Girija Shankar graduated in Agriculture Rural and Tribal Development from Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University in 2016 and joined the Tata Institute of Social Sciences for post-graduate degree in Development Policy Planning and Practices with Rural Planning as a Special interest. He did his field work in the villages of Jharkhand, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra and, as a part of his post-graduate curriculum, worked as a research assistant in a project titled “The emerging trend of formal to informal outsourcing – A study of textile industry in Maharashtra” funded by the Goa Institute of Management. He also interned with the Foundation for Ecological Security (FES).
Research :
As a Public Policy Scholar, Girija will study the working of Farmer Producer Companies in Osamanabad, Maharashtra. Agriculture and allied activity have always been a traditional source of income for the farmer and 60 per cent of our population is dependent on agriculture for a living. The recent drop in the share of agriculture in the overall GDP has increased the vulnerability of this section and despite continuing and multiple efforts by the Government and the private sector. The Farmer Producer Company was conceived as an initiative aimed at empowering the farmer but the project has been hamstrung by political and other constraints. He chose the Farmer Producer Company as a subject for his research in the expectation that the outcome will help in policy modifications in favour of the farmer.
Read Policy Report No. 27 here:Farmer Producer Companies: Preliminary Studies on Efficiency and Equity from Maharashtra.
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