The Hindu Editorial (Farming consensus) – Feb 15, 2024

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The Hindu Editorial (Farming consensus) – Feb 15, 2024:

consensus (noun) – an idea or opinion that is shared by all the people in a group, agreement, concurrence, general opinion/view, common consent.
address (verb) – tackle, deal with, attend to, try to sort out.
grievance (noun) – complaint, objection, protestation, resentment.
talks (noun) – deliberation, discussion, discourse, dialogue, negotiation.
assemble (verb) – come together, get together, flock together, gather.
march (verb) – walk along public roads (as a form of protest).
guaranteed (adjective) – formally assured.
Minimum Support Price (MSP) (noun) – it is a form of market intervention by the Government of India to give guaranteed price and assured market to the farmers and protect them from the price fluctuations and market imperfections. The guaranteed price and assured market are expected to encourage higher investment and in adoption of modern farming practices.
crop (noun) – a plant or plant product (a grain, fruit, vegetable or etc.) that can be grown and harvested in large amounts by farmers for profit or subsistence (livelihood).
debt (noun) – liability, financial obligation, borrowed capital.
loan/debt waiver (noun) – the borrower (farmer) is exempted from repayment of loan/debt due to a poor monsoon or natural calamity and the Centre or State governments which offer loan/debt waiver, will take over the liability of farmers and repay the banks.
call off (phrasal verb) – cancel, abandon, drop, withdraw, shelve.
Farm Acts, 2000 (noun) – Farm Acts, 2000 refer to three agricultural bills passed by Indian Parliament in September 2020. The three acts are “The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 (FPTC Act) allows farmers to sell their harvest outside the notified Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandis without paying any State taxes or fees”, “the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 facilitates contract farming and direct marketing”, and “the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 deregulates the production, storage, movement and sale of several major foodstuffs, including cereals, pulses, edible oils and onion, except in the case of extraordinary circumstances”.
sought past tense of seek (verb) – try, aim, attempt.
spearhead (verb) – lead, head, be in the forefront/vanguard of (a movement).
splinter (group/party) (noun) – separatist, secessionist, dissenting, breakaway (group/party); a small group, sector, wing of a larger one.
body (noun) – group, party, organization, association.
split (noun) – division, rift, separation, break-up.
signify (verb) – indicate, denote, point to, signal.
fissure (noun) – a state of incompatibility; disagreement, chasm, rift, fracture.
interest group (noun) – a group of persons with shared interests.
strand (noun) – element, component, factor, aspect, feature.
gather strength (phrase) – to become stronger; to become effective.
up in arms (phrase) – If someone is up in arms about something, he/she is very angry about it and is protesting strongly against it; very angry, infuriated, annoyed, vexed, irritated, aggrieved, irked, piqued, displeased, provoked.
acquisition (noun) – obtaining, acquiring/procuring, appropriation.
Land Acquisition Act, 2013 (noun) – an Act of Indian Parliament that regulates land acquisition and lays down the procedure and rules for granting compensation, rehabilitation, and resettlement to the affected persons in India. The Act has provisions to provide fair compensation to those whose land is taken away, brings transparency to the process of acquisition of land to set up factories or buildings, infrastructural projects, and assures rehabilitation of those affected.
call for (phrasal verb) – require, publicly ask/necessitate, demand.
industrial strike/action (noun) – any form of coordinated action in an industrial dispute by employees, with or without the support of a trade union, that seeks to force employers to agree to their demands relating to wages, terms of employment, working conditions, etc. It may take the form of a go slow, overtime ban, work-to-rule, sit-down strike, or strike.
overlap (verb) – extend over, crisscross, intersect; superimpose.
repeal (noun) – revocation, cancellation, reversal, annulment, nullification, invalidation,, abolition, abrogation, withdrawal.
Four Labour Codes (noun) – The Government has formulated four Labour Codes, namely, the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020. Now 29 Labour Laws
have been codified into 4 Labour Codes. The Government has amalgamated 4 laws in the Wage Code, 9 laws in the Social Security Code, 13 laws in the The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 and 3 laws in the Industrial Relations Code.
guarantee (noun) – assurance, contract, covenant, promise.
unlikely (adjective) – doubtful, implausible, improbable, questionable.
resolute (adjective) – determined, firm, purposeful, resolved, single-minded, strong-minded.
lay siege to (phrase) – barricade, close up, block/shut off.
procurement (noun) – the action of procuring/purchasing/buying something.
bedrock (noun) – core, basis/base, foundation.
food security (noun) – food security is a situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
surplus (noun as modifier) – generation of goods, services, and resources (such as capital) exceeds their consumption.
grain (noun) – the seeds of plants (such as wheat, corn, and rice) that are used for food.
bypass (verb) – elude, avoid, dodge, escape, sidestep, evade, circumvent, be evasive about.
subsistence farmer (noun) – a farmer who grows crops sufficient only for his/her own use, without any surplus for trade.
subsistence (noun) – the condition of just having enough food or money to stay alive; support, livelihood.
led to past participle of lead to (verb) – result in, cause, bring on, bring about, give rise to.
unsustainable (adjective) – unsuitable, untenable, unendurable, groundless, baseless, absurd, illogical, irrational.
penury (noun) – extreme poverty, pennilessness, impoverishment, neediness, destitution, privation, deprivation, hardship.
revamping (noun) – reorganization, restructuring, rearrangement, rebuilding, makeover.
public support (noun) – government support; government aid; social welfare.
diversify (verb) – vary, bring variety to; modify, alter/change, expand, enlarge.
undertone (noun) – implication, hidden meaning, suggestion, atmosphere, connotation, undercurrent.
eve (noun) – the period or day before an important event.
overlook (verb) – forget, neglect, ignore, disregard, lose sight of, pay no attention to, fail to consider, be lax about.
at the mercy of (phrase) – (totally) in the power of, in the control of, under the control of; defenceless (oneself) against, unprotected (oneself) against, helpless (oneself) against, vulnerable to, exposed to, susceptible to.