-TheWire.in Why is Rs 1.84 lakh crore a "frightening challenge" for banks, but Rs 10.17 lakh crores not? The great farm loan waiver debate is back. The Congress kicked it off this time with the announcement of waivers in the newly-elected governments of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. This was followed up by similar announcements from BJP-ruled Gujarat and Assam. Rahul Gandhi even went onto to demand a nation-wide farm loan waiver from...
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A Plague of Promises -Yogendra Yadav
-CaravanMagazine.in What the Modi economy has done to farmers On his way to the prime ministership in 2014, Narendra Modi promised that, if his Bharatiya Janata Party won power, the government would raise the minimum support prices paid for crops such as rice and wheat to guarantee farmers a 50-percent profit on their production costs. The benchmark was first proposed by the Swaminathan Commission, formed in 2004 to address farmers’ economic plight,...
More »The new food factories: Inside India's organics trade -Neetu Chandra Sharma
-Livemint.com On 1 January 2019, India joined a group of roughly 50 countries which mandates consumer-friendly labelling for organic products. Will it work? New Delhi: In a bid to maintain good health, Manisha Bhardwaj, a software professional working in Noida, and her banker husband, Sakal Bhardwaj—both turning 40—have decided to bring some changes in their lifestyle and food habits. The couple has not only joined a gym to lose weight but has...
More »Worst price slump in 18 years shows scale of farm crisis -Roshan Kishore
-Hindustan Times The agrarian crisis is one of the factors that may have resulted in the BJP’s loss in three Hindi heartland states of Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in December, according to analysts, and the party clearly doesn’t want it to affect its prospects in the 2019 parliamentary elections. New Delhi: This financial year, 2018-19 could end up being the worst year for farm incomes in almost two decades, government data...
More »States vs central health scheme -Abantika Ghosh
-The Indian Express West Bengal has withdrawn from flagship programme PMJAY, joining 3 other states that have stayed out. What are the reasons behind the states’ reluctance; what could this mean for the programme’s future? New Delhi: On Thursday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that her state is withdrawing from Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY). Delhi, Telangana and Odisha have stayed out of the programme, while reports...
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