-Livemint.com * A ground report reveals pervasive hunger and undernourishment in rural India awash with returning migrants * Just providing rice and wheat at a highly subsidized price may not be enough when day jobs are scant and families have no cash in hand BANDA: Thanks to an all-familiar power cut in the evening, it’s pitch dark in Jhandupurva village. A few torch lights from smart phones pierce through the darkness and illuminate...

-Press release by Right to Food Campaign, Jharkhand chapter, dated 26th May, 2020 Following the first round of quick survey of essential facilities in rural areas of Jharkhand that was conducted during the first week of April 2020, a second round of survey was done in the second and third week of May this year by members (called "observers") of the Right to Food Campaign, state chapter. Like the previous one,...

-The Hindu Court takes suo motu cognisance of migrant workers issue, sees inadequacies and lapses in dealing with the crisis. A three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court on may 26 said there have been “inadequacies and certain lapses” on the part of the Central and State governments in dealing with the migrant workers crisis during the lockdown. The court ordered the Centre and the States to immediately provide transport, food and shelter free...

-Hindustan Times India has moved from a food-scarce economy to a net exporter of food. However, food production does not guarantee food security. Affordability is what matters. New Delhi: The government has announced major agricultural policy changes as part of the economic package it has unveiled in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. These include deregulation of farm foods from the Essential Commodities Act (ECA). Farmers have also been allowed to sell...

-The Hindu Business Line Private oligopolies may end up forcing small and marginal farmers to accept poorer terms for their produce A big-bang reform claimed to usher in the farm sector as Finance Minister announced ₹1-lakh crore funding support for strengthening of farm-gate infrastructure such as cold chains and post-harvest management infrastructure. Additional measures include a ‘facilitative legal framework’ to enable farmers for engaging with modern food chains in a fair and...