Author: Sanjiv Phansalkar
Tribute to champion of traditional phad irrigation system
Phad, a traditional irrigation management system in Maharashtra, fell into disrepair. Sunil Pote, a development worker revived it, enabling numerous farmers irrigate their lands and increase income
Of cockroaches and digital health records
While digital health policy and proposed digitization of health records look good on paper, for it to be effective, basic rural health care services should function
Returned migrants: A pause or the end of a dream?
Lockdown has forced migrant workers to return home. Left with no cash savings and duped of overdue wages, their future seems uncertain more than ever
Returned migrants: Despair and coping
Distance to host city, commitment of employer and livelihood opportunity at native village help returned workers decide on post-lockdown migration. Till then they cope with available resources
Disrupted supply chains need to be mended to revive rural economy
Infusion of working capital at some levels of the supply chain and easing of transportation regulations would put ruptured supply chains back on track and reboot rural economy
How COVID-19 would impact rural India and its economy
With no urban economic activities because of the lockdown, migrants who have returned to native villages and rural workers will feel the pinch in the coming months
Minimizing the pain for rural India post COVID-19 pandemic
Understanding the sources that cause rural distress during the nationwide lockdown and post pandemic, there is a need for measures to minimize the rural citizens’ distress
Urgent government intervention needed for migrants in transit
With the countrywide lockdown to arrest spread of COVID-19, migrant workers who started returning home from destination sites are caught in borders with scant amenities. Government needs to intervene to ensure safe passage
How some FPC balloons can become durable high flyers – IV
It is essential to keep the staff of FPCs motivated and introduce financial incentives and insurances to cater to their well-being, for the success and sustenance of FPCs
How some FPC balloons can become durable high flyers – III
Understanding local markets, evolving strategies to develop longstanding engagement with customers, and adopting norms to maintain rapport with members would help FPCs create a sustainable business model
How some FPC balloons can become durable high flyers – II
Members of farmer producer companies being of limited means and the avenues to raise capital being less, the companies can sustain by adopting preventive measures in their operation
How some FPC balloons can become durable high flyers – I
The success of farmer producer companies floated across the country, would depend on the company’s relationship with its members and delivering on promises made during the launch
Of cow urine and human waste: faith, folklore and science
While there is a surfeit of folklore on cow urine as a miracle material, the waste of other cattle and humans, which are also dependable resources, should be checked for efficacy
Farmer producer companies: let a thousand balloons float
While farmer producer companies mushroom across the country because of government’s financial incentives, problems in input delivery and sale of produce persist, making their long-term sustenance difficult
India needs poverty fighters to boost rural incomes
Ending endemic economic poverty in the central and eastern parts of rural India needs more numbers of trained foot soldiers to deal with the complex realities on the ground
Can a pointed pickaxe pierce a pearl?
There are formidable challenges in delivering welfare services to scattered and disenfranchised groups of people in rural India, and the government machinery is ill-equipped to deal with it
Can handlooms provide a viable rural livelihood?
There are reasons not to give up entirely on the rural handloom sector, and we can learn from northeast India on how artisanal weaving can still be an attractive livelihood option
Lack of skilled professionals hamstring underdeveloped regions
The severely underdeveloped central and eastern hilly tribal belt in India is poorly served by skilled grassroots professionals such as teachers and paramedics, a problem that has no easy solutions
Only neglected India lives in the villages
On Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday, a look at rural India shows that we have fallen much behind his ideal of self-reliant village republics, in part because of changed aspirations of modern times
Are handlooms in rural India only capable of weaving poverty?
We need to reflect why once handlooms wove joy, culture and incomes but today weave only poverty, unable to sustain livelihoods of people in our villages, except for a few outliers