-The Hindu Giving up corporate jobs and fat salaries, an increasing number of young men and women are committing their lives to providing education to India’s poorest   “I had career goals, now I set myself happiness goals. Giving and getting happiness in return,” says Pracheta Sharma, and somehow that does not sound one bit corny. Sharma, along with two other friends Mainak Roy and Rahul Bhanot, is working on a project...

-Hindustan Times Revolution imminent… genetically modified seeds produced by MNCs cause farmer suicides. Incendiary, out-of-context sound-bites juxtaposed between heartrending visuals distort rural poverty from a complex issue that each Indian must help resolve to a simplistic, accusatory Peepli Live feature. Instead of quixotic and strident anti-growth agendas offered as panacea, a coordinated and consistent approach to poverty reduction is needed. Poverty reduction needs development. The linkage between economic growth and poverty reduction is...

-Hindustan Times School textbooks in recent decades have frequently become battlegrounds for ideological contestation in India. Most textbook wars are to advance majoritarian perspectives on history and culture. However, a recent very different textbook skirmish broke out about the public and private sectors in healthcare. The story of this ideological clash is bemusing and instructive, illuminating competing perspectives on the nature of education, healthcare and markets in new India. This clash surfaced...

-The Hindu Historians, academics join growing protests Mumbai/ New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi came under a severe attack from civil society as scientists, filmmakers, artists, writers and historians joined hands in censuring the government for its ‘failure to address the rising intolerance and inability to maintain peace in society.’ Eminent scientist and founder director of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, P.M. Bhargava told The Hindu on Thursday that he would...

-The Hindu Women build social capital through the process of regular group meetings and this directly results in a change in their status, both within the home and community In the world of microfinance, women’s collectives have acquired a great deal of prominence globally and are known by various names such as Self Help Groups (SHGs), Joint Liability Groups (JLG), or Village Saving and Loan Associations (VSLA). There is a strongly held...