Articles by Vikas Rawal

Prevalence of undernourishment, a measure developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization, is a key indicator for global hunger and food insecurity targets. The FAO has developed a sound conceptual model for estimating the prevalence of dietary energy deficiency. However, the estimation methodology of the prevalence of undernourishment has been a subject of much debate. Important modifications are suggested in the estimation of the distribution of average calorie intake and average minimum dietary energy requirements. Using the latest available data and the revised methodology, it is shown that about 472 million people in India, a staggering 39% of the population, were undernourished in 2011–12.

In the past, research on land distribution in rural India has pointed out that the surveys by the National Sample Survey Organisation have yielded underestimates of the extent of land inequality and landlessness. In a fresh analysis, this paper, using household level data from the 48th and 59th rounds (1992 and 2003-04) of the NSSO, finds that (within the limitations of the data) more than 40 per cent of households in rural India do not own land, as much as 15 million acres is in ownership holdings of more than 20 acres, and inequality in ownership has worsened between 1992 and 2003-04.

This paper, the second in a series of two, attempts to identify the basic structure of irrigation in West Bengal and the extent of growth of irrigation in the post-land reform period. The first paper presented a detailed evaluation of the secondary data available on irrigation in West Bengal. This paper uses these data to identify certain features of irrigation development in the state. After presenting an overview of the pattern of irrigation in the state, the author analyses the growth of irrigation from groundwater and canals and the changes in irrigation from ponds and river lift-irrigation schemes. Finally, inter-district variations in the growth of irrigated area are discussed. [The first article in the series, 'Irrigation Statistics in West Bengal', appeared in the issue of July 7, 2001.]

in West Bengal, 1950 to 1996 Vikas Rawal Madhura Swaminathan This paper examines the record of agricultural growth in West Bengal over the last 50 years. What is interesting and remarkable about the West Bengal experience is that acceleration in growth occurred during and after major changes in agrarian institutions and land relations. This experience underlines the importance of changes in agrarian structure and agrarian reform for economic growth in a backward agrarian economy.