-TheWire.in "I think the fact that the whole [NSSO] exercise began with a fundamental premise of keeping it comparable, that has been forgotten." The fierce debate over India’s unemployment figures came to a head last week, when a jobs data report by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) was finally made public. This report has been a source of contention ever since two members of the National Statistical Commission (NSC)  resigned allegedly...

-TheWire.in Apple growers held demonetisation responsible for the problem, as agents do not pay them at the time of sale by claiming money is not in circulation. Shimla: Sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh are notorious for delaying paying the dues of sugarcane farmers by several months, and often even by years. Now, arthiyas (commission agents) in Himachal Pradesh have decided to compete with the sugar mills. Outstanding dues of apple growers in the...

-TheWire.in Veerpal Kaur, who lost her father and then husband to the growing spate of farmer suicides in Punjab, says neither the SAD-BJP alliance nor the Congress is addressing the issue. Dharamvir Singh was being considered, one thing played in their favour – both the bride and groom had lost their fathers, both farmers, to suicide. Kaur’s father drank poison in 1995 and Singh’s hanged himself in 1990. “That was what clinched it....

-Down to Earth Farmer organisations, companies say concerns not addressed The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India's (FSSAI's) organic food labelling policy has created an adverse reaction at the ground level. The idea was introduced on July 1, 2018 to support farmers and help consumers identify authentic organic produce, but labelling has pushed many farmers out of business. The certification process is tedious and costly, and the FSSAI implemented in despite farmer...

  The budgetary allocation for Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) as a proportion of total budgetary expenditure has been reduced marginally during the Interim Budget 2019-20. It may have happened because the coverage of gross cropped area under the scheme could not keep pace with the target that was set during the last two years. The Status of Implementation of Budget Announcements 2017-18, which was presented during the Union Budget 2018-19,...