Farm News
Traffic Resumes At Shambhu Border, Khanauri Set To Open; Angry Farmers Protest
A day after Punjab Police detained protesting farmers and demolished their temporary structures, traffic resumed on the Shambhu-Ambala Highway on Thursday after more than a year, and Khanauri border point is also set to open, with Haryana Police removing roadblocks on their side of the road.
The road clearance exercise continued even as angry farmers held protests at several places in Punjab including Moga, Tarn Taran, Muktsar and Faridkot against the last evening crackdown on the protesters.
Video: Punjab Police Detain 200 Farmers, Remove Protesters From Shambhu Border
Punjab police have detained 200 farmers in Ghanori and are removing protesters from the Shambhu border. Around 3,000 police personnel are present in the border areas, using bulldozers to remove temporary structures. The farmers have been protesting since February 13, 2024. The Aam Aadmi Party government's action comes amidst ongoing negotiations between farmers and government representatives, focusing on minimum support price and other demands.
Three Reasons Why Punjab Removed Farmers From Protest Sites After Over A Year
Arvind Kejriwal’s Punjab visit, feedback from Ludhiana industrialists to the top Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leadership, and the upcoming crucial Ludhiana bypoll — all this seems to have been the trigger for the Bhagwant Mann government to take the drastic action of clearing both the farmer protest sites in Punjab after a gap of over a year.
Benefits for Workers
West Bengal government announces ad-hoc bonus for employees
LThe state government has decided to provide an ad-hoc bonus of Rs 6,800 to its employees who are not covered under any productivity-linked bonus scheme. This applies to employees whose revised emoluments were below Rs 44,000 per month as of March. In a recent announcement, the government specified that Muslim employees will receive the bonus before the conclusion of the Eid al-Fitr festival.
Bonded Labour
From Sitamarhi to Sadar Bazar, a mother’s fight to rescue 11-yr-old son from bonded labour
On 3 March, Delhi police personnel embarked on an operation to rescue two minor boys working as bonded labourers in Sadar Bazar. They found another 10 boys in need of rescue.
Employment News
Employees' salaries grew at 11% CAGR in 10 years: FM Nirmala Sitharaman
The compensation of employees has seen a compound average growth of 11.1 per cent in the first 10 years of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government, including the post-Covid years, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Parliament on Tuesday, while highlighting the churn in the industry with factors of production being reset and use of robotics and web 3-driven output. “One of the long-term impacts of Covid has affected the nature of work itself. People are either chosen to work from home or they don't want to work full time,” Sitharaman said in a discussion of second supplementary demands for grants and the Manipur Budget FY26 in the Rajya Sabha.
Employment rising, but employees' salaries not keeping pace with inflation: Niti Aayog member Virmani
"If we look at the wage data in PLFS, the real salary of casual workers has increased during the seven years and their condition has improved during this period. The figures confirm this. "But a bigger issue is in the case of regular salaried jobs. In this category, real wages have not increased in line with inflation in seven years," the economist said.
Explained: Why has unemployment soared in Jammu and Kashmir in the last five years?
Three back-to-back lockdowns, agrarian dependency and the policies of LG administration that hurt local industries have created an economic crisis.
Media Workers
Journalist Mukesh Chandrakar murder: Chargesheet reveals accused called him days before killing, was afraid his empire would crumble
The Bijapur police in Chhattisgarh Tuesday filed a 1,200-page-plus chargesheet in court against four persons accused in the murder of journalist Mukesh Chandrakar, 33. According to police, Mukesh was killed for exposing poor road construction work done by the prime accused, contractor Suresh Chandrakar, who was also his relative.