Editorial

The term ‘farm distress’ is always close at hand in any discussion about Indian agriculture, which accounts for about 18% of the country’s GDP and employs more than 40% of its workforce. There are positives here for sure: the farming sector has averaged 5% annual growth since 2017; foodgrain output has reached record highs; exports exceed $50 billion a year; and we are a global leader in the production of milk, pulses and spices. On the downside, Indian agriculture faces a range of challenges, from water scarcity and climate change to fragmented land holdings and falling incomes.

 Small and marginal farmers are the worst hit by these weaknesses, and that’s the constituency the Tata Trusts have been concentrating on with their endeavours to help enable the agriculture sector. Roughly 85% of our farmers are classified as small and marginal, which means they possess less than 2 hectares of land. They need technology, they need water resilience, they need links to markets, they need allies in the battle against climate change, they need modern farming know-how, and they need friends. Our cover story illustrates how the Trusts are working to fulfil these needs through a variety of programmes in different states.

 This edition of Horizons also features stories on a comprehensive water security initiative in Rajasthan that has benefitted 20,000-plus households, a skilling push to provide jobs in the textiles hub of Tirupur in Tamil Nadu, and an effort to support villagers left homeless by the cloudburst that ravaged Himachal Pradesh in 2023. Our showcase section — where images do the storytelling — is about an extensive livelihood project in the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland, and the difference this has been making for those in its comforting embrace.

 In the realm of perspectives, analyses and ideas, we have social development expert Gita Sen explaining the appalling reality of gender inequality in India — and what we can do to stem it. Then there’s Dr Mammen Chandy, former head of the Tata Medical Center, Kolkata, blending the personal and professional in a close look at the ‘emperor of all maladies’. Not least, there’s Maja Daruwala and Valay Singh on the India Justice Report, 2025, a remarkable attempt to track and treat the country’s justice delivery system.

Christabelle Noronha

We hope you will help us make Horizons better with your valuable feedback. Please do write to us at horizons@tatatrusts.org.