-The Hindustan Times Punjab: Having seen my uncle hard at work in a farm and his decision to quit school to till land, I have often felt that popular imagination tends to see farming as an esoteric profession and food production as something that will somehow magically take care of itself. A young man/woman (who has had secondary education) seems to consider agriculture as far too back-breaking and tedious to be taken...
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India's urban work boom is leaving women behind-Akshat Rathi
-The Hindu Under India's labour laws, women engaged in "informal" work - such as domestic work - have few workplace rights. This makes it harder for women to have sustainable jobs, let alone a career. Nearly 400 million people live in cities in India and during the next 40 years that number will more than double. Not only is the proportion of India's total female population that is economically active is among...
More »This farmer sees green shoots even on dry land -LN Revathy
-The Hindu Business Line Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu): A good number of farmers in Pappampatti belt of Coimbatore's Palladam taluk have given up vegetable cultivation - for which the area was once known for - because of the persistent dry spell and acute water shortage in that belt. However, one farmer - Balasubramaniam sees green shoots in agriculture in that belt, literally. He is a progressive farmer and mentor to many others in that...
More »Number of Agricultural Workers increases by 29 Million in A Decade
-Press Information Bureau (Ministry of Agriculture) As per Census conducted by Registrar General of India, the total number of agricultural workers in the country comprising cultivators and Agricultural Labourers increased from 234.1 million (127.3 million cultivators and 106.8 million Agricultural Labourers) in 2001 to 263.0 million (118.7 million cultivators and 144.3 million Agricultural Labourers) in 2011. As per Agriculture Census 2010-11, about 85% of the operational holdings accounting for about 44% of...
More »MGNREGA: A tale of wasted efforts
-Live Mint The scheme represents Rs.2.3 trillion spent on wasteful rural consumption This week marked the eighth anniversary of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's key rural intervention, launched in 200 districts initially in February 2006. To the extent that such populist schemes helped raise wages without raising productivity. They have contributed more to inflation than to rural wealth. Worse, such schemes have...
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