Informal Sector

Featured Articles
October 17, 2022 While informal groundwater markets cater significantly to the needs of smallholder farmers in India, they continue to be unacknowledged and understudied.
Groundwater, a finite resource (Image Source: TV Manoj via Wikimedia Commons)
December 7, 2020 The new farm related bills will spell doom for women workers who form the bulk of small and marginal sections of Indian agriculture, warns Mahila Kisan Adhikaar Manch (MAKAAM).
Farm women, overworked and underpaid (Image Source: India Water Portal)
October 21, 2019 In this interview, Joy talks about his work as an activist working in rural Maharashtra, and how he came to work on water conflicts in India.
KJ Joy speaks at a felicitation for the late Professor Ramaswamy Iyer.
September 24, 2019 Policy matters this week
Despite the ban, manual scavenging continues. (Image courtesy: The Hindu)
September 13, 2019 Arecanut farmers in Karnataka are reeling from dipping groundwater levels and infrequent water supply for irrigation. In this article, some solutions are proposed.
Young arecanut trees grown in drylands of Tumkur region (Gubbi Taluk, Hodalur Village) Pic Credit: Chandana Eswar
Monsoon experiences a countrywide deficit of 10 percent in July
News this week Posted on 12 Aug, 2020 08:27 AM

Monsoon 2020: Countrywide deficit of 10 percent in July; September may have heavy rains

July experiences rain deficit of 10 percent (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Migration and the state amid the Covid-19 pandemic
The Covid-19 prompted migration crisis brought India’s inequalities into sharp relief. Posted on 06 Aug, 2020 06:05 PM

Through no fault of their own, migrants were forced to leave the cities after the government imposed a Covid-19 induced national lockdown in late March. After losing their work, fearing they would run out of cash and food they trudged back along with their families to the villages in search of humanity, food, and a place to live.

Migrants contribute enormously to urban society and economy (Image: Pexels)
Money, migration and missing capital: The case of Uttarakhand
In times of heightened interest in migration and migrants, a lecture deals with key issues underpinning it. Posted on 27 Jul, 2020 10:34 PM

Uttarakhand’s rural areas are marked by massive outflux of people and it is believed that rural migration may alter the state’s political geography.

Village in Uttarakhand (Image: Paul Hamilton; Flickr Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0)
NREGA tracker looks at the schemes’ performance
NREGA should move towards becoming an open-ended entitlement that allows every individual to work for at least 200 days, as per PAEG. Posted on 26 Jul, 2020 08:46 PM

As per the findings of an NREGA tracker launched by the People’s Action for Employment Guarantee (PAEG) the lockdown saw a record spike in jobs under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Women working on an NREGA site building a pond to assist in farming and water storage. Gopalpura, Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh (Image: UN Women/Gaganjit Singh)
Harnessing demographic dividend amidst the Covid-19 pandemic
India stands to lose its demographic dividend irreversibly during the pandemic if immediate steps are not taken. Posted on 21 Jul, 2020 06:42 PM

The Covid-19 pandemic has amplified the challenges to the youth as regards employment opportunities. The policy steps taken by the government have led to a slowdown in economic activities, leading to loss of jobs and mass unemployment.

Migrant women workers continue to suffer unemployment and underemployment (Image: Pixabay)
Creating an Atma Nirbhar Bharat amid the Covid-19 pandemic
There is an urgent need for a comprehensive National Employment Policy based on responsive real-time data analysis integrating sectors amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Posted on 18 Jul, 2020 05:16 PM

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), about 63 countries across the globe have prepared National Development Framework or National Employment Policy (NEP) to decide the roadmap for employment generation mainly after the global financial crisis, 2008.

Brick kiln workers (Image: ILO Asia-Pacific)
Private sector engagement for scaling up small water enterprises
Small water enterprises cannot rely on the earlier models of operations due to diminishing CSR funds in the light of the pandemic. Posted on 15 Jul, 2020 03:40 PM

Understanding the drivers and key risks for the private sector is of critical importance in their engagement in owning, operating, and managing safe water supply through small water enterprises.

Owning, operating, and managing safe water supply through small water enterprises is a tangible way for women to transform their lives. (Image: Safe Water Network)
Reinventing waste management during Covid-19
There is an urgent need to revamp our municipal waste management systems. Posted on 11 Jul, 2020 10:19 PM

India stares at a Covid-19 induced waste management crisis and there is a need to strengthen waste management services. An important sanitary barrier to prevent the dissemination of illnesses and diseases, waste management’s impact on the world’s healthcare systems, and the economy are significant.

A lab technician discarding disposable gloves (Image: CDC/Kimberly Smith, Christine Ford acquired from Public Health Image Library)
Surviving in uncertainty
Gram Vikas stepped up to ensure access to adequate food and to strengthen dignified income-earning opportunities for the most vulnerable households. Posted on 08 Jul, 2020 07:33 PM

Uncertainty - the pervasive feeling that all of us have been living with from the middle of March 2020. It's the same in our partner villages in Odisha and Jharkhand. Communities we work with have been facing and overcoming uncertainties all through their lives. But this time, the crisis has put unusual stress on their abilities to cope.

Image: Ajaya Behera
Dharavi: From a dreaded hotspot to a model to be emulated
How Dharavi pulled off a miracle by not letting the disease spiral out of control. Posted on 02 Jul, 2020 10:10 AM

When the first positive case of Covid-19 was reported from Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum, known for its narrow lanes and compact housing, a sense of panic gripped the nation. And the fear and panic were not unreasonable given the extraordinary characteristics of this slum.

Located between Mumbai's two main suburban rail lines, Dharavi provides an affordable option to those who move to Mumbai to earn a living (Image: Deepti KC and Mudita Tiwari; CC BY-SA 2.0, Flickr Commons)
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