In the 2004-5 budget speech, the finance minister announced subsidy support for a hundred thousand water harvesting units. But governments continue to miss the point that decentralisation must allow citizens choice over institutions too, not merely access to new schemes and loans, says Sudhirendar Sharma.

Over the last five years the farmers of two rural districts outside Chennai have started selling water from their irrigation wells to the city's water utility. This, to the detriment of cultivation in their own lands and those of neighbouring farmers, reports Krithika Ramalingam.

Renault-Nissan Alliance CEO Carlos Ghosn talks with WSJ Deputy Managing Editor Alan Murray about the differences in management style required for different corporate cultures in this excerpt from Tuesday's Viewpoints conversation.

Bengal's picture-perfect villages have been home to the hammer-and-sickle for an astounding three decades, but now that the rural idyll is cracking, the Left Front is being forced to confront the sight of the three-petalled symbol of the Trinamool Congress and the sounds of rebel voices rising against its perceptible clout.

Newsletters in UP that began as a development effort to help women communicate among themselves have evolved into much more, addressing problems that are relevant to whole communities instead. Tarannum Manjul reports on a crop of 'alternate media' that is in fact very much the centre of the communities they serve.

The imminent Panchayat elections in Karnataka will see 50 percent reservation for women at all tiers, but how can one ensure real authority for them? Proposed amendments to the Panchayat Raj Act may hold some answers.

Not only is the division between an outer world of 'things out there' and an inner world of 'thoughts and feelings' a false distinction rooted in a particular historical trajectory, it is also pernicious, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.

"There is a strong question mark about the possibility of ... providing potable drinking water to all villages by 2004”, warned the Comptroller and Auditor General in 2002. Himanshu Upadhyaya on how the CAG foretold correctly.

A traditional rural residence is almost always based on adaptations to the local environment, and is often built with the labour of the villagers themselves without the need for external mechanised inputs. Surekha Sule reports on the Rural Building Centre, a NIRD initiative showcasing several such homes.

The list of new products that corporate India wants to attach the 'rural' tag to has grown quickly. What is at stake here is more than the survival of India's ambitious, if creative, consumer goods manufacturers, writes Rahul Goswami.

The benefits of providing access to energy and lighting to increasing numbers of the populace are indisputable, but many of the current initiatives to provide cleaner energy rely on corporate partnerships. Darryl D'Monte examines its pros and cons vis-à-vis an alternative model.

A recent report from the labour ministry reveals that skill-intensive occupations such as plumbing and carpentry pay more in rural India. Shambhu Ghatak looks at the data closely to argue for greater thrust on imparting skills, especially to rural women.

New Delhi's policy-makers are busy bartering the millions of jobs in agriculture for the far fewer ones with outsourcing firms in the cities, says Devinder Sharma.

The Prime Minister has received at least two letters in the past week from eminent economists, activists and citizen groups, raising their voices against dilution of the Rural Employment Guarantee Act, which seems imminent from recent announcements by the government.

Shruti Gupta on a project in Madhya Pradesh and Jharkand that uses technology to enhance income generation opportunities through productive use of natural resources.

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.

This linkage between agriculture and nutrition, and its impact on development indices is very clear, and a number of recent reports point the finger of blame at agricultural policies. Rupa Chinai reports.

In what appears to be a damning indictment of the Five Year Plans, launched in 1951, as well as the economic reforms process that began in 1991, the first ever socio-economic survey has painted a dismal picture of rural India, says Devinder Sharma.

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.

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

Rural public health care is choked nationwide for a number of reasons. To name two, provisioning of services is very top heavy and many major programmes continue to be conceived and run uncoordinatedly. But Abhijit Das finds promising prospects in the formation of the National Rural Health Mission.

Since 1988, SANCHAR has worked to improve the lives of the disabled in rural West Bengal. And with the increasing resources available by law to assist the handicapped now, SANCHAR is working to make sure panchayats tap into these to help their community. Rina Mukherji reports.

24 June 2005 - Sanu Ghosh was around one and a half years old when a visit to SSKM Hospital in Kolkata to treat an attack of pneumonia saw him diagnosed as a patient of cerebral palsy. But then, his daily wage-earning parents from the rural outskirts of the city could hardly have been expected to arrange for the necessary rehabilitation of their little son. Fortunately for them, the Society for Appropriate Rehabilitation for the Disabled (SANCHAR) traced him out when he was four, and even detected a hip dislocation that nobody had noticed until then. Today, not only does Sanu attend school, but can manage to seat himself there, thanks to a chair designed by SANCHAR. A similar contraption for his home enables him to manage his daily domestic chores. At school, he uses his mouth to hold a pencil to write, and can read and write nearly as well as any child of his age.

Arup Sani was struck with polio at the age of three, resulting in the impairment of his left leg and right hand. The son of daily wage earning parents belonging to Krishnarampur village in South 24-Parganas, Arup was adopted by SANCHAR when seven years old. The provision of calipers and crutches under the government's scheme enabled Arup to attend the village primary school. Arup is now 19, and studying at the higher secondary level. He is not only getting educated, but also teaching three hearing impaired children from the neighbouring village. Besides, Arup is helping a visually challenged child, Mafijul, studying in the second grade, as a writer during the latter's exams.

Handing out non-biodegradable sanitary pads to rural school girls who have reached menarche will not address their menstrual hygiene issue. Clean and functional toilets with water supply, awareness about menstruation, economical and biodegradable pads and more is needed, finds Puja Awasthi.

The Government of Karnataka's Working Group on Decentralization discusses transparency and accountability for rural self-governance in the state. The first in a series of articles adapted from the Working Group's 2002 report.

The village of Hebballi in the Krishna river basin is a striking example of a successful and sustainable piped water supply in rural India. While challenges still remain, this experience shows that some steps towards equity and sustainability can be taken in many other places too. S Vishwanath reports.

In the major metros, a range of new vocational courses is helping high school students find jobs in the rapidly industrialising sectors. What about job-seekers in small towns and rural areas? Padmalatha Ravi reports on two NGO-led training innovations in Tamilnadu and Karnataka.

Dr. S S Kalbag has devoted 20 years of his life to educating the rural youngster, and found an enriching life for himself too in the process.

Rajani Mani tracks the spread of watershed development from Ralegan to Panoli in Maharashtra and notes that women have come to play a critical role.

Technology majors are keen to establish direct contact with potential customers in rural areas, and setting up computer kiosks is an important step in this direction. These first steps are hardly catalytic, but that has not deterred the companies, which are thinking of markets far into the future. Gagandeep Kaur reports.

Mann Deshi Udyogini, formed by a rural women's cooperative bank in association with HSBC Bank, is a business school aims to empower rural women with knowledge of how to run small enterprises. Gagandeep Kaur reports.

If electrification drives remain focused only on village electrification, connections and lighting, 'Gaaon Ka Vikaas Garv Ke Saath' will remain just rhetoric. Anjali Sharma, Ann Josey, and Sreekumar N report.

Perry, who won the Women’s T20 World Cup recently with Australia, is recovering from injury. Recently she said that she does not expect the coronavirus pandemic to have a long lasting negative effect.

The second gaur, that had taken refuge in a puddle on the banks of Phalguni river near Kulur bridge last evening, moved from there in the early hours on Thursday.

Natural aphrodisiacs are the way to go if you want to spice up your love life. Due to our hectic love lives couples come back tired from work and then they are too tired even for a harmless goodnight kiss. They

Murali, on his part has an Indian connection with his wife being from Chennai. He was also a key player in IPL during the early seasons of the league.

Producer Rana Dagubatti was already facing difficulties meeting the budget and facing the pressure of roping Sachin Tendulkar for a cameo.

The art of lovemaking is remarkable. However there are certain natural scents from a woman that attract a man. These natural scents are tips for women to be prepared when it comes to the bedroom.There are some men who truly adore

Lubrication alters your mood by making it easier to penetrate. Every woman lubricates and the discharge increases when she is sexually excited. Dry vagina can make it difficult to have an intercourse. Moreover, it is painful and can cause infectious.

Facebook, which reaches out to a very large populace across the world, plans to bring cheaper internet to India by empowering rural areas with wi-Fi connections. India is a very huge market for the internet and internet related services. The Indian

According to the report by Boston Consulting Group ( BCG), half of all internet users will be rural, 40 percent will be women, and 33 percent will be 35 or older. The report said that internet penetration has been, and

Digitization in India is still a work in progress with the large population unable to access or tap into the vast pools of the virtual capabilities. Plus, there's also a large gap between urban and rural areas when it comes to

Priyadarshan, the senior filmmaker is a great admirer of Fahadh Faasil, the National award-winning actor. The director has heaped praises over Fahadh in most of his recent interviews, and has always stated that he is his favourite from the younger generation.

Some trends are worth the hype and organic hair products is one such trend. Switching to natural and organic products seems like a gamble that we are not too crazy about. Don't you think that it is high time that you

Acrylic nails are the hottest new trend in the nail town. The long, well-shaped endless shiny nails are hard to resist for anyone. It is all great and you love to flaunt your stunning nails unless you get them off. If

Some trends are worth the hype and organic hair products is one such trend. Switching to natural and organic products seems like a gamble that we are not too crazy about. Don't you think that it is high time that you

US gas stocks stand at 2210 billion cubic feet which is 19.5 percent higher than 5-year average stocks for this time of the year.