-Firstpost.com Farmers across India are sceptical about the promised benefits of the minimum support price (MSP) promised by the government for their kharif crop. In a press release, the government announced that the MSP would be set at 50 percent over the cost of production and vowed to double farmers’ incomes by 2022. As Amrinder Singh Punia, a farmer and general secretary of the Punjab Agricultural University Kisan Club, points out, “Government...

-The Hindu Business Line By converting a necessity into a virtue, the government has decided to release the large inventory of procured pulses to different States at a discounted rate for utilisation in various welfare programs. Necessity because the stocks continue to occupy scarce warehousing space and incur huge carrying costs. Also, the Centre thinks, warehousing space may be needed during the upcoming kharif harvest less than six weeks away; and of course,...

-The Hindu FSSAI’s The Eat Right Movement seeks to push manufacturers and consumers towards healthier choices The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) recently started The Eat Right Movement, a nationwide campaign to improve public health and push the food industry to produce healthier choices. Thirty companies, including 18 packaged food companies, have signed various associations with the regulator to bring down salt, sugar and trans fat content in their...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: The choice of six Institutes of Eminence—three each in the public and private domains—has sparked controversy, particularly over one of them, but how did the committee arrive at its picks—and so quickly? Did the Empowered Expert Committee (EEC) that assessed all 113 eligible institutes follow selection guidelines to the letter? A close examination of the process followed suggests perhaps not. On the other hand, EEC chairman...

-Livemint.com The ratio of currency in circulation as share of broad money is back at pre-demonetisation levels, according to Reserve Bank of India data On 8 November 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the “demonetisation” of high-value currency notes. When it became clear the ex ante goals of reducing corruption and black money were unlikely to succeed, attention shifted to a range of possible ex post facto rationales for the move. Numerous...