India Development Review | Media platform for the development community

red background with an online map of jammu and kashmir in the bottom right corner-Article 370

365 days without Article 370

A compilation of articles and resources, tracing the history of events in Kashmir, the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A, and the impact it has had on the everyday lives of Kashmiris, one year on.

by India Development Review | 2 min read

Get smart.
Sign up for our free weekly newsletter, IDR Edit, featuring the best reads on development in India.

by Sandeep Sachdeva | 7 min read

Humour

Overheard in the social sector

Disclaimer: These quotes are fictional, but the feelings are real.

by India Development Review | 1 min read

Leadership & Talent

Finding meaning is an art and making meaning is art

Artist Lynette Wallworth explains how art that draws on lived experiences can become a tool for transformation in the lives of others.

by World Economic Forum | 1 min read

illustration plug not fitting into socket-failure

Social Business

A crisis among co-founders

Growing incompatibility with a co-founder over prioritising short-term targets causes a social entrepreneur to step away from their organisation.

by Garima Sahai | 4 min read

COVID-19: Latest news and updates

Read

Ground Up

See all

Bite-sized stories from the people closest to the action.

Diversity & Inclusion

Photo

The Jungle Master

by Tanaya Jagtiani

Dhenkanal district, Odisha

Water & Sanitation

Photo

Sunk costs

by Praharsh M Patel

Kutch district, Gujarat

Diversity & Inclusion

Nosy interference

by Sanjiv Phansalkar

Udaipur district, Rajasthan

COVID-19

A cross-border crisis

by Zubin Sharma

Kishanganj district, Bihar

A day in the life of

Frontline workers and first responders share their insights from working at the grassroots.

child with IDD therapy_JaiVakeel-covid_2

Health

A day in the life of: An occupational therapist

Undaunted by the constraints of working from home, an occupational therapist employs innovative ideas to ensure that children with intellectual and developmental disabilities have access to the therapy they need.

by Rashmi Desai | 7 min read

Kokila Devi attending to some plants-adivasi leader

Gender

A day in the life of: An Adivasi leader

A survivor of domestic violence herself, an Adivasi woman from rural Rajasthan is helping other women who face violence seek justice, along with helping them access entitlements.

by Kokila Devi | 6 min read

Health

A day in the life of: A mental health professional

A clinical psychologist in Manipur is helping her community cope with distress during the pandemic and lockdown, through phone calls and in-person sessions, as well as by volunteering with the state helpline services.

by Thoibi Paonam | 5 min read

Failure Files

See all

Social change leaders chronicle their failures and lessons learnt.

Social Business

A crisis among co-founders

Growing incompatibility with a co-founder over prioritising short-term targets causes a social entrepreneur to step away from their organisation.

by Garima Sahai | 4 min read

Education

Teachers vs tech

An intervention built on the assumption that teachers can be easily replaced by technology quickly goes awry.

by Shravan Kumar | 4 min read

illustration showing two people talking at a distance-communication

Leadership & Talent

Learning to be a better, braver leader

An uncompromising leader learns about the importance of compassion and listening, the hard way.

by Manjot Kaur | 4 min read

IDR Interviews

See all

Conversations with visionaries on their life's work, and their efforts to challenge the status quo in our country.

“Only when villages become self-reliant and self-governing units, will India become a true republic.”

Rajendra Singh
8 min read

“Civil society institutions are the seismographs of society. They give early warnings for major catastrophes that can happen.”

Vijay Mahajan
8 min read

“Development evolves from within; when you do it to others, it needs a different name. I would just call it colonisation.”

Vandana Shiva
10 min read

Sectors

See all

Insights and analysis of specific sectors in the development arena—what works, what doesn't, and what needs to change.

See all coverage by topic:

Livelihoods

Getting construction workers their entitlements

We shouldn’t have to wait for a pandemic to highlight the gaps in our system.

by Gayatri Divecha, Pooja Lapasia | 5 min read

close up of football with the feet of school children_Charlotte Anderson

Education

Rethinking learning

Play and learning are often seen to be at odds with each other. But play is one of the important ways through which cognitive learning can be effectively incorporated into elementary classrooms.

by Dakshata Agarwal, Shweta Bhutada | 5 min read

Health

Mental health and COVID-19 in India

What we know so far and where we go from here.

by Madhumitha Balaji, Vikram Patel | 6 min read

Themes

See all

Approaches and ideas that cut across sectors and counter the dominant narratives around us.

See all coverage by topic:

Social Justice

365 days without Article 370

A compilation of articles and resources, tracing the history of events in Kashmir, the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A, and the impact it has had on the everyday lives of Kashmiris, one year on.

by India Development Review | 2 min read

Ecosystem Development

Concerns around India’s social stock exchange

Based on the global experience of similar exchanges, this article suggests recommendations to strengthen the governance and accountability of the proposed SSE.

by Sandeep Sachdeva | 7 min read

Social Business

A crisis among co-founders

Growing incompatibility with a co-founder over prioritising short-term targets causes a social entrepreneur to step away from their organisation.

by Garima Sahai | 4 min read

Expertise

See all

Skills and functions that are core to growing programmes and organisations.

See all coverage by topic:

Leadership & Talent

Finding meaning is an art and making meaning is art

Artist Lynette Wallworth explains how art that draws on lived experiences can become a tool for transformation in the lives of others.

by World Economic Forum | 1 min read

A spirit level being used to draw lines_Rawpixel

Leadership & Talent

Supporting well-being in resource-scarce environments

Five ways to support organisational well-being—for nonprofits, bootstrapped startups, and other organisations working with limited resources.

by Rohit Kumar | 5 min read

Fundraising & Communications

Building your nonprofit social media strategy

Six questions you had about social media, answered.

by Anushka Dalal | 6 min read

Social stock exchange 101

P Sainath talks about the agrarian crisis

P Sainath on India's agrarian crisis

Kamla Bhasin on listening to the communities you work with

History of social action in India: From 1947 onwards

Photo of the month

Unemployed

August 2020 | As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt the nation's economy, the unemployment rate in India has seen a spike with unexpected terminations and fewer job opportunities available. Photo: Anand Sinha

PRIDE

July 2020 | The month of June is celebrated as Global Pride Month, however, physical distancing norms have put many pride parades on hold this year. We're looking back to last year where an LGBTQ community member posed with a rainbow flag during a pride march to celebrate the decriminalisation of homosexuality in India. Photo: Avijit Ghosh, Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Monsoon harvest

June 2020 | Paddy seeds are sown in June, in time for the kharif harvest. This year, with the national lockdown, many farmers—like the one featured in this image from Kerala—face severe livelihood insecurities as the kharif season approaches. Photo: Navaneeth Kishor, Flickr (CC-BY 2.0)

Where do we go from here?

May 2020 | Many construction workers are stuck because of the national lockdown. Neither do they have a way to contact the state, nor can the state contact them. And their contractors and principal employers take little responsibility. Photo: Jan Sahas

On lockdown

April 2020 | Bangalore, notorious for its heavily congested streets, lies unusually empty amidst the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown. Photo: Kinshuk, Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Standing tall and proud

March 2020 | Rajkala Devi, the first ever Sarpanch of Hingwahera gram panchayat in Alwar district, Rajasthan, motivates other women to stand tall and voice their opinion. Photo: UN Women/Ashutosh Negi

Shades of red

February 2020 | In Sehore District, Madhya Pradesh, women’s haemoglobin levels are tested by taking a blood sample from their fingertips and matching it to a colour card. The World Health Organisation (WHO) colour scale method is an inexpensive way to estimate haemoglobin concentration, before deciding whether to test for anaemia. Photo: ©Gates Archive/Mansi Midha

Bangalore is burning

January 2020 | Avijit Michael, director of Jhatkaa (jhatkaa.org), on a fact-finding mission around Bangalore on the practice of garbage burning, and how it causes catastrophic changes to the air quality. Photo: Hari Adivarekar

What's in a name?

December 2019 | Even though neighbouring villages also comprise of Adivasi communities, this village in Ganjam district, Odisha, is called 'Adivasi Colony', named after the community that migrated down from the hills to settle here. Photo: Anushka Dalal

Rural cartography

November 2019 | Women from the Village Organisation (VO) in Koimari (Rangjuli block, Assam) carried out a 'resource mapping' of their village, a two-day exercise facilitated by professionals from the development organisation SeSTA. The houses in this map are colour-coded to reflect which ones have piped water, sanitation, and so on. Having this information makes them better placed to demand improvements from their local government. Photo: Saahil Kejriwal

Teesta and Rangeet

October 2019 | The rivers Teesta and Rangeet are named after two river-spirits who challenged each other to a race down the hills. The Lepcha people of Sikkim consider the race's finish line, the confluence of the two rivers, to be a sacred site. Newlyweds are taken here, and people wish them a life as happy and prosperous as the two river-spirits. Photo: Zarir De Vitre

Classroom learning

September 2019 | In a school in Dharwad district, Karnataka. Photo: Deepta Sunil

Get involved

Write for us

At IDR, we value diversity in the kinds of ideas we feature, the stories we tell, the issues we spotlight, and the people who contribute. So if you would like to pitch an article idea, your photography, or videos you’ve made, and are interested in learning how to do so, here’s what you need to know.

Learn more

Give us your feedback

We want to know how we are doing. We would love it if you could take ten seconds to tell us what you think.

How likely are you to recommend IDR to your colleagues and peers?

1-click feedback

365 days without Article 370

No-Detention: Why did a popular policy get scrapped?

Our solutions for education aren't working. Here's why.

Best of the worst: The 20 most disappointing in their 20s

10 things you might have missed during the lockdown

How to start your career in the social sector

The implications of COVID-19 for rural India

Latest

Getting construction workers their entitlements

Concerns around India’s social stock exchange

Overheard in the social sector

Finding meaning is an art and making meaning is art

A crisis among co-founders

Ground Up

The Jungle Master

Sunk costs

Nosy interference

A cross-border crisis

A day in the life of

A day in the life of: An occupational therapist

A day in the life of: An Adivasi leader

A day in the life of: A mental health professional

Failure Files

A crisis among co-founders

Teachers vs tech

Learning to be a better, braver leader

IDR Interviews

Sectors

Getting construction workers their entitlements

Rethinking learning

Mental health and COVID-19 in India

Themes

365 days without Article 370

Concerns around India’s social stock exchange

A crisis among co-founders

Expertise

Finding meaning is an art and making meaning is art

Supporting well-being in resource-scarce environments

Building your nonprofit social media strategy

Videos

Social stock exchange 101

P Sainath on India's agrarian crisis

Kamla Bhasin on listening to the communities you work with

Why do you read IDR?

History of social action in India: From 1947 onwards

Dr Fernandez on urban health

Kamla Bhasin on feminism

Photo of the month

Get involved

Write for us

Give us your feedback

Featured On