IN 2017, it was Gorakhpur where 63 children died in 72 hours due to lack of oxygen supply in a government hospital and in 2019, it is Muzaffarpur where 157 children died in a month due to encephalitis. This is our ‘achievement’ for our children after 72 years of our independence. In a few days or months, the outcry on these deaths will die down and the headlines, interviews and stories will find new topics.

ON July 2, two-day national consultation of land and forest rights movements organised by Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan concluded at the Assam Association in Delhi. The conference witnessed the participation of more than 200 representatives of the community organisations from 12 states of the country.The movements working on the forest and land rights and for implementation of FRA declared that millions of adivasis and other traditional forest dwelling communities are facing the danger of eviction due to the Supreme Court rules on February 13, 2019.

A CONSULTATION meeting was held at Vijayawada on ‘Crimes in the name of Honour and Tradition (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill’ on June 29 by the KVPS AP state committee, an affiliate of the Dalit Shoshan Mukti Manch. Advocates of AP High court, leaders of KVPS and other dalit organisations attended the meeting that was presided over by Potturi Suresh Kumar. Sunkari Rajendra Prasad, member of AP Bar Council and one of the five member team that drafted the bill has explained in detail the salient features in it.

THE BJP led central government has announced the minimum support prices for the Kharif Marketing Season 2019-20. In a situation when farmers across the country are in acute distress due to severe drought, the prices announced only add salt to injury. It has announced a meagre 3.7 per cent hike in the prices of paddy despite the fact that costs of production over the year have drastically increased. This will only mean an increase of Rs 65/quintal.

MERGER fever seems to be spreading, this time in aerospace which has witnessed continuous merger and acquisitions (M&A) activity for over several decades as technologies have advanced, R&D and production costs have gone through the roof and even large firms have found it difficult to compete with the bigger players, especially if their main work is in broadly the same market segment. The latest is the all-stock merger decision announced by two US aerospace majors, United Technologies Ltd (UTL), manufacturer of the Pratt & Whitney aero-engines which power fighter aircraft and lar