-IdeasforIndia.in Wrapping up the Symposium on farm bills, Mekhala Krishnamurthy and Shoumitro Chatterjee contend that regulatory reforms are an important but limited part of what must be both a more comprehensive and contextual approach to policy design and implementation. Moreover, when it comes to markets, it is crucial to think through what market Regulation can and cannot do and to understand the role that mandis play in India’s agricultural marketing system. Over...

-Livemint.com Wide disparities in agri-marketing Regulations have resulted in fragmented markets across states. The new farm bills aim to change this but the jury is still out on whether it will have the intended impact. On 26 September, government procurement of food crops commenced across the country, five days in advance, following the enactment of three contentious farm bills. Under the new policy regime, farmers need not sell their produce through designated...

Nearly 24 fatal accidents and 47 serious accidents have happened in various coal mines of the country during this year till 31st August. Likewise, 18 fatal accidents and 13 serious accidents have taken place in non-coal mines during the same time period. The accident figures are low this year in comparison to the previous ones thanks to a lower demand for output from these mines against the backdrop of COVID-19...

-Down to Earth Complex groundwater systems cannot be controlled or predicted, but need to be better managed and made more efficient The Central Ground Water Authority’s (GGWA) latest guideline — banning the grant of no-objection certificates (NoC) for extracting groundwater to all new industries coming up in ‘over-exploited’ areas — is yet another duplication of previous failed policy Regulations. By implication, the new regulatory policy is not pretentious about looking at the problem...

-Newsclick.in Reforms in labour laws will not create jobs, if at all, the conditions of employment will be a “disaster”, they say. The labour codes approved by Parliament are the wrong solution for the wrong problem, experts and academicians argue, even as the Centre continues to harp on about bolstering investments and creating jobs through relaxing regulatory laws, now, more desperately in the wake of the pandemic-triggered disruptions. The wrong problem: labour laws...