On March 1, 2026, the Foundation for Agrarian Studies (FAS) conducted a one-day workshop in Bengaluru to discuss potential changes to the existing household survey questionnaire used under its village studies programme, Project on Agrarian Relations in India (PARI). The workshop focused on two key objectives: (i) identifying additional variables that need to be included to capture the context of changing contemporary rural India and (ii) reviewing variables in the questionnaire that are rarely used and/or may no longer be relevant for analysis. The workshop was attended by the FAS team and subject matter experts, including Sandipan Baksi (Director, FAS), Ranjini Basu (Assistant Professor, School of Economics and Public Policy, RV University), Arindam Das (Joint-Director, FAS), Niladri Sekhar Dhar (Associate Professor, Bihar Institute of Public Finance and Policy), Ritam Dutta (Senior Research Fellow, Indian Statistical Institute and PhD Scholar, University of Madras), Shruti Jain (Intern, FAS), Deepak Johnson (Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, CHRIST University), Sai Chandan Kotu (Senior Research Assistant, FAS), Tapas Modak (Joint-Director, FAS), P. C. Mohanan (Chairperson, Kerala State Statistical Commission), Kunal Munjal (Senior Research Fellow, Indian Statistical Institute and PhD Scholar, IIT Hyderabad), Mrityunjay Pandey (Research Consultant, National Centre for Good Governance), V. K. Ramachandran (Trustee, FAS), Dona Safui (Senior Research Assistant, FAS), Shamsher Singh (Assistant Professor, Sociology, FLAME University), V. Surjit (Associate Professor and Head, Centre for Agrarian Studies, National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj), Madhura Swaminathan (Trustee, FAS), Harshan T. P. (Associate Research Fellow, FAS), and Sethu C. A. (Senior Research Assistant, FAS). The programme schedule of the workshop is provided below.

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Programme Schedule 10.00 to 10.15            Introductory Remarks by V.K. Ramachandran and Sandipan Baksi 10:15 to 13.30            Committee-wise Presentation and Discussion 10:15 to 10.45            Land and Tenancy by Mrityunjay Pandey, Ranjini Basu, and Sethu C.A 10.45 to 11.00            Tea Break 11.00 to 11.40            Farm Business Income by V. Surjit, Deepak Johnson, and Kunal Munjal 11.40 to 12.20            Employment and Migration by Niladri Sekhar Dhar and Sai Chandan Kotu 12.20 to 12.50            Household Income by Madhura Swaminathan and Tapas Modak 12.50 to 13.10            Credit and Indebtedness by Madhura Swaminathan and Ritam Dutta 13.10 to 13.30            Asset and Amenities by Shamsher Singh and Harshan T.P 13.30 to 14.30            Lunch Break 14.30 to 15.00            Committee-wise Break-out Session 15.00 to 15.45             Open Discussion  15.45 to 16.00             Concluding Remarks and Vote of Thanks  16.00 to 16.30             Tea

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During the workshop, six sub-committees were formed, each assigned to review a specific block of the existing questionnaire. Each sub-committee proposed revisions to its respective section, which were then discussed in detail in plenary sessions with the FAS team and subject matter experts. The feedback and suggestions emerging from these discussions will be instrumental in revising the questionnaire. Here are a few glimpses from the visit…