-The Hindu Second wave figures are from April to May 2021. The number of “excess deaths” registered by the Civil Registration System (CRS) in Chhattisgarh during the second wave (April to May 2021) was 43,062, which is 4.85 times the official reported figure of 8,878 COVID-19 deaths for the same period. If the first three months of 2021 are included, the undercount factor decreases to 3.6 times (34,897 excess deaths and 9,677 official...

-The Hindu It officially objected to affixing nationality to the virus variant later The government used the term “Indian double mutant strain” in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court just days before it officially objected to affixing nationality to the virus variant. A May 9 affidavit refers to “Indian double mutant strain” while detailing the steps taken by the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Institute of Virology to develop...

-The Hindu Unprecedented damage calls for policies geared to climate change For people in the ecologically fragile Sunderbans, life revolves around battling high tides daily and cyclones regularly. But every cyclone throws up new challenges to the Sunderbans and its inhabitants — something the people had not imagined, and policy makers are not prepared for. Over just the past three years, the Sunderbans, which is home to close to five million people, has...

-The New Indian Express An analysis by The New Indian Express shows that it is not just petrol and diesel prices that are scalding you. Prices of edible oil, tea, and pulses have seen a double-digit growth in the last year. When the April 2021 retail inflation came down to a modest 4.29%, an attempt might have been made to communicate a false sense of relief. The real picture, though, is very...

-Scroll.in The government has barred access to the site but Scroll.in was able to visit and speak to the workers. It was the last week of April, when a coronavirus surge was devastating Delhi, with overwhelmed hospitals running out of oxygen, and crematoriums running out of space. India’s capital was under a strict lockdown. Most economic activity had come to a halt. But every morning, a 50-year-old construction supervisor travelled over 20 km...