With this issue we bring a closure to the year 2020. This was a year that one will never forget because of the COVID-19 pandemic and strict lock downs which affected and changed our social life style and customs. The pandemic made us realize that the world is very small and an invisible virus can bring the world to its knees. Compared to other recent pandemics such as SARS (2003), H1N1 Swine Flu (2009), Ebola (2013) and Zika (2015) which could be contained effectively, COVID-19 spread faster and sooner than the governments could respond leading to worldwide shutdowns and tragedies that we are still to come out from. Mission mode search for drugs and vaccines to stop the spread of this virus has resulted within one year of the start of the pandemic, several vaccines approved and launched for emergency use. This is the earliest in history of vaccine development that has been developed, certified and approved for public use. India had its own unique challenges in dealing with the pandemic because of the size of the country and large population, but the government has led from the front and India became a leader by approving two vaccines for emergency use. With vaccinations start-ups now, we expect an end to the COVID-19 pandemic soon, but the world would never be the same again.

Towards the end of 2020, thousands of farmers gathered at the borders of Delhi to protest against three farm laws - Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act. The government formulated these laws to accelerate growth in the agriculture sector through private sector participation and investment in building infrastructure and supply chains for farm produce. The laws would also help small farmers providing them viable options to sell their produce outside APMC ‘mandis’ to whomsoever gives them a better price. However, the farmers believe that the laws will lead to breakdown of the APMC-MSP system which purchases much of the surplus food grain, and lead to dominance of large corporations that would be detrimental to them in the long term. So far, the government and the farmers have not been able to find a way to end the standoff. We believe that to improve the financial situation of smaller farmers, entry of private players in agriculture will definitely help, but proper legal checks should be in place to prevent exploitation of small and marginal farmers. This is the only way to uplift the Indian farmer and agriculture that is stuck at crossroads since the green revolution. The farmers also should look beyond the protection of minimum support price, and the government should create an environment where even the smallest of the farmers can transform his farming into a profitable venture and not the busines as usual.

With these thoughts we present the third issue of year 2020 for the RASSA Journal of Science for Society. Your suggestions and comments are welcome at our email editor.scienceforsociety@gmail.com.