-The Business Standard The rural non-farm sector has emerged as India's largest job creator since 2000 and needs to play a pivotal role in our structural transformation Job creation has to be a pressing priority for any new government. But it is worthwhile trying to understand the nature of our employment challenge. The unemployment rate, as understood in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) world, is not a very useful indicator...

-AgriculturesNetwork.org The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, today calls for radical transformation of the world's food systems. The emphasis in agricultural policy should shift from productivity to "well-being, resilience and sustainability", he says. This morning De Schutter presented his final report to the UN Human Rights Council after a six-year term as Special Rapporteur. In February, he also presented some of his findings at...

-The Business Standard Chandigarh: Worried over diminishing returns from small holdings in the state, young and educated farmers in Punjab with an entrepreneurial streak are venturing into commercial dairy farming. The farmers say that a commercial dairy farm gives them high returns compared with conventional agriculture on small land-holdings, which is proving unsustainable. There are about 6,000 progressive dairy farmers in Punjab and the state has more such farmers than any other...

-The Hindu     Nearly three years after the government began experimenting with Aadhaar-based payments in Jharkhand, it has not been able to start disbursing payments to beneficiaries at their doorstep Jharkhand was one of five pilot States chosen for an Aadhaar-enabled payment system (AEPS). Beginning with Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) payments in select blocks in four districts in 2012, AEPS added pension and scholarship schemes and the Janani Suraksha...

-Down to Earth The National Agroforestry Policy 2014 can substantially reduce poverty in rural India AFTER becoming the first country in the world to frame an agroforestry policy, India has gone ahead and allocated Rs 444 crore to promote agroforestry in the country. The National Agroforestry Policy 2014, announced on February 10, has the potential to substantially reduce poverty in rural India and revive agroforestry industry. Agroforestry is a farming practice in which...