Category Archives: Employment and Livelihoods
Sustainable Livelihoods : Background & Perspective
Several UN and world summits now accede that the achievement of sustainable livelihoods is intricately linked with the eradication of poverty. But between international and government fora where ‘sustainable livelihoods’ is the new buzzword and the situation at the grassroots is a huge gap. For a decade of structural adjustment and the development-at-any-cost doctrine have […]
Agriculture And Food Security : Background & Perspective
Pre-Independence India suffered repeated famines, drought and food shortages. But following the Green Revolution in the ’60s, yields and foodstocks rose manifold. Now, 30 years later, Indian farmers have realised the follies of their tryst with intensive agriculture. Despite 70 per cent of the population being engaged in agriculture and allied activities, declining foodgrain production […]
Govt To Document Goan Artisans, Handicrafts
Goan artisans and their handicrafts will soon be documented by the state government for socio-economic and tourism purposes. The Goa Handicrafts Rural and Small Scale Industries Development Corporation Ltd (GHRSSIDC) says the idea is to make these professions economically viable, while also adding to Goa’s tourism attractions.
MoEF Seeks To Make VPs Protect Fisherfolk
The ministry of environment and forests ( MoEF) has proposed regulatory functions to panchayats under the proposed ‘Traditional Coastal and Marine Fisherfolk (Protection Rights) Act, 2009’ in a bid to ensure sustainable use of marine resources for biodiversity conservation and to also protect the livelihood of traditional fishermen.
The Dark Side Of Globalization
Although we may not have yet reached “the end of history,” globalisation has brought us closer to “the end of geography” as we have known it. The compression of time and space triggered by the Third Industrial Revolution —roughly, since 1980 — has changed our interactions with the international environment. For many, globalisation — the […]
Promoting Sustainable Agriculture In India
Agriculture sector, world over, has experienced a phenomenal growth since the mid-twentieth century. The growth, driven by Green Revolution technology, has made a significant dent on aggregate supply of food grains, ensuring food security to the growing population. The next stage of agricultural growth however, faces a serious challenge in terms of sustainability. Whereas the […]
Enhancing livelihoods Through Minor Forest Products
A new paper by Dr N C Saxena on how to improve production, access, and incomes from MFPs for forest dwellers. Whereas 70 per cent of India’s population lives in rural areas, for tribals this is as high as 90 percent. It is well established that most tribals live in forested regions, and their economy is […]
Environment As Employment Generator
The government is obsessed with economic growth. Employment is bound to follow, it claims. That’s a delusion. The swelling numbers of unemployed still continues . Jobs are what all Indians want. Governments know this. But they do not know how to create jobs. The problem is that the much-touted mantra of economic growth does not […]
School Dropout: A Socio-Economic Impact Of Tourism
Till the eighties and mid nineties, the coastal belt of Benaulim was known as the hub for carpenters and bakers of south Goa. And at every feast in the south, they would ritually display their furniture and wares at roadside bazaars where the feast was held, while proudly proclaiming their origins. The whole family would […]
NREGA’s Technological Sabbatical
OVER 2.5 crore job card holders registered under Mahatama Gandhi National Rural Employment Act (MGNREGA) could be affected by the rural development ministry’s decision to introduce biometrics to the scheme. The job cards of beneficiaries in 200 districts across India are set to expire in 2011. The process of job card renewal under the biometric system […]