Governance
Drought-hit farmers grow crops with treated wastewater
After Karnataka government pumped Bengaluru city’s treated wastewater into Kolar’s tanks last year, farmers made use of the raised groundwater table to grow crops amidst concerns of contamination
How poor breadwinners hit digital hurdle
Online procedures to avail of government welfare entitlements are big hurdles to unlettered villagers that sometimes lead to delays and loss, often adding to the distress of the rural poor
Sariska’s herders fear livelihood loss with eviction
Nomadic pastoralists being evicted from Sariska Tiger Reserve to conserve tigers introduced from Ranthambore fear loss of livelihoods, and life in relocation settlements with poor amenities
Oriya bonded labor languish after being rescued
Migrant workers from western Odisha who are rescued from bondage at destination sites continue to languish in poverty for want of rural employment and rehabilitation support
Ujjwala and waterwheels: reducing women’s drudgery
Regular supply of cooking gas and easier ways to bring drinking water home would significantly reduce the daily drudgery of women in rural areas
Vagad farmers stage progress marches
Tribal farmers of the Vagad region have been marching through villages to find local solutions to farming and community problems through participation and discussion
Social audit empowers Odisha’s rural poor
People left out of the government’s welfare programs have been included through a social audit in Odisha’s underdeveloped rural areas, boosting nutrition security among impoverished families
Villagers face eviction near Panna forest reserve
The residents of Rampura, a small village in the buffer zone of the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, have been asked to move. But, they say, with no allocation of alternative land, they have nowhere to go
Is farmer income support a sustainable solution?
Income support to smallholder farmers is similar to palliative measures like minimum support prices or loan waivers that do not address the problem of an unsustainable population living on a fixed resource base
Rural India still insensitive to persons with disabilities
In a society steeped in referring people with special needs by their disability, there is a need for concerted efforts to recognize their rights and create inclusivity
Village women up in arms against alcoholism
Women in rural Karnataka have banded together to demand a prohibition on liquor because they are the receiving end of alcoholism of men that leads invariably to domestic violence and financial hardship
The travails of India’s forest dwellers
Tribal people who live in and around forests are being continuously pushed beyond the edge of their meager livelihoods and the land where they live, despite laws that are supposed to protect their rights
Is resettling millions of forest dwellers feasible?
A recent Supreme Court order that will likely lead to the largest ever eviction of forest dwellers in India needs to be seen as a wake-up call for state governments to quickly remedy the situation
How development excludes India’s tribal people
Failing to understand the tribal world view and imposing the dominant development paradigm on adivasi communities is affecting their identity and well-being
Karnataka dairy farmers face heat of drought
Dairy farmers in Karnataka have been seriously impacted by the severe drought in most parts of the state as milk yields have fallen and fodder has become more expensive
Tribal women in Rajasthan assert citizen rights
Solidarity groups of tribal women in southern Rajasthan have started taking collective action to claim government entitlements such as food and rural employment
Income support is healthy tonic for smallholder farmers
Instead of farm loan waivers and minimum support price for crops that distort resource allocation and markets, basic income support to small and marginal farmers is a far better state mechanism
Heavy snow hurts Kashmir’s apple farmers
Extreme weather events such as untimely snowfall and heavy floods have harmed the apple crop in Kashmir; one way to reduce losses is to properly implement a crop insurance scheme
Participation key to empowering Juang tribes
Treating Juang tribes of Odisha as participants in the development process rather than as recipients of development largesse will help bringing them into the national mainstream
Can data-driven social enterprises boost farmer incomes?
A collaboration between technological and value chain enterprises working directly with farmers could help make the farm to fork value chain more organized and efficient, thus increasing returns to cultivators