A recent survey conducted by National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) -- a Delhi-based non-profit organisation -- shows how persons with disabilities in the country were disproportionately affected by the COVID–19 crisis. The report by NCPEDP has observed that persons with disabilities, particularly those from economically deprived sections, went through severe hardship during the lockdown. Without sufficient access to food or money, many of them faced hunger...

-Livemint.com * India must use this moment to redirect government energies towards truly improving public Health for all * India has the legal and industrial infrastructure to produce high-quality and affordable medicines, but we have hobbled it. The Indian patent system needs urgent attention BENGALURU: As we enter the tenth week of lockdown, it is hard to get past debates on the effectiveness of India’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. The relatively low...

-The Hindu A stronger Health system in a country can lead to better outcomes on the economic growth front When public Health sneezes, the economy catches cold. Dire predictions for the post-COVID-19 global economy have come from the International Monetary Fund, which called the present crisis the worst downturn since the Great Depression. Grim forebodings for the Indian economy have been sounded by many distinguished economists and the Governor of the Reserve...

-Down to Earth Survey aimed to evaluate the impact of the nationwide lockdown against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on agricultural production and livelihood   More than half the farmers who harvested their crops suffered a lower yield during the nationwide lockdown, compared to the last season of sowing the same crop, revealed a survey of 1,500 farmers in 200 districts across 12 states. The lockdown — to curb the spread of the novel...

-The Hindu Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana is a cashless/paperless Healthcare access service for the poor and vulnerable families. Only 2,132 people have availed or are now undergoing treatment for COVID-19 under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), India’s cashless/paperless Healthcare access service for the poor and vulnerable families, at a time when India has over a lakh cases, according to figures released AB-PMJAY on Wednesday. Testing for and...