-Scroll.in Vegetable farmers are already reeling under losses and wheat farmers are worried about labour shortages. The wheat crop on Sukbhir Singh’s four acres of land 20 km from Ludhiana in Punjab will be ready for harvest next week. Plentiful rain and an unusually cold winter, said the farmer, is set to increase the yields. But he is worried about the lockdown: would he be able to harvest and transport the grain under...

-The Hindu Business Line Disruptions in the food value chain are becoming visible now. The government needs to recognise that ensuring adequate food and nutrition for the population is as essential as providing health services The community spread of coronavirus can wreak havoc in India, as the population density is extremely high and the health infrastructure inadequate. To contain the Covid-19 pandemic, the government has shut the country down, including all the...

-CaravanMagazine.in At 5 pm on 29 March the union health ministry’s website said that India had 869 positive COVID-19 cases, spread over 26 states and union territories. Seven days earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced his main attempt to halt the spread of the pandemic: an unanticipated 21-day nationwide lockdown. Amid rising concerns of shortage of essential equipment and services in public hospitals for front-line staff dealing with the epidemic,...

-The Indian Express Indeed, as many as four clarificatory notes had to be issued by the Home Ministry since the PM’s speech to expand the list of essential supplies and services. Caravans of migrant labourers walking hundreds of kilometres along highways and across shuttered cities, running out of food and the nationwide disruption in supply chains have exposed glaring gaps in the implementation of the 21-day Covid-19 lockdown the Prime Minister announced...

-Hindustan Times New Delhi: The 21-day national lockdown imposed by the Narendra Modi government to combat the spread of Covid-19 , and which starts at 12.01 am Wednesday is the first time provisions of the National Disaster Management Act, 2005, are being invoked. In an order issued by the home ministry, the home secretary as chairperson of the National Executive Committee of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued guidelines for the...