Lockdown stories around us are invariably of the hard-luck variety. It has been a punishing time for everyone, especially so for those whose cheap labour fuels economic growth. 
Yet, if the general picture is one of gloom and doom, of  joblessness and broken dreams, there have also been instances of people beating back the lockdown with extraordinary resilience and inventiveness. 
Our cover story this month is on farmers in a  corner in Karnataka who succeeded in getting their fruits and vegetables to buyers despite the heavy odds stacked against them. They were greatly helped, even inspired, by energetic district officials. It is an example of how an administration can come to the assistance of people through creative collaborations. If local officials hadn’t been so accessible and supportive, the farmers almost certainly wouldn’t have been able to rise above their circumstances. 
In our opening interview, Narendranath Damodaran of PRADAN makes the point that farmers need predictable linkages with markets. Nikhil Dey of the MKSS discusses the newfound status of MGNREGA in the initiatives of the present government, which till very recently regarded it as an unwanted legacy of the UPA government. With people rushing back to their villages in large numbers, will MGNREGA be the solution that the government has cracked it up to be? 
To get an idea of how MGNREGA is doing in a village and what migrant workers who return are experiencing, we spoke to Sanjay Sahni, a campaigner for MGNREGA in Ratnauli village in the district of Muzaffarpur in Bihar. 
We have been profiling NGOs and their work during the lockdown. Often they have been the only support for people in distress.  In this issue we feature the Pardada Pardadi Educational Society, an NGO we have come to have high regard for. As could be expected, it has been making a significant contribution in these troubled times.

This is the third issue of Civil Society brought out in lockdown conditions. In such circumstances, it is not particularly easy but we have tried to bring together for this issue interesting stories from all over the country. 

What we now know about migrant workers should tell us a lot about ourselves. If they hadn’t burst on to the scene, as they have in recent weeks because of the coronavirus, it is certain that their exploitation would continue without remorse amid claims of economic growth and declining poverty.

The picture now is very different. It is clear and for all to see that the majority of the workforce in India actually has no rights or benefits to speak of. They turn up in cities to escape rural distress, but their hopes and aspirations aren’t realized here. They merely end up as cheap labour. Laws exist, but are inadequate and not enforced. 

With this cover story we take a comprehensive look at the issues relating to migrant workers. We have three honest voices in Chinmay Tumbe, Shyam Sundar and Rajiv Khandelwal. Speaking with them has helped us understand the legal, economic and social aspects better.

Is distance learning through the internet and television adding up to anything or is it just driving everyone crazy? We spoke to students, parents and teachers and the story we have is that it is not going to be easy. Such are the disparities, both social and economic, that not everyone can cope with distance learning. It seems there is no viable substitute for school, as we know it.

Many NGOs have been working tirelessly through these difficult days. They have done much better than political parties. The government should be appreciative of their efforts. Some of them work in remote locations under adverse circumstances. The Action Northeast Trust or Ant, led by Dr Sunil Kaul, is an example with its mental health camps in rural Assam. 

The coronavirus pandemic is a great story. As journalists we have our work cut out for us. But how do you hold your nerve and produce a financially fragile magazine when oil futures dip below zero, people die in tens of thousands and the world around you seems to be generally collapsing?

We stayed calm and kept going and we are very proud to be able to bring you the May issue of Civil Society right on time. The April issue was brought out ahead of time to beat the virus, but then came the lockdown and distribution of the print version was hit. So we put out a PDF version — as we will also do with the May issue. 

The pandemic is a good reason for India to reassess its healthcare system. Our cover story therefore is on shining examples of what the country’s healthcare system should aspire to be so that it is inclusive and affordable.

Even as the government’s hospitals fail to deliver and the private sector ones get too commercial to serve the people who need them the most, many non-profit rural hospitals provide the kind of healthcare services that are not just affordable and accessible but in terms of quality put urban facilities to shame. 
 
The virus comes to us with the message that we have to reform ourselves and rethink our priorities. The tens of thousands of migrant workers who filled TV screens and in a sense walked right into our comfortable homes should always remind us of what remains to be done for fellow Indians. Growth can’t just be a GDP number.

Migration from rural to urban should be better understood. To take us deeper into the migration question we spoke to Chinmay Tumbe who teaches at the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad. Tumbe’s advice for the short term is to provide migrant workers with social security with the ‘one ration card, one nation’ idea being implemented.

Fringe to the fore

Azadi Records, which is our cover story this month, has enriched the Indian music scene by identifying little known musicians, singers and other performers like DJs and connecting them to audiences. It has helped some great talent find wider notice.

Is it important? We think it is because the music and personal histories of the performers add up to give us a picture of India we are perhaps not exploring enough or may be missing out on altogether. The songs, lyrics and singing styles reflect the angst, beliefs and hopes of a new generation. Azadi Records therefore plays the very useful role of taking us beyond Mumbai, Delhi and the other big cities to help us discover an India we tend to ignore. 

Our opening interview this month is with Poonam Muttreja of the Population Foundation of India. Poonam is one of the veterans of the social sector and she has been featured before in our pages. But this time the occasion is special because it is 50 years of the Population Foundation of India. 

Stories of successful community action come from Punjab and Karnataka. In Ludhiana, residents have intervened to ensure that public money is properly spent on improving the Buddha Nullah, which is a tributary of the Sutlej, but has been reduced to a drain. The government had awarded the job to a contractor. The residents have insisted that scientists and engineers of a certain standing be consulted.

In the Dakshin Kannada district, a zilla parishad member has rallied college students to build a series of temporary check dams at low cost. The idea is to catch the rain before it flows off and thereby raise groundwater levels.

The medical profession tends to get more public-spirited these days. Check out our interview with Dr Prabhu Prasad of Manipal Hospitals who has set up a voluntary organization to promote palliative care in pulmonology. It is a great effort in a country choking on pollution.



Public health services need a big push. A larger spend is required, but it is not merely a matter of funding. What should be pursued are innovative strategies for combining an array of resources available in India. 

Traditional systems of medicine provide that opportunity when they are combined with conventional allopathic healthcare and used to increase the reach of the system. Ayurveda, Unani, yoga and an array of folk therapies have the potential to enrich treatment regimes. The question is how to formalize this integration to everyone’s benefit. 

When it comes to metabolic disorders associated with lifestyle there is little doubt any longer that traditional systems provide lasting results. Whether it is for the rich or the poor, traditional systems are what is working.

Darshan Shankar, who has written this month’s cover piece on request, has been researching Ayurveda and other local health traditions for several decades. He highlights what could be done quickly to implement the National Health Policy’s suggestions on integration.

The elections in Delhi have ended in a heroic victory for the Aam Aadmi Party. Heroic because it is a young party, poorly funded and it was with great courage that it took on the might of the entire BJP. The AAP victory also comes at a time when there is growing disenchantment over communal politics. Irrespective of what is in our Constitution, we are at heart a secular country. People of different faiths intrinsically know to happily live together. 

We also bring to you in this issue an interview with Vidhu Vinod Chopra on how and why he made his new film Shikara on the plight of Kashmiri Pandits. In addition, we have voices from the voluntary sector on the new and restrictive curbs being imposed on NGOs. Architect Sanjay Prakash weighs in on why being vegetarian is good for conserving water.

Just when India should be rapidly dealing with its many problems and coasting into a robust future, as it indeed has the capacity to do, the country seems to be in the grip of a sense of foreboding. The economy slipping into a coma is one big reason for everyone to be worried. But it goes beyond that.

If we listen carefully to the young we will find that they are concerned about the shrinking space for personal freedoms and expression. A great many of the young don’t take to caste and religious divides. Young women making their way on to campuses want equality and access. 

When it comes to education, the young are clear that they want it to be affordable and inclusive. At the same time there is distaste for the heavy hand of the State. The government the young want should be a facilitator, not a gruff arbiter.

The upsurge on campuses is unprecedented. But it has been in the making for a long time. CAA and NRC are inflexion points at which all the other concerns have come tumbling out. It is to be noted that there has been nationwide revulsion over the incidents at JNU and Jamia. There is a genuine fear that such incidents will be repeated in other institutions to crush dissent when the young dare to speak up.

Our interview with Nandita Haksar is an attempt to explore the issues pertaining to identity, religion and culture. These shouldn’t be decided in the streets. Governments have a responsibility in a country as diverse as ours to set the stage for harmonious solutions. 

We also bring you a green map for Bengaluru so that the city knows what it once had and what it is rapidly losing. This is the third green map, the first two being on Delhi and Pune.

And from Goa we have a report on the concerns over a corridor for transporting coal to Karnataka. Will this project lead to pollution and ecological damage as many Goans are beginning to fear?


Widespread opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and plans for a proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) is reason enough not to implement them. The government would do well to withdraw the CAA and drop the idea of an NRC. 
Neither can work without popular support and to thrust them on states would not work and would weaken the very spirit of federalism on which the country’s governance is based.
As we go to press with this issue of the magazine, there have been five days of protests of the kind that we haven’t witnessed for some years since the India Against Corruption movement. The people coming out range from ordinary folk to film stars — all of whom are clearly distressed over the possibility of India losing its secular identity. The CAA is an example of how laws don’t necessarily reflect what people want even when passed by majorities in both houses of parliament. The tendency to clamp down on students is counterproductive. The brutal assault on Jamia Millia Islamia’s students in their library and toilets has shocked the nation. 
Apar Gupta of the Internet Freedom Foundation tells us what is wrong with the draft Data Protection Bill that has been presented by the government. How our personal data is accessed and used should be a matter of concern to us all. Gupta is a lawyer and an activist in the digital space. 
Cities interest this magazine hugely. In Kolkata we learn how its traffic problem was sorted out and in Chandigarh the mayor tells us about his determination to get rid of a garbage hill. 
Our Business section features a company making biodegradable plates and cutlery, an enormously useful business given the urban problem of dealing with waste.  New-age businesses make our lives better and we take a keen interest in them wherever we find them. So it is in Goa we have come across a young company which has turned walks into an enterprise thereby offering visitors and locals alike new insights into Goa's heritage and way of life.

You might ask why we chose to go to Dharamshala to cover a film festival as our cover story. It is our experience at this magazine that the interesting things we discover invariably happen to be far from the big cities. The film festival at Dharamshala is a small and intrepid effort which deserves a place on our cultural map. In fact this year it might just not have been held for want of sponsorships. Spirited local organisations and individuals didn’t let it die. 
   There is much concern these days about the lack of jobs in the Indian economy and it is true that there isn’t enough employment for a growing number of young people. An economic slowdown brings long-term problems. If an example of successful action is needed one should turn to Youth4Jobs, an organisation Meera Shenoy founded seven years ago. Her team puts 10 disabled young people into jobs every day. Over seven years 18,500 have found employment. How has this been made possible? 
   Meera has got many things right. The training given to disabled young people is intense and practical; for meaningful transformations. Someone learning to use computers and acquiring life skills begins to immediately feel empowered. Finally, skills are customised to suit jobs available. Employment programmes work when driven by demand. Meera has shown that it won’t do to duck challenges. She has chosen to work with disabled young people in villages. It doesn’t get tougher than that. 
   A national report on India’s justice system is out and we interviewed Shireen Vakil and Valay Singh, who anchored the process in the Tata Trusts. Several organisations came together for the first time to make the report possible. We now have baseline information on the access to justice in all the states of the country. It is a sorry picture that emerges, which was already evident, but will the report lead to improvements and how soon, is the question.


Environmental solutions have become more precise and impactful. Water harvesting is an example, for a long time boring a hole and putting water back into the ground was regarded as enough. Not any more, as our cover story shows. How rainwater is collected and used depends on many factors like rainfall available, topography and usage patterns.
The success at Rainbow Drive in Bengaluru could serve as inspiration for other housing estates. But what works in Karnataka may not work in Haryana where rainfall is not plentiful and soil conditions are different. In fact, solutions can across housing colonies in a city.
Similarly, ponds and tanks raise groundwater levels in their own way and create microclimates conducive to vegetation that might not have existed otherwise. Expertise is emerging in water harvesting and leading to small companies being formed to offer professional services.
The Delhi Jal Board under the Aam Aadmi Party government continues to find urban water solutions. Last issue, we reported on a constructed wetland as a low-cost sewage treatment plant. This issue we have a report on how polluting effluents from an east Delhi drain are being cleansed and recycled as usable water. A start-up has provided the inexpensive technology. Governments need to show such flexibility if the environmental problems of cities are to be addressed. There is a need for diverse solutions — sometimes varying within a neighbourhood.
Outliers like Pradip Krishen bring passion and knowledge to the search for environmental answers. He had some key insights on Delhi’s tree for this issue. Krishen’s work on urban forests has been happening in Jodhpur and Jaipur Unfortunately, the Forest Department bureaucracy has not been eager to draw on his ideas.
We caught up with Chandra Bhushan who has set up iFOREST to use technology to scale up environmental solutions. He has a great track record of working with industry during his many years spent at the Centre for Science and Environment.

The running of a small media enterprise comes with many challenges but the journalistic satisfaction in bringing out our magazine every month is compensation in fair measure. It feels good to be able to do the stories we do and reach a growing number of appreciative readers. It is work we enjoy and doubly so because of its relevance in a complex emerging economy trying to balance growth with equity.
In 2003, when we started our venture, we were sure we were on to something exciting. India was in transition in multiple ways. We wanted to tell these stories of change. Instead of focusing on problems, we decided to go in search of solutions. With this as context, we went much beyond NGOs and activists to check out those entrepreneurs, doctors, lawyers, engineers and industrialists who were committing themselves to making a difference and closing the gaps in society.
In our journeys across India in 16 years we have come across thousands of changemakers about whom we have written in our magazine. We bring many of them together in this anniversary issue in what we have called The Mega Civil Society Hall of Fame.
We also have a special section on cities. What do we do about them as they attract an ever-increasing number of people? We have seven perceptive pieces on governance, healthcare, technology, migration, finance, waste and infrastructure. Cities are of great interest to us and we report on them through the year under these same heads.
Our interview with Harivansh, the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, explores several areas of concern relating to the spending of local area funds by members of Parliament. In Delhi, in the neighbourhood of Rajokri, a pond has been revived to serve as a component of a low-cost, natural sewage treatment facility. It is an example of the inventiveness that needs to be shown in the managing of our cities. Other cities should look closely at this example of cleaning up a congested area with a low investment.

Cities have a major role to play in India’s economy, but there is little that we can say we reliably know about them. Most cities have grown this way and that and problem has been piled upon problem. Over time, urban India has ended up being a gooey mess. In the absence of a contemporary urban vision and information that captures the rapid changes taking place, cities in India seem to be generally headed nowhere. 
There is also a dire lack of expertise in government which must shape urban spaces so that they are inclusive and accessible to everyone. It is a dismal picture and especially worrying because cities elsewhere in the world are drivers of growth and prosperity. From them come innovations and new technologies. India is being left behind.
The ecological map of Pune featured as our cover story is a good example of the watchful eye that can be kept on Indian cities. Cities that lose their green cover and natural systems are invariably in a kind of trouble that is both difficult and expensive to fix. Nature is an essential component of urban living for both the poor and rich alike. Keeping river systems, water bodies and forests alive is important. The Pune map comes from the Landscape Foundation India. The maps are important because they look at nature and history. We should know what is falling or has fallen off a city’s map.
The Delhi government’s plan for reviving tanks and lakes is an example. In an interview Ankit Srivastava, technical advisor to the Delhi Jal Board, tells us that more than a hundred water bodies are being revived in an effort to raise groundwater levels in Delhi. 
We are also happy to present Dr Pallab Ray who has just recently headed a study on antibiotic resistance in microbial organisms. The problem is a serious one, but Dr Ray tells us it is not unmanageable. Education and regulation can restore order over time. We need antibiotics for sure, but we also need microbes. Once again fitting into what nature intended is the solution.

FINDING a doctor has become increasingly difficult. Who should one go to?  Who should one trust? The absence of healthcare that is accessible, affordable, structured and competent is a challenge.Private facilities do well as businesses but give little to society. For an economy coping with inequality there is no substitute for a dependable and inclusive public 
Our story from Nagpur made it to this month’s cover for precisely these reasons. Reviving our primary health centres is vital to improving public healthcare. Doing so in rapidly expanding cities is even more important. Often, even incipient improvements in health and education facilities are advertised for political mileage. In Nagpur, the municipal corporation has worked silently. A partnership with the Tata Trusts has delivered outstanding results.
The draft National Education Policy made an appearance in the first days of the new government. It is good to see a government putting school education high among its priorities. Many of the draft policy’s suggestions are above dispute and are the right way to go. Madhav Chavan of Pratham correctly points out in this month’s opening interview that education suffers from a human resources problem. Finding the teachers and administrators will be a problem, as will be the funds.
This issue we bring you the Delhi Langar Seva Society started by Bicky Dhingra. At the Civil Hospital in Gurugram and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi this service is particularly welcome because people come from far away for treatment and have almost no local support. A hot and nutritious meal is very welcome. Plates are biodegradable and the food, instead of being cooked on location, is sourced from reliable suppliers. Most importantly, volunteers do all the work because this is their way of giving back to society.
Finally, we begin Tech Tales, a column by Kiran Karnik. He will dwell each month on the challenges of absorbing technologies in an unequal society like ours.

In this magazine we prefer to keep ourselves out of politics. Of course, as journalists, there would be no question of a political agenda on our part. Often, such stories tell us more about political realities than the cut and thrust of politics itself.
An election is a good time to see how all the concerns and aspirations add up. Modi’s appeal to voters, particularly the poor, doesn’t surprise us. He’s been seen as a doer who delivered real benefits to people. But the size of the mandate and the seemingly untrammelled power that goes with it sends out a message that needs to be better understood. The verdict is as much about Modi as the comprehensive rejection of the opposition. Flawed as our democracy might well be) the mandate given to Modi comes at the end of a full five-year term. To offer a perspective on the results, we asked Sanjaya Baru, our columnist and a keen political observer, to write the cover story this month.
We have a story from Maharashtra on solar dryers being used to dehydrate and package vegetables. Getting a good price for their perishable produce is a problem farmers face nationally. When there is oversupply farmers are at the mercy of the market. A farmer producer organisation near Nashik has been alerting its members about a glut and helping them dehydrate vegetables like bitter gourd so as to be able to reach a new range of customers. 
Environmental disputes indicate how poorly regulation is working. In Goa, a new airport has been cleared but a public effort has revealed that the environment impact assessment (EIA) report had ignored the need for cutting thousands of trees and jeopardizing forest cover and water bodies. Through Supreme Court intervention, the EIA was annulled. A new EIA is in the making but shouldn’t there also have been better scrutiny of the EIA in the Union Ministry of Environment. If regulators fail to do their duty, people step in as has happened in this case. The Rainbow Warriors in Goa deserve special praise.

Cooperatives come with well-known frailties. In a way, Campco is no exception. It was set up to serve the interests of areca nut farmers in Karnataka and has had to survive the pulls and pressures of multiple interests being at play. Campco is a really good example of how a cooperative can benefit farmers when it finds creative and purposeful leadership. Thanks to the late Varanashi Subraya Bhat, areca nut farmers learnt the advantages of hedging their bets by also growing pepper and cocoa. Taking a big leap into addition of value, they also set up a factory for producing chocolates. It was difficult to imagine a factory let alone build one from scratch and get it into production. Yet, in the face of innumerable odds, Campco has succeeded in becoming a significant maker of chocolates. In times when farm incomes are the reason for so much concern, we thought it would be useful for Civil Society to tell this amazing story of what Campco has achieved. 
Dr Harivansh Chaturvedi has been a friend of this magazine for a long time. A gentle but blunt person is what we have known him to be and we were delighted that he didn’t disappoint us in his interview on the state of higher education in India. Dr Chaturvedi has recently edited a volume of articles on the importance of better rating and accreditation of higher education institutions in India. It is an important collection because with rampant privatisation and the rapid decline of government-run institutions some introspection is urgently needed.
Increasingly, businesses provide the social solutions we have been waiting for. We feature in our business section a Punjab-based company which has a machine for segregating and composting garbage at source. A trial is underway in the Delhi Cantonment. Could this be a model for other municipalities? There is a strong case for harnessing entrepreneurial energy for better governance. The socially driven entrepreneurs we come across in Civil Society have a lot to offer governments.


Farmers know to find their way — given encouragement and half a chance. Our cover story shows how chikoo growers in costal Maharashtra have improved their lot through value addition to their distinctively cultivated chikoos. They are attracting attention with chikoo parlours and products like their profits, now the farmers have shown that they can get themselves a better deal.

In the interview of the month, Ravi Venkatesan tells us about GAME or the Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship. Venkatesan’s take is that there will never be enough jobs unless small business flourish and meet local needs. And for the young it is important to make entrepreneurship appealing.

 In business we learn about how CSR has been doing through FICCI’s experience with Uma Seth and Nomenita Chetia walking us through the FICCI awards for CSR and what the learning has been over the years.

We also travel to Dalhousie for a salubrious holiday in the iconic hill station, checkout a jackfruit hotspot in Kerala and offer a selection of interesting books.

What does it take to empower women in Bihar? Project Lehar by the Aga Khan Foundation begins with adolescents by helping them get an education, learn skills and find employment.
 
We have multiple journeys tracked in our cover story, each a sign of hope that young women can assert themselves in their families and society at large and as they do so experience a level of empowerment they never have till they were helped.
 
A universal basic income is in the news. Sikkim plans it too. PD Rai, Sikkim’s Member of Parliament, explains that the state thinks it is necessary to give young people choices. If a basic income, however small is assured, the young will be likely to be more entrepreneurial and less likely to seek government jobs.
 
Our other features include how an agricultural college came to be set up in Goa, a profile of J.K. Banerjee, the rural surgeon who passed away in February, a business in small cold storages which can be set up in villages and a heartwarming encounter with the Afghan Charlie Chaplin.

We travel to the Biennale in Kochi this year for our February cover story. As events go, the Biennale is important to us because of the free-falling diversity that it represents. This time is more special than usual because of the radical shift in reaching out yet further across social and economic boundaries the usually ‘unheard’. In times when debate and dialogue are needed, the Biennale represents a space which we need to nurture

Also in this issue is a significant interview with Kiran Karnik on technology and the need for a human interface. Karnik’s views are particularly interesting in the context of Aadhaar and cashless transfers. Karnik served for many years in India’s satellite programme and then worked with Discovery for the launch of its channels in India. He played an important role in the IT sector as the president of Nasscom.

Our February issue seeks to provide our usual diversity with stories on tree climbing classes, fundraising for NGOs, a heritage map for Goa and an interview with Aruna Roy on what has been happening with rural job guarantee scheme.

Much has been said about developing the states in the Northeast of the country and large amounts of money have been shovelled in their direction over the years. Yet in multiple ways they remain neglected. Meaningful development should go beyond project finance and political ambitions. States in the Northeast remain poorly understood — to the extent that people from there suffer indignities. The most ugly examples of this is mindless violence sometimes unleashed in other states on people from the Northeast. It has been particularly bad in Delhi and the National Capital Region but it has also happened in Karnataka and, that too, in a cosmopolitan city like Bengaluru. 
Cussed and centralised government decision-making is also a form of violence with the difference that it emanates from official files. The line between development and destruction is a fine one and experience shows that it is easily and repeatedly transgressed. The Northeast’s mosaic of complex cultures, traditions and geographical realities are tough to fathom from a distance. As are the aspirations of people who seek to “mainstream” themselves but remain cut off.  
There is no single and easy way of bridging these divides, but cinema offers great opportunities. Sensitively made films leave a lasting impression. They leave an impression on a variety of people and have global impact. The filmmakers we have featured in our cover story are creative people who have told stories in small but meaningful ways. They have all received critical acclaim, making their presence felt at the National Awards. But, more important, they have raised the bar for connecting with the Northeast. They help us see the region from up close and beyond stereotypes. It is necessary to get really close because you will never know what you will discover. As filmmakers they have worked with very limited resources to create films that have the potential of touching minds and hearts. They are the rock stars of new Indian cinema.

July 2020

June 2020

May 2020

April 2020

March 2020

February 2020

January 2020

December 2019

November 2019

September - October 2019

August 2019

July 2019

June 2019

May 2019

April 2019

March 2019

February 2019

January 2019

Civil Society is an independent magazine published from New Delhi.
 
It was launched in September 2003 to tell stories of change from across the chaotic landscape of post-reforms India.
 
A newly growing economy has winners and losers — as journalists we wanted to tell the stories of those who were making it and as well as those who were getting left behind.
 
In the past 15 years, Civil Society has come to be known for its refreshing style of covering people, events and trends. We are credited with redefining mainstream concerns in the Indian media.
 
Civil Society's reportage has brought to national attention individuals and groups who play leadership roles and drive change but get overlooked. We have shown that there is an India that exists beyond prime time.
 
This has been possible because we moved out of big media jobs to create a small and efficient enterprise through which journalists could look for stories where it may not be fashionable to look for them.
 
A democracy thrives on credible information. Small media entities, freed up from the demands of big capital, allow journalists to innovate and explore new frontiers.  A large and complex country like India needs more alternative voices.
 
Started with just Rs 4 lakhs (about $6,000) of personal savings, one small car and a single computer, Civil Society has shown that it is possible for professional journalists with skills and clear values to build influential enterprises in the media.

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5. You specifically acknowledge that Magzter.com is not liable for any kind of defamatory or offensive or illegal conduct of other users or third parties or their content and that the risk of injury from the foregoing rests entirely with you.

8. Magzter reserves all rights to monitor the content published and inputted by you for the purpose of determining whether you are compliant with these terms and conditions and other operating rules determined by Magzter. Magzter has the right to take decisions about the content and delete them at its own will.

9. Magzter is a distributor and NOT a publisher of the Publications and so Magzter has no editorial control over the content, including opinions, advice, statements, services, offers etc., that is represented in the magazines. So Magzter will not take responsibility for the accuracy or the reliability for any information or facts provided therein or that is made available through the service, by anyone other than authorised Magzter employees who are acting on their official capacities. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered by the Service, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of Magzter. Magzter will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information obtained through the Service or from the Publications. The Service may contain links to other Internet sites and third-party resources and Magzter does not assume any responsibility or liability for communications or materials available at such linked sites. These links are provided for your convenience only. You are solely responsible for understanding any terms and conditions that may apply when you visit or place an order through a third-party site.

Details of the objectionable content, including its link on our platform

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Gift your loved ones with a Magzter Gift Card instantly and give them the freedom to read their favorite magazines and newspapers from thousands of best-selling titles.

Gift your loved ones with a Magzter Gift Card instantly and give them the freedom to read their favorite magazines from thousands of best-selling titles.

Gift your loved ones with a Magzter Gift Card instantly and give them the freedom to read their favorite magazines from {{magCount}} best-selling international titles.

Girish Ramdas is the Co-founder and CEO of Magzter, a New York based startup that has been making waves in the global digital publishing business. Magzter has crossed 80 million users since its inception in 2011 from more than 150+ countries with 1000s of magazines, newspapers and books from more than 4,500 publishers worldwide. He has more than 25 years of experience in cross-platform publishing, including print, mobile, and Web development. During this period, he has co-founded and run three successful start-up businesses. He has enabled magazine companies to go digital and helps them monetize their content across the digital world. Girish's deep industry experience in online, mobile and publishing ecosystems has made him an expert in acquisition, marketing and monetizing digital content across platforms globally.

In the event that you encounter any objectionable content on our platform, we have put in place a grievance redressal policy to address your concerns.

Magzter Inc. (“Company”, “we”, “us” or “our”) knows that you care about how your personal information is used and shared. Please read the following privacy policy (the “Policy”) to learn more about our privacy practices. By visiting any of the websites operated by the Company, and any sub-domains thereof, or using any of our mobile applications and other methods of content distribution (collectively, the “Service”), you acknowledge that you accept the practices and policies outlined in this Policy, and you hereby consent that we will collect, use, and share your information in the following ways.

Magzter Inc. is the World's largest and fastest growing self-service, cross-platform digital newsstand with over 80 million users since its inception in 2011 and thousands of magazines and newspapers across 40+ categories and 60+ languages. Headquartered in New York, Magzter has its local presence in Amsterdam, London, Mexico City, Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Singapore, and will soon be expanding to other countries. Founded by global entrepreneurs, Girish Ramdas and Vijay Radhakrishnan in June 2011, Magzter enables magazine and newspaper publishers around the world to create and deliver digital editions of their titles to global consumers.

Magzter is committed to providing a safe and secure platform for our users. Please note that Magzter is merely a platform for publishers to distribute their content. We do not control or endorse the content published on our platform. We cannot be held responsible for the actions of our publishers or their content.

Magzter is not responsible for compensating any party that has suffered damages or incurred costs due to any content, or part of the content, that violates their rights. Magzter is not liable to face any legal action in civil court for any violation of rights caused by any content, or part of the content, that infringes the rights of a third party.

Magzter offers the world’s largest {{allyoucanread}} subscription service called {{gold}} which gives digital readers unlimited access to 8,500+ magazines and newspapers for a monthly subscription price. Magzter also has the largest number of stories in the world with its game-changing ezRead 2.0 feature for its apps, which enables smartphone and small-screen mobile users to enjoy magazine content the way it was meant to be enjoyed, with article text that is easy to read and is accompanied by stunning videos and high resolution photography.

Magzter offers the world’s largest “All-You-Can-Read” subscription service called Magzter GOLD which gives digital readers unlimited access to 8,500+ magazines and newspapers for a monthly subscription price. Magzter also has the largest number of stories in the world with its game-changing ezRead 2.0 feature for its apps, which enables smartphone and small-screen mobile users to enjoy magazine content the way it was meant to be enjoyed, with article text that is easy to read and is accompanied by stunning videos and high resolution photography.

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Prior to Magzter, he was the President of Dot Com Infoway (DCI) and Galatta Media. His duties included strategic marketing, partnership development, and monetizing content globally. DCI grew from a small team of 3 in 2000 to 300 by 2011 and was dealing with web, software and app development for clients globally.

Since we launched, Magzter has been committed to partnering with global organizations to provide the greatest possible newsstand technology & service to our customers. Whether you are looking to offer magazine subscriptions to your customer database or just want to learn more, Magzter is committed to helping your business grow. To find out more, please fill out the questionnaire below:

The DMCA allows us to restore the removed content if the party filing the original DMCA Notice does not file a court action against you within ten business days of receiving the copy of your Counter Notice.

This Policy covers Company’s treatment of personally identifiable information (“Personal Information”) and other information about you and your computer or device that Company gathers when you are accessing the Service. We may collect Personal Information from you, as explained in more detail below, and we use this Personal Information internally in connection with our Services, including to personalize, provide, and improve our products, services, content, and advertising, and to allow you to set up a user account and profile, to contact you, to fulfill your requests for certain products and services, and to analyze how you use the Services. In certain cases, we may also share some Personal Information with third parties, but only as described in point 4.

This title is included with your Magzter GOLD subscription

To analyze the quality of content and provide appropriate feedback to publishers

We have designated a Grievance Officer to address any complaints related to objectionable content.

We request that any complaint related to objectionable content be sent to the Grievance Officer through email to the above-mentioned email address. We also request that you provide the following details when making a complaint:

and the App that provides you the capability to order, subscribe to and receive the delivery of various magazines, books, news and magazine and publication related content (collectively known as 'Publications') and to have these digital versions of the Publications delivered to you

c. We also collect information associated with your use of the application in order to make personalized recommendations. If you provide your third-party account credentials to us, you understand some content and/or information in those accounts (“Third Party Account Information”) may be transmitted into your account with us if you authorize such transmissions, and that Third Party Account Information transmitted to the Service is covered by this Policy.

f. The Personal Information we collect allows us to respond to your requests, improve our products and services, customize the advertising and content you see, and communicate with you about new products.

is the World's largest and fastest growing self-service, cross-platform digital newsstand with over 87 million users since its inception in 2011 and thousands of magazines and newspapers across 40+ categories and 60+ languages. Headquartered in New York, Magzter has its local presence in Amsterdam, London, Mexico City, Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Singapore, and will soon be expanding to other countries. Founded by global entrepreneurs, Girish Ramdas and Vijay Radhakrishnan in June 2011, Magzter enables magazine and newspaper publishers around the world to create and deliver digital editions of their titles to global consumers.

n. We will also use usage information in order to ensure users adhere to our Terms of Use. For example, a user’s usage information will help us confirm that a user only downloads a magazine or other content a permitted number of times or to a permitted number of devices.

which gives digital readers unlimited access to 8,500+ magazines and newspapers for a monthly subscription price. Magzter also has the largest number of stories in the world with its game-changing ezRead 2.0 feature for its apps, which enables smartphone and small-screen mobile users to enjoy magazine content the way it was meant to be enjoyed, with article text that is easy to read and is accompanied by stunning videos and high resolution photography.

{{magzter}} is the World's largest and fastest growing self-service, cross-platform digital newsstand with over 87 million users since its inception in 2011 and thousands of magazines and newspapers across 40+ categories and 60+ languages. Headquartered in New York, Magzter has its local presence in Amsterdam, London, Mexico City, Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Singapore, and will soon be expanding to other countries. Founded by global entrepreneurs, Girish Ramdas and Vijay Radhakrishnan in June 2011, Magzter enables magazine and newspaper publishers around the world to create and deliver digital editions of their titles to global consumers.

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