-Newsclick.in Unemployment has inched up to over 9% as the year ends and the so-called economic recovery is a mirage. For Indians, 2020 will go down in history as the worst year for livelihoods and incomes. Unemployment levels rose to record highs, incomes plummeted to record lows and such was the scale of deprivation that thousands of families teetered on the brink of starvation. Tragically, this was not just the pandemic. It...

-The Indian Express India's economy in 2020: As Annus Horribilis 2020 comes to an end, there are positives in the economy: signs of a GDP rebound, and buoyant equity markets. But demand is weak, receipts are down, and the employment situation is grim. All eyes are on the Budget — and on the vaccines In a little over a month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present what she has heralded as “a...

-Hindustan Times Its absence make farmers less receptive to pro-market reforms which add to income uncertainty At the heart of the debate on farm laws is the issue of the level of farm incomes. Income volatility is a key dimension important for farmers’ welfare, understanding their anxieties, and the success of a pro-market reform. The two main risks associated with farming are production risks and price risks. While production-related risks that come...

-ThePrint.in Researchers associated with Pennsylvania University’s India study centre looked at agricultural markets of Bihar, Odisha and Punjab. They found that intermediaries are a rational response to the dominant structure of Indian farming. Most Indian farmers have tiny farms that yield meagre incomes. They face a multiplicity of risks, which jeopardises even these low incomes. These twin pressures are particularly acute in eastern India, manifest in the two states that were the...

-Livemint.com Low incomes and poor farm-gate prices capture the reality of relentless distress in our hinterland National accounts data released last month estimated that the economy has contracted by 7.5% in the second quarter of 2020-21 compared to last year. For many, this was a sign of recovery, given expectations that India’s gross domestic product (GDP) would contract by around 10%. It is, no doubt, an improvement from the 23.9% GDP decline...