-Livemint.com Traditionally, public policy has tended to view Indian farmers as what is described in economic history as the “dumb peasant” Last week, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government launched a revamped crop insurance scheme. At first glance, the scheme, christened Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, looks mostly like a reworking of the risk cover already in place; actually, it is much more. Not only does it take a big step in de-risking...

-Livemint.com The most glaring implication of the proposed deficiency payments is that it makes the state give up its responsibility of intervening in markets During the past few months, there has been a highly contested debate on the merits, viability and feasibility of crop insurance in India given the large number of small farmers and the large amount of subsidy involved that is not being effectively used as the coverage of...

-The Hindu Hundreds of landless farmers, agricultural workers and labourers from across 20 States assembled at Jantar Mantar here on Tuesday under a joint platform ‘Bhumi Adhikar Andolan’ (Land Rights Movement) and observed December 15 (Forest Rights Day) as ‘Chetavni Divas’ — day of challenge and warning. Addressing a gathering, social activist Medha Patkar said the Forest Rights Act (FRA) was enacted in 2006, but successive governments have never taken efforts...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: Even as the Narendra Modi government is trying to formulate a politically acceptable Land Acquisition Bill, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has asked all state governments to submit their land acquisition legislations to check if they have built in adequate safeguards for Scheduled Tribes. The move comes after BJP-ruled Rajasthan government's legislation irked the commission. NCST has served a notice to Rajasthan government for deviating from...

-Livemint.com Sudha Bharadwaj fights for labour rights and is against land acquisition When Sudha Bharadwaj travels in Chhattisgarh, almost everyone recognizes her. She is what the locals would call a “woman of the people”. Bharadwaj, 54, is tall, with an unassuming demeanour. She has been living in the state for 29 years now, working as a trade unionist, a civil rights activist against land acquisition, and, more recently, as a lawyer. “If...