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
Rural Tamil Nadu shows resilience as currency crisis disrupts life
For villagers in Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur, particularly the poor, the trashing of high-value banknotes is another hardship among many that they have to face
Farmers, daily wage laborers in Odisha badly hurt by demonetization
Farmers and those in rural areas who make a living as daily wage laborers in Odisha have been left stranded by the demonetization drive by the Indian government that has led to a huge scarcity of lower denomination notes
Demonetization and the rural poor in five dimensions
The junking of high value currency notes has led to an unprecedented situation where the poor are more at risk from manipulation by the unscrupulous than from any crippling financial loss in the short or medium terms, barring exceptions
Tamil Nadu fishermen leverage smartphone technology to boost fish yields
For fishing communities in coastal Tamil Nadu, the uncertainties of finding richer fishing areas in sea has been significantly reduced through a phone app called Fisher Friendly Mobile Application that also provides safety alerts
Cardamom hills of Kerala face daunting drought
After the failure of both the South West and North East monsoons, cardamom farmers of Idukki in Kerala are staring at massive losses
Women in Guphu show power of collective action
Collective action has enabled many women in Khunti in Jharkhand to rise out of poverty, providing them with new opportunities and ensuring greater choice in their lives
Community initiative recharges water table in Kumbharwalan village
Collective action through a pani panchayat (water council) has enabled a remote village in Pune district of Maharashtra to provide for adequate irrigation in this rain shadow area prone to droughts
Another autumn of uncertainty for Kashmir’s saffron farmers
A most prized harvest, the falling production of saffron in the villages of Pulwama is now a serious concern for the many farmers who have been traditionally cultivating the rare flower
Can this crisis in the heart of India be allowed to continue?
The economic exploitation and developmental neglect of the core tribal areas of India’s eastern plateau and hills across Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand have to be tackled through practical solutions unhindered by ideological blinkers