-Firstpost.com The recent increases in minimum support prices have attracted two criticisms from two opposite sides. One is that this is less than what farmers deserve, the second is that this is populist and ignores larger macro side effects. The increase in fair remunerative price for sugarcane has also been criticised for not adequately addressing the woes of the sugar sector. Ramesh Chand, member, agriculture, NITI Aayog talks to Firstpost on...

-The Indian Express The procurement process also faced several allegations of corruption and favouritism. However, even months after the concerns were raised, the government is yet to take any action on them, reveals the RTI. Pune: Across party lines, political leaders had raised questions about the process to procure over 3 lakh tonnes of tur by the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd, or NAFED, last year, revealed response to...

  A document of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) dated 25th June, 2018 says that the number of members subscribing to the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) scheme gives one an idea of the level of employment in the formal sector viz. mostly employment in establishments employing 20 or more persons (though EPF is applicable for certain organisations, which employ less than 20 persons, subject to certain conditions and...

-The Indian Express Instead of fiddling with procurement prices, government must devise an income policy for farmers. Speaking at the 37th foundation day celebrations of the NABARD, Arun Jaitley gave food for thought to the audience when he said, “If there is any area in the economy where we can give an example to the world and to ourselves of cooperative federalism, it is the agriculture sector. It can benefit people more...

-Livemint.com The actual determination of MSP is driven by a ‘business as usual’ practice of incremental increases in line with past trend, combined with the political need for ‘look good’ optics The recent increase in the minimum support prices (MSP) for major kharif crops has reignited the debate about food price policy. Some analysts believe that the increase has been excessive, that it will push up inflation, both directly and also indirectly...