The task of providing water where needed is becoming increasingly difficult across the world. Countries have, in recent decades, been investing in infrastructure designed to alleviate water shortages. But the response has, for the most part, overlooked the problem posed by the deteriorating state of aquatic resources. If the growing crisis is to be effectively addressed, water use needs to be linked with environmental care. In many places, even where water...

Child labourers may be declining in sheer numbers yet more children are at work in the Asia-Pacific region than the rest of the world combined. A global report has noted that while there was a 26% decline in the number of children employed (between the age group of 5-14 years) from 122.3 million to 96.4 million across the world, but in absolute terms, Asia-Pacific region had the most child labourers...

Anchekatti Rangaswamy, 19, is shifting large rocks from the acres of barren farm land on the outskirts of Yerraguntla, a village 65 km from Kurnool, the gateway to Andhra Pradesh’s drought-prone Rayalaseema region. The work he does during his summer break from college will make the rocky land, belonging to marginal farmers in the area, slightly more cultivable. And the wages the teenager will earn from the job under the Mahatma...

Taking education to sex workers and prisoners in jail in West Bengal, the Indira Gandhi National Open University (Ignou) has decided to waive fees for them. “To start with, Ignou has decided to select the red light district of Sonagachi here from where 26 sex workers are likely to join courses on healthcare and food and nutrition programmes,” Ignou vice-chancellor V.N. Rajsekharan Pillai said. He said that the Kolkata Regional Centre would...

Politics runs the risk of being reduced to the art of the passable — it has to be approved by the legislature, by the omniscient television anchors, by sulking editorial writers forced to cede ground to the TV anchors, and, most crucially , by Sonia Gandhi. The food security Bill was drafted for Ms Gandhi’s favour and has been shafted by her displeasure. Food security, hostage, in any case, to...