When we think about the oceans, we usually imagine things we’ve grown up seeing —
navy ships moving across the water, borders drawn on maps, and countries protecting
their territory at sea.
Despite the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act (PEMSR Act, 2013) legally banning the dehumanizing practice of manual scavenging in India, the crisis persists. Deadly accidents during sewer and septic tank cleaning tragically demonstrate the failure of implementation, showing that this decades-old scourge remains a fatal reality.
Taking this matter into consideration, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) in convergence with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) launched the National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) scheme in July 2023. The scheme is to be implemented with an outlay of Rs. 349.70 crore, over the three-year period up to 2025-26, in all 4800+ Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of the country.
The Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN) represents a historic commitment to bring the most disadvantaged parts of its indigenous population, specifically those belonging to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), out of decades of underdevelopment. PM-JANMAN is a three-year mission with a multidimensional approach, committed to bringing basic needs and opportunities to the most remote areas of the country, thus closing an equity gap that has persisted for decades.
Groundwater depletion is one of the most pressing challenges in Tamil Nadu’s western districts, particularly Coimbatore, Tiruppur, and Erode, which fall in the semi-arid belt of the state. Over the past three decades, unsustainable borewell extraction, irregular rainfall, and shrinking surface water storage have created recurring agrarian distress.
Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) is an essential component of India's public health and social development interventions.
Shimla still carries the storybook charm of the “Queen of Hills” — its winding lanes shaded by deodar trees, ridge views worthy of postcards and a colonial legacy that tourists flock to year after year.
India has been working on women’s and children’s health for over a decade now. It has not been in vain. Maternal deaths have dropped. More babies are born safely in hospitals. Vaccines reach even the remotest corners.