IN a major victory for the people of Puducherry, the state government has finally agreed to reopen all ration shops across the union territory after a prolonged struggle led by the CPI(M) against the closure of these essential outlets.
The sugarcane farmers’ federation said the central government is “slowly removing pro-farmer provisions” in the existing sugar control order and taking away power from states.THE union government has published the draft Sugar (Control) Order, 2024, citing technological advancements in the production process and other changes in the industry to replace the Sugar (Control) Order, 1966.Criticising the move, the All-India Sugarcane Farmers Federation (AISFF) has accused the union government of deleting even the few provisions that extended some benefits to sugarcane farmers.
THE Uttar Pradesh state committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) organised a state-level condolence meeting for Comrade Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of CPI(M) on October 6, 2024, at the CPI(M) state office in Lucknow. Apart from CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML) and the Forward Bloc, prominent leaders of Indian National Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Loktantrik Janata Dal also paid tributes to Comrade Sitaram Yechury.
SINCE April this year, price of crude oil that India imports has fallen from 89.44 dollars per barrel to 73.59 dollars per barrel. That is a drop of nearly 18 per cent. It is this oil which is refined and sold in India as petrol, diesel and various other petro-based products.Since 2010, the government has supposedly withdrawn from fixing the retail price of petrol (diesel since 2014) claiming that prices will be determined by the market. That means that it should be determined by international prices.
THIS year’s Nobel Prize in economics (the Riksbank Prize to be more precise) has been awarded to three US-based economists for their research into what promotes or hinders the growth of wealth among nations; and they assign a crucial role to institutions, arguing that western institutions like electoral democracy are conducive to growth.
THE Communist Party of India (Marxist) staged a protest at the Adani Missiles and Defense Systems building in Pahadi Sharif, Hyderabad on October 21, condemning the supply of Hermes 900 drones by Adani Aerospace to Israel. The protest, organised by the Ranga Reddy district committee, demanded an immediate halt to these exports, calling on the Indian government to end its support for Israel's military actions.
PEOPLE across the world have paid glowing tributes in coming to terms with the heartbreaking news of Comrade Sitaram Yechury’s sudden departure on September 12. Britain, Canada, Italy, Ireland and USA, the overseas outposts of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), devastated by the loss of the general secretary of the CPI(M), shared their grief in scores of public meetings.Ambassadors from China, Cuba, Laos, and Palestine, along with leaders past and present – from Jeremy Corbyn to Rob Griffiths – joined in expressing their condolences.
THE 24th Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) will be held from April 2 to 6, 2025, in Madurai, a city that has a unique place in both India's freedom struggle and the history of the Left movement.When the late CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury was first elected as general secretary, he visited Madurai, where Party members gave him an enthusiastic welcome.
THE National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD), in a statement issued on October 23, has lodged its strong protest against the amendments made to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules, making the process of issuance of disability certificates more stringent and cumbersome.
THE National Alliance of Journalists (NAJ) and Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ), in a statement issued on October 17, have expressed grave concern at the notice by the Press Council of India to independent and critical magazine ‘The Caravan’ regarding the story ‘screams from the army post’.