-One World South Asia/ Women's Feature Service This is a success story. The backdrop: a small, dusty village in Madhya Pradesh; the protagonists: oppressed dalit women, who managed to shed their inhibitions and overcome centuries old caste and class baggage to save their children from the curse of hunger and severe malnutrition. Mundalana village in Sonkatch block of Dewas district is home to 800 dalits, out of a total population of 2,600. Owing...

-Down to Earth Rural development ministry to make social audit compulsory; create more durable assets in blocks and districts, instead of villages UPA's flagship programme, Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), is set to see some changes under the ruling NDA government. The Union Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) has decided to focus on social audit and create durable assets at block and district levels under the programme. In a letter, dated June...

-RuralMarketing.in/ i9media Organic farming is the mantra for prosperity of Naga women, and these hardworking women farmers have proved that they can be successful enterpreneurs. Women in the northeastern state of Nagaland traditionally enjoyed a high social position, within their family as well as in the community. A strong prevalence of patriarchy has ensured that they are not just kept away from key decision-making, but they are barred from inheriting ancestral...

-PTI The state government would take urgent measures against hoarding of essential commodities, said the CM Jaipur: To check inflation and rise in prices of essential commodities, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has asked the food and civil supply department to come out with a plan to sell onion, potato and pulses through Public Distribution System (PDS) at low price in the state. The state government would take urgent measures against hoarding of...

-The Hindu Nagpur: With the highest number of farmer suicides recorded in the year 2013, Maharashtra continues to paint a dismal picture on the agrarian front with over 3,000 farmers taking their lives. According to a recent report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), a total of 3,146 farmers killed themselves in the state in 2013. Maharashtra repeated this performance despite the state registering 640 less farm suicides than 2012. According to NCRB...