THE cabinet committee on economic affairs last week approved a Deep Ocean Mission proposed by the ministry of earth sciences at a cost of Rs 4,077 crore over a period of five years, with funding of Rs 2,823.4 crore for the first three years 2021-24.

THE union government’s submission in the Supreme Court on the question of compensation to families of Covid victims is both characteristically brazen and callous, and completely unsurprising.Following PILs filed in the Supreme Court in May of this year seeking a compensation of Rs 4 lakhs per Covid victim to the bereaved families, the Court sought the response of the union government.  On June 11, the centre told the SC that issues raised in the pleas, seeking directions for ex gratia of Rs 4,00,000 to the families of those who have died of Covid-19, are "genuine" and are under consideratio

CPI(M) WEST Bengal state committee held its meeting on June 19-20, to review the assembly election results. Presided by Biman Basu and attended by Party’s general secretary, Sitaram Yechury and some other Polit Bureau members, the meeting thoroughly discussed the performance of the Party and of the Left in the assembly elections.The draft placed by the state secretary, Surjya Misra has analysed the political and organisational reasons behind the electoral setback. It was stated that the vote share of CPI(M) and Left Front had decreased consistently.

THE number of employed persons in India has plummeted in the past few months by about 2.5 crores and the unemployment rate has zoomed up to about 12 per cent, indicating the immense misery that Indian people are facing. Coming as it does when the brutal second wave of Covid-19 pandemic is just about beginning to abate, and after over a year of suffering the carnage caused by this pandemic and its mishandling, the country’s people have been crushed under unprecedented economic burden.

LAST week on June 14, 2021, the historic farmers’ struggle completed 200 days. It has been the largest and longest peaceful struggle not only in India, but also perhaps across the world.The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), in its general body meeting on June 11 held at the Singhu border near Delhi, gave a nationwide call to ‘Save Agriculture, Save Democracy’ on June 26. That day marks the completion of seven months of the farmers’ struggle. It is also the 46th anniversary of the imposition of the hated Emergency by the then authoritarian Congress government in 1975.