-Economic and Political Weekly The Union Budget of 2020 is conspicuous by its non-recognition of the ongoing and widely discussed slowdown of the economy, let alone its impact on the different sections of the people. Given the negative growth in employment and consumption in the rural economy, the budget seems like a cruel joke on the plight of the poor, in general, and women, in particular. Instead of measures for boosting...

-The Indian Express Turnaround in farm prices is the only good news in today’s overall dismal economic environment. The Narendra Modi government’s first term (June 2014 to May 2019) was marked by benign consumer food price inflation. At a mere 3.3% year-on-year, it averaged below even the 4.3% for overall retail inflation. Politically, the ruling party benefited, given that there are far more consumers of milk in India than dairy farmers. The...

-Newsclick.in Will this Budget give any signal that the government is tackling the deadly jobs crisis? Budgets usually don’t address big systemic issues. After all, they only arrange for government revenue and expenditure for one year. But, if the water is flowing over your head, a Budget could very well give a strong signal of beginning something. It could open the door to policy changes, and declare a determined political intent. The raging...

-TheWire.in Breman's central finding about the close coexistence of capitalism and labour bondage contains remarkable nuggets of hope for transcendence. For more than half a century, Jan Breman has diligently, insightfully and creatively studied the life of labour in India, and specifically in Gujarat. His searing descriptions and acute analyses based on painstaking fieldwork and a broad but clear theoretical framework have informed our understanding of the conditions of rural – and urban...

-Down to Earth Without empowering women in farming by recognising them as farmers and giving them land rights, agriculture can’t be sustained and so can’t the economy In Maharashtra’s 2019 Assembly elections, the Vidarbha constituencies presented interesting trends. The region is important politically not just for the stalwarts who contest from there, but also for the development issues it represents. More than three lakh farmers have committed suicide in India between 1991 and...