-PTI/ The Hindu Health Ministry writes to Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir The Union Health Ministry on Wednesday asked Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir to undertake a review of the rising COVID-19 case numbers and weekly positivity rates, and enhance testing. In letters to the Himachal Pradesh Health Secretary, Andhra Pradesh Principal Secretary of Health and the Jammu and Kashmir Additional Chief Secretary of Health, Arti Ahuja,...

One is almost certain to hear this from an economist that if something is available at free of cost or at a subsidised rate thanks to government intervention, then people tend to overuse or overconsume such goods/ commodities. So, the best solution is to create a market for such 'almost freely available' or 'highly subsidised' goods or commodities. Once people start paying to use or consume such goods/ commodities, they...

-The Hindu Average precipitation tendency has been decreasing, especially the monsoon rains: IMD official Chandigarh: The hill state of Himachal Pradesh has been gradually witnessing lesser snow in the past decade and the area under the snow is also decreasing. The trend triggered by climate change has alarmed environmentalists, considering the importance of seasonal snow cover as a major input in controlling the hydrology of the river basins in the ecological fragile...

-Outlook India Women farmers in Himachal Pradesh are pioneering new all-natural farming techniques under the state government's 'Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF)' drive. 50-year-old Satya Devi practised her traditional farm operations using chemicals, sprays, fertilizers and pesticides. But despite using the best marketing practices. She wasn’t able to make much money or save due to high farm input costs. In 2018, Satya Devi switched over to Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF)—a drive launched...

The newly released Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households and Land and Livestock Holdings of Households in Rural India (NSS 77th Round) establishes the fact that the farm households are more and more relying on wage incomes instead of 'net incomes from crop cultivation' for their livelihoods. In Marxian lexicon, proletarisation (a term that we can loosely use for depeasantisation) refers to the process in which the farmers/ tillers are...