-The Hindustan Times Two leaders on opposite sides of the political spectrum have expressed similar views on this. Both minister for rural development Jairam Ramesh and the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi have spoken about the need for toilets above temples. And they could not be more right. More than 620 million people - over 50% of the population - have to conduct their ablutions in the open. Madhya Pradesh, where more...

-Press Information Bureau (MoSPI) The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has released the key indicators of drinking water, sanitation, hygiene and housing condition in India, generated from the data collected in its 69th round survey during July 2012 to December 2012. Some of these subjects were covered in 65th round of NSS (July 2008- June 2009). Housing is a basic necessity of human well-being. Along with...

-BBC A survey done earlier this year shows that public facilities in the poorest regions of India have steadily expanded, improving the lives of people there, writes development economist Jean Dreze. Once upon a time, not so long ago, public facilities in the poorest districts of India were few and far between. Most people were left to their own devices and they lived in the shadow of hunger, insecurity and exploitation, with no...

-Economic and Political Weekly   While the transformation of rural gender inequalities was not an intended goal of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, this study draws on evidence from two villages in western Tamil Nadu to show how the scheme has benefited rural women in particular. Major attractions of the MGNREGA work include local availability through the year, it being perceived as relatively "easy" work with fixed, regular, gender...

-The Times of India Shanti is a small, bird-like woman with unkempt grey hair, a wizened face and an innocent, trusting smile. The constant smile is remarkable because her life is unbelievably difficult. She lives in a mud hut in Katihar district of Bihar with her paralyzed husband. Her daughter has been married off and her son has "gone away somewhere to find work", never to return. She has no land,...