-The Hindu On the contrary, scrapping labour laws will only reduce wages, lower earnings and reduce consumer demand Following the adage, “never waste a crisis”, the government of Uttar Pradesh, last week, introduced an ordinance that has scrapped most labour laws for three years — ostensibly for creating jobs and for attracting factories exiting China following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. These laws deal with the occupational safety, health and working...
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A plan to revive a broken economy -Harsh Mander, Jayati Ghosh and Prabhat Patnaik
-The Hindu There are clear, implementable steps the Centre can take in fiscal terms to revive the economy and support livelihoods The Prime Minister has just announced Lockdown 4.0. Despite some resulting increase in economic activity, vast numbers of working people will remain without their regular incomes. He also announced a package of ₹20 lakh crore, but this includes already allocated money of ₹6-lakh crore and monetary policy directives to banks and...
More »1,000+ Experts From Around the World Call for 'Degrowth' After COVID-19 Pandemic
-TheWire.in This, they say, will require an overhaul of the capitalist system. A group of over 1,000 experts and organisations have written an open letter questioning the world’s strategy, and suggesting a transformative change as we move beyond the COVID-19 pandemic that has gripped us all. For a more just and equitable society, they argue, “degrowth” is the way to go. This, they say, will require an overhaul of the capitalist system –...
More »COVID-19 lockdown has impacted rural livelihoods severely, shows recent report by a group of NGOs
-Press release by VikasAnvesh Foundation, Sambodhi, Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN), BAIF Development Research Foundation (BAIF), Action for Social Advancement (ASA), SATHI-UP, Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP), Grameen Sahara and Transforming Rural India Foundation (TRIF), dated 13th May, 2020 One of the largest surveys to assess the impact of COVID 19 and the lockdowns on the rural poor was recently undertaken by leading Indian NGOs. The collaborating NGOs have footprints...
More »Getting cash transfers out of a JAM -Jean Drèze and Reetika Khera
-The Hindu For effective cash relief in response to the COVID-19 crisis, the government must think beyond the Jan Dhan Yojana For some years now, the so-called JAM trinity (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) has been propounded as a dream cash-transfer infrastructure for India. The term “trinity” itself gives a sense of the faith and fervour this project sought to inspire (why not “trio”?). It was born in chapter 3 of the Economic Survey 2015,...
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