-The Hindu Food security and farmer welfare are intertwined It is ironic that it took a devastating pandemic to force the government’s hand for long-overdue agrarian reforms. Amendments have been made to the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. The Finance Minister has urged States to dismantle the Agricultural Produce Market Committees. Several long-term changes have been made to the agricultural sector, such as fair pricing and e-trading, along with liquidity measures. The Centre...
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India’s three new agricultural ordinances will weaken state finances – and shortchange farmers -Narasimha Reddy Donthi
-Scroll.in The Central government has thrown its weight behind traders, investors and corporations. Three ordinances approved at a cabinet meeting on June 3 were hailed as Landmark decisions that would benefit Indian farmers and transform the agricultural sector. One of these, the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, amends the existing act to remove all agricultural commodities from the list of essential commodities. The government assumes that “the freedom to produce, hold, move, distribute...
More »Why Cash Transfers Cannot Replace Structural Reforms In Agriculture -Padmini Ramesh
-IndiaSpend.com New Delhi: With the launch of the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana (RGKNY) on May 21, 2020, Chhattisgarh became the sixth Indian state in two years to initiate a direct cash transfer scheme for farmers. The scheme aims to supplement the income of the state’s 1.9 million farmers by Rs 10,000-Rs 13,000 per acre of Land owned. Cash transfers for COVID-19 relief and stimulus are also gaining salience, with the Centre...
More »Lockdown further impoverishes those who were living on the edges of existence even during normal times, finds a new report
A recent survey that was conducted through telephonic interviews among 1,405 respondents across the states of Delhi-NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Rajasthan and Jharkhand reveals the precarious conditions of workers nearly 45 days after the announcement of COVID-19 lockdown. The report entitled Labouring Lives: Hunger, Precarity and Despair amid Lockdown tries to understand the extent (and depth) of job loss and hunger 45 days after the lockdown. Hunger and...
More »Contours of post-Covid economy suggest a new framework of employment -Ashish Kundra
-The Indian Express The current crisis should force a discussion on the levels of social protection which should be available to gig workers including wage protection, health benefits and safety assurance. COVID-19 has induced a domino effect in the global job market. A few days ago, a strange message Landed in my LinkedIn inbox: Desperation was written all over the poignant plea for a job opening. Jobless since March, with an aged...
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