THE French investigative web-portal Mediapart released a three part series of articles last week containing much dramatic new material on touching on the controversial Rafale deal. The material once again brought into focus murky dealings, possible shady transactions, and evasive as well as non-cooperative responses by supposedly independent investigative agencies and top government and corporate officials in both India and France.

THE central government has announced new wage rates for the people working under MNREGA for the year 2021-22. According to the revised rates announced by the Ministry of Rural Development on March 15, the enhancement is from Rs 0 to Rs 23 in different states.  At the national level, the hike is than four per cent which is unfair towards the poor rural workers, majority of whom are dalits, tribals and poor rural women. While the prices of essentials are skyrocketing, the government is reluctant to increase the wages.

TENS of thousands of farmers from the Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders, led by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), blocked the Kundli Manesar Palwal (KMP) Highway and the Kundli Ghaziabad Palwal (KGP) Highway at several points for 24 hours on April 10-11, 2021. All traffic on this crucial artery that connects the borders of Delhi and is a bypass for all the outer cities, ground to a halt. Huge public meetings were held along with songs and cultural programmes.

THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions, in a statement issued on April 14, has extended full support to the ongoing strike by the state transport workers in Karnataka (KSRTC) demanding immediate settlement of their long-overdue wage revision. The workers and their unions made all efforts to resolve the issue through more than a year long persuasion with the concerned authorities and the state government.

US President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion rescue package is one of the most ambitious measures to revive the US and, with it, the world economy. Coming on the heels of Trump’s $2 trillion package last year and a further $900 billion package announced in December 2020, it seeks not just to provide relief from the pandemic but to start a new boom in the US which, it is expected, will have spill-over effects for the world as a whole, notwithstanding the protectionist measures against imports introduced in the US under Donald Trump.