-Down to Earth State forest officials deter Kalahandi district’s village to procure kendu leaves through gram sabha    Residents of Dhanarpur village in Odisha’s Kalahandi district have hit a roadblock in procuring kendu leaves through gram sabhas — one of the most prominent minor forest produce (MFP) in the state.   The Odisha government granted relaxation for collection and harvest of MFPs when the nationwide lockdown was extended for the second time in...

-The Hindu It was up to the States to decide how to fund this cost, states the national transporter. The railways on Monday said the “sending States” should pay them for transporting migrant workers on Shramik Specials and it was up to them to decide how to fund this cost. “As per the guidelines issued, the sending State will pay the consolidated fare to Railways. Sending State may decide to bear this cost...

-The Hindu Policy responses to the migrant crisis reinforce the idea of two Indias Jamalo Makdam, 12, died on April 18 walking back from the chilli fields of Telangana to her home in Chhattisgarh. She and a group of other workers decided to return home on foot, as many migrant workers did, after losing their jobs, incomes and even accommodation following the announcement of a nationwide lockdown. Her journey ended in death,...

-Outlook India While nationwide lockdown is unavoidable and is a wise decision to contain the spread of the virus, there is a need to address the possibility of an unintended baby boom among poor and vulnerable groups. With most countries following nationwide lockdown or stay at home orders due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, there has been a debate on a possible unintended baby boom across the world. Although many demographers from...

-Hindustan Times The Congress chief said the central government barely gave a four-hour notice of the lockdown, thus denying workers and migrant labourers the opportunity to return to their homes. Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday attacked the government for charging train tickets from migrant labourers going back to their homes and announced that her party will bear the cost for the rail travel of all such workers stranded due to the...