-Down to Earth The full impact of the wheat ban on farmers will be known only in the next few days, say experts India’s sudden decision to ban wheat exports with immediate effect citing food security may prove costly for its farmers. Many of them have held back their crop in the hopes of getting higher prices in the coming weeks. The impact of this decision is already being seen in wheat mandis...

-The Hindu Business Line Experts attribute it to higher cost of providing goods and services and more money under schemes Retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) for rural areas is higher than urban areas for four successive months with West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Haryana recording double-digit rural retail inflation in April. These are among the 17 States that witnessed higher retail inflation in rural areas. However, in Karnataka, Kerala,...

-TheWire.in * According to the Union health ministry’s new Rural Health Statistics report, for 2020-2021, primary health centres have a surplus of doctors. * This could be true – although there are doubts about whether the report included the number of doctors on transitory, ad hoc appointments as well. * The report fails to capture the qualitative aspects of doctors’ availability at PHCs, including a hidden problem motivated by the absence of sufficient...

-The New Indian Express The government needs to understand that better official statistics are required not just to counter estimates by global agencies. It is required for better policymaking. The government is upset with the estimates of the World Health Organisation (WHO) about how many Indians died because of the pandemic. India’s official Covid-19 death count in 2020 and 2021 is 481,000. The WHO puts India’s death toll at 4.7 million till...

-The Telegraph Court expresses 'hope' that the States and Centre would 'restrain from registering any FIR, continuing any investigation or taking any coercive measures' New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed “until further orders” all pending proceedings under the sedition law across the country, overruling the Centre’s objections by citing the government’s own stated intention to “re-examine and reconsider” the provision. The court also expressed “hope” that the States and the Centre...