Small rain-fed farms are crucial to agriculture turning around. Will India tackle this structural problem? Jaideep Hardikar has more.

The State has quietly pushed through a set of changes to the way it treats RTI applications. Activists discovered it quite accidentally, and are shocked. Krishnaraj Rao writes.

Adivasis in the Thane region face official as well as illegal efforts to separate them from their lands, which are increasingly in demand to meet growing urban needs. Freny Manecksha reports.

The fact that the state's most drought-prone regions have continued to devote precious resources for highly water-intensive sugarcane cultivation and sugar production indicates that there is more to the region's water crisis than climatic conditions alone. Parineeta Dandekar analyses.

Once impoverished and drought-prone, Hiware Bazar in Maharashtra is a shining example of how a visionary leader can use good governance to make degraded areas resource-rich and transform the future of its people through empowerment and inspiration. Ramesh Menon reports.

Displaced by the flawed implementation of Slum Rehabilitation Authority's policy and an unholy nexus of real-estate mafia, thousands of slum-dwellers continue to fight for their basic right to shelter. Swati Priya reports from Mumbai.

The Zero Garbage pilot project in Pune's Katraj ward illustrates the critical elements of a successful and sustainable waste management initiative in the Indian context. Ayrel Clark-Proffitt, Saroj Badgujar, Sunil Agarwal explain how.

A tragic accident at the Chinchave Minor Irrigation Project in Maharashtra brings into focus long-simmering questions over the quality of minor irrigation works as well as the nexus between engineers and contractors. Parineeta Dandekar takes a look.

As studies continue to highlight the potential health hazards posed by cell phones, Mumbai citizens are seen demanding stricter regulation and removal of cell phone towers from sensitive areas, but authorities respond with half-baked measures. Darryl D'Monte reports.

Thousands of landless villagers in Maharashtra's Marathwada region are forced to take up sugarcane harvesting for lack of better livelihood alternatives. Shirish Khare visits the region and uncovers the rampant exploitation and hardships for workers that these contracts entail.

Jackfruit from the farm of Maharashtra's Prakash Sawanth yielded fruit in a record two years, an unheard of agricultural phenomenon in the country. Shrikrishna D reports on the many specialities of the new variety.

While state atrocities against Pardhi communities show few signs of abatement, a small school in Mahadev Basti in Usmanabad, Maharashtra brings a ray of hope. Shirish Khare reports.

The plan to erect 12 dams in order to meet the water requirements of cities in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region is not only objectionable from an environmental perspective, but also undermines the priorities laid out by the 12th Five Year Plan. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.

While formal education on climate change is largely structured around doctrines and laws targeted at mature minds, some have realised the importance of building awareness and inspiring action among the younger brigade.Angelica Pereira reports from Mumbai.

Even before the first line of the much-anticipated Mumbai Metro becomes functional, a number of issues have cropped up, most notably one over the pricing of tickets. Darryl D’Monte tracks the arguments, with comparisons to metro rail elsewhere.

The report of the Kelkar Committee on balanced development in Maharashtra has important recommendations. But will it all come to nought because of its failure to avoid some conventional pitfalls? Shripad Dharmadhikary explores.

The Mumbai municipal authorities have delivered a draft 20-year development plan for the city, but implementation of many of the proposals therein could well deliver the final blow to a city already gasping for breath, says Darryl D’Monte.

Fishing villages in Mumbai are probably more threatened than those in other cities, due to the dizzy densification of the country’s commercial capital, writes Darryl D’Monte.

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.

The recently released CAG audit report on Maharashtra has heavily criticized the time and cost overruns in Gosikhurd irrigation project in Vidarbha. Himanshu Upadhyaya analyses the report to list the shortcomings of the project.

The lofty aim of land re-distribution to the poor fell short for a number of reasons, but the most cruel of them is that the state failed to play its role. Videh Upadhyay urges change, even at this late hour.

Rather than rouse themselves to respond when floods strike, state governments seize the opportunity to play financial games with the Centre, says Dinesh Mishra.

For seven years women and children of the rural districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have been deprived of essential health services so that the polio eradication campaign could go on. On World Health Day, Abhijit Das points out that this need not be.

Elections in Bihar move into the final phase today. Polling began on 18 October with the first of four phases. For a total of 243 seats in the State Assembly, 1607 candidates have been in the running. Of these, 446 candidates (nearly 2 competitors per seat) have criminal records. Varupi Jain reports.

In a number of dalit settlements in Gaya, Bihar, there are school structures but no teachers. In some places, where there are both, as in Parariya village, the dominant Yadavs make intrusive and insulting remarks that do not provide a facilitating environment. Rahul Ramagundam reports.

This northern most district of Bihar, bordering Nepal, has hordes of dalit hindu and muslim children working at hotels and restaurants in violation of a statutory order prohibiting such work. Everything from education policy, to law enforcement, to rehabilitation has been messed up, finds Rahul Ramagundam.

An indifferent political system, trading of charges between state and central governments, and the apathy of the Water Resources Department have together created and compounded the misery of floods in Bihar. When floods struck this year, all the measures collapsed like a house of cards, which again is not a new phenomenon, writes Dinesh Kumar Mishra.

People from several villages in Bihar are opposing the construction of a pair of embankments on the Bagmati river and have stopped work on one of them. Less visible behind their cries is a state administration that seems to be set on continuing a history of trapping villages in flood waters, reports Dinesh Mishra.

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.

A recent study on the Kosi deluge asserts that embankments are the root cause of the present crises. Only a longterm micro-level study of why the river course is changing along with firm policy decisions can remedy the situation, says Sudhirendar Sharma.

When Neelam Devi and her children stepped into their courtyard, the sight that greeted them was a painful reminder of the Kosi river calamity that had forced them to leave in the first place. Manisha Prakash reports.

The concrete road is a symbol of some development in this northern Bihar town, but it sits oddly with its surrounding landscape. The lack of jobs, the bane of many small towns, has affected Madhubani too, writes Kalpana Sharma.

In a state dreaded for its work culture environment and record of poor public entrepreneurship, the Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam, which was on the verge of being liquidated, has now turned the corner and built over 330 bridges in three years. Ramesh Menon chronicles the inspiring journey.

The district administration in Bihar's Araria district collaborates with a local people's organisation to conduct a social audit of the national employment guarantee scheme. Ashish Ranjan and Purushottam Kumar report.

The periodic floods in the Kosi basin and embankment breaches have landed the people of north Bihar in a perpetual mess. In assembly sessions, politicians discuss flood relief but seldom the cause behind the disasters, reports Surekha Sule.

A public hearing on NREGA in a remote village in Bihar created a confrontation between a leader accused of corruption and the workers who exposed him. Rajesh Veeraraghavan was there and he recorded this story.

Citizens of other states also could take hope from the results in Bihar, and demand that their politicians too provide enduring social benefits rather than simply stoking prejudice, writes Ramachandra Guha.

Initiatives under the ‘My Space My unManifesto’ campaign to bring about a political reawakening and engagement among Dalit youth have led to a new-found consciousness and perspective among them. Manisha Prakash reports.

The Centre gears up to take national control of the Kosi and Gandak and turn them into commercial waterways. Shripad Dharmadhikary and the Manthan team report on findings from a recent visit to the region.

Left to fend for themselves while their men are away looking for work elsewhere, poor women find themselves trapped between the quackery of the limited medical attention they can access and the social binds of their families. Puja Awasthi reports.

The common thread between our external and internal security predicaments is our approach to time. Most security issues are long-standing and seemingly interminable. If we understood why this is so, we can change it, writes Firdaus Ahmed.

लॉकडाउन के कारण सिर्फ आम जनता ही नहीं बॉलीवुड स्टार भी घरों में बंद हैं, लेकिन किसी भी स्टार ने वर्कआउट करना नहीं छोड़ा है. बॉलीवुड सेलेब्स घर पर ही योग, रनिंग और कई तरह की एक्सरसाइज कर रहे हैं.

Kapalbhati Health benefits: कपालभाति योग का एक ऐसा आसान है जिसको करने से सभी योगासनों का फायदा मिलता है.

विशेषज्ञों का मानना है कि स्कूल बच्चों की लाइफलाइन (Lifeline) की तरह काम करता है. बच्चों (Kids) को इससे दूर कर देने से उनकी परेशानी बढ़ सकती है. इस समय में बच्चों को काउंसिलिंग करना बेहद जरूरी है.

स्वास्थ्य मंत्रालय ने लोगों को परामर्श दिया है कि तंबाकू और अल्कोहल का सेवन न सिर्फ रोग प्रतिरोधक क्षमता पर असर डालेगा बल्कि दिमागी सेहत को भी प्रभावित करेगा.

अगर लॉकडाउन के चलते घर में बंद रहने से आपकी हालत बीमार लोगों की तरह हो रही है तो अपने मॉर्निंग रूटीन में बड़े बदलाव कीजिए ताकि आप दिन भर तरोताजा और फिट रह सकें.

कटरीना के फिटनेस को लेकर बात करें तो वह अक्सर वर्कआउट करती नजर आती हैं. वह वॉटर योगा से लेकर पिलाटेस तक करती हैं.

लोगों के सामने आने से पहले कपिल का अंदाज, उनकी बॉडी और किस्मत के बारे में बहुत कम ही लोग जानते थे. क्या आप उनकी सफलता के साथ-साथ उनकी बॉडी ट्रांसफॉर्मेशन के बारे में जानते हैं?

कुछ लोग ऐसा सोच रहे हैं कि काश 21 दिनों के जिम खुले होते तो वो अपने पेट की चर्बी को कम कर पाते. जिम न खुले हो तो क्या आप अपने लिविंग रूम में रखे सोफे को अपना जिम बना सकते हैं और पेट के हिस्से के फैट को बॉय-बॉय बोल सकते हैं.

तनाव और चिंता गैस्ट्रोइंटेस्टेनियल ट्रेक्ट में दबाव यानी की मरोड़ पैदा करती है जिसके कारण पाचन संबंधी समस्याएं होती हैं. तनाव के चलते उल्टी आना, सीने में जलन, पेट फूलने जैसी समस्याएं भी हो सकती है.