State of India’s Livelihoods 2016 Girija Srinivasan, N.Srinivasan
Macro situation • Several new initiatives in agriculture and vulnerable livelihoods • Employment growth muted – solutions needed for a large number of youth over next five years • Enabling conditions improve – investments on the ground lag behind • Farm based activities need greater support for income enhancement • Trickle-down theory needs a review • Technology and consumer trends pose challenges to traditional approaches to employment
Policy, budget, programmes • Greater devolution to states – need to make states focus on development schemes • Reduction of subsidy bill through better targeting and digitisation • Digitisation should ensure inclusion of target households – exclusion in NFSA? • NREGS to continue to focus on asset completion – both common and individual • Target 100 days work per household • NRLM should shift emphasis to livelihoods • Skill India to concentrate on delivery of jobs
Livelihoods in a ‘Changing Climate’ • Climate change projects tend to be islands of narrow spectrum – need to be comprehensive • Flood relief, drought relief measures are ad-hoc – Disaster management to be designed as CCA • Recent initiatives on regulating water use and exploitation are timely • Solutions for drylands needed – LEISA variants for different crops to be mainstreamed • Regulatory action with incentives and disincentives to support CCA initiatives • Immense potential for carbon sequestration in land should be exploited in agri, horti, forestry. • Funding mechanisms of CCA, CCM projects to be streamlined
Handloom sector– a closer examination • 1.88 million looms, 4.012 million workers • Erosion of weaving as a mainstream vocation • Niche products for discerning markets – good workmanship has a demand • Mass market for cheaper goods depend on government purchases • Weavers also take up unskilled NREGS jobs – limited alternatives • Government schemes touch the fringe of weaver community – at the top of the pyramid - need for better targeting
Focus on Northeast • Strategy based on production of food – large demand for eggs, milk, meat, pork and fish • Processing and marketing solutions of silk, bamboo, fruits, vegetables and unique crops • Infrastructure as a prime livelihood investment • Skills initiative yet to gather steam – large language competent population ready to migrate • Forestry cover declining – but strategy of making northeast in to a carbon sink needs review • Traditional practices not to be brushed aside – such as Jhum, indigenous crop varieties • Local participation will bring about good results – rather than imposed solutions in a context that is different • Access to finance – major challenge
Financing livelihoods • Vigorous support for agriculture – but more in short term credit • Mudra shows considerable progress in the first year • 80% of enterprises and 48% of farmers do not access formal institutional credit – money lender continues to be significant • Institutional interventions such as SFBs carry high potential • Financing is sporadic –project / value chain modes not used • Post production credit scarce - and poorly designed • Customised solutions for clusters / sub-sectors are rare – dependence on template driven lending • Skills in livelihood finance low – going lower • Livelihoods require liquidity solutions – not just credit; new product structures, innovative processes required • Aggregation of demand and small institution focus can help
Wishlist • Target profitability of agriculture – serious risk of small farms going bankrupt – alternatives for farm labour • Accelerate reforms in agricultural insurance and marketing • Good policy initiatives on water security – should find implementation edge • 1000 smart towns – more jobs and arrest migration • Make safety nets inclusive – legislative intent not be cast away on account of subsidy bill • Campaign needed to end exploitative relationships in livelihoods – trader vs farmer, landlord vs tenant, employer vs employee, men vs women
. THANKS TO ALL SPONSORS, STAKEHOLDERS, CONTRIBUTORS IN SEVERAL WAYS AND THE READERS OF THE REPORT
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