-Society for Social and Economic Research Monograph 20/3 Key Messages Lack of planning and preparation by the Central government for tackling the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a massive blow to India’s economy and has caused enormous hardships to working people of the country. Harvesting of Rabi crops • Unplanned and sudden imposition of the lockdown resulted in a massive and unprecedented disruption to agricultural activities such as harvesting, sale of agricultural produce, and purchase...

-The Hindu Business Line WTO rules restrict India’s ability to build its food stock as the procurement of food grains at MSP is subject to strict limits With almost all economic activities likely to remain at a low key in the coming months, the Covid-19 pandemic could have a devastating impact on the livelihood and food security of millions of people across India. It is generally recognised that food stocks of 58...

-Business Standard Unlikely to rise further as the government allowed imports, release stock held by Nafed Mumbai: With its price shot up sharply in the last few weeks, tur dal has started slipping out of consumers’ plate steadily. Data compiled by the Union Ministry of Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution showed the maximum tur dal prices across the country is at Rs 110 a kg on higher side and average or model...

-The Telegraph The Mamata Banerjee government claims that its khadya sathi food scheme has eliminated hunger Calcutta: A study carried out by the Pratichi Institute and the Asiatic Society has found out that a significant proportion of tribal people in Bengal had faced “food scarcity of varying degrees” in the past one year. The finding drills holes into Mamata Banerjee government’s claims that its policy of cheap food grain supply, known as khadya...

-The Economic Times Politicians in India firmly believe that the woes of farmers can be solved with freebies: free electricity, free water, farm loan waivers, fertilisers and seed subsidies, minimum support prices, etc. Little attention is paid to what really ails Indian agriculture: low productivity. From rice to wheat to coarse grains and pulses, from cash crops to food crops, Indian agriculture is punctured with very low productivity. Let's start with rice....