Gene Campaign turned twenty in 2013. Starting in 1993 as a leading research and advocacy organization, GC dedicated itself to the conservation of genetic resources and indigenous knowledge. The campaign has encouraged self reliance and worked towards ensuring livelihood security for rural and tribal communities. Closely involved in policymaking and legislation with respect to biological resources, GC has enabled rural and adivasi communities to participate in policies relating to these...

-The Times of India MADURAI: The percolation pond at Mottanuthu at the foothill of Western Ghats of Elumalai town panchayat now abounds with water. Earlier, locals had no way to store rain water. The mango orchards nearby were vulnerable to the vagaries of nature. Not anymore. The efforts of the District Watershed Development Agency (DWDA) in Madurai to conserve water have paid off. Madurai district was offered Rs 172 lakh grant by...

-The Telegraph   Officials are set to propose to the Narendra Modi government that the UPA's blockbuster rural job scheme be restricted to select districts as the decision in 2008 to extend it to all districts was not required. The officials of the rural development ministry are expected to tell the new minister that the funds allocated for the implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act (MGNREGA) were not adequate for national...

-The Hindu   Forest cover loss has occurred at a period when area under jhum cultivation is declining, suggesting that the land use policy has been counterproductive to forests Two spectacular bamboo dances, one celebrated, the other reviled, enliven the mountains of Mizoram. In the colourful Cheraw, Mizo girls dance as boys clap bamboo culms at their feet during the annual Chapchar Kut festival. The festival itself is linked to the other dance:...

-The Hindu   With an El Niño brewing, there is disquiet over what that might mean for the coming monsoon. Many droughts experienced by this country have, after all, been associated with the exceptional warming of the equatorial waters of the Pacific that is characteristic of an El Niño. The forecast issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday is in line with other predictions that warn of poor rains this...