-TheWire.in A survey of mazdoor mandis in Surat, Lucknow and Pune shows that even many months after the lockdown ended, workers are struggling to make ends meet. “Since the time of COVID-19 lockdown, there has been a severe crisis of employment opportunities in local labour markets. Getting work for even two days a week is difficult for us. Daily wages too, for any work possible, have dipped by half,” says Rajesh Singh,...

-The Indian Express The Corruption Perception Index generates short-lived hype/hysteria but rarely prompts a Pygmalion effect. MEAsurement of corruption has remained a perennial problem. Transparency International’s (TI) first Corruption Perception Index (CPI) released in 1995 was a bold initiative. Until then, corruption was a taboo topic. International financial institutions regarded corruption as an internal policy matter of the respective countries. Does the CPI nudge governments to initiate anti-corruption reforms, referred to as...

-The Indian Express Haryana farmers' protest: The Indian Express looks at the preparations being made at ground level amid ongoing standoff between the government and farm unions. With no resolution in sight, farmers fighting against the three controversial farm laws have now started preparing themselves for a long battle. With a deep-rooted sentiment among the farmers that the struggle is MEAnt to “save their land”, while terming it their “mother”, they seem...

-The Hindu The restrictions would have made it impossible for many scientists to participate in online conferences. After a backlash from scientists, the government has withdrawn a controversial order that required scientists and researchers, among others, participating in online, international scientific seminars and conferences, to get prior clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). “In view of the easing of restrictions on travel and assembly of people guidelines issued regarding political clearance...

-Livemint.com India’s new draft labour codes, which envisage a shorter work week, may offer some flexibility to a small section of the country’s workforce. But it is not going to reduce working hours in a country that has among the longest working hours in the world For white collar workers who have made an easy transition to working from home, the prospect of a four-day work week, as proposed by India’s new...