-The Indian Express There is an urgent requirement to put money in the hands of the impoverished to support them during the pandemic. This has been the refrain of the Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee. Further, the government must tighten the implementation of its critical schemes related to nutrition, food security and healthcare. The COVID-19 pandemic is flaring up into a mass humanitarian crisis. Its foremost victim will be innocent children who have...

-Down to Earth Distress among marginal farmers and unavailability of food to migrant labourers has been largely ignored in Union government’s economic stimulus   Agriculture and allied activities are considered ‘essential’ and officially face no restriction to harvest and supply to the market, even in the middle of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. But an agrarian crisis stemming from systemic failures needs to be considered for immediate policy response. The current distress...

-TheWire.in “The opening of the markets would bring no respite to us. There would be hardly any sales during the festive months due to financial doom," said a weaver in Dhaniekhali. Kolkata: Raju Singha Rao, a handloom sari weaver at Phulia in West Bengal’s Nadia district, has been having sleepless nights since the nationwide lockdown was announced on March 24. The financial crisis coupled with thoughts of starvation and hunger has been keeping...

-Frontline.in The draft Bill on land leasing in Punjab is aimed at promoting the interests of agribusiness corporations. It will have devastating consequences for peasants in the State. THERE is no doubt that agricultural land leasing laws in India should be amended to make land leasing lawful and easier. The NITI Aayog Report (2016) proposed, on the grounds of efficiency and equity, a formal model law on leasing (Model Agricultural Land Leasing...

-TheWire.in Millions of agricultural labourers are currently under stress due to the ongoing lockdown which has led to a loss in income, loss of jobs for migrant labour and a disruption in the supply chain. Following the stress on the agricultural sector by the COVID-19 related lockdown, the central Government has announced medium to long term relief measures as part of an economic package. However, the package has fallen short on immediate...