-The Indian Express Lok Sabha has cleared three labour code Bills. What are the key changes, and why are some being seen as a cause for concern? The Lok Sabha Tuesday cleared new versions of three labour codes — Industrial Relations Code Bill, 2020, Code on Social Security Bill, 2020 and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code Bill, 2020. While the government proposes to increase the ambit of social security by including...

-The Indian Express The idea of a Minimum Support Price for crops came first from a visiting US soil scientist and fertiliser expert The institution of ‘mandis’ is as old as markets where wholesale trading in primary produce has been taking place since time immemorial. APMCs or Agricultural Produce Market Committees are of more recent vintage and the creation of Sir Chhotu Ram. In 1939, the legendary farmer leader, as Development Minister in...

-Scroll.in The systemic, structural reasons that precipitated their distress have been completely ignored. The images of devastation faced by migrant workers in the aftermath of the Covid-19 lockdown imposed in March shook the conscience of the nation: the scale of the problem and the severity of the distress pushed this hitherto invisible population into the spotlight of public and policy attention. More than 75 days into the lockdown, after the crisis had almost...

-The Telegraph Laws to hit procurement, say officials Calcutta: Three farm reform bills passed by Parliament recently may play havoc with the public distribution system in Bengal as the State Government’s procurement programme is likely to get affected because of entry of big players. The Farmers’ Produce Trade And Commerce (Promotion And Facilitation) Bill, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill...

-Press release by the Right to Food Campaign dated 26th September, 2020 The Right to Food Campaign opposes all the three farm bills passed by the Parliament and urges the President of India to not give his approval to these bills. The Right to Food Campaign believes that the Union Government instead of protecting the rights of farmers by giving appropriate price for farm produce, strengthening Mandis and ensuring a system...