Op-Eds

In a warming world, the value of irrigation lies not only in what it produces, but in the uncertainty it removes. In a canal-irrigated village in eastern India, farmers increasingly speak not just about yields, but about certainty. “Earlier, we waited for rain,” one cultivator observed. “Now we plan.” That shift—from dependence on rainfall to...   Read More

Recent reports suggest the central government may be considering a way around the delimitation deadlock on women’s reservation. The proposal, if it advances, would expand the Lok Sabha from 543 to 816 seats, with 273 of the new seats reserved for women and allocated using 2011 Census data rather than waiting for a fresh Census....   Read More

The Union Cabinet’s approval of the Small Hydro Power Development Scheme for FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31 is a sensible intervention. With an outlay of ₹2,584.6 crore, including ₹2,532 crore for project implementation, the scheme aims to add 1,500 MW of capacity through projects of 1-25 MW. That focus matters. Small hydro power remains one of India’s...   Read More

Urbanisation, migration, and changing aspirations often leave older adults to navigate their later years with greater independence but also, at times, greater isolation. India stands at a quiet but significant turning point in how it understands ageing. For generations, the joint family system served as the backbone of elderly care, offering not just physical support...   Read More

Its role in rural development goes beyond crop output benefits to enhancing infrastructure, service delivery, local economic activity Summary Watershed development is emerging as a crucial strategy for India's rural climate resilience. It enhances soil moisture and groundwater recharge, and also supports overal rural transformation. Increased public investment and community participation in watershed projects can...   Read More

Women may enter the workforce in large numbers, but evidence from multiple sectors shows that participation does not automatically translate into leadership or economic power. Cooking, caregiving, grooming, sewing, teaching. These are still seen as “women’s work” across societies. After all, women do these tasks routinely within households and communities, often without pay or recognition....   Read More

Updating the ASI sampling frame and refining the ASUSE survey methodology can further enhance the accuracy and reliability of GDP and GSDP estimates. A much-awaited new GDP series with the base year as 2022-23 is now available in the public domain. On February 27, 2026, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation came out with...   Read More

In a climate where outcome monitoring, scaling up, and sustainability are the main buzzwords, grassroots organisations that speak from the heart are likely to be deprived of resources and public attention The 21st century saw the emergence of a new philosophy for voluntary organisations. Good intentions were no longer enough, scale and outcome monitoring became...   Read More

Agricultural waste has latent value but is often treated as a disposal problem. What are the core market and policy distortions in India that prevent by-product markets (e.g. bio-inputs, bioenergy, biomaterials) from emerging at scale, and how should policy reframe incentives to internalise environmental and social benefits? Agricultural residues, such as straw, husk, and dung,...   Read More

Schemes to raise women’s workforce participation will come a cropper unless men actively take part in domestic work. Even as policy efforts are being oriented towards ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’through women-led development, a large chunk of women in India remains absent from paid employment, a reality that undermines both gender equality and economic growth. Over the...   Read More