-Caravan Magazine “It was like hitting hard at the bird’s nest with a stone,” said P Somu, a Dalit migrant labourer, who travelled from Mudigubba manDal of Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh to Cochin to work. He said, “It’s the same feeling I got after I was cheated by [the agro-based retail conglomerate] AgriGold. I had sold the cow and calf I loved.” When I met Somu on 12 November 2016,...

-TheWire.in As the unorganised sector continues suffering, civil society members, bankers and politicians remain sceptical of demonetisation’s impact on black money. It is no secret that India’s informal sector, a largely cash-based economy, has taken a big hit because of demonetisation. While the government insists that the suffering is only temporary and worth it for cracking down on black money, several representatives from the unorganised sector are presenting a starkly different account...

-Hindustan Times Lucknow: Life has been a story of setbacks for Sarju Devi, a resident of Maurawa road in Mohanlalganj, but she is a fighter. The woman in her late 60s has faced struggle – be it at the time when she lost her husband, or when her young son was diagnosed with last-stage-abdominal cancer. But what happened on Tuesday left her crestfallen. On the day, Sarju couldn’t control her emotions when...

-The Financial Express There is by now substantial agreement amongst analysts that a strategy for Dal production which ensures supplies and a reasonable degree of self-reliance is sorely needed, and the country cannot go from one crisis to another without a well-worked-out policy. However, the discussion is flawed on its assessments of what governments can and cannot do and on the lack of a short and medium strategy to enhance production....

-The Hindu ‘Merchants say they have no cash. They offer low prices [for the paddy crop], which is unviable.’ BARABANKI (Uttar Pradesh): The little makeshift kiosks that dot Baruwanarendrapur’s rustic landscape, supplying it rations and other daily items, have not opened since November 9. The next nearest supply point is at Ramnagar Kasba, a good 10 km away, entailing an excruciating wait at the railway crossing on the route. Holi Gautam, a Dalit...