Days after their passage in the Lok Sabha, Tomar introduced the Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 in the Rajya Sabha.
For the first time in his political career, he failed to carry his party to even a working majority -- and again, for the first time in his career, he finds himself in a situation where he cannot rule by dictatorial fiat, points out Prem Panicker.
Food Security Act will be fully provided for and subsidy to be 2 per cent of GDP for next two years.
In a meeting with the President on behalf of these 18 non-National Democratic Alliance parties, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said he has requested the President to return the bills, and only give his assent after they have been passed after following proper rules and procedures.
Addressing public rallies at Barnala chowk and Bhawanigarh in Sangrur, the chief minister vowed to do whatever it takes to protect the farmers and the state from the 'devastating' effects of the 'black laws'.
The government has already implemented one of its five poll guarantees, "Shakti", by providing free services for women in public transport buses.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has brought down the budgetary allocation for the fertiliser subsidy for FY21 to Rs 71,309 crore, from the RE of Rs 79,998 crore for FY20, while increasing food subsidy to FCI through "ways and means advance" to Rs 50,000 crore for FY21, from Rs 36,000 crore in RE for FY20, and under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) to Rs 77,982 crore, from Rs 75,000 crore.
He asserted that the government purchase of farm produce will remain, adding that the mechanism of minimum support price will continue in the same way it always has.
Three key agriculture Bills, approved by the Lok Sabha, are facing staunch opposition from within the ruling coalition with senior minister Harsmirat Kaur Badal resigning in protest and farmers hitting the street.
The government's subsidies on food, fertilisers, LPG and kerosene are pegged at Rs 5.96 lakh crore in the current fiscal, over 2.5-fold jump from the initial budget estimates as the Centre distributed additional foodgrains free of cost to help poor mitigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. In February 2020 Budget, presented in the pre-COVID scare, the government had estimated the subsidy bill at Rs 227,794 crore. However, all the budget estimates, have undergone major revisions as the country imposed strict lockdown to check the spread of COVID-19.
Confident of securing a massive majority in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday outlined his vision for his next five-year term saying the Modi 3.0 government will put all its might to strengthen the foundation of 'Viksit Bharat' or a developed nation.
'Nitish Kumar is fooling the people of Bihar.' 'He will not probe anything because if he does so, he will be trapped himself.'
23 trains have been partially cancelled and five short terminated till September 26 as protesters blocked rail tracks at various places, including Amritsar, Ferozepur, Sangrur, Barnala, Mansa and Nabha.
Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh asked Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to stop playing politics over the United Progressive Alliance government's food security programme.
Of late, crime, politics, corruption and hate have been leaking out of every streaming platform. By the time Garmi drops, fatigue has already set in, observes Deepa Gahlot.
Break the chains of debt, invest in your future, and wave the flag of financial independence high. Freedom awaits, comrades. Let's conquer this battlefield together this Republic day, exhorts Vatsal Ramaiya.
Though the Bills of Punjab and Rajasthan have a lot of similarities, the one approved by the Chhattisgarh Assembly is structurally different. None of the three has tried to address a key demand of the agitating farmers in full, which is to make all payments below the MSP, within and outside mandis, illegal.
Pressure from the Soren clan is only one of the challenges Champai faces as he readies himself to helm the predominantly tribal state.
'When my father travelled 5,000 miles to build a new home in Ireland, I doubt he ever dreamed that his son would one day grow up to become its leader.' Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com profiles Dr Leo Varadkar who will step down as Ireland's taoiseach (prime minister) next week.
A Parliamentary panel suggested scrapping separate foodgrain rate and quota for poor and general public and said the UPA's ambitious Food Bill should guarantee 5 kg of rice and wheat to all beneficiaries at uniform price of Rs 3 and Rs 2 per kg, respectively.
Clearing the air before the end of the monsoon session on Tuesday, the CM said, "Shradha is a physiotherapist sent by my sister late Gita Mehta to take care of my physical fitness."
If Modi wants to leave a real legacy, breaking India's strategic triangulation would be the real gift, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Rajya Sabha took up the discussion on The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill that have already been passed by Lok Sabha.
Main difference has been on including people above the poverty line in the Food Security Bill.
Avenue Supermarts, the operator of DMart retail chain, reported good results for the July-September quarter (Q2FY24) with strong earnings before interest before interest, taxes and depreciation (Ebitda) and profit before tax (PBT) growth, but lower PAT due to higher tax incidence. The operating margin improved, and like-to-like store sales growth was strong. Average bill value also increased though this may be a seasonal effect to some extent. Analysts are assuming this means the slowdown in retail may have bottomed out.
After covering several kilometres on foot along with their families, the labourers, who reached Charbagh bus station in Lucknow on Saturday and Sunday, said there was no point staying in Delhi as they have exhausted their funds and it would be better for them to return to their homes.
'Food security' will, unfortunately, become a giant boondoggle.
In Dubai, A Ganesh Nadar encountered high speeds on smooth-as-silk-roads, no bureaucracy, gold, Mr Toad's. And snow!
The deputy commissioner said that the administration has made preparation for people on the occasion of Bakrid.
An online company would show a particular price to the customer and then quickly increase the cost after analysing consumer behaviour or detecting any kind of desperation.
While India won't be immune to global spillovers, we need to create the macro preconditions for sustained growth. Policy agility, prudence, and resilience will be key, suggests Sonal Varma.
With hotels and restaurants being barred from levying service charge, waiters, chefs and other workers are worried they will lose out on money and are planning to approach managements to seek a pay raise. They are also apprehensive that tips given by customers out of goodwill will dwindle. Uttarakhand-native Prakash Singh Koranga, 27, a chef who works at an outlet of popular franchise Moti Mahal Deluxe restaurant in south Delhi, said service charge which gets proportionally divided among the staff acts as an "extra income" and "incentive to give our best at the job".
India must be prepared for a big, fat fuel import bill in FY23 - barring any further avatars of the Covid virus - as refiners crank up runs, or crude processing rates, to meet the growing demand for fuels, and crude prices soar. Capacity additions by an Indian state-run refiner will reinforce the need for foreign crude. Demand for all fuels is expected to increase by 3-8 per cent next fiscal from 2021-22, reaching pre-pandemic levels, according to analysts and industry experts.
The two bills -- Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 -- were passed by Lok Sabha on Thursday.
More than 850 million hungry people around the globe can enjoy a better life if the world sets aside less than three per cent of what it spends on the purchase of arms every year, for the development of agriculture.Pointing out the stark realities of the wasteful spending, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation director general Jacques Diouf on Tuesday appealed to world leaders for US$ 30 billion a year to re-launch agriculture and avert future threats.
Providing cheap rice and wheat to 67.5% population would raise subsidy bills 45% to up to Rs 1.3 trn, and the country.
This is the highest in the past five years and almost 24 per cent more than last year.
When KV Thomas took over as minister of state for food and consumer affairs (independent charge) on January 19, 2011, he was tasked with taking forward one single, important objective: expedite the implementation of the National Food Security Bill.
It is the anti-rape law that poses the biggest challenge.
Supporting the food security ordinance, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said his government is taking steps for its implementation but felt bringing it after discussion in Parliament would have been a better option.
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