-The Indian Express A month ago, on March 24, when the Centre announced the first phase of the lockdown, states were left to manage its sudden consequences such as the massive disruption in supply chain, and migrant labour walking hundreds of miles to their homes. Late Friday night, as the Centre issued orders allowing shops and markets in rural areas and stand-alone shops in urban areas to open for sale of even...

After the outbreak of COVID-19 in China during early January this year and its dissemination globally within a few days, health experts have suggested ways to check its spread exponentially among the rest of the population. In the age of internet connectivity, work-from-home and self-isolation have been advised as solutions to ensure social distancing and avoid large-scale social gatherings. Experts have asked governments and private enterprises to keep people at...

-Down to Earth The record-breaking vegetable price rise indicates an era of high food inflation in coming years Rising prices of food items, particularly that of vegetables, have spiked retail inflation to a 68-month high of 7.59 per cent in January 2020, according to the National Statistical Office. While the inflation figure captured headlines, a crucial analysis of the reasons behind this sustained increase in food prices slipped public attention. Extreme weather events...

-Livemint.com * The slowdown was more pronounced in northern India * Rural India contributes 36% to overall FMCG spends New Delhi: Consumption in rural India fell to a seven-year low in the September quarter, growing at a slower pace than that witnessed in urban areas, in a sign that prolonged agrarian distress, uneven rainfall spread, and stagnant rural incomes have hit sales of branded packaged goods, market researcher Nielsen said in its quarterly...

-The Hindu Business Line Noted Gandhian economist Dr Sudarshan Iyengar surveys the distressed agricultural landscape, pinpoints its weaknesses, and prescribes solutions with their roots in Gandhian agronomics. Edited excerpts from an interview to BusinessLine: * Given the agrarian crisis in India today, how relevant are Gandhi's economic principles based on the village economy, and equitable distribution of resources? They are relevant in the context of Gandhi's view of gram swaraj (village self-rule), which...