Dear Express Explained reader, Even if you live in a city and have limited concern with matters related to agriculture, you may have read or heard in recent days references to the procurement of wheat (for the 2022-23 rabi marketing season) that is currently underway in several states of the country. What is procurement, and why does the government procure foodgrains? How much does it procure, for whom, at what price, and through what process? Harikishan Sharma and Anju Agnihotri Chaba dived deep into the basics of one of the fundamental activities of India's agri economy. Harikishan also wrote separately on an aspect of the process by which paddy is procured, and which led to a dharna by the Chief Minister of Telangana in the national capital recently: the announcement by the central government that it would no longer purchase excess parboiled rice of which the state is a major producer, but for which the Centre says there is limited demand nationally. So, what is parboiled rice? What are its benefits? How high is the demand? What has been the pattern of procurement from Telangana? For years, the products of Amway have been part of the lives of a large number of Indians attracted by the promise of making money in a business that appeared to demand virtually no work. The Enforcement Directorate has now attached the assets of the direct selling company, which is accused of running a pyramid fraud in the guise of a multi-level marketing (MLM) network. Deeptiman Tiwary and Sreenivas Janyala wrote about the case against Amway, and how pyramid and MLM schemes work. Separately, Sreenivas spoke with V C Sajjanar, a senior IPS officer who first suspected something was not right with the operations of MLM companies such as Amway more than a decade and a half ago, and relentlessly pursued the police investigations into their operations. Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut has accused the central government of protecting IPS officer Rashmi Shukla, who faces an FIR in Mumbai for allegedly tapping the phones of Raut and NCP leader Eknath Khadse in 2019. Controversies over allegations of illegal taps keep surfacing from time to time. Deeptiman explained the legal framework of phone-tapping, what is allowed and what is not, and what checks exist to prevent the misuse of taps. On Thursday evening, the Prime Minister made an address from the Red Fort, lauding the Sikh community, and remembering the teachings, spirituality, and sacrifice of the ninth Guru, Tegh Bahadur, on the occasion of the Guru's 401st birth anniversary. Manraj Grewal Sharma recalled the life and legend of the revered Guru who remained unbowed against the Mughal state for his faith and honour. Around the time this newsletter lands in your mailbox, France will be close to wrapping up polling in the run-off election to choose its next President. We will soon know whether Emmanuel Macron will get his expected second term in office - but even if his rival Marine Le Pen fails in her challenge, she has, as Mira Patel wrote, already catapulted the far right into the French and European mainstream - which, some would argue, is in itself a victory. Stay safe and stay aware. Keep reading The Indian Express Explained. Some of our content is now behind a paywall, so if you haven't subscribed to The Indian Express yet, this may be the perfect time to do so. Click here to subscribe. 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 | 
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