Dear Express Explained Reader, The farmers assembled at Delhi’s borders have two basic demands: repeal of the three agriculture-related laws passed by Parliament last year, and a legal guarantee for the minimum support prices (MSP) for crops that are declared by the government every year. There is no statutory backing for MSP currently, and no law that mandates their implementation. Rural Affairs Editor Harish Damodaran looked at what it might take for the government to accept the demands of the farmers on MSP, and why economists are increasingly in favour of guaranteeing ‘incomes’ rather than ‘prices’. On the farmers’ other demand, the repeal of the laws, the government’s best offer has been to keep the legislation on hold for a year and a half, a suggestion that has triggered some speculation over how that might be consistent with the law and Constitution. Chakshu Roy of PRS Legislative Research clarified several questions related to the process of making and implementing a law, and recalled precedents of the government not bringing legislation into force upto several years after passage. The BSE Sensex breached the 50,000 mark in intra-day trade this week. Sandeep Singh and George Mathew analysed the remarkable rise of the benchmark index, and offered some great insight into what you should make of this development, and what you should expect in the coming months. It’s now been a week since India began its mass vaccination programme against the novel coronavirus disease. Progress has been steady if somewhat slow; what has also been visible, however, is a degree of vaccine hesitancy among potential recipients. While this is not unusual in itself, the reluctance to receive the shot does underscore the need for all of us to revisit how the science of vaccines works, and why it is important for large numbers of people to be inoculated as rapidly as possible. Two of India’s most eminent vaccine scientists, Shahid Jameel and Virander Singh Chauhan, weighed in on several of these issues. Do read. Stay safe, and do take the shot when your time comes. There is no reason to not listen to scientists and experts who are far more knowledgeable than most of us. Sincerely, Monojit (monojit.majumdar@expressindia.com) If you received this newsletter as a forward, you can subscribe to it here | Do read our Explained articles here 
Quixplained: Here’s essential Covid-19 vaccination information | .png)
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