Daily Briefing: One for the farmers

On that note, let’s get to today’s edition.

Big Story

The Centre kicked off 2025 with a boost for the farmers. This comes as a section of farmer unions continue their protest over several key demands, including a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

Reach out: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his government was “committed to the welfare of the farmers”, with the Union Cabinet approving the extension of two crop insurance schemes for another year. It also gave the green light to create a fund for “innovation and technology” to assist farmers in yield estimates and get hyper-local weather data.

Aid: The government also extended a special subsidy of Rs 3,500 per tonne on di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), India’s second most consumed fertiliser. However, with the rupee sliding against the dollar, the industry has flagged that the subsidy may not be enough given the rising import costs.

Protest: Come February, it will be almost a year of protest by farmers on the Punjab-Haryana border. So far, their demands have fallen on deaf ears. There’s much to be said about the protest, which has seen internal fissures among farmers and trade unions. Despite the Centre being on the hot seat, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party is also feeling the heat.

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Under review: The Delhi Police is reviewing the need for security cover for as many as 30 individuals on its list. They all have one thing in common: their tenure/term as Ministers of State or Members of Parliament have ended. The police are set to approach the Ministry of Home Affairs to decide whether their security cover needs to be retained.

From the Front Page

Call for unity: With the Maharashtra elections done and dusted, some want the two factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by uncle-nephew rivals, to reunite. Among these voices are Ajit Pawar’s mother, Asha, and senior leader Praful Patel, who called Sharad Pawar their “diety”.

Saving lives: As many as 1,200 doctors have come together to ensure that even the remote areas of Jammu and Kashmir have access to life-saving treatment during the ‘golden hour’ – the crucial 60 minutes after a heart attack. All they needed was a WhatsApp group and a whole lot of courage.

Must Read

‘Terror attack’: In the early hours of New Year’s Day, a pickup truck drove into the crowd at a popular tourist district in New Orleans. The truck displayed a flag of ISIS. The police fatally shot the vehicle’s driver, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a veteran of the US Army. As authorities try to piece together Jabbar’s motives, and possible accomplices, families of the victims are left with grief and many questions.

Re-focus: In our Opinion pages today, poet and author Sumana Roy writes a compelling piece on why our ideas on ‘attention’ need a rethink.

And Finally…

To play or not to play, that is the question. Speculation around Indian skipper Rohit Sharma ahead of the Pink Test in Sydney is gathering pace. Head coach Gautam Gambhir hinted that it will be a matter of the pitch.

Before you go, tune in to today’s episode of the ‘3 Things’ podcast, where film critic Shubhra Gupta joins the host to discuss the biggest hits and misses of 2024 in the realm of entertainment.

That’s all for today folks. Until tomorrow,
Sonal Gupta

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