-The Hoot Veteran reporter P. Sainath launches a new platform to portray rural India in all its complexity. A new development in journalism -- the launch of the People's Archive of Rural India (PARI) -- is looking to redefine the contours of the profession as understood and practiced. The brainchild of veteran rural affairs reporter, P. Sainath, PARI, with its focus on rural India's concerns, marks a significant shift in the tide...

The agrarian crisis is far from over. Amidst news of farmers' suicide reported from parts of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, an official document released in December by the National Sample Survey Organisation states that nearly 52% of India's agricultural households were indebted during July, 2012 - June, 2013. The average amount of outstanding loan per agricultural household in India was Rs. 47000 (see link below). Based on a survey of...

-The Indian Express With the positive intent and progressive action from the new government, the country is excited about entering a new era of growth & revolutionary transformation. This can happen faster and more effectively if the whole ecosystem is geared for it. And most important component of the ecosystem are the people, who are the primary beneficiaries as well as the key catalysts to stimulate this growth and transformation. Hence,...

-The Hindu Other States in India can study how the family planning programme has worked in Kerala and incorporate those features in their own programmes The recent tragedy of several women losing their lives in the state-sponsored tubectomy camp in Takhatpur, Chhattisgarh, has caused severe damage to the national family planning programme. This, however, is not an invalidation of the importance of sterilisation as an integral part of the programme, but only...

-PTI Government today said it is promoting use of organic fertilisers and studies have shown that farm yields have not fallen where use of chemical fertilisers was restricted. Rural Development Minister Birender Singh told Lok Sabha a scheme to empower woman farmers has made positive impact as it supplements their income and use of manures like cow dung is encouraged under the scheme. "Yields have not gone down. It has come up......