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T he surge in COVID-19 cases in India has become the chief reason to worry about. Not just for the imminent risks of losing lives, but equally or perhaps more for losing livelihoods at a massive scale. Some experts are arguing that the likely toll claimed by the latter would surpass the former especially under the probability that the virus could linger on for quite some time in the fore- seeable future.

As India is primarily an agrarian economy supporting 60% of the population, reviving agriculture and allied sectors would be critical post COVID.

It was a sunny summer morning in 2017. Self Help Group (SHG) members of Jana[1] congregated beneath the tamarind tree, their usual meeting place. Some men also were sitting there and the SHG members were taking loan to purchase inorganic fertilizers and hybrid seeds. They were discussing whether they would go for the indigenous variety of crops that they had been growing in previous years.

As India enters into the 4th phase of lockdown, we are caught between the dilemma of savings lives or protecting livelihoods by keeping the economy open and running. The most marginalised, daily wage earners, unorganised labour class and those at the fringes of our society have been disproportionately affected. With the migrant labourers returning home with no cash or savings, village communities are stressed due to the loss of remittance income, and the added mouths to feed.

In the heart of eastern India, teenagers of the Santhal tribe begin to chronicle stories of their ancient cultural heritage using modern tools – DSLR cameras and the Internet.

About 480 SHGs made over 300,000 masks and about 450 litres of sanitizers were produced in a month. On an average, each woman has been earning Rs 5000 per month, and this is certainly more than whatever amount they were being able to earn to top up their main income

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has become an important driver of the rural economy in light of COVID-19 and the lockdown across the country. Yet, in most of the villages of Jaisinghnagar block, Shahdol, the work either did not start, or came to a standstill soon after.

The global crisis due to COVID-19 has affected India little later in March 2020, while WHO announced it as world emergency on last phase of January 2020. A complete lockdown after China war has been faced by 135 Crore Indians, from 24th March 2020 and within a span of 4 hours’ time everything came to a standstill.

Last August, the gram sabha of Jabarra village in Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh secured rights over 5,352 hectares forest. By focusing on ecotourism, this tribal village has attracted many tourists

After their agonizing experience in cities during the lockdown, migrant workers, in very large numbers, are back in their villages. Can the rural economy sustain them? Will they find ways of earning? The rural employment programme, MGNREGA, offers hope. But it remains to be seen whether in the current context it is the solution.