-The Hindu Business Line/ NetworkIdeas.org With India experiencing a severe second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, forcing decentralized lockdowns, a crisis of loss of jobs and livelihoods and resulting hunger is being reported from across the country. A reluctant central government has, therefore, been forced to revive the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), to distribute 5 kilograms of free foodgrain per person per month to the approximately 80 crore...
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India's Large Informal Workforce Must Be Prioritised in Our COVID-19 Vaccine Strategy -Divya Ravindranath and Vikas Kumar
-TheWire.in Informal workers are less likely to be vaccinated due to multiple barriers in the existing vaccination framework. The COVID-19 pandemic and consequent lockdowns have had a devastating impact on India’s informal sector, which employs a vast majority of the country’s workforce. Even as India struggles to extend vaccine coverage amid severe shortage and a deadly second wave, it is critical that this process prioritises the millions of informal workers who are...
More »No Savings, Scanty Jobs: Why Second Wave Has Been Harder For Migrant Workers -Shreehari Paliath
-IndiaSpend.com Migrant Workers in different states have been struggling to find work, wages and rations, say activists and researchers. The Public Distribution System must be universalised, they say, and free rations must be provided for at least six more months. Bengaluru: Sudhir Paswan, 29, is back to square one--in his village in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district, counting his losses. It has been more than a week since he returned, after failing to secure...
More »Lessons from COVID-19: Need better demand estimation factors to provide housing for all -Rajneesh Sareen and Mitashi Singh
-Down to Earth Physical distancing as well as home quarantining have changed the housing standardisation game; an overhaul is needed India witnessed a mass exodus of Migrant Workers in April 2020: Nearly 40 million Migrant Workers were affected by the lockdown imposed to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), according to the World Bank. Some estimates pegged the figure at 120-140 million. In April 2021, the country had a deja-vu:...
More »Govt. has an active role to play during the pandemic in terms of nutritional support, education & jobs, says IFPRI report
A recent report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) states that the countrywide lockdown imposed on 25th March, 2020, which was extended for nearly two months in phases, affected the food and nutritional status of vulnerable sections of the Indian population. It says that a programme like the Mid-Day Meal Scheme covers four-fifth of primary-school-aged children in the country that helps in improving not only nutrition but also...
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