-The Hindu Blames ‘fake’ online messages for the panic The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that the 21-day national lockdown was “inevitable” in the face of an “unprecedented global crisis” like COVID-19. The government blamed “fake and misleading” messages on social media about COVID-19 for creating widespread panic, which led to mass “barefoot” journey of migrant workers from cities to their native villages. Please click here to...
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It’s time to end monopoly of APMCs; food majors should be encouraged to procure directly -Rajalakshmi Nirmal
-The Hindu Business Line If mandi boards surpass the agent network and support trade, farmers will stand to benefit immensely This could be the right time for the Centre to nudge States to make their Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMCs) play a more active role in primary market trade. If the private sector engages in direct procurement from farmers now, the crowding in mandis can be checked effectively. This is imperative in maintaining...
More »Coping with coronavirus: Big challenge for India’s 37%— ‘internal migrants’ -Seema Chishti
-The Indian Express Jagdish (22), from Madhya Pradesh, does a mason’s work and is worried that even if the contractor gives money, that would be a loan, not relief. “It would be a very big government school when built,” says Kaushalendra Trivedi (45), a recent migrant from Gorakhpur, employed as a guard in Uttam Nagar in the national capital’s Rajkiya Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya. His family is five kilometres away in a makeshift...
More »A long walk home for 30,000 tribal workers in MP -Sidharth Yadav
-The Hindu Many others from Jhabua are stranded in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra Bhopal: Trudging tens of miles, switching transport four times and halting for nights at three cities, Lakhan Adivasi made it home in Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh on Thursday morning. “It was the longest ride back. We didn’t have much to eat, but we had to return to the safety of our home somehow,” says Mr. Lakhan, a construction worker...
More »Rs 1.7 lakh crore Covid-19 package: Many who have been hit still left out, relief too little -P Vaidyanathan Iyer
-The Indian Express The central government’s package, as it is, comes a week after Kerala first announced a Rs 20,000-crore support for its people. Many states including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Telangana and Rajasthan followed suit. The Rs 1.7 lakh crore economic package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for the vulnerable sections — farmers, women, construction workers, senior citizens, widows and the disabled — is less than 1 per cent of...
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