-The Indian Express With livelihoods affected during the pandemic, the importance of land ownership for access to formal loans as well as government relief programmes became more evident. But the relatively poor availability of clear and updated land titles remains a hurdle. For a significant section of the rural poor, land is both an asset and a source of livelihood. Many informal jobs in the urban centres were lost as the economy...

-The Indian Express On the Covid-19 lockdown in India, Tumbe said that while internal MIgration takes place in all countries, India was probably the only country that faced a massive MIgration crisis. The recent laws in Jharkhand and Haryana that reserve private sector jobs for local residents are “nativist” and should be struck down, panelists said Tuesday at the second edition of the eight-part webinar series — Thinc MIgration — organised by...

-Press release by Working Peoples Charter (WPC) Network dated 23rd March, 2021 A statement on the condition of India’s migrant workforce one year after the COVID-19 lockdowns 24 March marks the anniversary of India’s harsh nationwide COVID-19 lockdown when we witnessed an unparalleled impact on the country’s poor, particularly internal migrants who comprise a 140 million-strong workforce. In 2020, India saw the largest urban-rural exodus in its history, with millions of workers...

-OpenTheMagazine.com From working to make Kutch villages self-sufficient to investing in traditional practices in the Himalayas to digging wells in Bengaluru, India’s frontline fighters are making water scarcity a thing of the past GAZALA PAUL, 56 AHMEDABAD: MAKING VILLAGES SELF-SUFFICIENT “If I can save water at the individual level by using water sparingly and not allowing others to waste, that is the beginning,” says Gazala Paul. But she has been doing much more...

-The Hindu ‘Not paying minimum wages amounts to forced labour’ VISAKHAPATNAM: The Human Rights Forum (HRF) and Samalochana Association expressed their disappointment over the quantum of increase in the wage rate of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. “The increase in wages by a meagre ₹8, from the existing ₹237 to ₹245 a day, is measly and amounts to mere eyewash. We are concerned about...