ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

Articles by Tara NairSubscribe to Tara Nair

Labour Partnership, Sharecropping and Tribal Migration

This paper discusses the distinct form of sharecropping arrangement known in Gujarat as bhagiya mazdoori involving migrant tribal households. The main purpose is to understand this institution in terms of its specific features as practised in north Gujarat positioned as it is in a changing agrarian system. The livelihood condition of the tribal sharecroppers in the source villages and their work and living conditions in the farms at the destination locations are the core themes of the discussion. The paper delineates relevant policy measures to prevent perpetuation of exploitative arrangements that bhagiya system represents.

Financing the Micro and Small Enterprises in India

A close look at the data on flow of bank credit to the micro and small enterprise sector in India since the 1970s reveals that the strategic intent of reorienting the industrial policy in the mid-2000s by carving out a new category called the micro, small and medium enterprises has not served any useful purpose in terms of making institutional credit available to the mses. It is also observed that the pro-market financial inclusion rhetoric of the second half of the current decade has not helped the msmes, especially those engaged in manufacturing activities, to enhance access to bank credit. The much-publicised Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency scheme, at the same time, appears as a mere window dressing as it has not infused any new funds into the system.

Mapping and Measuring Media Ownership and Control

A response to the paper “Mapping the Power of Major Media Companies in India” (EPW, 21 July 2018) by Anuradha Bhattacharjee and Anushi Agrawal highlights its inability to analytically explain the construct of “media market,” the consequent mischaracterisation of the extant scholarship on the Indian media industry, and engages with the gaps and inconsistencies in collating empirical details in the paper.

Back to Top