India’s food and nutrition problems continue to be formidable and malnutrition is still one of the crucial problems in the process of development. The magnitude of malnutrition and the ignorance about the relationship between food and health among a majority of the population at all levels necessitates the need for nutrition education. This approach in the long term may promote self-reliance and self-support in the communities.

Rural common property resources represent the historically evolved institutional arrangements made by communities in dry regions (in the present case) to guard against the vulnerabilities and risks created by the biophysical and environmental circumstances characteristic of these areas. Despite their valuable contributions, CPRS are faced with decline in terms of both extent as well as contribution to the people, and therefore consequent neglect by the communities.

This study of the operation of the Accredited Social Health Activist programme of the National Rural Health Mission in one of the tribal blocks of Thane district in Maharashtra fi nds that incentives given to ASHAs generate a bias in their work activities and shift the attention of these community health workers from the community to the health services system. Moreover, the poor socio-economic background of ASHAs makes them depend on the incentives offered since this is their main source of income.

Although the JFM concept is becoming popular more and more all over India, there is no well defined methodology to evaluate the functioning of JFM. As a result, it is not possible to evaluate JFM functioning and to find out the level of success of JFM. Therefore, an attempt has been made to bring out a concept paper on JFM that enables evaluation of JFM in a systematic manner.

India is young and young people don't like to be sermonised. Slogans would not help conserve water. But taking small steps, practising a few things daily, and auditing one's own behaviour will make one more responsive to his/her inner call. Once the call for conservation and hygiene emanates from within, perhaps change will follow inevitably. But the inner call will call for authentic appeal. Mizos can help us.

A new scheme by the district administration of Agra has increased people's participation in monitoring of govt schools. The results are encouraging.

One of the most urgent challenges facing the world today is ensuring local water security under rapid climate variability and change. This is of particular importance in a country like India, where over half of the people are involved in farming, and agricultural losses due to climate change are estimated to be as high as 30 per cent by 2080. This ethnography in the arid village of Bhiwadi, West Rajasthan empirically links the reintroduction of local water harvesting technologies with the building of sustainable social reproduction in subsistent communities.

Despite being dotted with industries, Gujarat's rich coastline is plagued by voices of dissent. Coastal communities have of late realised that the fruits of industrialisation were either too sour, or not for them at all.