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    Insights, best practices and the latest research on what works and what needs to change across sectors including agriculture, education, climate change, livelihoods, and public health.

    A woman in green saree sitting in her colourful street market stall, offering traditional Indian goods and decorations.-informal sector
    Gender
    Where women entrepreneurs find their niche
    Women own relatively few informal trade and service enterprises, with their businesses being concentrated in care, retail, education, and personal services.
    by Sneha Thomas, CEDA | 4 min read

    Latest

    Five women sit together outdoors under a large tree, discussing materials spread on the ground, with green landscape visible behind them--gender-based violence
    Rights
    Why nonprofits’ legal aid models fail survivors of gender-based violence
    Legal awareness alone cannot protect survivors of gender-based violence. Funders and nonprofits must ensure sustained legal representation.
    by Aparimita Pratap, Gatha G N | 7 min read
    a woman standing in an empty field speaking into a camera being manned by another woman while a young girl squatting on the floor holds up a mike--mental health
    Health & Well-being
    The mental health cost of freelance journalism
    Freelance journalists in India talk about the cost of covering rights-based issues without a newsroom, or a safety net, behind them.
    by Almaas Masood, Swati Thapa | 2 min read
    Detailed view of intersecting railway tracks with overgrown vegetation--Mental Healthcare Act
    Health & Well-being
    How is India’s Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 tracking?
    Learn about the history of the mental health legislation in India, and see where state-wise implementation of the 2017 Act is falling short.
    by Shubhda Sharma, Murchana Hazarika, Shreyus Sukhija | 8 min read
    cut down trees lying in the forest
    Environment
    Will Sikkim’s eco-restoration drive repeat old mistakes?
    Sikkim is replacing dhupi in its reserved forests with ecologically beneficial trees. To avoid another monoculture, it can learn from its own history.
    by Ithihaas Ravichandran, Karthick Sakthivel | 6 min read
    two women harveting mahua. The flowers are spread on large green nets.--Mahua
    Livelihoods
    A safety net for our mahua trees
    Mahua trees in Jonha, Jharkhand are not grown but passed down over generations. Local families are adopting new ways to collect flowers for a better harvest and to ensure the trees’ longevity.
    by Ashran Beck | 2 min read

    Ground Up
    SEE ALL
    Bite-sized stories from the people closest to the action.
    Climate Emergency
    photo
    Charaideo, Assam
    The flood beyond our screens
    by Bruno Kachua
    Health & Well-being
    photo
    Dumka, Jharkhand
    Condom packaging design is failing rural India
    by Manisha Choudhary
    Environment
    photo
    Phek, Nagaland
    A bid to bring back cosmos to Pfutsero
    by Kupelhi Losou

    More Articles

    an illustration of anti-caste and human rights activist Martin Macwan--Dalit rights
    Social Justice | September 10, 2026
    IDR Interviews | Martin Macwan
    Dalit rights activist Martin Macwan tells us about the interactions that shaped his activism and the challenges he encountered during his life's work in social justice.
    by Debojit Dutta, Smarinita Shetty | 9 min read
    Two women sitting, with one of them massaging the other's head.
    Health & Well-being | September 4, 2026
    How gram panchayats can foster a culture of palliative care
    Gram panchayats can mobilise frontline workers, nonprofits, and healthcare professionals to deliver palliative care at home. Here's how Karnataka is putting this into practice, and why other states should follow suit.
    by Debojit Dutta, Srishti Gupta | 7 min read
    two women wearing hairnets and masks operating machinery in a Take Home Ration plant--take home ration
    Livelihoods | September 2, 2026
    The women ensuring last-mile nutrition access in Uttar Pradesh
    The Take Home Ration plants in Prayagraj provide food for thousands of women and children. The women running these facilities are underpaid, unrecognised, and working in unsafe conditions.
    by Dipti Arora | 6 min read
    a woman in a pink saree addressing other women sitting around her in a circle--primary healthcare
    Health & Well-being | August 27, 2026
    Health at the margins: Lessons for primary care
    Primary healthcare requires connection as much as services. A nonprofit in rural Rajasthan shows how effective care is relational, socially embedded, and systems-oriented.
    by Nachiket Mor | 8 min read
    Dense urban rooftops are covered with hundreds of satellite dishes, water tanks, laundry, and closely packed buildings--urban housing
    Urban | August 26, 2026
    Reimagining urban housing for migrant workers
    India’s migrant workers face precarious housing in cities. A new initiative explores ways to make urban housing more inclusive.
    by Renu Desai, The Migration Story | 8 min read
    A slit lamp with fine optics against a brown background--health tech
    Health & Well-being | August 25, 2026
    India’s health-tech can’t cure itself
    Most health-tech innovation in India stalls at the pilot stage, failing to reach the people who need it the most. Here's what policymakers and innovators can do to change this.
    by Neha Nimble, Ramnath Ballala, Bhaskar Rajakumar | 6 min read
    a grocer setting up a fruit and vegetable stall--woman village headman
    Gender | August 21, 2026
    How women in Meghalaya’s Khweng village got their right to vote
    In Khweng, Meghalaya, women pushed to be included in electing the village headman—and won a place in local governance.
    by Banteilang Syiem | 2 min read
    illustrated portrait of activist A Revathi against yellow background--trans rights
    Gender | August 20, 2026
    IDR Interviews | A Revathi
    A Revathi on embracing her identity as a trans woman, finding family in transgender communes, learning to mobilise the community, and acting and writing her heart out.
    by Anandhakrishnan S, Debojit Dutta, Subhash Sundaravadivelu | 9 min read
    brown chairs in a dark, empty classroom--teacher education
    Education | August 19, 2026
    Systemic neglect keeps Jharkhand’s aspiring teachers out of classrooms
    Scarce public institutes, limited seats, poor infrastructure, and high costs have made teacher education inaccessible in Jharkhand, especially for people from marginalised communities. There is a need for urgent reform and investment. 
    by Shishu Ranjan | 7 min read
    A farmer on a tractor tills dry soil in a field with trees and grass in the background--carbon farming
    Agriculture | August 18, 2026
    Who benefits from carbon farming?
    Farmers in Uttar Pradesh are switching to sustainable cultivation methods, but delayed payments and shrinking subsidies threaten their commitment to carbon farming.
    by Aishwarya Tripathi, ISignal | 12 min read
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