-The Hindu The public sector, private players and civil society should all work together for public service delivery COVID-19 has tested the resilience of all public institutions. Despite its efforts, bureaucracy has emerged as a major concern for the ineffective response to the COVID-19 crisis. This inadequacy is the reflection of the outdated nature of public bureaucracy. In the 21st century, democratic countries are still relying on traditional bureaucracies to perform public policy...

-Frontline.in The government has few constructive leads to offer as the second wave of the pandemic develops into a crisis of an unprecedented scale. The massive wave of COVID-19 infections engulfing the country is testimony to the Central government’s total ineptness in handling the crisis. In April, nearly 42,000 deaths were officially recorded as having been caused by COVID-19. In less than a month, the count went up by more than 20 per...

-The Hindu “This is a George Floyd moment for India’s citizens, with the refrain – I can’t breathe," the court says. The Delhi High Court on Friday held the Government’s imposition of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on oxygen concentrators imported for personal use as ‘unconstitutional’ and said oxygen concentrators constitute a life-saving device during the COVID-19 pandemic. “This is a George Floyd moment for the citizens of this country. The refrain is...

-The Pioneer The severe wave of the killer pandemic has virtually nullified all the good work undertaken by the Yogi Adityanath Government After a month of devastation Covid-19 has caused in Uttar Pradesh leaving behind a trail of deaths and stories of agony emanating from almost each mohulla across the State, the insiders in the BJP and in the RSS realise that whatever be their achievements like providing houses to poor or...

-The Hindu The universalisation of social security remains an unfulfilled aspiration in the new code on social security As COVID-19 destroys lives and livelihoods, an unprepared government has rendered low-paid, informal workers, who constitute 91% of the workforce, totally hapless, pushing them further into poverty. Imagine if these same informal workers had social security (including free basic curative care in public clinics and hospitals, the elderly had old age pensions, the dying...