-TheThirdPole.net Anupam Mishra, who spent three decades fighting for rejuvenation of India’s traditional water harvesting systems, died on December 19 If many of India’s ponds, wells, stepwells, springs, check dams and other traditional water harvesting systems are still in working order today, if at least a few of India’s rivers have been revived, much of the credit must go to Anupam Mishra. Through reportage, analysis and advocacy sustained over three decades, this...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Union home ministry today barred a non-government organisation run by a Narendra Modi-critic from receiving foreign funds, revoking its FCRA licence and that of three others for alleged "undesirable activities against public interest". The action, which drew accusations that the government was trying to stifle voices of dissent, means Anhad, run by Shabnam Hashmi, the Marwar Muslim Educational and Welfare Society, and the Gujarat-based Navsarjan Trust and...

-Business Standard This is the time when farm labour is engaged in the fields which result in a dip in demand for work under MNREGA New Delhi: November is considered the best month for sowing of rabi crops as the winter starts setting in and the residual moisture in soil is still available, lowering farmers reliance on ground water. This is also the time, when farm labour is engaged in the fields and...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: India, with the highest malaria burden outside Africa, will need an investment of $18 billion to achieve its 2030 deadline to eliminate the disease, says a latest estimate by the health ministry and malaria advocacy groups. Severe malaria outbreaks in India, aggravated by poor sanitation and drainage, underline an urgent and growing need for financial commitment to deal with a menace estimated to inflict nearly $2...

-The Indian Express As part of the first supplementary grant of demands, the ministry had released an additional Rs 5,000 crore — a third of the Rs 15,000 crore the MoRD had demanded to meet increased expenditure in drought-affected states. The Ministry of Rural Development has sought Rs 10,000 crore for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) as part of the second batch of supplementary demand of grants, set...