Can rice farmers make do with less water than they've always thought their crop has needed? Dr. Sudhirendar Sharma reports on a promising innovation.

Mere participation as labourers is not enough to mainstream women's concerns in water management. Instead, they must be engaged as partners, whose roles are located in larger social and political structures. Sudhirendar Sharma reviews Flowing Upstream, a collection of essays drawing attention to this distinction.

What do you for water when you are a paddy cultivator and a good portion of the hills around you are rocky outcrops, not ideal for catchment? Enter the kokkarni. Shree Padre reports on the revival of the practice in Palakkad, Kerala.

Systematic and chronic under-investment in public goods such as education, law enforcement and infrastructure has already impacted our cities. And yet, we have not asked and answered a number of questions as a nation. C V Madhukar begins a new series.

The new national Right to Information law came into effect on 12 October as citizens groups nationwide – from Karnataka to Delhi -- have virtually been on alert and awaiting the opening of government departments to applications for information. Much remains to be seen and done, reports Subramaniam Vincent.

The iconic London Eye has been turned into a social media "mood ring" for the Olympics games, portraying in a light show the mood of the British people during the games, as interpreted through data analysis of Tweets. WSJ's Andy Jordan reports from London.

A two-day seminar held recently in Mumbai brought together policy makers, bureaucrats, social workers, farmers, journalists, activists and researchers. Scrutinising farm policy in depth, they said that policy had failed to address some of the main challenges, reports Aparna Pallavi.

Naam Poribortito, the debut film of activist Mitali Biswas, reveals the dark and gory underbelly of West Bengal in particular, and the nation at large, where rape victims are denied justice and crusaders are silenced more often than not. Shoma Chatterji has more on the film and its portrayals.

Who is buying the new homes that are mushrooming in every city? What income group does this class belong to, and how does their affluent consumption compare to the national average, or to home-buyers elsewhere in the world. Darryl D'Monte finds some of the answers at a session with a human geographer.

Even though caste barriers are far less visible in the Chingrajpara slum than in the villages its residents came from, how far one goes is still a function of where in the hierarchy one starts. Yet for many migrants, arrival in this Bilaspur, Chhatisgarh slum is the first rung on the ladder of upward mobility. Ashima Sood concludes SLUM DIARIES.

Data from the recently released DLHF Survey shows disheartening figures for nutritional indicators, when compared to the last national level survey. Shambhu Ghatak delves deeper into the state’s nutrition records and also tracks where others stand.

India and Africa both share interest in manufacturing, so how will this play out at the ongoing India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) in Delhi? And will we see a coherent strategy from the present Indian government for engaging the continent? Anoo Bhuyan looks into these questions and more.

For a number of reasons, the official strategic community is inadequate both at the bureaucratic and political levels. So we lurch from one bout of activism to the next, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

When water intensive commercial crops are grown in water scarce areas and the produce exported, it amounts to a virtual export of water, even as water availability becomes scarcer. The virtual water concept must be considered seriously in India, asserts Shama Perveen.

"It is time for my daughter to get married but where's the money? We ran a teashop for a long time. That folded as people had no more to spend." P Sainath finds that as the agrarian crisis has deepened in Wayanad, many people are now simply unable to afford weddings.

As farm suicides in Vidarbha cross the 500-mark in under a year, families are holding funerals and weddings at the same time. Sometimes, on the same day. In moving shows of solidarity, very poor villagers are pitching in to help conduct the marriages and funerals of down-and-out neighbours, writes P Sainath.

Narendra Jadhav is Principal Adviser and Chief Economist at the Reserve Bank of India. He is also a Dalit and strong advocate of reservations in the private sector. His recent book Untouchables : My Family's Triumphant Journey Out of the Caste System in Modern India has received wide acclaim. India Together's Subramaniam Vincent talked with him recently.

Around 80,000 children in Madhya Pradesh are suffering from severe malnutrition. So stark is the situation that one evaluation report has said that even if the children were saved, they may go blind due to lack of vitamin A. Sachin Kumar Jain chronicles continuing negligence in government departments in M.P.

A remote school with no electricity, in an area full of other institutions that don't fare well. Why does the Swastik school in Godbhanga village in Orissa perform so much better than others in the district? Ranjan K Panda observes that it is led by someone who perseveres, and all its achievements can be traced to this simple fact.

In light of events in Pathankot, Firdaus Ahmed analyses Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech, given to the military brass last month at the Combined Commanders’ conference aboard the INS Vikramaditya, on the way forward with Pakistan.

By and large, poorer and badly-run states like Bihar and Orissa have seen higher inflation resulting from the NREGA windfall, while in the better-off states with less money flowing in through the scheme, inflation is much lower. Clearly, meddling in markets will show up in ways that are not necessarily all good, writes Sunil Jain.

To improve food security and to bring extensive lands now left fallow into cultivation again, the government must support millets just as it supports rice and wheat. Karuna M reports.

Families in Majuli island are used to the vagaries of the Brahmaputra. But the floods this year have been particularly harsh on them. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

A new volume that outlines in detail the climate change issues, impact and adaptation strategies in Sikkim could also provide replicable models for other states, particularly in the Himalayan region. Seema Bhatt reviews the publication.

Millions of males are falling victim to illnesses at much faster rates, skewing the demographic balance. Pavan Nair looks at the numbers.

On World Mental Health Day, Pushpa Achanta shares the struggle of some mental illness survivors she met recently and hopes that our nation's Mental Health Program is implemented by the government earnestly.

An initiative at an educational institution near Mangalore ensures that the institution can do without water tankers during the monsoon months. Rainwater suffices and what's more, its borewell also gets recharged. Shree Padre reports.

It has been known informally for long. But recently, animal nutrition scientists announced that areca leaf sheath fodder can replace paddy straw. This is timely, since paddy straw supply has been declining, notes Shrikrishna D.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah presented the maiden budget of the recently elected Congress government on July 12, but does his populist package promise anything beyond mere intent? Sridhar Pabbisetty elaborates.

"Of course I would like to be married to a nice boy and have a small family. Who doesn't?" asks Ganga Khatale, 31, with a fleeting twinkle. Amidst a desperate situation of suicides that even pushed two young girls to take their lives over marriage tensions, Ganga seems courageous in her hope. Varada Hardikar reports.

At the core of the agriculture crisis in Vidarbha are the disparities between the western and eastern regions that the state's policies have fostered over five decades. Starved of the funds that western region has for long received, it now hardly matters whether Vidarbha gains the status of statehood, notes Jaideep Hardikar.

Pune-based firm Neeti Solutions has designed a unique version of the popular game Snakes and Ladders, aimed at teaching children about fires and earthquakes and how to cope best in such situations. Rasika Dhavse has more.

The Acorn Foundation India Trust aims to organise ragpickers and train them in scientific methods of waste handling, segregation and recycling, bringing a measure of respect to their work. Freny Manecksha reports.

Since 1963, there have been repeated breaches in the Kosi's embankments, causing tremendous loss and tragedy. Yet, Bihar's governments have made little headway and argue each year as if the problems were new, says Dinesh Kumar Mishra.

दूरदर्शन (Doordarshan) ने 'रामायण' (Ramayan) और 'महाभारत' (Mahabharat) के साथ टीवी पर बड़ा रिकॉर्ड कायम किया है.

दूरदर्शन (Doordershan) की बढ़ी लोकप्रियता को देखते हुए, बच्‍चों का चैनल पोगो (Pogo Channel) उससे हाथ मिलाने जा रहा है. पोगो का शो 'छोटा भीम' (Chota Bheem) जो बच्‍चों में काफी पॉपुलर था, अब दूरदर्शन पर भी प्रसारित होगा.

It could be ‘odd-even’ time for classrooms in schools post the national lockdown, which means there will be only 50% students on campus on any given day. As per the school reopening plan being considered by NCERT, social distancing, more individualistic assessment & teaching-learning will be guiding principles soon to be announced by the HRD ministry.

'क्वांटिको' स्टार प्रियंका 'सूट्स' की फेमस स्टार मेगन मार्केल से साल 2016 में लॉस एंजिल्स में​ मिली थीं.

प्रियंका चोपड़ा ने रिसेप्शन पर शिमरी गोल्ड गाउन पहना था.

फिल्म 'अलादीन' भारत में अंग्रेजी, हिंदी, तेलुगू और तमिल भाषा में रिलीज होगी जोकि 24 मई को नजदीकी सिनेमाघरों में रिलीज की जाएगी.

Moderate exercise in middle, older age cuts time spent in hospital

हिमा दास (Hima Das) ने अंडर 20 वर्ल्ड चैंपियनशिप (World Championship) में गोल्ड मेडल जीत कर इतिहास रच दिया था.

The education scenario has been continuously evolving from the Gurukul days – the aim- address the dynamics of the changing society. Advancements, technology, and exposure have resulted in giving society more and more brains. The...

Virtual Buddy Workout: 5 fitness gurus, 5 super moves

डीडीसीए (BCCI) के पूर्व अध्यक्ष रजत शर्मा (Rajat Sharma) इस्तीफा दे चुके हैं वहीं सचिव मेरठ की जेल में बंद है

Studds Shifter D3 Decor review