-The Hindu Business Line About 3.15 crore farmers have been insured this kharif season against 3.08 crore last year, claims Agriculture Ministry New delhi: The Centre appears to have scored some points on the success of the recently-launched Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana — the flagship insurance scheme for farmers. Going by the latest estimates of coverage and the sum insured it has seen a marginal increase vis-a-vis last year. “We are still compiling...

-Livemint.com The APMC legislation has in effect created fragmented markets—small trading zones that can quite easily be captured by trader cartels Makeshift markets have sprung up in several cities in Maharashtra over the past few weeks, after the state government led by Devendra Fadnavis allowed farmers to sell vegetables and fruit directly to consumers. They are now allowed to bring their produce directly to cities rather than sell them in markets...

-Business Standard On life expectancy at birth, India fares marginally better than Pakistan New delhi: Reacting to the terrorist strike at the army camp in Uri, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Pakistan to go to war against poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and infant mortality instead, saying let’s see who wins those wars. But a Business Standard examination of various human development indicators suggests that while currently India fares better on most key indicators,...

-The Indian Express Preventive detention is being routinised as an instrument of state repression The recent preventive detention (PD) of Khurram Parvez, a Kashmiri human rights activist, and Jignesh Mewani, a Dalit leader from Gujarat, has turned the spotlight on the provision of PD and the purposes it is being made to serve. National Crime Records Bureau data released in September 2015 indicate that over 3,200 people were being held in administrative...

-PTI Unions claimed that the government has not formally invited them to the summit, but has appointed BMS to coordinate with them for the event New delhi: The 2-day BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Labour and Employment Ministerial meeting will commence in New delhi on Tuesday but the Central Trade Unions (CTUs) have decided to boycott the event. The meeting will deliberate on issues including job creation and social security...