-The Indian Express The crop in a well-marked plot of this field is, then, harvested, threshed, winnowed and weighed. If the produce contains moisture, it has to be dried first before weighing. Crop cutting experiments (CCE) have traditionally been conducted to obtain reliable average yield rates for estimation of agricultural production. These are mostly done by district/subdivision-level officials from the revenue, economics and statistics or agriculture departments of the concerned State Governments....

-The Indian Express Death penalty for sexual offences against children is misconceived. Ordinance is doomed to fail Reactionary law reform has always been an easy way for governments to appear tough on crime, and the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018 is no different. It betrays a lack of thought on the likely impact, and only serves to endanger the lives of future victims. The five state reports of the Centre for Child and...

-Down to Earth More than creating financial crunch for upcoming sowing season, cash crunch is impacting the prices at which farmers are selling their produce While the Union government is promising that cash crunch in the market would end soon, the farmers have already started feeling the pinch badly. The fears of demonetisation have come back for them. They are in soup because not only is this the harvest season, but also...

-The Indian Express Curbing stubble burning is about inducing behavioural changes in farmers. Given that crop residue burning has an environmental footprint and poses health hazards, one needs to be cautious while evaluating the Centre’s policy to mitigate the crisis. But there is also an urgent need for such an evaluation. The Centre has allocated Rs 1,050 crore to the states where crop residue burning poses a pollution hazard. The Union Ministry...

-The Indian Express An ordinance to overturn the Supreme Court order on SC/ST Atrocities Act is much needed The controversial judgment on the SC/ST Atrocities Act has yet again brought to the foreground the faultlines of our democracy. A cornered government, anticipating political repercussions, has moved the apex court for a review of the judgment. In its written submissions, it has stated that the judgment has created disharmony in society and violated...