Between the social, political, and economic upheavals affecting our lives, and the violence and forced displacement making headlines, you’d be forgiven for feeling gloomy about 2016. A look at the…

Tariq Khokhar, Donna Barne |

Mr. Kannan, a differently abled social entrepreneur. (Photo: Varalakshmi Vemuru) During my recent mission visit to Sivagangai District in Tamil Nadu, India, I met with Mr. Kannan, a social…

Varalakshmi Vemuru |

Devotees at the Erwadi Dargah in Tamil Nadu, India. (Photo: DMPH Erwadi) Last month I blogged about how mental illness is curable, treatable, and preventable. Today, let me take you to a town in…

Varalakshmi Vemuru |

On World Mental Health Day, here’s a fact to reflect on: [[tweetable]]people with mental illness are among the socially excluded and marginalized groups in society. [[/tweetable]]They are often…

Varalakshmi Vemuru |

Michael Kugelman, guest blogger, is the senior associate for South Asia at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC. A busy train station in Mumbai, India. Photo:…

Michael Kugelman |

Between 1977 and 1997, the World Bank supported “sites and services” projects in 27 cities across India A freshly-minted architect stood staring at a sea of toilets. Row after row of them, on…

Sumila Gulyani |

  Small shacks with bamboo frames & corrugated tin roofs - where 40 percent of the city’s population live. Sangmoo Kim/World Bank In Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, you cannot miss the…

Sangmoo Kim |

Cyclone Hudhud.  Photo Credit: NASA Earth Observatory On October 12, 2014, Cyclone Hudhud, a category 4 cyclone with wind speeds exceeding 220 km/hour bore down on to the city of Vishakhapatnam in…

Deepak Malik |