-Down to Earth Groundwater contaminated with arsenic is extensively used for irrigation and finds its way into the food chain  Arsenic contamination in groundwater has been a growing concern in several parts of the country. Now, the chemical has found its way into the food chain — mainly rice, wheat and potato — a recent study has found. Ashok Kr Ghosh, one of the leading scientists of the team that led the research...

-Down to Earth Productivity of released varieties of pulses is much lower than the notified variety of lower-yielding ones  When it comes to pulses, India stands out: The country produces a quarter of all pulses in the world and consumes 27 per cent — more than any other. India is also the largest importer of pulses. Madhya Pradesh is a major pulse-producing state in the country; it caters to 32 per cent of...

-Down to Earth Employment in agriculture has increased. Will it lead to shed the belief that agriculture will not be able to employ further? The latest data of the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), a non-government research agency, points out an interesting trend in employment in India. An increasing number of people are joining agriculture for employment in a shift from non-farm sectors like manufacturing and other informal jobs. The CMIE analysis...

The recently released quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data broadly confirms the dip in employment and jobs during the countrywide lockdown period, followed by a certain degree of recovery in the post-lockdown months last year as have been indicated by various survey-based studies and research papers. The quarterly bulletin on PLFS provides data on key employment and unemployment indicators i.e. Unemployment Rate (UR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR) and Labour...

The pandemic's first wave had a devastating impact on the livelihoods of rural workers in Bihar (including the self-employed) last year, according to a survey based research, jointly done by economists from Centre for Development Economics and Sustainability at Monash University, Australia and the New Delhi-based Institute for Human Development. A recent press note issued by the authors of the study shows that almost 94.4 percent of the households participating...