-Down to Earth Ensuring that pulses sell at the minimum support price and distributing them under the public distribution system can help them find favour with farmers again When India went into its first lockdown in 2020, the government announced Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), under which over 800 million people were to be provided rice, wheat, and pulses, in addition to the ration provided under the public distribution system...

-Down to Earth  The past three decades have seen stagnation in acreage, production and productivity of pulses across the country due to a bevy of reasons that include availability of more profitable crops The primary reason behind India’s domestic shortage in pulses is stagnation of production over the past five decades. Overcoming the Pulses Crisis, a 2010 report by the Confederation of Indian Industry, states the production of pulses grew only by...

-The Hindu The swell of public opinion in China has enabled government regulation and change in company policy On September 20, 2021, the Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers, on behalf of gig workers, filed a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court demanding that the Union government provide succour to workers affected by the pandemic. The petition has asked for ‘gig workers’ and ‘platform workers’ to be declared as ‘unorganised workers’...

-Hindustan Times In the states ruled by the BJP, elaborate security arrangements have been made to prevent farmer bodies and opposition parties to disrupt normal life. Additional security forces have been deployed in all districts in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Bihar. The 10-hour Bharat Bandh on Monday may disrupt road and rail traffic in states ruled by opposition parties as they are supporting the call for a general strike...

-Newsclick.in The demolition of houses and displacement of about 5,000 people stem from the BJP government’s plan to start an ‘agricultural project’ in Gorukhuti. As we publish this article, there are reports that the eviction of Muslim families in Gorukhuti in Darrang District by Assam Police took an ugly turn on Thursday with reports of police firing claiming at least three lives. Unconfirmed reports said the death toll could be higher. The...