-The New Indian Express Lists Kerala and north-east states as vulnerable spots for outbreak BENGALURU: A recent study has revealed that the global ‘hotspots’ where the new deadly coronaviruses may emerge, driven by global changes in land use by humans. While China tops the list, the study mentions India’s Kerala and North-East states as vulnerable hotspots. The study ‘Land-use change and the livestock revolution increase the risk of zoonotic coronavirus transmission from...

Although services provided by the gig and platform workers touch the lives of each one of us, we have little knowledge about the role of digital labour platforms in transforming the world of work. Such digital labour platforms have created unprecedented opportunities for workers, businesses and society. However, they also pose serious threats to decent work and fair competition. A recent report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) shows that the...

-The Indian Express On Tuesday, skim milk powder (SMP) prices at Global Dairy Trade (GDT), the fortnightly auction platform of New Zealand’s Fonterra Cooperative, averaged $3,243 per tonne, the highest since the $3,264 of August 5, 2014. Vegetable prices have cooled with the usual winter-time increase in supplies of carrots, cauliflower, cabbage, radish, capsicum and peas. Even onions and tomatoes aren’t on fire like they were only a couple of months ago. That...

Commenting on the recently released fifth round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) data for 17 states and five Union Territories (UTs) in an article published in The Indian Express (dated 6th January, 2021), Arvind Subramanian and his co-authors have stated that India has made progress on certain outcomes, including infant mortality rate (IMR), under-five mortality rate (U5MR) and neonatal mortality rate (NNMR). Relying on various rounds of NFHS data,...

A recent survey conducted by National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) -- a Delhi-based non-profit organisation -- shows how persons with disabilities in the country were disproportionately affected by the COVID–19 crisis. The report by NCPEDP has observed that persons with disabilities, particularly those from economically deprived sections, went through severe hardship during the lockdown. Without sufficient access to food or money, many of them faced hunger...