-Newsclick.in The dearth of capital will make a return to normalcy difficult for ostagars even when there will be a visible improvement and the authorities muster courage to lift all the restrictions. Kolkata: “We are passing through the worst phase in our 17 years old enterprise BabyGarments.in and we have no clue when we will see the first signs of revival”. This is how a middle-aged woman entrepreneur and proprietor of BabyGarments,...

-TheWire.in Protestors day recent government policies benefit the corporate sector to the detriment of workers and farmers. New Delhi: Most Indian states saw groups of workers and farmers take to the streets on Sunday to protest against government policies which they claim benefit the corporate sector to the detriment of workers and farmers. Their ire was directed at three recently introduced ordinances in the agriculture sector, the decision by some states to suspend...

-Down to Earth The ordinance does not expressly define ‘extraordinary circumstances’: Such legislative ambiguity makes one question the entire exercise of introducing this particular provision As the Union government announced massive reforms as part of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) relief package, attention went to three agriculture sector ordinances related to farmers’ trade, contract farming and amendments in the Essential Commodities Act. While each of the three ordinances have far-reaching implications from legal...

-The Hindu They say several crucial laws have been amended to tilt the balance in favour of industries Bengaluru: As the State government unveiled the New Industrial Policy, 2020–25, to attract investors, TRADE UNIONs are protesting over the manner in which several crucial labour laws have been amended to tilt the balance in favour of industries. The sweeping changes brought to Factories Act, Industrial Disputes Act, and Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act,...

-Down to Earth The pesticides in question continue to be used in India, but are already banned, restricted or withdrawn in other countries Several experts underscored the ill effects of using chemicals excessively in agriculture and stressed on ecologically sound alternatives while backing a recent government draft order to prohibit a bunch of pesticides. Civil society members, citing risks, threats and damage from 27 pesticides, came out in support of a May 14,...