Daily Briefing: Farmers set to resume march; twist in Indian hockey star’s fairytale; and more

The farmers are set to resume their march to Delhi on Wednesday having rejected the government’s offer of minimum support price (MSP) on three pulses, maize and cotton through cooperatives. The farmers are demanding a legal guarantee of MSP on all crops.

The Centre’s proposal was meant to encourage crop diversification in the water-starved Punjab. However, production and procurement of pulses, maize and cotton has been low in the state. Here’s a situation report.

So, how can the government guarantee MSP to farmers while serving its interests? In our Opinion section, Harish Damodaran writes of a possible solution — price deficiency payments (PDP).

Only in Express

In his weekly column, C Raja Mohan writes about the rise of “intelligence diplomacy” amid global security challenges. “The regular exchanges between the Indian agencies and their counterparts from like-minded countries underline Delhi’s shift from the isolationism to building productive intelligence partnerships today.”

From the Front Page

What began as a one-time amnesty window for just six months in March 2017 to clear projects in a novel “violation category” became routine through a Union Environment Ministry notification in July 2021, and provided ex-post facto approval to over 100 projects till the Supreme Court stayed the notification in January this year. Projects without prior environmental clearance or those that exceed limits of clearance conditions fall under the “violation category”.

The Supreme Court Monday quizzed the Returning Officer over the alleged markings he made on some of the ballot papers during the Chandigarh mayoral polls. Expressing concern at the possibility of horse trading and the returning officer “interfering with the electoral democracy”, the court decided to examine the ballot papers to see if the results can be deduced by disregarding the markings.

For 20-year-old Jyoti Chhettri, the rising forward in the national women’s hockey team, last week was straight out of a fairy tale. A couple days ago, she dazzled while playing against the USA in the FIH Pro League at the Birsa Munda Hockey stadium in Rourkela. But this fairytale has a pretty big twist — located just 2 km away from the stadium, Jyoti’s home may soon be demolished.

Must Read

We may be a long while away from finding a cure for cancer. But with the help of a supercomputer and AI technology, oncologists at AIIMS are now better equipped to identify the best therapy for their patients. Here’s how it works.

A new study by Indian researchers suggests that air quality in the country could be influenced by the El Nino and La Nina events, both of which are known for impacting weather across the world. The study has argued that the unusual air quality in some Indian cities in the winter of 2022 could be attributed to the record-breaking spell of La Nina prevailing at that time. What are these weather phenomena and what does the study say? We explain.

And Finally…

With the entry of millennials and Gen Z into the workforce, the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement is rewriting the narrative surrounding retirement. What is the FIRE movement and is it really an effective way to manage your finances?

Delhi Confidential: Most top-office bearers, including RSS Sarkaryawah Dattatreya Hosabale — who became the executive head of the RSS in 2021 — are likely to retain their posts in the Sangh’s upcoming internal elections, sources said. This is in view of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the Sangh’s centenary celebrations next year.

In today’s episode of the ‘3 things’ podcast, we discuss the allegations of sexual harassment against TMC men, a bill set to regulate religious conversations in Chhattisgarh, and the Supreme Court on the Chandigarh Mayoral polls.

Until tomorrow,
Sonal Gupta and Rahel Philipose

Business As Usual by EP Unny