-The Telegraph The government and the elite know nothing of the working poor’s problems A very distinguished virologist whom I happen to know believes that the lockdown in India was an overreaction. His argument is that since the coronavirus was coming to India from outside, testing and quarantining people coming from abroad, and those with whom they might have been in contact within the country, should have been quite sufficient to prevent...

-Hindustan Times Three main factors are driving food prices higher, according to data from the consumer affairs ministry, as well as a dozen agricultural produce market committees (APMCs), which are state-regulated wholesale points. New Delhi: The prices of key staples, barring cereals, have surged nearly three times from a month ago because of a noticeable supply shock amid the three-week nationwide lockdown to fight the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, according to official...

-The Indian Express According to the 2011 census, 3.5 million migrants who moved within the last one year stated economic reasons for migration. The corresponding numbers for the 2001 and 1991 census, were, respectively, 2.2 and 1.4 million. The COVID-19 crisis is affecting rural India at a time when agriculture is already in a precarious situation. The thousands of migrant workers who have returned to their villages since the lockdown used to...

-The Hindu An unprecedented scale of state investment is required to lift up the Indian economy Even before the full impact of COVID-19 on the health of Indians is clear, the economic impact of the measures required to deal with the pandemic are already posing grave problems. The Indian economy was in dire straits even before COVID-19 reached our shores. Specifically, the lockdown and other movement restrictions, backed by scientific and political...

-Press release by Right to Food Campaign, Jharkhand chapter, dated 10th April, 2020 Members of the Right to Food Campaign (Jharkhand chapter) conducted a quick survey of essential facilities in rural areas during the first week of April 2020. “Observers” dispersed over 50 blocks in 19 districts of the state were asked to check the local facilities (ration shops, dal-bhat kendras, anganwadis, among others) and report their observations over the phone....