A recent survey that was conducted through telephonic interviews among 1,405 respondents across the states of Delhi-NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Rajasthan and Jharkhand reveals the precarious conditions of workers nearly 45 days after the announcement of COVID-19 lockdown. The report entitled Labouring Lives: Hunger, Precarity and Despair amid Lockdown tries to understand the extent (and depth) of job loss and hunger 45 days after the lockdown. Hunger and...

-Livemint.com * India must use this moment to redirect government energies towards truly improving public health for all * India has the legal and industrial infrastructure to produce high-quality and affordable medicines, but we have hobbled it. The Indian patent system needs urgent attention BENGALURU: As we enter the tenth week of lockdown, it is hard to get past debates on the effectiveness of India’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. The relatively low...

Preliminary results of an ongoing study by the Centre for Sustainable Employment of Azim Premji University (APU) indicate that the lockdown has had a devastating impact on the livelihood security of the working people. The survey is currently being conducted across the country by the Centre for Sustainable Employment along with civil society organisations. Impact on livelihoods Analysis of preliminary data collected through telephonic interviews between 13th April, 2020 and 9th May, 2020...

-Newsclick.in Meet Siya Ram, president of Dalit Ekta Camp, a JJ cluster in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj colony, an upwardly-mobile residential neighbourhood. The Modi government’s decision to impose a national lockdown, on since 24 March, to check the spread of the Novel Coronavirus has caused tremendous hardship to the poor. Its most lamentable symbol has been the sight of lakhs of migrants fleeing cities to villages, walking or cycling down the highway or...

-TheWire.in Both the government and middle-class society have left the country's migrant workers to their own devices. As citizens bearing equal rights, migrant workers, Dalits, tribals, Muslims and sexual minorities are a substantial part of the modern nation-state. However, the actual story of India’s economic growth has showcased their persistent marginalisation and exclusion. These groups survive in isolation and have often been treated with disdain, mistrust or even as a threat to...