-The Hindu  Growth impulses remained fragile, manufacturing output tanked 9.5% After touching a six-month high in May, India’s retail inflation was virtually unchanged in June at about 6.3%, remaining out of the central bank’s comfort zone for a second month in a row. Economists expect the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to revisit its inflation estimate of 5.1% for 2021-22 and stressed that lack of fiscal policy action to cool prices could precipitate...

-The Hindu It is critical that we safeguard young people’s well-being because India’s welfare hinges on them World Population Day is marked on July 11 every year to focus attention on the importance of population-related issues. It was first observed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1989 and aims to raise the discourse on sustainable ways to safeguard each life that adds up to a population. As flagged by a UNDP...

-The Hindu Business Line Trade union seeks urgent measures to alleviate pain of joblessness, drastic fall in income Trade unions and industrial associations painted a grim picture of the unemployment scenario in the country at a recent meeting of the Labour Standing Committee. The trade unions demanded urgent measures such as direct cash transfers to address job loss and wage loss, while the representatives of industries demanded a re-look at the current...

-Down to Earth Child marriages surged after COVID-19 first wave; streamlined state efforts helped arrest the trend, claim officials As many as 3,970 villages in Odisha were declared child marriage-free between January and the first week of July 2021. The development has coincided with second wave of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic; the state had registered a surge in child marriages during the first wave. In 2020, only 62 villages were declared...

-Livemint.com The lack of jobs is forcing many people to stop looking for one and thus drop out of the workforce. Here’s the good news first. According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), the unemployment rate for June 2021 fell to 9.17%. It was at 11.9% in May. The following chart plots the unemployment rate since January 2016, the period for which this data is available. As can be seen from...