-The Indian Express In the initial years, APMC Acts helped remove malpractices and freed the farmers from the exploitative power of middlemen and mercantile capital, writes Ramesh Chand In the context of the ongoing farmer protests in some parts of the country, Ramesh Chand, a member of Niti Aayog, explains the reason why the government had to introduce changes. “The debate on the Farmers’ Produce Trading and Commerce Act 2020 (FPTC Act) has...

-The Hindu Scheme will be implemented even for borrowers who did not avail moratorium. Three weeks after informing the Supreme Court that the Centre would bear the additional compound interest on loans of up to ₹2 crore availed by retail borrowers as well as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the government formally communicated the modalities of the scheme to lenders on Friday. Banks and other lenders, including co-operative banks and non-banking finance...

-The Indian Express In back-to-back moves aimed at controlling onion prices, the government has relaxed import norms and now reintroduced stock limits. Why have prices Been rising, and how far can these moves check the rise? With less than a week to go for the Bihar elections, the Centre on Friday reintroduced the stock limit on onions — a move aimed at controlling rising prices, which crossed Rs 80 per kg in...

-Society for Social and Economic Research The economic reforms which were started in 1991 shifted the focus of fertilizer policies away from playing a leading role in building the fertilizer industry and ensuring the availability of fertilizers at affordable prices to farmers. Under the neo-liberal policy framework, reducing the fiscal burden of fertilizer subsidies and the foreign exchange burden of fertilizer-related imports became the overriding concerns of the state.  Interestingly, the post-liberalisation...

-The Indian Express Railways has introduced clone trains to replicate services with a long waiting list. Out of the 40 such trains, around 24 are from stations in Bihar. Even as the Opposition in Bihar tries to make the plight of migrant workers an election issue, train passenger data shows high occupancy rates on routes connecting the state with destinations that rely heavily on migrant labour.  The demand has Been such that...