-Economic and Political Weekly India's scheduled tribes are among the most deprived socio-economic groups and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme has great potential in tribal areas. While the Andhra Pradesh government has made an effort to ensure implementation of the scheme in the scheduled areas, the gap between administrative orders and the grass-roots level is wide. This article lists measures that could radically improve implementation of the scheme...

-The Hindu What the data shows on farm incomes, and whether farmers can make ends meet How profitable is farming? The answer to this most fundamental question about Indian agriculture can be found in the National Sample Survey Office's new survey of India's agricultural households. The average farm household makes Rs 6,426 per month. Where does this money come from? Farm households do a mix of jobs, the data shows. Please click here...

The agrarian crisis is far from over. Amidst news of farmers' suicide reported from parts of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, an official document released in December by the National Sample Survey Organisation states that nearly 52% of India's agricultural households were indebted during July, 2012 - June, 2013. The average amount of outstanding loan per agricultural household in India was Rs. 47000 (see link below). Based on a survey of...

-PTI   Households in rural areas hold assets worth over Rs 10 lakh on average, less than half the holdings by those in cities, says a government survey. At the same time, villages account for higher proportion of families owning some physical and financial assets at 98 per cent, higher than 94 per cent in urban areas. "Around 98 per cent of rural households and around 94 per cent of urban households in India...

-The Hindu NSSO survey across 35000 family units Nearly 90 per cent of India's farmers have less than two hectares of land, according to the most extensive survey of farm households to date conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). The survey says the average farm household makes less than Rs. 6,500 a month from all sources of income. The NSSO released the findings from its 70th Situation of Agricultural Households in...