Tribal communities are vulnerable not only because they are poor, assetless and illiterate compared to the general population, their distinct vulnerability arises from their inability to negotiate and cope with the consequences of their forced integration with the mainstream economy, society, and cultural and political system. The repercussions for the already fragile socio-economic livelihood base of the tribals have been devastating—ranging from loss of livelihoods, land alienation on a vast...

With the number of non-governmental organisations growing in the country, the government is planning to bring them under a regulatory mechanism to make them accountable. As of now, there are no specific laws or regulations to regulate volunteerism in India. A task force, constituted to examine the issues related to the evolution of an independent, national level, self-regulatory agency for the voluntary organisations and develop accreditation methodologies by the Planning Commission,...

The RSS-sponsored Samajik Kumbh at Mandla, which is known for considerable tribal population and sizeable church presence, has created a sense of unease among Christians who fear they may be targets. The Kumbh — where lakhs of people are expected to gather from February 10  to 12 — at Mandla, 95 km from here, is being seen as a show of strength by the RSS. There is buzz that it is...

The government has a plan to reach welfare to the poor without wasting money. It wants to put hard cash in their hands instead of spending on welfare programmes. To begin with, it wants to end the public distribution system of food grain and give money directly to the people. Its logic: the new system of cash transfer will plug leakages and save an enormous amount of money. But is it...

Taking forward the reform process in the public distribution system (PDS), Orissa government today decided to abolish storage agent arrangement from April 1, the Utkal Divas Day. This was decided at a high level meeting chaired by chief minister Naveen Patnaik. After abolition of 863 storage agents spread over the state, the government would assign the job of stocking public distribution items to state run Orissa Civil Supply Corporation, official sources...