In Paikmal block of Odisha’s Bargarh district, a quiet renovation is underway. Anganwadi centres — the community childcare that anchor India’s early childhood system — are being repainted with alphabet murals, fitted with interactive number walls, and stocked with teaching-learning materials, NITI Aayog said in a July 18 update on the initiative. The upgrade sits…
Aruna Roy left the Indian Administrative Service to work alongside rural communities, leading a grassroots movement that resulted in the Right to Information Act and influenced MGNREGA. Her journey demonstrates how citizen-led activism reshaped transparency, accountability, and democratic participation in India.
The UN Children’s Fund has adopted a new four-year Gender Equality Action Plan, 2026-2029. The Executive Board of the UN Children’s Fund has approved UNICEF’s fourth four-year Gender Equality Action Plan, 2026-2029, which complements the 2026-2029 UNICEF Integrated Budget of $26 billion and UNICEF’s Global Strategy 2026-2029. The global plan also focuses on the world’s…
The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, that was placed in Parliament in March 2026 has once again brought the debate on the regulation of foreign-funded organisations in India back into focus. While there is no doubt about the need to increase transparency and accountability of such organisations, the challenge before policymakers is one of…
India’s GDP ranking decline in 2026 is mainly due to rupee depreciation and data revisions, even though real economic growth remains strong. However, the real concern is that despite this growth, there has not been significant improvement in nutrition, employment, and overall social development. The Ranking and the Reaction The IMF’s April 2026 World Economic…
Andhra Pradesh awarded Adani Gangavaram Port for its CSR under the P4 model, which aims to align corporate funding with community-identified needs. The real impact, however, depends on whether this participatory approach delivers meaningful, long-term benefits on the ground. What Happened in Visakhapatnam On April 10, 2026, Adani Gangavaram Port Limited received an Appreciation Award…
Haryana’s sex ratio has fallen to 910 despite years of government campaigns and CSR efforts, revealing that awareness alone has failed to address deep-rooted son preference. Real change requires tackling economic, legal, and social structures driving gender bias. A Number Nobody Wanted to Talk About Start with the arithmetic. Of the 516,402 children born in…
Kiran Bedi’s career redefined authority in India by transforming policing, prisons, and governance through transparency, participation, and reform-driven leadership. Her work shows how institutions can be used as tools for social change rather than control. Kiran Bedi broke more than just a gender barrier when she joined the Indian Police Service in 1972. She changed…
Kerala’s 2026 Elderly Budget acknowledges rapid ageing by allocating ₹46,236 crore toward pensions, healthcare, and elder support systems, making ageing a central policy priority. It offers a scalable framework for India, though its success relies on Kerala’s strong social infrastructure and governance model. India is a country of the young. Or so the story goes,…
The anti-ESG backlash is weakening accountability systems and cutting funding for gender-focused programmes globally. As ESG rollbacks and aid reductions grow, women are disproportionately bearing the impact, slowing progress on equality. Trump-era ESG rollbacks and global aid cuts are hitting gender programmes hardest. The UN has the numbers. The corporate sector is looking the other…
