-Livemint.com * A prolonged lockdown will hurt farmers about to harvest the winter crop and the landless living on daily wages * Continued disruption in the food supply chain will eventually hit consumers if prices vary widely across regions. This uncertainty has also hit 70 mn households in rural India who own small dairies NEW DELHI: Baburao Sanap has no clue how to pull himself out of a big mess —he’s saddled with...

-The Hindu With fears of contracting the virus escalating since March, stores across India saw a massive demand and consequently a shortage of stocks in hand sanitisers and masks. Retail prices of hand sanitisers have been capped at ₹100 for a 200 ml bottle, a notification by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs said on Friday. The prices of surgical masks (3 ply) and non-woven masks also were capped at ₹10 and ₹8...

-The Tribune Jalandhar: As numbers of coronavirus cases are on the rise in the country and PM Modi announced janta curfew on Sunday, residents have a perception that the Central Government might impose a lockdown till March 31. Thus, they are rushing to grocery stores and vegetable stalls to stock up on essentials. At grocery stores in the city, including Easy Day, Big Bazaar, Reliance and D-Mart, and roadside vegetable stalls, people...

-The Hindu Business Line Onion prices may be cooling, but food inflation likely to remain high; core inflation a worry Consumers staring at rising prices are unlikely to have much reprieve. Analysts believe that retail inflation may be peaking now but caution that prices will remain high in coming months. So while onion prices have come down, your monthly grocery bill could still be on the higher side for the first half of...

-The Indian Express Turnaround in farm prices is the only good news in today’s overall dismal economic environment. The Narendra Modi government’s first term (June 2014 to May 2019) was marked by benign consumer food price inflation. At a mere 3.3% year-on-year, it averaged below even the 4.3% for overall retail inflation. Politically, the ruling party benefited, given that there are far more consumers of milk in India than dairy farmers. The...