-The Indian Express The original Act identifies a factory based on the number of workers employed. More than half the factories across the country may be exempt from the restrictive provisions applicable under the current legislative framework, with the Factories Amendment Bill, 2014 proposing to revise the definition of a factory by effectively doubling the threshold of the number of workers employed in such a unit. The move is expected to ease...

-The Indian Express For tomato, however, the difference jumped from 4 per cent on July 8 to 100 per cent on August 8. A month after the central government brought onions and potatoes under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, and empowered states to put stockholding limits on these vegetables to rein in hoarders, the difference between their wholesale and retail prices has not reduced. And in the case of other kitchen staples such...

-The Business Standard States need to create alternative marketing structures for farm produce since middlemen also provide vital services that are otherwise unavailable to the farmer   One of the issues often raised in the context of high food inflation is the pressing need to change the Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMC), the marketing boards established by state governments. The earlier United Progressive Alliance government had asked the Congress-ruled states to remove fruit...

-Economic and Political Weekly Corruption in Indian medicine is back on the front pages. One would think that there has been an abrupt spurt in corrupt practices or a major scandal. Nothing of that sort has happened. However, there have been some interesting developments for the focus to shift back to what is really a very old affliction. This is an update on recent happenings as the entrepreneurial spirit of the...

-Down to Earth System of crop intensification, specially in rice, has shown sizeable savings in water and seed usage. Yet its adoption has not spread despite incentives SIMPLE TECHNIQUES and manag-ement practices tend to be viewed with suspicion. In the age of input-intensive agriculture which calls for an array of machinery and a host of scientific props, a crop management system whose core basically is protecting the plant's roots to provide better...