-The Indian Express In Jharkhand and Bihar, the food crisis triggered by the Lockdown has put a spotlight on an old problem — leakages and corruption in the the Public Distribution System. Patna, Ranchi: Earlier this week, Jharkhand’s grievance helpline 181 received four calls from Palamu on a single day. All the callers had a similar complaint: though the state had promised 70 kg rice in April, their ration dealer in Medininagar...

-Down to Earth Communication between migrant workers, their family members has come to a standstill April 14 usually marks the traditional new year for many communities in India. This year, amid muted celebrations, the Union government launched a system to connect thousands of schools online. This when thousands of migrant workers didn’t have enough money to talk on their phones. Welcome to India’s digital divide — the new, improved post-COVID-19 Lockdown version. Amid talks...

-The Indian Express According to sources, the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED), which comes under administrative control of the Agriculture Ministry, has been tasked with ensuring supply of pulses from the buffer stocks it maintains. Announced as part of the COVID-19 relief package about a month ago, free pulses — 1 kg per family — to beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) are yet to reach...

-Scroll.in The Nobel laureate said people needed reassurance and that the administration had to be ‘proactive’ in doing so. Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee on Friday said India has not done “anything close to enough” to provide relief to the poor, who have been adversely impacted by the countrywide Lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus. In an interview to BBC, Banerjee said the Indian government needs to think of a “clear,...

-Livemint.com * India’s cattle are on an enforced diet, milk’s value is on the slide and chicken farmers are in deep despair * The livestock sector contributes 30% to India’s agricultural GDP and is valued at over ₹9 trillion. Yet, during the Lockdown, policy and remedial interventions have largely focused on crops NEW DELHI: Shravan Kumar Yadav often wakes up in the middle of the night these days. The incessant mooing and grunting...