-TheWire.in Any reference to the term “slaughter” will be removed in the new version of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Market) Rules, 2017. New Delhi: Less than a year after the Centre banned the sale and purchase of ‘cattle’ from animal markets for slaughter, thus depriving farmers of any resale value for their cattle and leading to a spike in cow vigilantism, the Modi Government has decided to...

-The Hindu Encounter killings militate against the rule of law Cicero famously said, “We are in bondage to the law in order that we may be free.” John Adams said about the Massachusetts Constitution that it was intended to have a “Government of laws not of men”. The rule of law has rightly been argued to be part of the basic structure of the Indian Constitution. It is an unqualified human good....

-Livemint.com Farmer organizations in Gujarat plan a five-day protest in Gandhinagar next month over allocation of Narmada waters, crop insurance and minimum support price Ahmedabad: Farmer organizations in Gujarat plan to hold a five-day protest in Gandhinagar next month to voice concerns over the allocation of Narmada waters and demands on issues such as crop insurance and minimum support price. “Despite repeated written presentations to Gujarat Government, our issues have not been addressed....

-Livemint.com Linking MSPs to a multiple of costs and ignoring other dynamics, such as demand and global prices, risks creating distortions and disincentivizing productivity Government policymaking seems to be making a volte-face from supporting consumers (by keeping food inflation low), to supporting producers (by raising food prices). In the 2018-19 Union budget, the Government “decided to keep minimum support prices (MSP) for all unannounced crops of kharif at least at one-and-a-half times of...

-Firstpost.com/ The Ladies Finger “After all, what did the widows of farmers know about agriculture, crop management, bank loans, private debts, land documents, health bills, power connections, panchayat politics, children’s education? The short answer was – everything.” When farmers commit suicide in India – an occurrence so common that ‘farmer suicides’ is a phrase that’s become commonplace in newsrooms and policy spaces – their deaths are assessed and a compensation is given...