Letter from the Editor-in-Chief           Dear Subscriber,           The agitating farmers have gone home, the government has withdrawn the three contentious laws that it passed in September, but the crisis that India’s agriculture sector has been facing for decades continues to persist as India’s ranking slips to 101 out of 116 countries in the latest Global Hunger Index. Today, farming is no longer economically viable as input costs keep rising. One of the key issues that the 378-day agitation by the tillers highlighted was ensuring remunerative prices for agricultural produce by making the Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism legally binding.      The majority of states in India have abolished the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC), which managed the grain mandis, resulting in exposing the farmers to unscrupulous traders who buy the produce at well below the MSP. Even the prevalent MSP that is declared annually by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) does not offer remunerative prices to farmers, who have been demanding the implementation of the C2+50% formula suggested by the Swaminathan Commission a decade and a half ago. Meanwhile, an increasingly large number of farmers are dying by suicide due to the sweeping economic distress in India’s countryside. In this month’s cover story, we have taken a critical look at the complex issues plaguing India’s agriculture sector, which provides the maximum employment.      Another critical issue is India’s commitment to achieve the net zero carbon emissions target by 2070, which was made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at COP26 in Glasgow last November. For achieving the ambitious target, India must invest massively in non-fossil fuel-based energy sources. The government seems to be moving in this direction by declaring that it will issue sovereign green bonds to finance green-energy infrastructure. We have taken a deep dive to understand how this will help India in energy transition. But energy transition does not necessarily equate with securing the basic rights of people nor does it reduce dependency on authoritarian regimes, as we have highlighted in our commentary section.      Also, in this issue you will read a fascinating interview of how a 23-year-old is making waves around the world by manufacturing premium footwear using discarded plastic bags and bottles.         Please browse through the round-up of Tatsat Chronicle newsletter till April 11, 2022.           Top Story : Furrows of Distress The three contentious farm laws might have been repealed, but the core issue of the farmers regarding ensuring remunerative prices for crops remains unsettled even as input costs keep rising, making farming unviable. It’s a recipe for a looming agriculture crisis   Second Lede : Empty Wallets The Covid-19 pandemic, contributions to the PM CARES fund, and ever-increasing regulatory compliances are wringing India’s vibrant NGO sector of funds, which is adversely impacting people who eke out an existence on the fringes of society   Deep Dive :Green is the Colour of Money To achieve the net zero target by 2070, India needs to make massive investments in green infrastructure and energy, which it plans to finance by issuing sovereign green bonds. But it’s a long road ahead that needs to be negotiated carefully   Commentary : Hobson’s Choice Russia’s invasion of Ukraine might have lent a sense of urgency to energy transition, but the current models that are being pursued will neither guarantee geo-strategic leverage nor secure the basic rights of peoples   In Closing :‘We Don’t Have to Demonise Plastic, It’s Something to be Recycled' Ashay Bhave, 23, the founder of Thaely (plastic bag in Hindi), a brand of ethically produced footwear made from plastic and rubber waste, says in an interview with Jyoti Verma that sustainability depends more on buying choices and competitiveness than government policies LATEST NEWS Read All   29 Countries Pledge Over $5.25 Billion to Global Environment Facility Twenty-nine countries have together vowed $5.25 billion for the Global Environment Facility (GEF), boosting international efforts to protect biodiversity and curb threats from climate change, plastics and toxic chemicals through collaborative action this decade   Mumbai’s Mithi River Polluted for Past 11 Years, Finds MPCB Mithi river in Mumbai has remained ‘polluted to heavily polluted’ for the past 11 years, says a report published by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB)   Record Increase in Methane Levels in the Atmosphere: US NOAA For the second year in a row, US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) scientists have seen a record annual rise in atmospheric-level methane, a powerful heat-trapping greenhouse gas   Digital Rupee Will Not Eliminate Cryptos, Stablecoins: Chief Economic Advisor The introduction of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) will not abolish cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, as they satisfy different objectives, said Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran   World Health Day: WHO Launches Our Planet, Our Health Campaign According to the World Health Organization, more than 13 million deaths a year are attributed to preventable causes linked to the environment   Nepal Launches India’s RuPay E-Payment System Nepal became the fourth country in the world to operationalise India’s e-payment system RuPay. Bhutan, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates have already launched the card                                 603, 6th Floor, Surya Kiran Building, K. G. Marg, Connaught Place, New Delhi-110001     For questions or suggestions, contact info@tatsatchronicle.com Copyright © 2021, Tatsat Chronicle | All rights reserved.     VISIT OUR WEBSITE