-Down to Earth Jean Dreze on why he prefers a solidarity society, rather than a welfare state * Are you actually an advocate of the welfare state? Ideally, I would prefer to think in terms of a solidarity society rather than welfare state, for two reasons. First, private non-profit institutions can play a very useful role in the social sector. In many countries, some of the best schools and health centres are run...

-Down to Earth More than 180 farmer organisations from across the country proposed Bills related to debt waiver and fair crop prices in a mock parliament  On the second day of a protest organised by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), farmers from more than 180 farmer organisations across the country proposed a bill each on debt waiver and fair prices for crops. For two days, thousands of farmers had gathered...

-Govenance Now There is need for timely intervention to prevent malnutrition in tribal children She is tall, skinny and dark-complexioned. She sports a tattoo of lines and dots on her forehead, as if displaying a hieroglyphic text. Her neck is laden with beaded jewellery and a thick, rusted iron chain while the ears are pierced at two spots. The white sari draped till her knees contrasts with green and red glass bangles....

-The Nature Conservancy India Program, Institute on the Environment (University of Minnesota), Borlaug Institute for South Asia & International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center   Air pollution is a major cause of premature mortality globally and the problem is particularly acute in rapidly developing countries like India. Crop residue burning contributes substantially to this problem. Currently, 80 percent of agriculture in Northwest India uses a rice-wheat production system dependent on burning...

-TheWire A recent article claimed that the Modi government has significantly improved or tweaked the implementation of various schemes started by the UPA-II administration. But the numbers quoted need to be questioned. The Wire recently published an article titled ‘Modi May Have Repackaged 23 UPA Schemes But Most of them Are Working Better Now’. The authors’ main thesis is that even if the names of the government schemes have been changed or...