-CBGAIndia.in India’s response to the Pandemic has depended heavily on the exploited labour of women workers, most of them from marginalised backgrounds. These are ASHAs or Accredited Social Health Activists, the cadre of frontline health workers that has been mobilised for everything from door-to-door surveys, distributing medicine kits, measuring oxygen saturation, monitoring containment zones and spreading awareness about vaccines. 70,000 such women recently went on strike in Maharashtra demanding higher pay,...

-The Hindu “It should result in universalisation of rations to all migrant workers during the Pandemic” The Supreme Court’s ruling on Tuesday should result in the universalisation of rations to all migrant workers across India as long as the Pandemic continues, as opposed to the government’s one-time relief measures, said intervenors in the petition. Social activists Harsh Mander, Anjali Bhardwaj and Jagdeep Chhokar also welcomed the Supreme Court’s direction to the government to...

-IndiaSpend.com All-India picture unclear as only three states are sharing comorbidity data of Covid-19 deceased. Doctors are calling upon states to reveal data on both comorbidities and the spread of variants to gauge their impact on Covid-19 deaths Kolkata: More people without any underlying comorbid conditions died of Covid-19 during the peak of the second wave of the Pandemic in West Bengal, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu than in the peak of the...

-NetworkIdeas.org In terms of economic policy, the Modi government must be perhaps the most conservative in the world. During the entire period of the Pandemic when millions of people lost their incomes and livelihood support, most governments around the world provided universal cash transfers to the people, but not the Modi government. True, many other third world countries too did not provide such universal cash transfers, but their hands were tied;...

-Hindustan Times While recognising that women’s and girl’s empowerment is a moral imperative, investing in academic, vocation, and life skills for girls and young women represents one of the most significant opportunities for sustainable and inclusive development Even after decades of work and attention, gender inequality remains a significant barrier to human development. Women and girls worldwide are still discriminated against in accessing healthcare, education, political representation, and employment, impeding the realisation...