In the rain-fed rice cultivation areas of Odisha and Maharashtra, drought years are not gender-blind events. In fact, research based on national sample survey data in India, conducted by the Asia-Pacific branch of UNDP, has shown that when rainfall is poor, women farm workers earn less in terms of wages than men, specifically in rice-growing…
The Farmer Who Stopped Growing Rice Govind Nair farmed rice on three acres in coastal Kerala for most of his working life. In 2022, following a government horticulture scheme, he converted one of those acres to coconut cultivation and intercropped it with cocoa. By 2025, the intercropped acre was generating nearly twice the income of…
The Biscuit That Changed a Village Economy Urmila Devi runs a small food processing unit outside Varanasi. She makes millet-based snacks using a government-supported machine, sells them under a cooperative label, and earns three times what she made from raw grain. Before her unit was set up under the PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing…
The Numbers from Korba Earlier this week, India CSR shared a fresh, detailed update on BALCO’s Vedanta Skill School, bringing in data up to FY2025-26. Since its launch in 2011, the school has helped more than 15,000 young people leave uncertainty behind and start solid, respectable careers. Just in the last year, over 1,200 trainees…
India’s 2026 monsoon is expected to be below normal at 94%, raising concerns about uneven rainfall and stress on rainfed agriculture. With El Niño and rising farmer debt, a weak monsoon could deepen India’s agrarian crisis if early support isn’t mobilized. Skymet Weather, a leading private meteorological agency in India, expects the 2026 Southwest Monsoon…
Innovation, agri-tech and renewable energy are transforming agriculture in rural India by improving productivity and market access for farmers. Experts say combining modern technology with traditional knowledge can strengthen rural economies and support sustainable development. India’s rural economy is entering a new phase of transformation as innovation, renewable energy and modern agricultural technologies begin to…
