An inspiring account of Malini Chib, disability rights activist and author, who talks about how she got around to developing a strong disability identity that she wants to “celebrate” rather than reject.

The 'importation' of brides from poorer states keeps dowry rates in Haryana high, despite alarming levels of female infanticide. Ranjit Devraj reports.

Three years of painstaking research has shattered many a myth around the most revered hydropower project in the country. A mere 20 per cent of all cultivable area in Punjab is under the dam's command area. Sudhirendar Sharma reviews the recently released Unravelling Bhakra : Assessing the Temple of Resurgent India.

It has been happening for several years under the nose of the Haryana administration. The nation's top government auditor has issued multiple indictments. And yet they have polluted recklessly. Himanshu Upadhyaya tells the tale.

From Urban Poverty Alleviation Initiatives in India : A General Assessment and a Particular Perspective (2002), a publication of the Ramanathan Foundation.

From Urban Poverty Alleviation Initiatives in India : A General Assessment and a Particular Perspective (2002), a publication of the Ramanathan Foundation.

The National Advisory Council sent a draft National Rural Employment Guarantee Act to the UPA government this August. The Prime Minister has since committed to bring the Act into Parliament this winter session. Rasika Dhavse reviews the proposed law, its entitlements and promises. See also: Interview with Jean Dreze, NAC member.

Despite the intervention of the Supreme Court, the state government is a long way from meeting its commitment to eradicate child hunger and deaths due to malnutrition. As a result, an already insecure condition for millions of children shows no sign of improvement. Rasika Dhavse reports.

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) is to be implemented in 200 districts around the country in the first phase. One of the main challenges will be to ward off corruption. Surekha Sule was recently involved in conducting a training programme, and notes how some villages in Andhra Pradesh are gearing up.

In 11 of the poorest districts in the country, a citizens' audit of development, modeled on an earlier study of education, helps residents themselves easily identify how their areas fare on key measures. Rukmini Banerjee and Shanti Jagannathan introduce PAHELI, the People's Audit of Health, Education and Livelihoods.

A unique strength of the NREGS is that citizens have the right to oversee its implementation, by direct scrutiny of its records. Sandeep Pandey provides daily updates on the progress of the social audit of the scheme in UP's Unnao district.

The rains may have failed Bundelkhand but more than this it is the governments that have forsaken the people over the years. Kannan Kasturi reports.

A few innovative steps, taken urgently, can greatly bridge the gap in access to electricity for poor consumers. Structural reform will take years, and given its complexity and poor record so far, cannot be the only pre-occupation, write Sreekumar N and Shantanu Dixit.

With the proposed switch from food rations to direct cash payments to the poor, the government may be trying to free itself from its commitment to supply each BPL family with a certain quantity of food. Kannan Kasturi reports.

The evidence of wide-spread hunger and malnutrition is overwhelming and everywhere, and yet so little is done to address this most fundamental issue, writes Darryl D'Monte.

With an eye on the electorate, the UPA government is trying to scale up its Direct Benefits Transfer scheme in a big way, linking it to the Aadhaar project. But given the low levels of financial inclusion and poor financial literacy among beneficiaries, its effectiveness remains suspect.

A number of families residing in the char areas of Assam have apparently staved off misfortune by taking up sugarcane cultivation, but it may require more than just that to stem the trend of migration and improve living conditions in the region. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

Generalised policies that draw up uniform plans for cities also end up marginalising millions among the urban poor. Shirish Khare emphasises the need for more inclusive and participatory development if India is to meet the huge urbanisation challenge that lies ahead.

Total Sanitation Campaign, MGNREGS and other government schemes are unheard of among villagers at Dinesh Nagar, Assam who live with a perennial lack of food, pure water, and health amenities. Nilotpal Bhattacharjee wonders if they will ever find deliverance from despair.

Homeless, vulnerable and deprived of any form of social security, street dwellers often provide critical services, helping to sustain themselves and the city. Pushpa Achanta meets some of them in Bengaluru to know more about their existence.

Three million forest dwellers in Odisha are estimated to have been displaced since independence by various industrial and hydro-projects, among which the Upper Indiravati Hydro Project is one. Abhijit Mohanty brings us the story of three tribal settlements uprooted by it.

A recent IFPRI report indicates concrete progress by India in the hunger index, while many experts continue to underline unsatisfactory outcomes under GDP-driven growth. Prahlad Shekhawat calls for a new approach to address the real issues that lie somewhere in between.

In September 2015, the central government announced a pilot programme of providing direct cash transfers in place of food grains in an attempt to reform the Public Distribution System. Centre for Equity Studies (CES) recently conducted a survey of this pilot programme in Chandigarh. Shikha Nehra of CES reports the key findings from the survey.

Two weeks into the ban, the question to ask is whether the situation has improved and whether protests in Kashmir have abated. Moazum Mohammad says the answer is no.

In brothels of West Bengal, there is high awareness of the risk to HIV. Women are not taking any chances. Response to the newly introduced female condom is picking up. Sumita Thapar reports.

The risk to the unborn child from an HIV-infected mother is significant, but with advances in science and medical care, more women are hopeful about choosing to keep the child. Puja Awasthi reports.

Shoma A. Chatterji reviews Tamil film Sila Samayangalil, a touching film on AIDS directed by Priyadarshan.

Severe shortages of power and water are predicted for the coming months in much of the North. Himanshu Thakkar looks beyond the 'natural phenomena' that are blamed.

The Expert Appraisal Committee reviewing plans for a large hill toursim project in Himachal Pradesh has taken a critical view of it. Responding to petitions from locals and conservationists, the EAC called for further studies of the project's likely impacts. Kanchi Kohli reports.

In Second Strike: Arguments about Nuclear War in South Asia, Rajesh Rajagopalan articulates that ‘the probability of nuclear weapons use is less in the India-Pakistan feud'. This is comforting, and perhaps on that account, dangerous, because of the false sense of security its conclusions give rise to, says Firdaus Ahmed.

While agreeing with General S Padmanabhan who says in his recent book that "politicisation of the military is a self defeating exercise in a democracy," it is difficult to concede that "greed for fish and loaves of office" is how the politician would corrupt the military establishment and wrench it from its apolitical moorings, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

Recently published by the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment, The Leapfrog Factor: Clearing the Air in Asian Cities is an excellent reference on a contentious subject. The book looks at pollution caused by transport in our cities and the range of environmental, economic, social and technical solutions available, says Darryl D'Monte.

A growing world population has led to rising demand for fresh water to ensure a growing supply of food and to meet rising nutrition demands. Where will this water come from? A new publication co-sponsored by CGIAR sheds some light on the narrowing options. Sudhirendar Sharma reviews the report.

Scathing in his indictment of state holdings in television, Nalin Mehta fails to note that commercial uses too can restrict its social potential. Romit Chowdhury reviews India on Television.

Veteran journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta's forthcoming book tentatively titled Gas Wars: Ambani brothers and the fight for India's natural resources, co-authored by Subir Ghosh delves into the unholy world of crony capitalism in India, writes Satarupa Bhattacharya.

Zareer Masani's book is enriched by its narration of the contrast between Macaulay's strong likes and dislikes in personal life and his libertarian streak in public affairs. R Rajagopalan reviews Macaulay.

Reading former CAG Vinod Rai’s autobiography Not Just an Accountant, Himanshu Upadhyaya feels that it is less about the individual and more about a constitutionally-mandated authority’s sustained efforts to uphold transparency in the face of concerted attempts by the powerful to thwart the same.

A new book tracks down the women who stripped naked 12 years ago to protest against rape and rights abuses under AFSPA. Banamallika Choudhury reviews Mothers of Manipur.

Darryl D’Monte reviews the book Alternative Futures: India Unshackled edited by Ashish Kothari and K. J. Joy.

Akanksha Joshi's film chronicles the changing world through the lives of age-old communities and the adaptations they are forced into. Shoma Chatterji reviews Earth Witness.

Kris Herbst profiles how David Green has propelled Aurolab into a model corporation that manufactures 'expensive' medical products at rock-bottom prices.

Shipra Saxena on Midnapore's strides in implementing a government and UNICEF sponsored rural sanitation scheme, in West Bengal.

As soft drinks manufacturers wage a public relations battle to counter accusations of poisoning consumers, fruit juice sellers sieze an unexpected boon. Ranjit Devraj reports.

This IIT Kharagpur professor's vision is to remove the digital divide between the visually impaired and the sighted world. Rasika Dhavse profiles Anupam Basu and his innovation, Sparsha.

Even as many Indian hospitals invite a foreign clientele to world-class treatment facilities, the poor have to contend with a different and unregulated private sector, says Abhijit Das.

Japanese Encephalitis, the deadly virus infection, is not new to Uttar Pradesh -- the first outbreak took place in 1978, and since then every year. But JE is predictable and self-limiting, giving health authorities clear opportunities to save lives. Still, the 2005 monsoon season has seen more chaotic management and more deaths, says Abhijit Das.

The Ministry of Mines and Minerals says it may lift the ban on asbestos mining. It is ignoring the views of exposure victims, informed recommendations of public sector medical experts, and mounting evidence of an asbestos disease epidemic emerging in developed countries. The rationale to permit mining is hollow, writes Gopal Krishna.

A new Indo-Canadian study has found a one-third decline in new HIV infections in the worst-hit regions of the country - Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and Maharashtra. Researchers say that prevention efforts seem to be paying off, but warn that the battle is far from over. Nitin Jugran Bahuguna reports.

Recently, there has been renewed stress on compulsory iodisation, with the central government attempting to bring back a national ban on non-iodised salt. But the nature and comprehensiveness of research into iodine deficiency has never made a categorical case for a ban, finds Aparna Pallavi.

While it is nobody's case that iodised salt should be pushed out of the Indian market, what concerns many people's groups is the one-sided way in which iodisation is being imposed on the people of India. Aparna Pallavi concludes a two-part series into New Delhi's interest in banning non-iodised salt.