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The share of women farmers in agriculture has increased from 57 percent in 2017-2018 to 64.4 percent in 2023-24 in India. However, the farm equipment they are expected to use is usually designed keeping men’s bodies as standards in terms of their body dimensions, strength and working posture. This often works out to be inconvenient and problematic for women who have a different physique.
The Government of Odisha has taken the first step to deal with this issue and has put in place a policy that lays down protocols for women-centric ergonomic testing for all machines that are provided through government programs. The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) was finalised on November 4, 2025, at an expert committee meeting.
A pilot study was carried out under the Shree Anna Abhiyan (formerly Odisha Millets Mission) in five districts namely, Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Koraput, Nuapada, and Gajapati. Field trials on machinery and implements related to the millet-based cropping system were conducted and testing was carried out in the field by involving women farmers. Prototype machines were developed, refined, and recommended for mass production and distribution by local manufacturers. The machinery tested included weeders, threshers, sprayers, etc.
A new SOP for testing farm equipment for women was developed by combining field insights from pilot projects with research from the All India Coordinated Research Project on Ergonomics and Safety. Experts from Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, ICAR, testing institutions, and social scientists contributed to its design.
The SOP will now be used to test both existing and newly developed tools for women farmers. The Department of Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment, Government of Odisha, will lead the testing process as the nodal agency (Down To Earth).
While India had a cold storage scheme in 2008, farmers received little help due to lack of affordable and reliable infrastructure leading to post harvest losses due to higher costs on transport. However, new solar powered cold storage systems are proving to be game changers as they have been found to reduce transportation costs through on-site storage, and improve incomes.
Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) in have made this possible by playing a key role in the adoption of cold storage through models that make owning, leasing, or sharing affordable for farmers. Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra lead in adoption of this pay-as-you-use system implemented through FPOs.
Andhra Pradesh leads in the number of active farmer organisations who employ farmgate-level cold rooms as part of their operations. These facilities help maintain the quality and freshness of farm produce during storage, reducing post-harvest losses and improving market readiness.
The Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of public sector utilities under the Ministry of Power, has also launched decentralised solar-powered cold storage units with a capacity of 5–10 MT to support smallholder and marginal farmers. Government subsidies, accessible loans, and falling solar panel prices are making these affordable for smallholders.
Thus decentralised renewable energy can play an important role in strengthening livelihoods and reduce emissions, but will require stronger policy, better financing, and increased awareness (Mongabay, India).
Telangana has emerged as the top performer among states and UTs in construction of water conservation structures in the first-ever Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari (JSJB) Awards that were conferred on November 18, 2025 this year. Telangana topped the list with the construction of 5.2 lakh water conservation structures under JSJB 1.0 initiative, followed by Chhattisgarh (4.05 lakh) and Rajasthan (3.64 lakh).
As part of a nationwide effort to boost groundwater recharge, states have been grouped into five zones and districts are encouraged to build at least 10,000 artificial recharge and storage structures. For northeastern and hilly districts, the target is 3,000 structures, while municipal corporations are also expected to build 10,000 each. These structures include rooftop rainwater harvesting systems and rejuvenated lakes, ponds, and stepwells.
Hundred awards were announced this year to recognise outstanding efforts. These included three top-performing states, sixty seven districts, six municipal corporations, one urban local body, two partner ministries/departments, two industries, three NGOs, two philanthropists and fourteen nodal officers. Selections were based on verified data uploaded to the Jal Shakti Jan Bhagidari (JSJB) portal, ensuring transparency and impact. Award winners were selected based on verified data uploaded on the JSJB portal (The Indian Express).
The Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), Kerala has obtained a national patent for a new machine learning-based technology that can accurately extract rainfall information from atmospheric radar signals. The innovative technology has been developed at the University’s Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research (ACARR) and will change the way in which the weather has been observed, analysed and predicted in the context of the recent rise in floods and extreme monsoon events in the state.
The new system uses advanced signal processing and merges it with artificial intelligence that helps in separating echoes from falling raindrops and those generated by atmospheric turbulence. This can prove to be crucial in tropical regions like Kerala, where radar signals often get contaminated by this overlap, leading to inaccurate rainfall and wind measurements. The technique builds on more than a decade of radar-based atmospheric research at CUSAT (Down To Earth).
A new multi-country study has found that dengue is spreading beyond its traditional tropical and low-income zones, driven by rising global temperatures and humidity levels. Warmer temperatures create ideal conditions for Aedes mosquitoes to breed and transmit the virus. Humidity boosts mosquito hatching, survival, and biting frequency. Even small temperature shifts can significantly increase transmission risk.
The study analysed data from 21 countries across Southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and South America and predicted that dengue cases could more than double by 2050 in these regions, affecting over 260 million people. Hundred to four hundred million infections occur each year globally and nearly half the world’s population is now at risk as dengue is increasingly being reported in temperate and urban regions, including areas previously considered low-risk. India remains one of the 30 most highly endemic countries in the world (Mongabay, India).
This is a roundup of important news updates from !st November 2025 to 15th November 2025. Read our policy updates here.