-Hindustan Times A newer generation of politicians has again voiced the demand of giving land to landless Dalit households as a means to resolve the crisis of rural livelihoods. But the relentless pursuit of neo-liberal economic policies and liberalisation has rendered most of these demands Utopian Seven decades after Independence, while a majority of farmers cultivate their own land (however small their holdings may be), most Dalit farmers in much of India...

-Livemint.com Linking MSPs to a multiple of costs and ignoring other dynamics, such as demand and global prices, risks creating distortions and disincentivizing productivity Government policymaking seems to be making a volte-face from supporting consumers (by keeping food inflation low), to supporting producers (by raising food prices). In the 2018-19 Union budget, the government “decided to keep minimum support prices (MSP) for all unannounced crops of kharif at least at one-and-a-half times of...

-The Hindu Rather than just increased budgetary outlays, farmers need plans that will rescue them from crop failure Similar to the last two Budgets, this year’s pro-agriculture intentions are palpable through increased outlays to the agricultural sector and initiation of various programmes. They seem impressive, but closer scrutiny shows that the measures may be of little help to stem the tide of agrarian distress. There are some real challenges confronting three...

-Outlook “BMS decided to boycott ILC due to the centre’s anti-labour policies," RSS trade union President said. The Centre has indefinitely postponed the Indian Labour Conference to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after RSS trade union BMS threatened to boycott it over the Union budget that was “unsympathetic to labour and workers”. At the 47th ILC scheduled to be held on February 26 and 27, trade unions and employers were...

-Newsclick.in Manufacturing sector loses 87,000 jobs in Apr-Jul 2017. The latest Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) Report released by the govt.’s Labour Bureau reveals that just 64,000 jobs were added in eight selected sectors during April-July 2017 down by 65% compared to the previous quarter. Compared to the base level estimate of total employment of 205.22 lakh as on 1 April 2016, the Indian economy has added 4.8 lakh jobs in 15...