-Down to Earth Increasing budgetary allocations towards Rural Employment Guarantee Act is non-negotiable   The agriculture sector has continued to serve as a lifeline at a time when the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has hurt every economic activity in an unprecedented manner. It has not only ensured food supply but also provided livelihoods to daily-wage workers during the lockdown, providing the last resort for those rendered homeless. The Union Budget 2021-2022 to...

-The Hindu Without regulation, the situation could spiral out of control Recently, a professor at a business school allegedly misused his faculty position to provide fake certificates to students whom he had compelled to attend an online course that he taught. He essentially took advantage of India’s rising pre-pandemic gig economy in education. When authorities at the institution discovered the racket, they suspended him. This is a cautionary tale for the global...

-Newsclick.in ‘In fact, this is a common practice adopted by majority of builders/developers which is basically an unfair trade practice,’ the NCDRC had said in its order. In a significant victory for home-buyers the Supreme Court dismissed a builder’s appeal on January 12 and upheld the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission’s (NCDRC) ruling in favour of a home-buyer. It had held that the builder’s demand for more money over the contractual sale,...

-The Indian Express Before the storm begins to take a turn for the worse or begins to ebb, it is time also for the farmers to reassess and seek positive concessions, because at the end of the agitation, no one would want a status quo ante, that is inevitable otherwise. “Unfortunately, the clock is ticking, the hours are going by. The past increases, the future recedes. Possibilities decreasing, regrets mounting,” Haruki Murakami’s...

-The Hindu It is not just domestic firms that are potential beneficiaries of the new farm laws; foreign agribusinesses are a danger too The farmers’ movement for the repeal of the three farm laws which affect them closely but have been rammed through without consulting them, has now entered its second month. It is of historic significance. It is not just about minimum support prices but also about the survival of the...