In the absence of income or expenditure-based headcount ratio, the growth in the real wages (i.e., nominal wages adjusted against retail inflation) of the manual workers is considered to be a good proxy to assess the trends in poverty. This is because the manual, unskilled/ semi-skilled labourers exist at the bottom of the pyramid or economic hierarchy, and most of them belong to the social categories Scheduled Castes (SCs) and...

-RuralIndiaOnline.org It's been hard days for powerloom Weavers in the city's Bazardiha cluster – with lockdowns and monsoon flooding. But it’s the UP government’s review of their electricity subsidy that has them the most worried In the narrow lanes of Bazardiha, amid the clacking sounds of powerlooms, Wasim Akram is busy at work. He has been weaving since the age of 14 in the same two-storey brick-cement house – generations old, as...

-Hindustan Times The All India Muslim OBC Organisation (AIMOBC) is looking at expanding their campaign to press for caste-based census across the country and wants a scientific headcount of all castes, including those among Muslims, for enhanced affirmative action benefits. As the demand for a caste-based census intensifies, an organisation of backward Muslims has launched a state-wide campaign to press for it. The All India Muslim OBC Organisation (AIMOBC) is looking at...

-ThePrint.in Jitendra Prasad, of Patwa Toli village in Bihar’s Gaya district, runs a loom from his three-storeyed house — he makes saffron shrouds, or kafans. Gaya: Swathes of saffron shrouds have been left to dry on the terrace of 50-year-old Jitendra Prasad’s three-storeyed home at Patwa Toli town in Bihar’s Gaya district. The other congested floors house raw materials and nine powerloom machines required to manufacture the shrouds.   Prasad reluctantly admits that...

-The Hindu Business Line If the industry does not leverage technology and digital platforms, the fortunes of the Weavers would only worsen Handlooms in India have a rich cultural heritage and are renowned the world over for their craftsmanship since ancient times. While the cultural significance of handlooms has been on the wane in recent times, they have not yet lost their special charm in the textile market, much like how a...