From the Newsroom: Centre proposes significant changes to three farm sector laws

In your evening news brief, From The Newsroom, government proposes to make significant changes to the three farm sector laws; Centre approves framework for the proliferation of public Wi-Fi networks through PM WANI scheme; As many as nine states have completed One Nation One Ration Card reform; Union Cabinet approves Rs 22,810 crore outlay for a new employment scheme; Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw says she will get vaccinated though its durability is not known as of now; Earth remains on course to warm more than 3 degrees Celsius and the head of Britain's medicine regulator says two allergic reactions were reported on the first day of the rollout of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.

Here are the top news of December 9, 2020:

Bowing to pressure from farmers, the Modi government on Wednesday proposed to make significant changes to the three farm sector laws, but rejected their demand for a repeal of the reforms.

After five rounds of talks with Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and informal deliberations with Home Minister Amit Shah, the agitating farmers received a seven-point proposal from the government addressing concerns flagged by them over the reforms.

On apprehensions of farmers that the reforms would impact Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandis, the government proposed to allow state government levy taxes at par with such markets in private trading areas.

Another amendment seeks to grant powers to state governments to frame rules to register private traders as against the new law that allows anybody with a PAN card to buy directly from farmers.

The government has approved a framework for the proliferation of public Wi-Fi networks through PM WANI scheme, Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Wednesday.

PM Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM WANI) would unleash a massive Wi-Fi revolution in the country, Prasad said.

This would entail a complete framework involving multiple elements -- Public Data Office (PDO), Public Data Office Aggregators and app providers.

As many as nine states have completed One Nation One Ration Card reform following which the central government has allowed them to raise an additional Rs 23,523 crore, said an official release on Wednesday.

The states which have successfully completed the Public Distribution System (PDS) reforms are Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh is the biggest beneficiary with an additional borrowing window of Rs 4,851 crore, followed by Karnataka Rs 4,509 crore and Gujarat Rs 4,352 crore.

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved Rs 22,810 crore outlay for a new employment scheme that aims at encouraging businesses to do fresh hiring.

Under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana, the government will for two years provide employee and employer contribution to the retirement fund for new hires by businesses and entities, Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar said.

The scheme would till 2023 entail an outgo of Rs 22,810 crore and would benefit around 58.5 lakh employees.

A certain section of people may be hesitant to take Covid-19 vaccine but not biotechnology industry veteran Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, who said on Wednesday she will get vaccinated though its durability is not known as of now.

The Executive Chairperson of Bengaluru-headquartered biotech major Biocon supported the unprecedented speed in taking the vaccine from the development stage to approval process.

"This is an unprecedented pandemic and extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures," Mazumdar-Shaw told PTI in an interview.

Earth remains on course to warm more than 3 degrees Celsius by the century's end despite a dip in greenhouse gas emissions due to the pandemic and pledges to curb pollution, the UN said Wednesday.

In its annual assessment of emissions levels, the UN's Environment Programme found that 2020's 7-percent fall in carbon pollution would have "negligible impact" on warming without a broad and rapid shift away from fossil fuels.

Two allergic reactions were reported on the first day of the rollout of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, the head of Britain's medicine regulator said on Wednesday.

"Last evening, we were looking at two case reports of allergic reactions. We know from the very extensive clinical trials that this wasn't a feature," June Raine, Chief Executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), told lawmakers.

"But if we need to strengthen our advice, now that we've had this experience in the vulnerable populations, the groups who have been selected as a priority, we get that advice to the field immediately."