-The Times of India AKOLA: For the last 23 years, Rukhmabai Rathod had run her 6-acre farm virtually single-handedly. After her husband's death in 1992, the uneducated but determined woman took charge. She decided what to sow, how much to spend and stood her ground with banks and creditors. "She was anguthachaap but she understood everything," says her brother-in-law Babulal Rathod from the Kazadeshwar village in Vidarbha's Akola district. "I didn't think...
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Tractor sales: Mirroring the rural distress -Harish Damodaran
-The Indian Express While tractor sales trebled during FY04-14, the last year saw a reversal in the trend with the agri industry facing multiple issues. If there is one indicator capturing the changes that took place in rural India over the past decade, along with the emerging signs of distress in the last year, it is the sales of tractors. Between 2003-04 and 2013-14, domestic tractor sales more than trebled from under...
More »The farmer’s ‘mann ki baat’ -Vidya Venkat
-The Hindu Amidst the din over the land acquisition bill in Parliament, the farmer’s voice was missing. Everybody has an opinion on farmers these days. Be it politicians, policymakers, editors or economists. In fact, ever since the Parliament reconvened for the Budget session on April 20, the deteriorating condition of farmers has clearly dominated discussions. But even as the issue of agrarian crisis, farmer suicides (especially after Gajendra Singh’s suicide in a...
More »Small farmers struggle for survival in Punjab -Sayantan Bera
-Livemint.com How increased mechanization, volatile prices and stressed farm incomes are leading to a consolidation of agricultural land in Punjab Patiala/Sangrur/New Delhi: A farmer selling his farm equipment is a telltale sign of distress. But Maghar Singh doesn’t regret doing it. Six years ago, he sold his tractor, harvester and other equipment, and Rented out his 8 acres (3.2 hectares) of land in Patiala in south-eastern Punjab where he used to...
More »NREGA to gel with rural housing in state -Shalini Nair
-The Indian Express Mumbai: In case the size of the house exceeds the set limit, the extra cost will be borne by the beneficiary. Taking the idea of the Centre’s rural employment scheme for creating sustainable rural assets a step further, the Maharashtra government is set to dovetail its rural housing scheme with the National Rural Employment Generation Act (NREGA). The final draft housing policy has also brought rural housing under the...
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