-TheWire.in In conversation with Avik Saha, co-founder of the Swaraj Abhiyan. New Delhi: As the Lok Sabha passed three controversial agricultural legislations, the country witnessed an outpouring of anger by the opposition parties, who alleged these bills are “anti-farmer”. Farmers and traders have been vehemently opposing the new changes brought in by the Central government, alleging the government wants to discontinue the minimum support price (MSP) regime in the name of reforms. Minister of...

-Down to Earth The country had 1,800 arsenic-affected habitations in 2015. This increased to 4,421 as on September 17 The number of arsenic-affected habitations in the country increased by 145 per cent in the last five years, according to data shared with the Parliament September 18, 2020. The country had 1,800 arsenic-affected habitations in 2015. This increased to 4,421 as on September 17, 2020, according to a reply given to Lok Sabha by...

-The Indian Express According to officials, this is a big shift in the work demand process—separating demand generating and implementing agencies—and is likely to change the way MGNREGA functions in the state. In what the Jharkhand government says is the first such move by any state, the Rural Development Ministry has started capturing work demand under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) through its social audit unit (SAU), generating nearly...

-Scroll.in Mining companies stand to benefit from one of the amendments being pushed through without proper public consultation. India’s mining law enables the government to recover 100% of the value of minerals extracted illegally. Based on this provision, in August 2017, the Supreme Court of India ordered the recovery of Rs 17,576 crore from mining companies that had extracted iron ore and manganese in Odisha in violation of environmental laws. If the Modi...

-The Hindu The World Bank’s decision to halt its annual ‘Doing Business’ report on data authenticity issues has major implications On Thursday, the World Bank halted its annual publication, ‘Doing Business’ report, as it detected irregularities of data for a few countries. A World Bank Press release of August 27 said: “The integrity and impartiality of our data and analysis is paramount and so we are immediately taking the following actions. We...