-Hindustan Times The Shiromani Akali Dal will observe a three-hour chakka jam across Punjab from 11am to 2pm in all constituencies. Over two dozens farmers’ organizations from all across the country, supported by 18 political parties including the Congress, take to the streets on Friday protesting the farm bills passed by Parliament. Punjab and Haryana will be the epicentre of the protests, though the demand for legal guarantee of minimum support prices...

-The Hindu/ PTI The Congress along with many other opposition parties has claimed that the bills will harm the interest of farmers and benefit corporates. Hitting out at the Opposition at its attack on his government over the farm bills issue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that those who always “lied” to farmers are now “shooting from their shoulders” and misleading them for their own political benefit. Addressing BJP leaders and...

-PTI/ The Hindu The CAG findings run contrary to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s submissions in Parliament last week that states could not be compensated for revenue shortfall from the Consolidated Fund of India (CFI) relying on an opinion from the Attorney General of India which stated that there was no such provision in the law. The CAG has found that the Union government in the very first two years of the GST...

-The Hindu The APMC Bypass Bill leaves too much to the benevolence of private players Three farm bills — the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill (commonly referred to as the APMC Bypass Bill), and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill — were cleared by Parliament amid protests from the Opposition. Sudha Narayanan (Associate Professor at the...

-Hindustan Times The Industrial Relations Code, 2020, bring new rules for hiring and firing of labour in mid-sized and large industries, making retrenchment easier. Parliament on Wednesday passed the three labour code bills – the Occupational Safety, Health And Working Conditions Code, 2020; the Industrial Relations Code, 2020; and the Code on Social Security, 2020 – merging 24 central labour laws in a major boost to labour reforms. The National Democratic Alliance...