-Newsclick.in Despite the state being largely rural, the contribution of agriculture in the state’s gross domestic product is reducing considerably. The state of Himachal Pradesh has a predominantly rural population. Ninety per cent of the people here live in villages. There are 17,882 villages and about 59 urban settlements including two municipal corporations. There are more than 14.9 lakh families in the state. The total number of workers according to the census...

-Down to Earth While reorganising land rights for rural women may be an arduous and long-drawn task, alternative solutions can be adopted The United Nations observes October 15 as International Rural Women’s Day to highlight the contribution of rural women to the world’s economic development. Taking cue from this, the Government of India declared October 15 as Rashtriya Mahila Kisan Diwas in 2017. This was a welcome step, especially in the...

-Hindustan Times A newer generation of politicians has again voiced the demand of giving land to landless Dalit households as a means to resolve the crisis of rural livelihoods. But the relentless pursuit of neo-liberal economic policies and liberalisation has rendered most of these demands Utopian Seven decades after Independence, while a majority of farmers cultivate their own land (however small their holdings may be), most Dalit farmers in much of India...

  The declining trend in organized sector employment (i.e. in establishments employing 10 or more workers) continued in the first quarter of 2017-18. The sixth round of the Quarterly Report on Employment Scenario in selected sectors (as on 1st July, 2017), which was released in February this year, confirms this. The Labour Bureau’s latest report says that the net number of jobs created in the 8 major sectors of the economy was...

-Hindustan Times In an effort to relieve farmers’ economic distress, the Centre included in the Union Budget an increase in the minimum support price (MSP) for monsoon crops and pledged Rs 500 crore to Operation Greens, a programme to help growers of tomatoes, onions, and potatoes. New Delhi: The benefits from the Union Budget’s concessions to agriculture will not be shared equally among Indian farmers. Dalits, in particular, may lose out on the...