Down to Earth Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla city has been battered following three days of heavy rainfall — there have been three major landslides in the last four days and the bodies of over 22 people have been recovered so far. Over two dozen people are missing and suspected to be buried under the debris. According to experts, the city has long crossed its carrying capacity, which is leading to regular landslides...

KEY TRENDS   • Oxfam India's 2023 India Supplement report on poverty and inequality in India reveals that the gap between the rich and the poor is widening. Following the pandemic in 2019, the bottom 50 per cent of the population have continued to see their wealth chipped away. By 2020, their income share was estimated to have fallen to only 13 per cent of the national income and have less than 3...

The National Sample Survey Organization's Multiple Indicator Survey - part of the 78th round - has revealed that only 39.1 percent of all Indian households have access to drinking water within the  dwelling. When it come to cooking, 46.7% of rural households use firewood.  These are some of the findings of the survey whose purpose was to collect data about the indicators of Sustainable Development Goals. Data was collected for households...

The Telegraph Jharkhand NREGA Watch, a network of organisations and individuals actively working on MGNREGA in the state, have detected irregularities in MGNREGA works with misuse of the national mobile monitoring system (NMMS) app at a block in West Singhbhum district. A two-member team of Jharkhand NREGA Watch comprising convener James Herenz and Balram visited Golasai and Edelbera village under Asantalia panchayat of Sonua block in West Singhbhum on Wednesday as part...

-The Hindu The Housing Ministry had informed Parliament that 66 proposals had been received A Parliamentary panel has asked the government to clarify how many of the 66 proposals received under the Affordable Rental Housing Scheme launched for the urban poor, especially migrant workers, during the COVID-19 pandemic have been approved by their respective local urban bodies. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation had informed Parliament that 66 proposals have been...