-The Indian Express An example is the Karnataka government’s Ksheera Bhagya scheme, which offers free milk over and above the MDM food entitlement. The shutting down of schools due to Covid-19 is affecting not only children, now unable to access cooked nutritional food under the Mid Day Meal (MDM) scheme, but also farmers for whom it provided an assured market. An example is the Karnataka government’s Ksheera Bhagya scheme, which offers free milk...

-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...

-TheWire.in The dire situation induced by the nationwide lockdown is now threatening to undo the last few decades of work in poverty alleviation. The outbreak of the novel coronavirus and the subsequent nationwide lockdown measures have accelerated simmering rural-agricultural distress. Migrant workers who have recently returned to their native villages are but another critical dimension of the deteriorating situation. The dire circumstances are now threatening to undo the last few decades of work...

-The Indian Express We must recognise and strengthen the diversity, dynamism, enterprise, and resilience of India’s agricultural markets. Last week, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman signalled the Union government’s intention to enact a new central law that would override existing state regulations that restrict the farmer from legally selling to anyone other than a buyer licensed by the local Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC). The decision to push for a central law comes...

-Vikalp.ind.in The sudden imposition of a national lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19 has impacted the agricultural sector in many different ways. Of these, the disruption in the functioning of the agricultural markets has been one of the most significant. The lockdown was announced with little planning. Despite the fact that the rabi crops were being harvested or were about to be harvested in many parts of the country, the central...