It's been more than two years since children in Uttar Pradesh's anganwadis have been served hot cooked meals, though most other states have resumed them, post pandemic. But India's most populous state, with a high burden of malnutrition, continues to distribute dry rations. The state government has given an assurance that hot meals will be resumed from January 2023.

Nothing takes one back to one’s childhood than a festival. Chhath Puja brings back memories of mothers, grandmothers, aunts and cousins bustling around preparing for the pujas, cooking and spreading joy and that special buzz.

As part of a joint livelihood incentivisation programme run by a non-governmental organisation and the state government, eight villages in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district are utilising the rural waste by producing vermicompost. It has not only contributed to organic farming but also reduced the dependence on expensive fertilisers which are often in short supply.