-The Indian Express Temporary denial of food rations is one thing, cancellation of ration cards is far more serious. How many cards have been cancelled for lack of Aadhaar linkage? No one really knows. The Covid crisis has enhanced the dependence of poor people on social security schemes such as the public distribution system (PDS). Many of them, unfortunately, continue to have difficulties in accessing these schemes due to Aadhaar-related problems. Startling findings...

-The Indian Express Delhi Police's special branch asked the district police to intensify patrolling at night to prevent unauthorized movement of labourers. As Covid cases surge and the possibility of a lockdown looms in the national capital, the Special Branch of Delhi Police, after taking cues from the mass migrant movement during the last shutdown, has asked all 15 district police officials to counsel migrant workers and send them back to their...

-Down to Earth The country reported 82,170 VIIRS alerts in the fortnight till April 14; Uttarakhand sees significant jump in number   India recorded 82,170 forest fire alerts from April 1-14, 2021 nearly double the number reported during the same period past year, according to Global Forest Watch (GFW), an open-source monitoring application. The country reported 43,031 alerts during the corresponding fortnight in 2020, according to GFW data using Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer...

The National Food Security Act 2013 guarantees maternity benefit to the tune of Rs. 6,000/- per child by the Central Government for pregnant women and lactating mothers, barring those who are already availing such benefits while being in regular employment with the Central Government or State Governments or Public Sector Undertakings or under other laws. The NFSA 2013 also legally guarantees free meals for every pregnant woman and lactating mother...

-The Indian Express With 2.5 crore metric tonnes of paddy a year, and almost every family engaged in farming, East Burdwan district is the rice bowl of West Bengal. Burdwan: AMID much fanfare, in January this year, BJP president J P Nadda visited Mushali here to have lunch at the house of a marginal farmer. Following the meal, he announced the launch of the BJP’s ‘Krishak Suraksha Abhiyan’ and ‘Ek Mutho Chal’...