-The Hindu It will come into force in the State from November 1 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Base prices for 16 agricultural items, including vegetables, fruits and tubers, will come into force in the State from November 1, Keralapiravi day. The Cabinet on Wednesday cleared the proposal to introduce the base prices designed to protect farmers from adverse price fluctuations in the market. The government has termed the initiative as the first of its kind in...

-Livemint.com * Rural spending is the only ray of hope for a ravaged economy. But will consumers rise to the occasion? * The income loss due to 30 million migrant workers returning home is a significant hit to household finances. Moreover, covid-19 has deeply affected an already bruised consumer psyche The locked rooms lining the courtyard of Dilip Patidar’s sprawling ancestral home once smelled like a spice box. That was some years ago...

-The Indian Express Consumers today are willing to pay for organic produce. What is required is a policy framework to enable farmers to cater to this market. A few months back, I was at an artisanal products exhibition, where there was a stall showcasing organic leather bags. A buyer marvelled: “Wow, we have organic leather too?” The stall-person’s response was, “Sir, this is from animals that were fed only natural grass...

-Down to Earth The midday meal scheme for schoolchildren is increasingly getting politicised, as the upper class elite wants to impose its own religious/food beliefs on malnourished children Most countries in the world now have some programme that provides midday meals to schoolchildren. School meals have been widely hailed for their multiple benefits — they increase enrolment and attendance, particularly of children from vulnerable groups; contribute to reduce “classroom hunger” and improve...

-The Hindu Iskcon’s Akshaya Patra Foundation refuses to add onion or Garlic to the meals it provides even though the children crave the familiar taste Tabarak, a 14-year-old boy in Devarjeevanahalli, a locality in central Bengaluru, would rather walk home at lunch break to quickly grab a bite than eat the free meal served at school. “He finds the school food too bland,” says his mother, standing in the narrow passage of...