Session 4B on Day 3 (November 8, 2025) of the International Conference on Agrarian Change was chaired by Ritu Dewan (President, Indian Society of Labour Economics; Visiting Professor, Institute of Human Development). It featured presentations by Himanshu (Associate Professor, Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, School of Social Sciences, JNU), Mariam Dhawale (General Secretary, All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA)), Ruchira Bhattacharya (Assistant Professor, National Institute of Rural Development), and Jiju P. Alex (Member, Kerala State Planning Board).

The session explored recent debates on rural poverty and well-being, the expanding reach and implications of microfinance for women, comparative poverty reduction strategies from Southeast Asia, and Kerala’s multidimensional approach to extreme poverty eradication. Discussions highlighted persistent rural distress, the role of public credit and social protection, and the need for coordinated, inclusive policy frameworks to address structural vulnerabilities.