Foreword
India’s economy has witnessed a significant economic growth in the recent past, growing to
7.3 per cent in FY 2015 as against 6.9 per cent in FY 2014. The size of the Indian economy
was estimated to be at US$ 2.01 trillion for the year 2014 as compared to US$ 1.84 trillion in
2013. This growth is powered by greater access to banking, technology adoption, urbanisation
and other structural reforms.
Numerous foreign companies are setting up their facilities in India on account of various
government initiatives likeMake in India andDigital India. TheMake in India initiative aims to
boost the manufacturing sector of the Indian economy. Currently, the manufacturing sector in
India contributes to over 15 per cent of the GDP. The Government of India—under the Make
in India initiative—is trying to give a boost to the contributions made by the manufacturing
sector and aims to take it up to 25 per cent of the GDP. This initiative is expected to increase
the purchasing power of an average Indian consumer, which would further boost demand and
hence, spur development. Besides this, the government has also come up with Digital India
initiative, which focuses on three core components: creation of digital infrastructure, delivering
services digitally and to increase the digital literacy. The
State of India’s Livelihoods
(SOIL)
Report
,
is about locating the impact of macroeconomic trends on the livelihoods of the poor.
Even as India continues to record fairly impressive growth rates, poverty remains widespread
and disparities entrenched. It is these complexities that the 2015 edition of the SOIL Report
tries to capture by exploring wide-ranging themes and the role of different actors in the context
of livelihoods of the poor.
The opening chapter namely ‘Overview: Taking Stock’, explores themacroeconomic context
of livelihoods which is seen to have improve gradually over the last two years or so. It also takes
stock of other aspects of livelihoods apart from income enhancement by tracking the HDI
and the progress onMillenniumDevelopment Goals. It looks at the significant changes in the
pattern of funding by state governments for supporting different projects and programmes,
resulting in key reductions to departments and programmes relating to livelihoods. It also
touches briefly on livelihoods in agriculture and allied sectors as well as wage employment.
Chapter 2 namely ‘Policy and Financing Framework for Livelihoods’, provides an
annual policy update centering the discussions around budget, policies, legislation and
programmes relating to livelihoods like the Land Acquisition Bill, National Food Security
Act, RRB Amendment Act and Labour Laws. Other developments such as the transitioning
of erstwhile Planning Commission to NITI Aayog, National Policy on Skill Development
and Entrepreneurship, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana and setting up of Price
Stabilisation Fund for Horticultural Crops are also touched upon.
Chapter 3, ‘Some Important Programmes in Livelihoods: Searching for Focus?’, examines
how some of the flagship programmes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme, National Rural Livelihoods Mission, National Urban
Livelihoods Mission and the Food Security Programme are designed, run and monitored.
Chapter 4, ‘Dairy-based Livelihoods’, provides a deep dive into the dairy sub-sector which
is a key livelihood for a large number of rural households.
Chapter 5 (‘Producer Companies’) carries forward the conceptual and systemic
underpinnings of producer companies in the Indian context covered in last year’s report
