-Firstpost.com For marginalised communities, modern education is a precious asset and a way for acquiring socio-economic mobility in an unequal society In the past few weeks, several students belonging to marginalised communities such as Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) have received offers to study in prestigious universities abroad including Royal Holloway London, Oxford University, SOAS, London, among others. However, privatisation in education has meant that the amount of wealth required for...

-The Telegraph With opportunity costs attached to the livelihoods of pastoralists being so high, the government must facilitate their safe movement India is battling a second wave of Covid-19 infections; this time it has made inroads into rural India. Pastoral communities, who have limited information about the symptoms, preventive measures, diagnosis, treatment and vaccination, are becoming silent victims. A brief by the League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development claims that...

-Livemint.com As of 31 March, the total outstanding term deposits with banks in rural India contracted by 1.05% to ₹6.99 trillion from a year earlier Every three months, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) declares region wise data for term deposits. As of 31 March, the total term deposits of commercial banks in India rose 8.42% to ₹86.4 trillion from a year earlier. Term deposits are money that depositors keep in a bank...

-The Hindu Remigration of young, trained workers Bihar, Jharkhand workers at minimal levels A survey of young, Semi-skilled migrants from rural Bihar and Jharkhand in April 2021 has found that last year’s lockdown led to an informalisation of labour among men, while most of the women simply dropped out of the work force altogether. It also found that the number of out-of-State migrants halved between March 2020 and 2021, with no net effect...

-The Hindu Only about 15% have been immunised outside urban areas, despite reporting over 60% of the cases Even as the second COVID-19 wave has showed signs of easing, the spread of cases into rural areas and the relatively lower vaccination numbers in rural India points to a burgeoning rural crisis. During the first wave (which peaked in September 2020), the COVID-19 cases started piling up in the urban areas initially and...