-The Hindu Farmer advocates not impressed by on-ground impact of budget announcements The Union Budget sent mixed signals to the tens of thousands of farmers who have been protesting on Delhi’s borders for the last two months, and the wider agricultural community. On the one hand, the budget allocation for the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare was slashed 8.5% in 2021-22. The flagship PM-KISAN scheme, meant to provide income support to...

-The Hindu The proposed construction of a mega financial-tourist complex on Little Andaman Island will place at risk a fragile ecosystem and result in habitat loss of the vulnerable Onge tribe and rare wildlife A plan for the sustainable and holistic development of the 680 sq km, fragile Little Andaman Island in the Andaman and Nicobar group has raised the alarm among conservationists. The ‘Sustainable Development of Little Andaman Island - Vision Document’,...

-The Hindu Unions to study proposal, return for talks on January 22. Farm union leaders will consider a proposal from the Central government to suspend the implementation of three contentious farm laws for the next one and a half years while a committee is formed to look into their demands. Union leaders said the Centre had also offered to submit an affidavit to the Supreme Court to this effect. They will discuss the...

-CaravanMagazine.in Upneet Lalli is the deputy director of the Institute of Correctional Administration in Chandigarh, a central government institution which imparts training to police officers and PRIson officers. A psychologist and legal expert by training, Lalli is the author of the book Human Rights in Indian PRIsons, among other works. As Indian politics places itself on the right of the ideological spectrum, some individuals who were members of right-wing organisations, have moved...

-The Hindu It claims the matter is sub judice. The Agriculture Ministry has denied a Right to Information (RTI) request for details on pre-legislative consultations on the farm reform laws, saying the matter is sub judice. In its response, the Ministry cited the clause from the RTI Act that exempts information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by a court of law or whose disclosure would amount to contempt of court. This...