-Hindustan Times Farmers in Punjab and Haryana, the richest Agricultural states, which also account for the highest share of government procurement in India, are at the forefront of these protests. That it has been undoing historical wrongs to boost the Indian economy is a key narrative of the current Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA government. When such moves are criticised, it is quick to portray its opponents as representing a group of...

-TheWire.in The ban on onion exports has proven that farmers, mostly small and marginal, will continue to hold the burden of reining food inflation. On June 5, 2020, just after the COVID-19-induced all-India lockdown was being eased, the government promulgated The Essential Commodities (Amendment Ordinance, 2020). This move was lauded by India Inc as the move apparently signalled that the Indian government had finally decided to ease the draconian provisions of the EC...

-Hindustan Times While the government claims that these reforms will help farmers in getting a better price for their products, farmers’ groups have been agitating against these changes. In May this year, the government announced important reforms in Agricultural markets. These included deregulation of farm foods from the Essential Commodities Act (ECA). Farmers were also allowed to sell their produce outside government-regulated markets, or Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs). Another set of...

-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...

-PTI/ The Hindu Business Line Retail inflation for farm workers and rural labourers cooled down to 6.32 per cent and 6.28 per cent, respectively, in August compared to the year ago period mainly due to the softening of prices of some food items. Point-to-point rate of inflation based on the CPI-AL (Consumer Price Index-Agricultural Labourers) and CPI-RL (Consumer Price Index-Rural Labourers) was 6.39 per cent and 6.23 per cent respectively in August...