It would be an understatement to say that India Against Corruption leader Arvind Kejriwal, a key member of Team Anna, is a dejected man. After stirring the nation last year with his anti-corruption for the most part of 2011, Kisan Baburao 'Anna' Hazare saw the movement fizzle out when he staged a fast in Mumbai in December. He has since returned to his village to recuperate from an undisclosed illness even...

Farmers in Maharashtra flock to 
a new breed of aggressive leaders Its name in Marathi means edge of the hill, but Dongarkada has no hill or mountain in its vicinity. What the village in Maharashtra's Hingoli district has is a cooperative sugar factory controlled by Congress leader Ashok Chavan. Though the Adarsh Housing Society scam rocked the state and forced him to resign as chief minister, the village remains loyal to...

-The Hindu   Despite low literacy rates, most of the low-income single women in the country are not dependent on their families but run their households on their own, according to the findings of a study released by Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh. However, since the government does not consider them so, they are neglected and forced to survive on less than the prescribed minimum wage. Mr. Ramesh released the study...

-The Economic Times   States owe rural job seekers more than Rs 68 crore in unemployment dole, undermining the effectiveness of the government's flagship rural jobs guarantee scheme that has millions of workers in its fold. Workers enrolled under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) are entitled to unemployment allowance if they are not provided a job within 15 days of applying for it. Although the allowance is to...

Child welfare continues to be accorded the least priority in planning and implementation of public services or amenities. Other than those institutions, public and private, directly charged with the protection of children, almost all others exhibit a low level of sensitivity to children and low levels of preparedness for child protection, a new study has shown. Conducted by Childline 1098 — a helpline service for children in distress — the study...