Author Description

The State of India's Livelihoods Report (SOIL Report) is an annual publication that documents recent trends and challenges faced in the sphere of livelihoods promotion of the poor. It is one of the few annual documents that aggregates the experiences and challenges of the livelihoods sector, analyses case studies, and reports on policy paradigm, new initiatives, and evidence on results of both government and privately run programmes.The 2014 edition of the SOIL Report looks at the changes taking place in the sectors that are generating livelihood opportunities for the poor. Analysing the major patterns and shifts in policies and programmes that are impacting livelihoods of specific communities that suffer from social exclusion, marginalization, and multiple deprivations, it discusses important government policies centring around livelihoods promotion and protection and analyses the depth and width of two flagship poverty reduction programmes-the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme and the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (Aajeevika). It attempts to give a glimpse of growth of collective action fuelled by the growth of Farmers' Producers Organization and global experiences including the 'theory of change' and recommends possible improvements for greater effectiveness. The report also captures the new developments in the realm of Corporate Social Responsibility consequent to the introduction of a new policy and its implications on livelihoods promotion. It looks at the role of livelihoods finance to bridge the difference between Bharat and India. Most importantly, the report captures the gradual shift in policy direction with a new government in power at the centre.