-TheWire.in While the increased allocation and attention is welcome, it will not be enough to counter the crisis. The current pandemic has led to loss of livelihood of substantial sections of the India population. With the economy, particularly production activities in the big urban centres, having come to a standstill, a process of reverse migration to villages took place. This decline in economic activities is taking place against a background of continuously...

-Down to Earth Locusts around 500 km away from districts. Experts say little possibility of them entering state The Bihar government’s agriculture department has begun mock drills in villages and launched an awareness campaign, over fears that locust swarms may enter the state. Ten of the state’s districts that border Uttar Pradesh were put high alert. The districts include Aurangabad, Bhojpur, Buxar, Gaya, Gopalganj, Kaimur, Rohtas, Saran, Siwan and West Champaran. The locusts...

-Down to Earth Central environment ministry reports diversion of 11,467 hectares forest land in 2019 (up to first week of November) The diversion of forest land for other purposes continued throughout India. A total 11,467.83 hectares (114.68 square kilometre) forest lands were diverted in 22 states between January 1 and November 6, 2019, the Union government admitted. This diversion was for 932 non-forestry projects under the Forest (Conservation) Act (FCA), 1980, according to...

-The New Indian Express On this single parameter, many Indians would surely fare worse than white Americans, as the former’s almost spontaneous animus against Africans is no less vicious. We are all aware of the large-scale protests, some violent, that shook the United States soon after videos showing how white police officers mercilessly caused the death of a black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis went viral. As ‘coloured’ people, our natural sympathies...

-The Hindu BJP government has given a free hand to corporate houses to exploit us, they say Chandigarh: Several farmers under the banner of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangarsh Samiti on Monday held protests in several districts of Punjab against the Centre’s recent ordinance on the agriculture sector, besides the proposed amendment to the Electricity Act, 2003. Farmers staged the protests in Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozpur, Moga, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur and Fazilka districts and submitted...