-The Hindu A monthly cash transfer to informal workers will provide them relief and also revive the economy The majority of India’s working population is today reeling from the impact of multiple crises: a health emergency more ferocious than any in independent India; massive job losses and dramatic declines in incomes from work; and significantly increased mass hunger and worsening nutrition. Many failures The Supreme Court on May 13 directed the Centre and the...

With the rise in Covid-19 daily new cases and daily new deaths since March this year, media reports (please click here and here) on migrant workers returning back to their native places (i.e. places of origin) from migration destinations (i.e. workplaces likes cities and large industrial towns to where the informal and low skilled workers from the marginalised sections of the society migrate seasonally, and sometimes for a longer duration,...

-The Hindu Balram Bhargava says more Rapid Antigen Tests will be conducted from now on. The national COVID-19 positivity rate stood at 21% and 310 of the 734 districts had reported positivity greater than or equal to the national average, Balram Bhargava, Director-General, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said on Tuesday. At the Health Ministry briefing, Dr. Bhargava said the country now had the RTPCR testing capacity of about 16 lakh a...

-Hindustan Times Studies on migrants, domestic workers, and jobs put off till situation improves. The delay may have an adverse impact on the proposed national employment policy. The Union government has suspended work on four key surveys on migrants, domestic workers, and jobs created by the transport sector and professionals because of the deadly second wave of the pandemic, possibly delaying a national employment policy based on these surveys. With lockdowns and curfews...

-The Hindu Ministry concedes Q1 growth to be hit, bats for expanding vaccination pace. The second COVID-19 wave which is spreading fast beyond the worst-affected districts in the country, could dent economic activity till June this year, and expanding vaccination pace in the country is the “need of the hour”, the Finance Ministry said on Friday. The Ministry also indicated it is not in favour of a national lockdown to curb the pandemic,...