-TheWire.in In an interview for The Wire, the former ICRISAT scientist says the damage could have been contained if the government had acted promptly to warnings. The desert locust is a deadly agricultural pest that has been on a feeding spree across North Africa, West Asia and South Asia. Lore and mentions of locust swarms exist in the Mahabharata, the Bible and the Quran. But it has been largely absent from the...

-Press Release by Right to Food Campaign dated 3rd June, 2020 1st June was observed as a Day of National Mourning to highlight the colossal loss of life and livelihood that continues because of the brutal lockdown and utter apathy of the central government and many state governments. On that day, people and civil society organisations (CSOs) across the country demanded accountability for the loss of life and livelihood due to...

-The Telegraph What transparency? Website does not specify contributions, spending The Prime Minister’s Office has refused to provide copies of the trust deed of the PM CARES Fund, besides those of the government orders, notifications and circulars related to its creation, saying the fund is not a public authority and is therefore exempt from the Right to Information (RTI) Act. “PM CARES Fund is not a public authority under the ambit of Section...

-The Indian Express The bench asked the Delhi government to immediately ensure that food grains are distributed to poor, needy and marginalised non-PDS residents from Public Distribution System (PDS). The Delhi High Court Monday expressed anguish over the failure on part of the Delhi government in implementing its previous “clear cut” directions that “no citizen currently residing in Delhi should go hungry”. “We express our disappointment and dismay,” a bench of Justice Siddharth...

-Business Standard The UP government's Ordinance, however, proposes increase in working hours from 8 to 10 hours a day New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday withdrew an order increasing the daily working hour limit in manufacturing units from eight to 12 hours. The move came a day after the Allahabad High Court issued a notice to the State on a public interest litigation challenging the order. In a communication to the...