-Newsclick.in Casual and contract workers’ proportion to regular workers has gone up to a record 53%. Nearly 2.4 lakh workers of government-run public enterprises have lost their jobs since the Narendra Modi led BJP government took power in 2014. That’s a massive 25 per cent of the workforce. Simultaneously, the number of casual and contract workers has increased to 3.8 lakh. The proportion of such employees has zoomed up from just 36%...

-Hindustan Times Pradeep Sharma, the farmer from Nagla Nathu village in Agra’s Baroli Aheer area, also alleged corruption in the agriculture department with regard to the crop insurance. Lucknow: An Agra-based farmer, who could save a mere Rs 490 after selling 19 tonnes of his potato crop, has sent the entire amount to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by money order as a protest. Pradeep Sharma, the farmer from Nagla Nathu village in...

-Hindustan Times Loan waiver provides strong disincentive for those who repaid loan on time and perverse incentive for default. But the most serious effect of the waiver is potential risk of fiscal slippage . India’s agricultural economy witnessed significant changes during the post reforms period, many of which were positive, but some were negative. Income of farmers could not keep pace with their aspirations and fast growth in the income of non-farm...

-The Economic Times With the general election a few months away, the Central Government has begun crunching the numbers in preparation for a comprehensive programme to help farmers tide over challenges posed by a dip in prices and dwindling incomes. The government is keen on a more substantive intervention than a loan waiver at the central level to alleviate agrarian distress besides stepping up investments in the sector, having concluded that writing...

-Economic and Political Weekly The union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare had prescribed a model Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee Act in 2003. The state-level adoption of the act has been tardy and varied in terms of both the magnitude and content of agricultural market reforms. Yet, the ministry under the current Central Government has come up with another model act, the Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation) Act,...