The senior citizens of Chingrajpara slum in Bilaspur are unable to benefit from the largesse of the many government departments in New Delhi. In this fifth article in our SLUM DIARIES series, Ashima Sood notes that they go begging in the alleys of the slum, depending instead on their more reliable humble neighbours.

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.

The numbers are among the worst in the world. But instead of addressing the infinite nightmare of poverty, the Indian government appears to be doing away with the poor altogether by statistical jugglery and artificially lowering the poverty line, says Colin Gonsalves.

Residents of our slums often pay more than their better-off counterparts for the most essential services. Aditi Dimri and Amiya Sharma discovered the poverty premium through a survey of Sanjay Colony, a slum in Okhla phase II, Delhi, with a population of around 40,000.

The Prime Minister, citing no credible evidence, says small shopkeepers will not be hurt by the entry of large foreign retailiers into the country. His party president, on the other hand, is asking him to go slow on this front. Will this lead to a different course in the government's thinking, or is this simply a smoke-screen, asks Devinder Sharma.

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.

Once, Andhra Pradesh's top leaders queued up at Bandi Lachmamma's home with promises. The debate on farm suicides hit the headlines when her husband took his life. Years later, she works as a coolie in Anantapur earning much less than the minimum assured by the NREGP - which turns away single women, writes P Sainath.

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.

If our media can provide regular updates on the stock markets, foreign exchange and bullion rates, weather, pollution, etc., surely they can add a poverty watch? The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty passed on 17 October, and Ammu Joseph scanned the national press from Bangalore.

I could smell Buddham Bai before I could see her. She was covered with layers of clothes once white, laced with the acrid odour of incontinence, of old age. Arpan Tulsyan reports on one woman's poverty and homelessness in the capital.

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.

Though the homeless exist in large numbers, society tries to render them invisible, says a recent study on homelessness in four Indian cities. Arpan Tulsyan reports on the findings.

Several cases of starvation deaths have been reported in Orissa, especially in areas with high tribal populations. Added to this, government inaction in response to the crisis deepens people's woes. Arpan Tulsyan reports.

Xavier's Foundation in Guwahati has come up with the idea of establishing a Clothes Bank for the poor. It estimates that up to 3 million people may have need for its clothes. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

The first-ever Lok Adalat on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was held recently in Latehar, Jharkhand. Most petitioners came in the hope of receiving unemployment cheques, or at least having their job applications accepted, but left with neither. Pradeep Bhargava reports.

BPL politics at the central level is skewed, and quotas are fixed for every state, regardless of the actual number of people who need to be protected. Pradeep Baisakh reports on one family's near-total loss.

CIC Shailesh Gandhi orders that information about the public distribution system and its beneficiaries should be made public, offering hope that a corrupt system may finally see some reform. Shaweta Anand reports.

Even as the state government refuses to accept the cause behind the recent 50 starvation deaths reported by the media, hunger stalks the people of Balangir and other KBK districts in Orissa portending more such tragedies, writes Pradeep Baisakh.

The Suresh Tendulkar Committee's estimate of poverty in the country has reopened the debate on how the poor should be counted, what benefits they should receive from the state, and how. Darryl D'Monte reports.

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.

Why is there a huge discrepancy between official calculations of poverty and the alternative figures arrived at by many scholars as well as development agencies, asks Prahlad Shekhawat.

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.

The UIDAI has repeatedly emphasized its pro-poor mission, but it is unlikely to succeed without help from NGOs who work with the poor. For this, senior civil society leaders must endorse the project, writes Raju Rajagopal.

Based on a laboratory understanding of nutrition, the government's public food support programmes and agriculture policies have condemned the poor to a daily diet that is of limited nutrition value. Rupa Chinai reports.

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.

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.

Thousands of Mishings find themselves in makeshift homes along the embankments of Majuli island. The river has destroyed more than their lands and homes. Now, their very lives are at risk. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

The terrible mid-day meal tragedy claiming innocent lives in Bihar recently is just one in a long line of instances that reveal the abysmal quality of services and chronic breach of trust by the government. Sakuntala Narasimhan voices the angst of the people.

The single-track hawkish focus on reforms-driven growth with utter disregard for the environment, equity and indigenous livelihoods is not only futile, but almost an assault by a few against the majority at the grassroots, writes Ashish Kothari.

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.

The new vision for financial inclusion In India as unveiled by a committee appointed by the RBI could well be an effective catalyst for transforming the lives of the people, feels Shankar Jaganathan.

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.

A survey among beneficiaries of the National Social Assistance Programme shows that while it does provide succour for many, a lot remains to be done for it to become sufficient social security for the masses. Anindita Adhikari reports on the survey findings.

The effect of GM crops on food, agriculture and farmers continues to be highly controversial, polarising scientists and policy-makers alike. Darryl D'Monte outlines some of the recent turns in the debate to show that the truth, perhaps, lies somewhere in between.

As the rhetoric among political parties over their commitment and promises to the people rises, Shankar Jaganathan articulates that one question that will test what they truly stand for.

With Narendra Modi at the helm, the push towards market-driven development looks likely to be continued, leading to an eventual defeat of real expectations from the voter, says Pradeep Baisakh as he analyses the causes behind the UPA debacle.

A renewable energy project covering three of Odisha’s most backward villages has gone beyond the immediate promise of providing electricity, bringing about perceptible and deeper changes in the quality of lives of the local people. Abhijit Mohanty reports on the project.

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.

With the expiry of the MDGs which guided global development till 2015, the international community is now negotiating Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the period 2016-2030. Prahlad Shekhawat summarises the ensuing debates and explores a way forward.

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.

Can we look at ending poverty without looking at the structural reasons and dimensions of poverty and inequality? Pradeep Baisakh looks at this and at other objectives within the UN SDG framework and analyses how realistic their achievement would be.

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.

Women of a small village in Uttar Pradesh are weaving not just colorful yarn but also communal harmony in their region. Swapna Majumdar reports.

In conflict-stricken region of Kashmir where women are sheltered and house-bound, it's next to impossible for a woman to be an entrepreneur. Making it possible are women like Arifa, who overcame various challenges to start her own crafts store in Srinagar. Renu Agal meets Arifa to write her inspiring story.

The pristine and idyllic pictures of Ladakh do not tell the true story. In recent past Ladakh has been losing its rich cultural heritage and natural resources, and sadly there has been no sincere concentrated official effort to stop this deterioration. But hope is on its way, says Ashish Kothari who visited the region recently.

In September 2014, Jammu and Kashmir was ravaged by floods and landslides. A brilliant documentary Kashmir Flood – Let the Vale Rise by Bilal A Jan captures the immediate after-effects of the worst floods in the state in a century that changed almost the entire topography of the state along with the lives of its residents. Shoma Chatterji reviews the film.