-Newsclick.in While Covid-19 affected all areas of life, it was access to healthcare where it had the maximum effect. So inpatient admissions, outpatient care or operations saw declines of up to 40%. Declines were also seen in deliveries, antenatal care and immunisation of children. States with a large private health sector also suffered as charges were increased substantially so that profits remained unaffected. So the message is clear–give adequate budgetary allocations...

-Hindustan Times Its absence make farmers less receptive to pro-market reforms which add to income uncertainty At the heart of the debate on farm laws is the issue of the level of farm incomes. Income volatility is a key dimension important for farmers’ welfare, understanding their anxieties, and the success of a pro-market reform. The two main risks associated with farming are production risks and price risks. While production-related risks that come...

-Livemint.com Data from the corporate affairs ministry show the setting up of new firms, which indicates investment intent, fell 19.5% in November to 13,453 from the preceding month The tally of newly incorporated companies, as well as electronic permits raised for transporting goods, declined on a sequential basis in November for the first time since April. This loss of momentum in economic recovery after the initial turbulence caused by the pandemic could worry...

-Newsclick.in Farmers fear they will have to engage with big traders and agribusinesses on an unequal playing field where these giant corporations will be dictating the terms of engagement. Approved by the government of India in 1988, the Pepsi project was launched to initiate a second agricultural revolution in Punjab. The effects of the first agricultural revolution had faded. Yields of major crops were low. A joint venture among PepsiCo, Voltas and...

-The Indian Express A complacent approach that assumes that all necessary measures, including the Poshan Abhiyan, are in place and the reversal in progress is only momentary will be a sure way to inflict a debilitating, irreversible impact on children’s nutrition and their well-being. Did child undernutrition in India worsen during the COVID-19 pandemic? The consensus is: yes, most likely. But did we do well in reducing child undernutrition before the lockdown?...