-Press release by Mineral Inheritors Rights Association dated March 29, 2022 This is to urgently appeal for immediate release of Deme Oram and 21 other people who are still under arrest since yesterday and their location is still unknown. Yesterday (28th March) Deme Oram and 200 displaced villagers of Bondamunda were initially arrested while they were sitting on an indefinite dharna since 16th of March demanding justice and implementation of the...

-The Telegraph There is a perception that the ICMR is bureaucratic and lacks transparency in decision-making on the proposals it receives: Researcher Poor response has hit efforts by India’s apex health research agency to enhance the country’s pool of medical researchers through fellowship training programmes and to bring back Indian researchers from abroad, a parliamentary panel has noted. The parliamentary standing committee on health has expressed concern that the Indian Council of Medical...

-The Hindu While National farm income rose 27% between 2015-16 and 2018-19, Jharkhand saw a drop in monthly income by 30% The Centre vowed to double farmers’ income between 2015 and 2022, but by the midway point, farm families in Jharkhand actually saw their average monthly income drop by about 30%.  In its report on the demand for grants for agriculture submitted to the Lok Sabha on Thursday, a parliamentary standing committee asked...

-Down to Earth There has been no announcement on compensation to farmers who have lost their crops Twenty farmers have died by suicide since January 2022 in Telangana’s Mahabubad district after insect infestation destroyed their chilli crop, a ground survey by the Human Rights Forum (HRF) and Rythu Swarajya Vedika (RSV) has claimed. Five suicides have also been reported in Khammam district. Thrips parvispinus, an invasive pest from Indonesia, has spread rapidly, especially...

-TheWire.in * The parliamentary standing committee on chemicals and fertilisers has produced a report highlighting gaps in the availability of COVID-19 drugs and devices during the pandemic. * The committee has asked the national government why PSUs didn’t receive licenses to make COVID drugs when private manufacturers did. * The MPs on the committee also spotlighted widespread irrational drug use in COVID-19 management, despite the existence of a standard treatment protocol. New Delhi: The...