-The Hindu It allows employers to extend unlimited advances to workers and charge an unspecified interest rate on such loans Debt bondage is a form of slavery that exists when a worker is induced to accept advances on wages, of a size, or at a level of interest, such that the advance will never be repaid. One of India’s hastily-passed Labour Codes — the Code on Wages, 2019 — gives legal sanction...

-Scroll.in A contentious clause in the legislation has made experts apprehensive. Among the changes introduced by the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which was passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday, is to allow electoral registration officers to ask new voters for their Aadhaar numbers to establish their identities. Officials could also use the 12-digit unique identification number linked to residents’ biometric details to authenticate the identities of already registered voters. The government has...

-The Hindu Business Line While data from CMIE and EPFO present a contrasting picture, jobs in the unorganised sector continue to be difficult to assess Employment data in India have always been controversial as the concept per se is quite nebulous. While corporate data on employment is foolproof as the headcount is known and revealed in annual reports, the same cannot be said about the non-corporate sector. Often, data on employment exchanges...

-The Hindu Dire need for awareness and education regarding the superstition, says study conducted in Odisha Health concerns continue to be a major underlying reason behind witchcraft related violence in Odisha while there is a dire need for awareness and education among the people regarding superstition, says a study that analysed 102 INCidents of violence. The study ‘Witch-Hunting in Odisha’ conducted by State Commission for Women, Odisha and Action Aid Association, a non-government...

-The Hindu Redistribution measures have been ineffective and there are no policies discouraging accumulation of INCome and wealth The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the stark divide between the rich and the poor. At this juncture, evaluating the state of inequality serves as an eye-opener on the INCome/wealth divides prevailing across regions. Such divides are represented in terms of the share of INCome/wealth among the top 10% of the population against the bottom...