Insights, a blog published by IMPRI.
Coconut occupies a distinctive position in India’s agricultural economy. Often associated with coastal livelihoods, the crop supports farmers, processors, traders and a wide range of downstream industries. Its economic significance extends beyond the sale of fresh coconuts to products such as coconut oil, coconut water, milk, virgin coconut oil, desiccated coconut, activated carbon and coir-based products.
Angela Rajeev Background The ‘Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS)’ is the largest facet of the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) and has been run by the Ministry of Rural Development since 1995 (Ministry of Rural Development, 2025).…
The Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme, 2024 was introduced by the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget 2024-25 held on 23 July 2024. The Scheme was later put into law through Chapter IV which contains Sections 88 to 99 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024. The rules and forms for this scheme were issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes on 20 September 2024, and it came into force on 1 October 2024. As per Circular No. 19 of 2024 of CBDT, the objective of this Scheme is to bring down the pendency of cases relating to income tax, faster realization of revenue for the government and providing relief to taxpayers from protracted legal process (Central Board of Direct Taxes, 2024).
India's education system presents a paradox. On paper, the country has achieved near-universal access to schooling, with government data showing a Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) of almost 100% at the primary level (UDISE+, 2022). Nearly every child of primary school age is enrolled in a classroom somewhere.
Jammu and Kashmir's handicraft sector combines household-based production, specialised craft skills and a large network of small artisans. The sector includes carpets, Pashmina, Kani and Sozni shawls, papier-mâché, walnut wood carving, Khatamband, embroidery and several regional crafts. According to the J&K Economic Survey 2025-26, the Handicrafts and Handloom sector provides livelihoods to approximately 4.45 lakh artisans. The same survey reports 6,969 registered cooperative societies supporting these artisans and 634 training centres offering one-year and two-year programmes. Around 6,000-7,000 trainees complete these wider training programmes each year.
India’s ports are critical to its trade competitiveness, handling nearly 95% of the country’s trade by volume and around 70% by value. Beyond facilitating imports and exports, port efficiency affects the cost, speed and reliability of entire supply chains, influencing India’s ability to integrate into global value chains.
Over the past decade and more, the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) has evolved from a standalone climate-adaptation-focused mission into part of India's agricultural policy framework. NMSA was launched as one of the eight missions of the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) with the objective of making Indian agriculture more productive, remunerative and resilient to climate variability, especially in the face of the huge rainfed agriculture base in India. The article describes the institutional journey of NMSA from 2014–2026 and evaluates their key initiatives: Rainfed Area Development, Per Drop More Crop, Soil Health Management and the National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture programme; along with measured outcomes of the mission, and the structural constraints that remain, most prominently, lack of funding at the last mile and underfunding.