Picture from Forbes IndiaWhat? The National Food Security Bill aims to provide food to 67% of India\'s 1.2 billion people by distributing heavily subsidized food grain (5kg of grain @ Rs.1/kg). First introduced in 2011, the bill has invited heated debate, caused parliamentary disruptions and is yet to be passed. Why the criticism? Where will the money to finance the scheme come from? GurcharanContinue reading "National Food Bill: A short review of the critiques"
Water in the Anthropocene
The \"Water in the Anthropocene\" conference (21-24 May 2013) opened in Bonn, Germany today. The conference explores governance and scientific challenges in understanding the indicators, thresholds and uncertainties of the global water system. I was selected to present a paper on \"Farmer Perceptions of Water scarcity\" using a case study from north-west India but couldn\'tContinue reading "Water in the Anthropocene"
Oxford Global Food Security Conference, 2013
An interdisciplinary conference dealing with issues of food security and uncertainty around the world was held at Oxford University on April 27, 2013. Although not directly related to my current research on rural livelihood vulnerability to water scarcity and climate change, the conference was an interesting collection of diverse approaches to understanding, quantifying, and addressing food insecurityContinue reading "Oxford Global Food Security Conference, 2013"
Newbie in Nuker: The fears and joys of field work
The majestic Himalayas in Lahaul and one of the many ivory-thread streams.I am flustered. I am going to hold my first village meeting, talking to women from a self-help group (SHG) and I am terribly anxious. I look around the circle of women sitting with me, they are honest-faced and clear-eyed. I give them a wateryContinue reading "Newbie in Nuker: The fears and joys of field work"
My journey so far
Retrospective narrations of one’s journey can be misleading. Its linear format is inherently deceptive because an ordered layout assumes clarity and purpose, when life itself is often a jumbled back and forth of trial and error. And though it is slightly disconcerting to ‘review’ one’s life at the age of 26, I will try.The backgroundAlthoughContinue reading "My journey so far"
Nero\’s Guests: A Documentary on the Indian Agrarian Crisis
P. Sainath is the Rural Affairs Editor at The Hindu. After a decade of covering farmer suicides in water-scarce Maharashtra, he has repeatedly witnessed men and women die, trapped by the twin issues of the commodification of the countryside and inadequate policy frameworks. He is, justifiably, an angry man. Nero\'s Guests is a documentary that followsContinue reading "Nero\’s Guests: A Documentary on the Indian Agrarian Crisis"
Harvest season: The important of social capital to a farming household
I\'m tired. And it’s only 8:00 am. I trudge along the dirt track that leads me to the latest village I have been frequenting. After two bus rides that pulverised my morning meal quite successfully, and a quick zip on a motorcycle, during which I nearly flew, I must complete the last 2 km onContinue reading "Harvest season: The important of social capital to a farming household"
What Makes You Happy? Unravelling well-being and personal satisfaction
Farmer prosperity is closely linked to food security.One of the questions I am most apprehensive about as well as look forward to most during my interviews with farmers is this: “What, according to you, is necessary for a farmer to be happy?” Infamous as a person who drinks less water than a camel (yes, recently I had slipped toContinue reading "What Makes You Happy? Unravelling well-being and personal satisfaction"
More than what meets the eye: On having opium for dinner
Time has this irritatingly disarming quality of making one get used to anything. In its characteristically flippant manner, it obliterates hesitation, smoothens out initial hiccups, steam-rolling even the most novel experiences into the mundane plateau of routine. And so, after spending an action-packed initial three months in Pratapgarh, the distinctly unheard of district in south-eastern Rajasthan whereContinue reading "More than what meets the eye: On having opium for dinner"
The Other Side of Tribal Development: An officer\’s apathy
They say field work is the best part of the at-times-stimulating, many more times aggravating experience of doing a PhD and I couldn’t agree more. Field work is indeed an amazing journey, you witness abstract concepts read in journals being enacted before your eyes, once obscure ideas slowly find meaning through the data you collect,Continue reading "The Other Side of Tribal Development: An officer\’s apathy"
Chandni Singh 