QBullet: Farmer Strike Hits Prices; Kerala Warns of 2nd Nipah Wave
Here are the top headlines of the day.
1. Farmers Go on 10-Day Strike, Vegetable Supplies Take The Hit
The first day of the 10-day ‘Gaon Bandh’ farmers’ agitation saw cultivators in several states, including in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab, taking to the streets to express their ire. Owing to the agitation, vegetable and milk supplies were hit in many areas leading to a spike in prices.
The strike has been called by the Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh seeking a blanket waiver of farm loans, minimum support price (MSP) for farm produce and rate for milk of Rs 50 per litre, among other things.
In Maharashtra, the auction of vegetables did take place at Nashik agriculture produce market committees (APMC), but the produce that reached the market was low in quantity. The strike also hit the country’s largest wholesale onion market, Lasalgaon APMC, as most farmers stayed away from auction.
(Source: The Times of India)
2. Govt in a Bind: Niti Aayog Says Find Fiscal Space
As global oil prices continue to surge, the government’s key policy advisor is of the view that states have to take the lead in cutting duties while the Centre needs to first find the fiscal space before it can slash taxes on fuels.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Rajiv Kumar, vice chairman, NITI Aayog, said: “The states must cut their taxes because they have got ad valorem (percentage-based) taxes. As the prices have gone up, they have been getting a windfall gain, which can hardly be continued. So they must reduce it below 27 percent… a 3-4 percentage point cut is doable. The central government must find the fiscal space and then cut the excise duties.”
The Union government, Kumar said, has to ensure that it doesn’t do anything to weaken the nascent uptick in the economy, and simultaneously find enough fiscal space to absorb the higher oil price by attempting things not done in the past.
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. PM Modi in Singapore: ‘Asia Will Have a Better Future if India, China Work Together’
Trade between India and China is growing and the two countries have shown maturity and wisdom in managing issues and ensuring a peaceful border, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Singapore on Friday, 2 June.
The PM, who is on a three-nation tour, was delivering the keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue. “Asia and the world will have a better future if India and China worked together in trust and confidence,” he added.
PM Modi asserted that an Asia of “rivalries” will hold the region back while an Asia of cooperation will shape the century. “No other relationship of India has as many layers as our relations with China. We are the world’s two most populous countries and among the fastest growing economies. Our cooperation is expanding,” he said.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. Kerala Govt Warns of Second Nipah Virus Outbreak
The state health department on Friday, 2 June, announced a number of steps, including the temporary closure of a district court, to arrest the advance of the Nipah outbreak that has already claimed 17 lives in north Kerala.
It has asked the high court registrar to shut the Kozhikode district court and directed the staffers of a government hospital to proceed on leave with immediate effect. Besides this, the department has advised members of the general public against organising large gatherings or parties for a period of ten days.
The government’s immediate concern arises from three people succumbing to the outbreak in a period of just two days. As many as 17 of the 20 people infected by the Nipah virus are dead while the remaining are undergoing treatment, said a senior health officer.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. Gauri Lankesh Killed For ‘Anti-Hindu Views’
The chargesheet in the Gauri Lankesh murder case, a copy of which is with The Hindu, says the journalist and activist was killed for her ‘anti-Hindu views’.
“The accused were angry with her for speaking against Hindu dharma, Gods of Hindu dharma and insulting Hindu dharma,” said the Special Investigation Team in the 651-page chargesheet against KT Naveen Kumar, the first accused in the case.
However, the confession statements of Naveen Kumar and statements of his three friends from Maddur, made before a magistrate, have not been made public. According to sources, this was done on request by the SIT for fear that the publication of the statements would tip off other accused who are still at large.
(Source: The Hindu)
6. BJP to Back Its CMs in Poll-Bound MP, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to repose faith in its chief ministers in three election-bound states and will face the December poll under their leadership, two senior leaders of the party said.
This comes as a disappointment to those pitching for a leadership change in Rajasthan, lobbying to keep the CM-face undeclared in Chhattisgarh, and nursing chief ministerial ambitions in Madhya Pradesh.
“Change is not under consideration,” the first BJP leader said on condition of anonymity. “Vasundhara Raje, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Raman Singh are sitting chief ministers and the party will go to polls under their leadership,” the leader added.
The second leader, who asked not to be identified, said Raje, Chouhan and Singh are the most popular faces of the party in their respective states.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. Sita Was a Test-Tube Baby, Says UP Deputy CM
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma suggested that goddess Sita's birth was evidence of a test tube baby "project" during the Ramayana, embarrassing the BJP which swung to control the damage by asking him to exercise restraint in his speeches.
Sharma made the remarks on Thursday night in a speech which went viral on Friday, 1 June, inviting widespread scorn.
"All of us know that Lord Ram returned from Lanka in Pushpak Vimaan. This proves that vimaan (aircaft) existed then. It is said goddess Sita was born in a ghada (pitcher). At that point of time, some project of test tube baby existed," the BJP leader claimed.
Read full story here.
8. Private Hospitals Object to ‘Modicare’ Rates, Say ‘Too Low’ For Quality Care
Some major private hospitals like Fortis, Apollo, Medanta and Narayana Health have expressed concern over the government’s ambitious ‘Ayushman Bharat’ fixing prices of some critical procedures, saying the rates are not viable for them.
Senior executives from some private hospitals met officials of Niti Aayog and health ministry on Friday over this issue following representations by various industry forums, sources said. “It appears that, overall, no scientific basis has been applied to arrive at the rates.”
“Under these conditions, you may kindly appreciate that private healthcare providers would not be able to sustain themselves in providing quality healthcare unless the rates are reasonable and scientifically arrived at,” said a letter from Association of Healthcare Providers (India) to the CEO of Ayushman Bharat, Indu Bhushan.
(Source: The Times of India)
9. Centre Forms Cauvery Management Authority to Address Water-Sharing Dispute
Acting on the Supreme Court's direction, the Centre today constituted a Cauvery Water Management Authority (CMA) to address the dispute over sharing of river water among Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry.
On 16 February, the apex court had directed the government to form the CMA within six weeks in a verdict that marginally increased Karnataka's share of Cauvery water, reduced the allocation for Tamil Nadu and sought to settle the protracted water dispute between the two southern states.
In a gazette notification, the Ministry of Water Resources said it has framed a scheme constituting the CMA and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee to give effect to the decision of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal as modified by the Supreme Court order.
(Source: PTI)
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