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  A joint submission by environmental research platform Mapping Malnad and climate coalition SAPACC has raised serious objections to the Karnataka government’s draft climate adaptation and mitigation strategy for the water sector, alleging that several major water infrastructure projects are being “mislabelled” as climate adaptation measures despite worsening ecological and hydrological stress across the state.  The  17-page response , submitted on May 11 to the Government of Karnataka, critiques the State Specific Action Plan on Climate Change (SSAPCC) prepared under the National Water Mission framework and calls for a complete overhaul of the state’s water governance approach.

  A recent academic study has highlighted how caste and social identity continue to shape employment opportunities, wages and access to secure livelihoods in India, even as the country projects itself as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. The findings, published in the 2026 Springer volume  Unequal Opportunities: An Analysis of Inequalities in Employment Opportunities Among Different Social Groups in Labor Markets of India , argue that structural discrimination remains embedded in both formal and informal labour markets. 

  A comprehensive new study examining 1.5 million urban and rural neighborhoods across India has uncovered deep patterns of residential segregation and systematic inequality in access to public services, with findings that researchers say rival the scale of racial segregation in the United States.

A new World Bank flagship report reveals that  human capital accumulation  in India is being critically undermined by severe deficits in child health, home-based care, and educational quality, with stark disparities linked to gender, birth order, and  environmental pollution . The report,  Building Human Capital Where It Matters: Homes, Neighborhoods, and Workplaces , argues that without urgent policy action targeting the home, neighborhood, and workplace, India risks perpetuating a cycle of low productivity and stagnating economic growth.

  A comprehensive review of the  after the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana (PM-SGMBY)  by the advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has found that the scheme is structurally unsuitable for  low-income families  and has largely benefited relatively affluent households instead.

India's ambitious  National Perspective Plan  to interlink 37 rivers — at a cost exceeding Rs 10 lakh crore — has attracted fierce opposition from scientists, environmentalists, and affected communities. Ever since Prime Minister  Narendra Modi  laid the foundation stone for the first major project under this plan, the Ken-Betwa River Link Project (KBRLP), on December 25, 2024, that opposition has only grown louder.