-Down to Earth Shailaja Fennell, an expert in gender and household dynamics in agriculture, talks to Down To Earth about millet production in India As India witnesses the central government launch a campaign to promote nutri cereals, Down To Earth talks to an expert about the relevance of millets, its cultural significance and its benefits for women. Shailaja Fennell, university senior lecturer in development studies at the department of land economy in...

-Press Release by Shiv Nadar University New Delhi, 27th August, 2018: Shiv Nadar University (a comprehensive, multidisciplinary and research-focused institution) today hosted a National Water Conference at India International Centre to discuss issues related to the water crisis in India and identify the potential solutions to address the problem.  The implementation of a new policy paradigm with regards to the principles, approaches and strategies for managing water in India was one...

-Down to Earth Although the average farm income per month saw a rise in the last four years, it is still not enough to help farmers cope with the current agrarian crisis A latest report by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), a government agency, again, shows the vulnerability of Indian agriculture households.   The NABARD All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey (NAFIS) shows that average agriculture household income was...

-Livemint.com Rural development secretary Amarjeet Sinha on how MGNREGS has evolved since 2006 to result in income, acreage, water tables, productivity and fodder availability Agrarian distress and rural distress are terms used interchangeably, but the rural economy today is very different from what it was many years ago, given the diversification of rural incomes and hence incorrect to think one means the other, says Amarjeet Sinha, secretary, ministry of rural development. In...

-Livemint.com One of the big drivers of the ruling BJP’s massive victory in 2014 was its ability to exploit inequalities within caste groups to expand its support base New Delhi: When we think of caste-based inequality in India, we typically think of a pyramid where scheduled castes (SCs or Dalits) and scheduled tribes (STs) are at the bottom, other backward classes (OBCs) above them, and upper castes at the very top....