Ravi Srivastava

Interlinked modes of exploitation in Indian agriculture during transition: A case study

The article examines the nature of interlinked modes of exploitation on the basis of evidence from three villages in Uttar Pradesh (India). It is argued that the interlocked relationships arise out of a prior set of production relationships and the strategies of subsistence and accumulation of different classes, which may themselves change under certain conditions. The latter determine not only the form but also the dynamics of such relationships, and are, in turn, limited by the ways in which surplus can be appropriated. It is shown here that the interlocking displays systematic inter‐village features. With increasing capitalist penetration, such relationships are a significantly more important source of labour mobilisation.

Tenancy contracts during transition: A study based on fieldwork in Uttar Pradesh (India)

This article attempts to situate the nature of and changes in tenancy contracts in the context of agrarian transition in developing countries such as India. Inter‐ and intra‐village variations in tenancy contracts are examined in detail for three contrasted villages in Uttar Pradesh (India), with the aim of bringing out the systematic basis of such variations. It is argued that Marxist analysis, based on the nature of class relations, offers a more credible explanation of the nature and unevenness of change, than neo‐classical analysis. Moreover, such analysis also offers a satisfactory explanation of the impact of tenancy on several commonly studied variables.

Towards Universal Social Protection in India in a Rights-based Paradigm

This article discusses the universalization of social protection in India in the context of rightbased paradigms. It first considers the question of universalization of protective social security and then discusses the issues arising out of the expansion of social protection, which deal with deficiencies and capabilities in areas such as basic education and health, employment, food and nutrition intake, in a rights-based framework. After considering the constraints in the expansion of social protection in India, this article first shows that it is financially and institutionally feasible to provide protective social security to all workers in the informal economy in India. It further concludes that there is sufficient ground to argue for universal social protection in India under the current conditions. It also shows that a rights-based framework can provide the basis for rapid advancement of social protection in a universal direction.

Meeting the Food Security Challenge in India: Medium-term Goals and Strategies

The article examines issues of food and nutrition security in India as part of a general development strategy, incorporating macro policies pertaining to agricultural development, provision of health, education and other basic services, and focusing on the entitlements and livelihood of individuals in different regions and among the deprived segments of the population. It makes a case for moving away from the current price support and procurement policy to that of balanced agricultural development. This would entail reducing the producer subsidies and re-aligning these in favour of poorer regions. This is expected to reduce the environmental and other costs in the surplus-producing regions and to promote healthy and competitive diversification. This perspective, even when backed up by bigger food assistance programmes, targeted at the poor and food-insecure regions, is likely to bring down the total burden of consumer subsidies. The savings can then be used for investing in rural infrastructure for improving the capabilities of small farmers, particularly in poorer regions, thereby resulting in increased procurement from the latter. Simultaneously, decentralization, deregulation, and participation of the community and of civil society will have to be strengthened. These, together with direct nutrition interventions, will constitute the right steps towards eradicating food and nutrition insecurity.

Labour Migration to the Construction Sector in India and its Impact on Rural Poverty

The present article studies the impact of migration to the construction sector on rural poverty in India based on field survey. The survey has been carried out in two phases, the first phase involving the survey of construction workers in National Capital Region and the second phase comparing the well-being of migrant households with non migrant households in selected source villages. The study finds that at destination, workers have poor living and working conditions, lack citizenship rights, entitlements and voice. However, at the cost of hardship, low consumption levels, and possibly a smaller working life span, they manage to save a good portion of their income which they remit or take back home. At origin, migrant households report higher expenditure on consumption, residential housing, and children’s education, as well as some other assets. These differences are a result of higher employment and wage incomes among migrants. However, we were not able to control for differences in initial conditions, and life cycle and other issues, which influence both participation in migration, as well as long-term impacts.

Performance of Anti-Poverty Programmes in Indian States: Identifying the Achilles' Heel

Using a broad definition of poverty, this paper analyses the effectiveness of anti-poverty programmes in India across Indian states in the middle of the last decade (2004-2006). It focuses on the variations in the performance of these programmes across the poorer states of India. It shows that there is indeed some variation even among these states and that there is a small upturn in the performance of some of the states, such as Bihar, during the more recent period, which did not do well earlier. It further argues that though anti-poverty programmes in India have moved towards people-centred and decentralized approaches, the current performance is still related to state level governance and innovativeness.