-Frontline Two draft Bills on the Tribal Sub-Plan and the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan raise hopes of granting these decades-old schemes statutory status and ensuring allocation of funds in the Central and State budgets for their implementation. IN a significant legislative move, the Union government's Ministry of Tribal Affairs released a draft Bill for the implementation of the long-neglected Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP), a special programme mandated by the Planning Commission to benefit the...

-The Indian Express It was once thought impossible, but a 35-year-fight has won India its biggest public health success story. Raxaul: It was once thought impossible, but two million footsoldiers and a 35-year-fight have won India its biggest public health success story. Pritha Chatterjee & Santosh Singh on how the battle was won and the biggest challenges ahead. It's one of the busiest spots along the porous India-Nepal border. At about 1.30 pm...

-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...

-Deccan Herald Mangalore: Ajai Naik and Lokamma, belonging to Schedule Tribe and Malekudiya community, were earning their livelihood by working as daily wage labourers and had never dreamt of owning an arecanut or banana garden or growing vegetables in their land. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employement Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) changed the course of their life. Ajai Naik and Lokamma hail from Amtoor village in Golthamajalu gram panchayat of Bantwal taluk. The duo were the first...

-Down to Earth A Rajasthan village has cylindrical houses that help people cope with extreme weather events It is a chilly December evening in Barmer. The average minimum temperature has dropped to 5° Celsius in this sandy district of western Rajasthan, which borders Pakistan. But thanks to his house, Dayam Khan, a Manganiyar, one of Rajasthan's many communities of traditional musicians, does not need an electric heater or a stove to keep...