-The Hindu Jaipur: The Congress government in Rajasthan has initiated action to BRIng the concurrent social audits of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act’s (MGNREGA) works at village panchayats in line with the annual village plans. A target has been set to complete the exercise by January 26. Chief Secretary Niranjan Arya said here on Wednesday that socially excluded groups would be included in the planning process, with the emphasis...

-The Indian Express India started the calendar year by recording the slowest GDP growth rate in six years and ended it by entering a technical recession. Here's how it all unfolded. Dear Readers, Right through the year, at ExplainSpeaking, we have strived to make sense of the most important developments in the Indian economy. As the year ends, here are the highlights from 2020 and five things to watch out for in 2021. The...

-Newsclick.in Eradication of the APMC-regulated mandi system and the entry of private players led the farming community to losing a favourable marketplace. Farmers were left with no option but to sell their produce to private procurers at throwaway prices. New Delhi: The nationwide protests against the three contentious Farm Laws enacted by the Centre has brought Bihar into focus. It is a state where new regulations for agricultural produce and its storage,...

-Hindustan Times The anti-CAA protests, the defiance of migrants, and now the farmers’ stir show that the everyday practice of democracy is a powerful corrective in the face of arbitrary and unilateral State decisions Three events defined India’s political landscape in 2020. The protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), the migrant labour crisis that unfolded as workers defied lockdown orders and asserted their rights, choosing to walk home in the face...

-Newsclick.in Farmers fear they will have to engage with big traders and agribusinesses on an unequal playing field where these giant corporations will be dictating the terms of engagement. Approved by the government of India in 1988, the Pepsi project was launched to initiate a second agricultural revolution in Punjab. The effects of the first agricultural revolution had faded. Yields of major crops were low. A joint venture among PepsiCo, Voltas and...