-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...

-The Telegraph Workers yet to receive a month's payment from Centre and state at a time, no work is available owing to the pandemic Koushalya Hembram, 42, of Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district worked under the rural job scheme for 21 days in April. But the unmarried resident of Podahat village had not received her wages till Monday. No other work is available in her area amid a resurgent Covid. “I keep checking my mobile...

-The Hindu A monthly cash transfer to informal workers will provide them relief and also revive the economy The majority of India’s working population is today reeling from the impact of multiple crises: a health emergency more ferocious than any in independent India; massive job losses and dramatic declines in incomes from work; and significantly increased mass hunger and worsening nutrition. Many failures The Supreme Court on May 13 directed the Centre and the...

-TheWire.in For millions of rural families who still lack access to good internet connectivity or are computer illiterate, the programme may end up increasing out-of-pocket expenses. As part of the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP), the central government intends to create an Aadhaar-like unique identification for every land parcel in the country. The initiative named Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) will assign a geo-referenced 14-digit alphanumeric unique ID for...

-Down to Earth The nomadic pastoral communities cannot afford to remain in their houses even during a pandemic The second wave of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has ravaged livelihoods of people in urban areas. Its has now quietly started to wreak havoc on the lives of people in rural areas. Across the country, villagers are brushing off symptoms of COVID-19 as seasonal flu. The crumbling health infrastructure fails to provide them...