A young innovator from Tamil Nadu aspires to create 50,000 jobs by popularizing his herbal mosquito repellent, ‘Hermo’, which repels mosquitoes effectively but does not harm humans as it is non-allergic and non-toxic, says    P C Vinoj Kumar

Sanitation is the last thing crisis managers provide to people displaced from homes by disasters. Now a former banker, Promita Sengupta , has come up with a quickly deployable toilet that has come handy for NGOs, says Kavita Kanan Chandra

Social work is no pizza business, it requires commitment and passion says Vidyaakar, who has been running a home in Chennai, Udhavum Karangal, for 30 years. Catherine Gilon met the Papa, who now has 1263 people, 314 of them kids, in his care

Village Ways, launched by Manisha and Himanshu Pande on the principle of responsible tourism, helps urbanites have a real feel of rural life. Not a ‘home stay’ kind, the enterprise ropes in the locals as partners, says Kavita Kanan Chandra

Call centres changed the job market and lifestyle of urban youth in India. That was long ago. Now, they help underprivileged children, says Shudip Talukdar, citing the case of Teleperformance

A set of young girls in a sleepy hamlet in Assam stuck to their passion, playing soccer, despite societal disapproval. Today, many of them have brought fame to their village, says Abdul Gani

A new concept, gift economy, is being experimented in Ahmedabad and Pune, where one may be in for a surprise when paying time comes at shops, restaurants and autos, says Azera Parveen Rahman

A Arun Thamburaj, a medico who stood sixth in the civil service ranking, and was selected for IPS last year, had turned down lucrative opportunities from abroad, all for serving the country

Closing the heavy glass door behind, to join the dancing girls, opens a world of fantasy, colour music and rhythm which is a getaway from the mundane for Saborna Roychowdhury

The scenic East Coast Road that connects Chennai with several tourist destinations has turned into a death trap due to increase in number of accidents. KP Subramanian analyses the problem

The wife of a porter, 38-year-old Sanuja Rajan, has won Rs. 1 crore in a TV reality show in Kerala. Life has come full circle for the woman, who has endured many hardships, says Sanu George

Though drip irrigation has been hailed a water-efficient method long time ago, small farmers found the required infrastructure expensive. Now a farmer has found a way out, says Kundan Pandey

Putting an end to open defecation has changed a village in Rajasthan’s Tonk district. Yet the scheme to build toilets for all households in the area is fraught with hitches, says Haris Zargar

Many women, left to tend farms as the husbands moved out of the villages in search of jobs, turned prosperous by calling a helpline number. Renu Agal explains what LifeLines India service is

Mexico City has been able to bring down crime rate after it provided equal opportunities for women and went for a more women-friendly approach, the city’s former Mayor tells Pamela Philipose

Debunking the theory that rape is an urban phenomenon, Tripti Nath comes out with statistics and case studies unraveling the secret of rural India, where rape is also a weapon for subjugation

The lives of waste pickers in Pune changed after they formed a union, through which they not only fight for better wages but also ensure that their children go to school, says Suchismita Pai

A new breed of home-makers are supplementing family incomes by making use of their talents like cooking, candle-making and dress designing. Azera Parveen Rahman checks out on a few of them

A woman lighter of pyre is not a common thing in a tradition that does not even approve of women visiting a crematorium. That’s why Shanti Behera of Sambalpur stands out, says Sarada Lahangir

Advertisements targeting children are not regulated by laws, say Lavanya R Fischer and Devadatt Kamat, wondering why India is not playing a pro-active role in barring ads preying on ignorance

Agra has more than Taj Mahal and historic monuments - a composite culture evolved over five centuries. It will now be showcased to visitors, driven in electric rickshaws, says Brij Khandelwal

As the iconic Mumbai GPO building turned 100, Quaid Najmi looked back to find the edifice standing as a sentinel watching the growth and development of communication in the metropolitan city