Articles by Sunil Ray

The socialisation of private costs under the private enterprise system causes a metabolic rift between humans and nature. Over time this rift leads to economic inequality and degradation of natural resources, though these social costs remain unaccounted for. Global capital continues to shift the cost of its reproduction to the developing countries and the resulting economic crisis is not merely a systemic one - beyond a limit, this inequality gives rise to a culture of alienation, breaking down social cohesion, and culminating in an institutional crisis.

No alternative to rainwater harvesting may be available for ensuring rural livelihood in a state like Rajasthan that faces frequent droughts. But it is imperative to examine whether these traditional methods lead to uneven recharge of groundwater between the upstream and downstream. This paper analyses the status of groundwater availability in three villages of Alwar district, which are located in the upstream and downstream of the Arwari basin, where a large number of communities have constructed numerous rainwater harvesting structures.

The khadi institutions in Rajasthan have neither been able to stand the test of cost efficiency not make any significant contribution to employment and income generation for the artisan households. The root cause for this failure is lack of demand limiting the market for their woollen products. There is a need to revamp the existing production paradigm which, since it tacks correspondence with commercial viability, competitive rationale and the spirit of self-sufficiency, has pushed demand and marketability aspects of woollen khadi products to the periphery, 'KHADI' continues to be one of the largest forms of organised intervention of the government of India to generate rural employment and income. It insulates a techno- economically viable process of production in small and rural-industrial households [Ray 1991], Although the process has been nurtured since the Second Five-Year Plan (1956-61), importance has been attached to it especially after the economy was opened to the forces of liberalisation. The. apprehension is that increase in the incidence of unemployment would be the immediate fallout of the global integration of the economy. The remedy sought is through invigorating the rural non-farm sector, the industrial component of which fails largely under the purview of the khadi sector, with renewed emphasis. Tall claims are made by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC). the apex organisation, about its achievements, and a huge sum of money is allocated by the central government in each successive plan to continue the same 'production paradigm' in the hope that such an organised intervention would eventually stand the test of being one of the most dependable instruments in generating employment and income for the rural poor. The present paper evaluates how efficiently and to what extent khadi institutions are able to achieve these objectives, and analyses the causes of the vicious circle of impoverisation the institutions are beset with.

An Analysis of Wool Markets of Rajasthan Sunil Ray The marketing of raw wool in Rajasthan is embedded in multiple exchange relations. Conventions, contractual interlinkages and asymmetry of information are the rules which dictate the process of price formation of raw wool. This continues to happen in spite of government interventions which sought to make changes in the exchange structure by means of controlling the behaviour in the market place.