-The Hindu It is time to formulate a wage employment-based national urban livelihood scheme similar to MGNREGS During the pandemic, we have again and again faced the difficult choice of saving lives versus protecting livelihoods. According to the World Economic Outlook report of April, 2021 of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), almost all countries, except China, experienced economic contraction last year. The global GDP shrunk by 3.3%. The contraction in the U.S.,...

-PTI/ The Hindu 1,19,000 Indian children lost caregivers to COVID-19, says Lancet report The countries with the highest number of children who lost primary caregivers include South Africa, Peru, United States, India, Brazil, and Mexico. More than 1.5 million children in 21 countries, including 1,19,000 from India, lost their primary and secondary caregivers to COVID-19 during the first 14 months of the pandemic, according to a study published in The Lancet. The study funded...

In his Mann ki Baat address to the nation on 30th May, 2021, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi appreciated the fact that the farmers received "more than the minimum support price (MSP) for mustard" pertaining to the rabi production. One can easily guess from this statement of the PM that the mustard growers in Haryana (and elsewhere) preferred to sell their produce to private traders in the open market instead...

-Moneycontrol.com Edible oils have risen as much as 62 percent in the last year as bad weather in major producing countries and increasing use of biofuels has hit supply, but experts say the market will stabilize in a few months Prices of edible oils such as mustard, vanaspati, soya, palm, sunflower, and groundnut are more than their highest in a decade. Prices have risen as much as 62 percent from last year, Food...

-The Hindu The report, ‘My Body is My Own’, shows only 55% of women are fully empowered to make choices. Nearly half the women from 57 developing countries do not have the right to make decisions regarding their bodies, including using contraception, seeking healthcare or even on their sexuality, according to the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) flagship State of World Population Report 2021 titled ‘My Body is My Own’ launched on...