drinking water and sanitation, food security etc.) and the responsiveness of the Union Budget towards the vulnerable sections of the population, (such as, women, children, dalits, adivasis, religious minorities, persons with disabilities and the Urban Poor). In addition, a number of important issues pertaining to taxation, renewable...

-The Hindu The introduction of educational qualifications as eligibility criteria for contesting panchayat elections has shocked and angered rural Rajasthan, including supporters of the ruling BJP When the literacy drive was in full force, I happened to visit a village in Ajmer district with a friend who was a civil servant. There was bold graffiti on a prominent school wall, which said: Saksharta ki kya pehchan? Upar chaddi, niche baniyan (How do...

-PTI People killed in lightening incidents may now be compensated by the government if a recommendation of the Union Home Ministry to this effect is accepted. As India accounts for an average 400 deaths due to lightening every year, the Ministry has moved a proposal to the 14th Finance Commission, suggesting inclusion of lightning in the list of notified disasters eligible for assistance from national and state disaster relief funds. At present,...

-Down to Earth Demonstrations follow T S R Subramanian Committee report recommending measures to fast-track environmental clearances Thousands of people gathered in Mumbai and Dehradun on Monday to protest recent attempts by the NDA government to undermine the rights of local communities to manage and protect their forests. Specifically targeted is the requirement for gram sabha consent on all projects seeking to divert forestland for non-forest purposes, as guaranteed by the Forest...

-The Hindu Business Line   Heard of the eco-san toilet that fights river pollution? Pachnada is about 100 km from Etawah in Uttar Pradesh. Meaning pach (five) and nada (rivers), it is the region at the confluence of the Yamuna with its tributaries - Chambal, Sindh, Kunwari and Pahuj. Here, the rejuvenated Yamuna and its rich biodiversity including the magar, ghariyal and sus (dolphin) prove that once a river's flow is restored its...