-RuralIndiaOnline.org The government’s ‘package’ responding to the crisis is a blend of callousness and cluelessness With his first speech on the coronavirus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi got us to scare evil spirits away by having people bang the hell out of their pots and pans. With his second, he scared the hell out of all of us. With not a word on how the public, particularly the poor, are to access food and other...
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Rs 1.7 lakh crore Covid-19 package: Many who have been hit still left out, relief too little -P Vaidyanathan Iyer
-The Indian Express The central government’s package, as it is, comes a week after Kerala first announced a Rs 20,000-crore support for its people. Many states including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Telangana and Rajasthan followed suit. The Rs 1.7 lakh crore economic package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for the vulnerable sections — Farmers, women, construction workers, senior citizens, widows and the disabled — is less than 1 per cent of...
More »Anxiety In MP, Punjab: Lockdown puts question mark on wheat procurement -Milind Ghatwai & Anju Agnihotri Chaba
-The Indian Express Nearly 19 lakh Farmers had registered themselves on the MP government’s e-Uparjan procurement portal between February 1 and 28. Bhopal, Jalandhar: First it was over two weeks of political uncertainty and now it is the 21-day lockdown to combat COVID-19 that is giving anxious moments to the lakhs of wheat growers in Madhya Pradesh. Procurement of their produce —Farmers in the state have sown a record 79.68 lakh hectares under...
More »Nirmala Sitharaman announces Rs. 1.70 lakh crore package for poor
-The Hindu Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced a Rs. 1.70 lakh crore package which is likely to benefit 80 crore people. In her second media conference in a week, Ms. Sitharaman announced a slew of welfare decisions as the nation is under lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic. Here are the highlights from her speech: * The Finance Minister announced ₹1.70 lakh crore package Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Yojana, targetting 80 crore people. *...
More »As mandis get shut, here are five ways the government can help Farmers cope -Rajalakshmi Nirmal
-The Hindu Business Line Encouraging Farmers to hedge through futures and increased use of WDRA warehouses are among key options With the nationwide lockdown to control the spread of Covid-19, mandis where Farmers sell their harvest have also been closed. Across the country, the harvest of several crops including wheat, mustard, chana and coriander has started and Farmers are sitting on truckloads of grains and pulses. In the kharif season, many Farmers lost...
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