-TheWire.in Issues tied to forest governance require a collaborative approach rather than narrow court action on the Forest Rights Act. The Supreme Court order related to the “eviction” of tribal and forest-dwelling communities has made big news. The February 13 order directing state governments to initiate action against all those with “rejected” claims has reignited longstanding ideological disputes over India’s forest governance. Reactions to the recent order in a case filed by Wildlife...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Womenfolk in seven crore Poor households no longer have to suffer smoky kitchens, thanks to the blistering pace at which the Narendra Modi government has rolled out its ‘Ujjwala’ scheme to provide free LPG connection to economically weaker families. Some 82% of these beneficiary households are returning for a refill as the transformational energy programme takes root, deepening the Modi government’s political outreach among the Poor...

-Newsclick.in It remains to be seen how many political parties pledge to protect the urban Poor from eviction and homelessness and work for inclusive ‘Smart Cities’. Over 30 civil society groups consisting of slum dwellers, civil society organisations, women groups, other groups working amongst the urban Poor, disabled women groups, street vendors, housing rights activists and so on assembled in Delhi on February 28 to set a new discourse for 2019. This...

-The Hindu New Delhi: Anganwadi services have a Poor reach among key beneficiaries – the Poorest of the Poor and uneducated mothers – according to a paper published in a WHO bulletin recently. The government’s Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) provides a package of six services at anganwadi or child-care centres to young children and pregnant women and lactating mothers. These services include supplementary nutrition, referral services, immunisation, health check-up, pre-school non-formal...

-The Indian Express Government’s scheme to pay Rs 6,000 every year to Poor rural households will increase their expenditure, reduce poverty by 10 to 20 per cent in many states. In the last week of February, the government launched a scheme to pay Rs 6,000 every year to Poor rural households who own less than 2 hectares of land. The scheme will have an annual outlay of Rs 75,000 crore. The...