In 2020, a lush orchard covering 36 acres in Bichara village, Jharkhand state, featured one hundred litchi trees, three hundred mahogany trees, and nine hundred mango trees. This land was leased by 43-year-old farmer Chaitanya Kumar Gandhu, who aimed to establish a long-term enterprise.
Every square meter of the land had been meticulously restored to create a thriving garden. However, just three years later, before the trees could mature, everything was destroyed by fire. To this day, Gandhu does not know who caused the fire.
After the tragedy, he could not receive insurance compensation because no police officer agreed to register a complaint. Gandhu told The Better India: 'I had neither insurance nor any documents to support my claim, and I returned home with nothing.'
His agricultural activities began much earlier. In 2015, he planned to start producing lacquer, but limited resources forced him to change his plans. Instead, he started planting hosta trees, including 1200 Indian jujubes, which also perished in the devastating fire.
Gandhu now views this fire as a turning point. Having lost vast territory, he was compelled to rethink his possibilities. In 2024, while exploring new prospects, he learned about central and state government efforts to promote cactus cultivation. Following advice from a friend who is an engineer, he decided to consider growing spineless cacti.
Gandhu was interested because cactus gardening was an entirely new venture for him. During his research, he discovered that natural leather could be produced from the species Opuntia ficus-indica, which is a spineless cactus. He noted that their local cactus has spines, while this one does not.
To learn more, Gandhu spent weeks researching online before contacting the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA). He saw in the cactus not just an experimental crop. Unlike lacquer production, which yields income only twice a year, the cactus offered a more stable source of earnings. With government support, he approached the ICARDA center in Amlake, Madhya Pradesh, to understand how to begin.
What impressed him most was the cactus's resilience. The spineless cactus requires minimal water, remains green even in hot summers, and grows well in poor soils. Since it lacks spines, it can also be used as nutritious fodder for livestock.
Having confirmed the crop's potential, Gandhu purchased 10,000 cactus cladodes from ICARDA at a price of 10 rupees per unit. In November 2024, he planted them on an area of 2.5 acres in Gamharia Jaltanda, becoming the first farmer in Jharkhand to cultivate spineless cactus on this scale.
Today, his nursery is capable of producing nearly two hundred thousand cactus saplings annually. He cultivates 25 different varieties. Among them, the varieties Oretha de Elefante Africana, IPA-90-73, Copena V1, Mexica Folder-1278, and Additional-1258, sourced from Brazil, have performed particularly well. Each yields about 10 cladodes per year, compared to two or three from many other varieties. Slower-growing varieties, he says, are better suited for research than commercial cultivation.
A solar pump is used for irrigation. In summer, plants are watered every five to six days due to the low soil quality, while in cooler months, watering once every 15 days is usually sufficient. Cow dung is applied twice a year.
What started as an experiment soon turned into a business opportunity. Gandhu explains: 'The saplings are essentially cladodes. When I received an order for 30,000 saplings, I started pruning the mother plants, making them shorter. I spoke with Dr. Neha, who advised growing them in polyethylene bags. From one cladode, I managed to grow six to eight new saplings and fulfill the entire order.'
Each sapling takes about four months to grow in a polyethylene bag. To meet demand, Gandhu hired about 60 women from nearby villages to assist with the preparation and care of the saplings, creating an additional source of income for them.
He notes that the economics of the process are encouraging. One cladode costs him about 10 rupees. From this single cladode, he can grow six saplings, which together sell for approximately 60 rupees. Even after accounting for labor, polyethylene bags, soil, irrigation, and four months of care, he makes a profit of about 25 rupees per cladode.
The first year was mainly dedicated to recovering investments. He spent about 3 lakh rupees on purchasing planting material and earned almost the same amount through sales. He says: 'We reached the break-even point. Now the real profit will begin.'
Only last year did he sell about 30,000 cladodes and saplings at 10 rupees each, including transportation costs.
The cactus also serves another function on his farm. 'I feed my goats with them. In the summer, when grass becomes scarce, the spineless cactus is a good source of nutrition because it contains a lot of protein,' he says.
Gandhu believes the timing for starting was ideal. The Government of India has designated spineless cactus cultivation as one of the priority areas under the Viksit Bharat concept. A project to cultivate nearly two hundred thousand cactus plants over 400 hectares across various districts is planned in Jharkhand.
For Gandhu, this could create a significant opportunity. He asks with a smile: 'If such projects need saplings, where will they get them?' His goal is to become one of the state's key suppliers. Based on the number of available cladodes, he estimates he can produce nearly four lakh saplings, creating a business worth almost 40 lakh rupees and providing employment for many rural women.
Gandhu's success has already begun to influence neighboring farmers. Last July, about 15 farmers from Ranian village, located about 40 km away in Khunti district, visited his farm after hearing about the cultivation of spineless cactus. They took saplings and started planting them on their own land.
These farmers participate in the state's initiative to promote cactus, launched in 2025, under which ICARDA supports producers with free planting material, fertilizers, and land preparation assistance. According to Gandhu, about 40% of the participating farmers have successfully established their plantations.
He notes that the department encourages farmers to form cactus producer associations. Even people visiting his farm often take 10 or 12 saplings to plant. Slowly, people are beginning to look at the cactus in a new light.
Most people associate cacti with decorative pots or desert landscapes. However, the spineless cactus possesses much greater agricultural potential. Cacti are generally classified into ornamental, fruit-bearing, and fodder types. Among these, the spineless cactus has become one of the most promising crops because it is easy to manage and multi-functional.
Researchers often describe it using the '5F' principle: food, fodder, fuel, fertilizer, and fashion. In addition to providing nutritious feed for livestock, it can contribute to biogas production, organic fertilizers, and even bioleather, opening up new opportunities for farmers.
Dr. Neha Tiwari, a National Scientist at ICARDA, states: 'The most suitable variety is Opuntia ficus-indica, widely known as nopal or spineless cactus.' She adds that it adapts well to India's agro-climatic conditions, including plateau regions like Jharkhand. It tolerates drought, temperature fluctuations, and poor soil, making it ideal for rainfed and degraded lands.
In field conditions, plants can reach heights of six or seven feet, depending on the variety and cultivation methods. Unlike seasonal crops, the cactus does not have a fixed maturity period. Nevertheless, farmers can start harvesting cladodes approximately 10-12 months after planting, once the plant has strengthened and formed four or five healthy cladodes.
For Gandhu, the spineless cactus is not just a profitable crop. He believes it can help farmers utilize degraded lands more efficiently and open up new income streams. He emphasizes: 'Our local cactus has no commercial value because of its spines. But the spineless cactus can change that.'
He adds that the soil conditions in Jharkhand are similar to those in parts of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal. If governments continue to promote it, many farmers could benefit.
Experts agree with this. According to Dr. Neha Tiwari, Opuntia ficus-indica is well-suited to Jharkhand's climate because it withstands drought, poor soil, and variable temperatures. Besides providing nutritious feed, the crop can be processed into biogas, organic fertilizer, and bioleather, and it can also contribute to carbon sequestration. Since it requires relatively little water and maintenance after rooting, researchers view it as a promising option for climate-resilient agriculture.
Initial investments are estimated at 80,000–1 lakh rupees per hectare, excluding fencing. However, since the crop remains productive for 15–20 years, long-term maintenance costs remain relatively low. For Gandhu, the biggest challenge is not cultivation, but market creation. He says: 'The biggest hurdle is finding buyers. Currently, most of the produce is sent to a processing plant in Uttar Pradesh. If there were a processing plant in Jharkhand itself, it would create jobs and increase farmers' income.'
Nevertheless, demand appears to be growing. ICARDA is collaborating with the Jharkhand government to promote spineless cactus cultivation by providing planting material and technical support. As more farmers adopt this crop and government projects expand, Gandhu hopes his nursery will become a key source of quality saplings across the state.
According to a Goldman Sachs report, generative artificial intelligence (Gen-AI) is capable of automating up to 17% of tasks performed by India's non-agricultural workforce. However, AI is more likely to enhance jobs rather than eliminate them. The bank estimates that nearly half of India's workers will be able to use AI as a productivity tool, while only 8–12% of jobs are at significant risk of replacement.
The investment bank forecasts that 42–48% of non-agricultural employment in India will likely be augmented by AI. The rest of the workforce, according to projections, will remain largely unaffected. Instead of causing mass job losses, Goldman Sachs expects AI to change how Indians work over the next decade by automating routine operations and directing workers toward more valuable activities.
Goldman Sachs estimates that AI could automate between 9% and 17% of all tasks performed by India's non-agricultural workforce, depending on the pace of technological development. Under a base case scenario, about 13–15% of tasks are subject to AI automation. The report focuses on tasks, not entire professions, suggesting that most occupations will combine operations that AI can perform with those that still require human judgment, creativity, or physical labor.
Santanu Sengupta, an economic analyst at Goldman Sachs, stated: 'We estimate that Gen-AI can perform 9–17% of tasks performed by India's non-agricultural workforce, depending on assumptions about the complexity level of the tasks it can perform. We further classify professions by the proportion of task content affected by Gen-AI: highly impacted professions are likely to face replacement, while those with moderate impact are likely to be augmented. Weighting these professions by employment across sectors, we estimate that 8–12% of non-agricultural employment is at risk of replacement, while 42–48% of non-agricultural employment is likely to be augmented, and the remainder will remain largely unaffected.'
Knowledge-based sectors stand to gain the most from AI. According to the report, education, healthcare, media, and financial and professional services show the highest susceptibility to AI influence, as employees in these fields spend most of their time analyzing information, creating content, and making decisions that AI can support.
In contrast, industries such as construction, manufacturing, and mining remain less susceptible because their work is more physical in nature. Sengupta added that 'the impact is concentrated in the service sector: healthcare, education, and financial and professional services appear more susceptible to AI augmentation through diagnostics and data analysis, while Business Process Services (BPS) supported by IT and postal/telecom services face a higher risk of replacement due to their focus on repetitive, codified tasks. Manufacturing is less directly affected due to the more physical nature of its tasks. An important note is that the adoption of Gen-AI, like in previous technological cycles, will also likely create new job categories over time, which is outside the scope of this report.'
The report identifies clerical support staff involved in paperwork as the profession most at risk of replacement, followed by some professional, technical, and customer service roles. Nevertheless, employment in manual trades, skilled crafts, and machine operation may increase, as such work remains difficult for AI to automate.
The report's forecast suggests that AI could boost India's labor productivity growth by approximately 0.4 percentage points annually over the next decade, with this increase potentially rising to 0.8 percentage points if AI capabilities improve faster than expected. The largest productivity gains are expected in the media, education, and healthcare sectors.
Despite concerns that AI might hit India's outsourcing industry, Goldman Sachs asserts that available data suggests otherwise. Although the six largest public IT service companies in India have downsized by approximately 64,000 employees, the broader technology ecosystem, including Global Capability Centers (GCCs), has added about 700,000 jobs over the past three years, bringing the total employed to 4.4 million. The report also notes that software service exports continue to exceed pre-pandemic trends.
The report argues that India's main challenge is infrastructure, not skills. Currently, India accounts for only about 1% of global data center capacity, compared to 47% in the US and 25% in China. Therefore, scaling AI adoption will require significant investment in computing infrastructure, power, and data centers.
In conclusion, the report emphasizes that 'infrastructure remains a key constraint. The proliferation of Gen-AI in India will depend not only on software capabilities but also on the availability of computing, data center construction, reliable power supply, water availability, and broader digital infrastructure. With India's current data center capacity of only about 1 GW (1% of global data center capacity), scaling AI adoption will require substantial investment in both physical and digital infrastructure.'
} ]Johnson & Johnson announced it is willing to pay $5.5 billion to settle lawsuits related to the use of talc. The company faces approximately 76,000 lawsuits in the United States.
For this agreement to take effect, approval from at least 95% of the individuals who filed complaints is required, following a litigation period that spanned 15 years. The pharmaceutical company reiterates its conviction that its product does not cause cancer and argues that the accusations lack scientific basis.
If the proposal is accepted, the first payment to plaintiffs would be made in 2027, totaling up to $3 billion, with the second payment occurring in 2028. Johnson & Johnson highlighted that this offer comes after a favorable decision by the Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) federal court and after plaintiffs' lawyers acknowledged the difficulty in proving that the product caused ovarian cancer in each complainant individually.
Erik Haas, Global Vice President of Litigation at Johnson & Johnson, stated that the court required the plaintiffs to prove why the remaining actions should not be dismissed. He reinforced the company's defense that such actions lack solid scientific foundation, being based only on unreliable expert opinions that would not withstand meticulous judicial review.
Haas mentioned that the day before, the court had ordered the plaintiffs to justify not dismissing the class action, especially after they withdrew experts in two crucial cases because they could not establish a link between cancer and the company's baby talc.
The Johnson & Johnson executive considered the court's determination to place the plaintiffs in an 'unsustainable' position, forcing them to present specific causality evidence to validate their claims. Furthermore, Haas pointed out that the allegations against the product are based on pseudoscience, something that has been refuted for decades by US regulatory agencies, scientific organizations, and independent experts.
Johnson & Johnson informed that this case represents progress in the process of resolving talc-related litigation. This progress includes the conclusion of about 95% of mesothelioma cases, all state consumer defense claims, and disputes with talc suppliers.
The first individual actions were filed in 2014, and in October 2016, the federal cases were consolidated into a multidistrict litigation located in New Jersey. The company also maintains active litigation in the United Kingdom, where it faces a class action lawsuit in the High Court of London brought by thousands of people alleging that the company's talc products caused cancer.
