Rural India is home of the original gig-economy worker. Enterprising villagers hop from tilling fields to tending shops, to door-to-door selling each day. Read the latest trends in micro-enterprises, rural start-ups and the shifting livelihoods of India’s villagers.
Livelihoods
Assam flood fury leaves high houses on river islands untouched
A simple innovation of building houses on a raised and reinforced earthen platform has spared many village homes on the easily flooded islands on the Brahmaputra and its tributaries
Enterprising woman farmer charts a path to prosperity
From an impoverished homemaker to a successful farmer and trusted counselor for many women in the area, the story of Sangita Mhatre of Mande is an inspiring tale of how women in rural India can take charge of their destiny given the slightest of opportunities
Rural India needs a reformed NGO sector
The need of the hour in the non-governmental sector is for the government to keep a transparent check on non-performing NGOs while recognizing and appreciating NGOs and their teams that make a positive contribution towards rural development
Non-farm enterprises as job creators in rural India
Targeted interventions and managerial assistance to promote non-farm rural enterprises have the potential to create a large number of jobs in the countryside while at the same time stemming the flow of distress migration
Kerala fishermen brave dangerous sea to eke out a livelihood
Small fishers on the Kerala coast venture out in the rough Arabian Sea during the monsoon season for a living, but there’s very little help they get in the way of easily accessible forecasts
Singur emerges as procurement hub for local farmers
Once the infamous political battlefield centered on the construction of a car factory, Singur in West Bengal has become a beacon of hope for local farmers, who sell their produce wholesale at fair prices at a state government promoted marketplace
Farmers in Maharashtra fear loss of kharif harvest, blame Met department
Farmers in Marathwada and Vidarbha regions of Maharashtra are expecting a decline in crop yield during the autumn harvest and are holding the India Meteorological Department responsible for incorrect forecasting
Village entrepreneurship as a key to rural growth
The active promotion of enterprises in rural India is a possible way to further growth in the countryside and there’s need to examine their possibilities and limitations in order to tackle the problem of burgeoning unemployment
Grassroots innovation using curd reduces farming costs in Bihar
A curd mixture using copper has become popular in many parts of northern Bihar despite a lack of scientific validation because it has cut the cost of cultivation while increasing productivity for many small and marginal farmers