-The Telegraph New delhi: The government's ban on cattle and buffalo sales for slaughter in animal markets will hurt not just meat sellers but also farmers across communities and could spark a milk shortage, meat dealers today said. "This is a very impractical move. It is totally anti-farmer," said Yusuf Quraishi, president of the Uttar Pradesh unit of the All India Jamiat-ul-Quraish. Most of those engaged in slaughtering animals are Muslims from...

-Livemint.com The GST Council has fixed a 12% GST rate on fertilizers, up from the current 4-8% rates, depending on raw materials used and in which states the products are sold New delhi: India’s landmark tax reform, the goods and services tax (GST), may not be good news for farmers. Retail prices of commonly used fertilizers and micronutrients are likely to increase, not only raising the cost of cultivation but also leading...

-Livemint.com A detailed look at Labour Bureau’s Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) methodology and design suggests that one shouldn’t read too much in these numbers New delhi: Opposition parties and many commentators have been citing the Labour Bureau’s Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) numbers to attack the government over failure to generate employment). How credible are such claims? A detailed look at QES methodology and design suggests that one shouldn’t read too much in...

-Hindustan Times When the Government of India issued an ‘extraordinary’ notification on Tuesday, restricting the sale of cattle for slaughter in animal markets and imposing rules that put a majority of the country’s animal markets in danger, it willy-nilly hit much more than the meat industry. New delhi: It is easy to frame rules banning the slaughter of the cow, its progeny, its distant cousin the water buffalo, and its passing acquaintance...

-The Pioneer While the Government has done its bit to boost the output of pulses, it has done little to check the nexus between politicians and grain traders For several decades, production of pulses in India has fallen substantially short in terms of consumption. This persistent deficit has led to intermittent bouts of spike in prices as imports (needed to plug it) have often come after lag and have failed to reach...