-The Indian Express Thermal plants shut down, leading to power cuts, raw material supply cut off to industry, movement of food grains hit Chandigarh: SUSPENSION OF railway traffic to Punjab since September 24 amid the farmers’ agitation against the Centre’s farm laws has left the state gasping for power, fertilisers and raw material for industry and gunny bags for paddy procurement, besides bringing to a halt the movement of food grains and...

-TheWire.in The rise and fall of the biggest importers of edible oil in the world. ‘Freedom is the greatest fruit of self-sufficiency’ – Epicurus The COVID-19 pandemic has been detrimental for globalisation and has led to a clamour for protectionism. India’s national strategy is also in line with this trend with calls for ‘Atmanirbharta’ and ‘vocal for local’ increasing. Traditionally, India was an exporter of edible oil before Independence, became self-sufficient post-Independence (till the early 1970s),...

-PTI/ The Hindu Inflationary pressures, meanwhile, remained subdued as seen by a modest increase in input costs and only marginal rise in selling prices. India’s manufacturing sector activity improved for the third straight month in October with companies raising output to the greatest extent in 13 years amid robust sales growth, a monthly survey said on Monday. The headline seasonally adjusted IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose from 56.8 in...

-Down to Earth As the new ordinance seeks curtailment of judicial intervention, the executive faces the real challenge of pushing difficult and inconvenient solutions to clean air President Ramnath Kovind has signed a new ordinance to form a commission for air-quality management in the National Capital Region (NCR) and adjoining areas. This move, in one sweep, erases all other committees and authorities that were set up under judicial and administrative orders, seeks to...

-IndiaToday.in * 30 Dalit women call out caste-based discrimination at Silicon Valley companies. * A new report says caste biases are common among Indian Engineers working in tech companies. * Many Dalit engineers say they face discrimination from fellow Indian engineers.   A few weeks ago it came to light that caste-based discrimination was fairly common in the Silicon Valley companies, so common and so pervasive that it led to the California Department of...