-Down to Earth There are prominent shortcomings in implementation, especially registration of workers and and collection and distribution of Cess The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic had widespread and devastating consequences to communities and enterprises in India and across the globe. However, the situation was particularly grim for the 453.6 million internal migrants in India, evidenced by the unprecedented ‘reverse migration’ witnessed during the pandemic.  Their vulnerabilities were exacerbated by the fact a...

The newly released Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households and Land and Livestock Holdings of Households in Rural India (NSS 77th Round) establishes the fact that the farm households are more and more relying on wage incomes instead of 'net incomes from crop cultivation' for their livelihoods. In Marxian lexicon, proletarisation (a term that we can loosely use for depeasantisation) refers to the process in which the farmers/ tillers are...

-The Hindu India’s religious mix has been stable since 1951, says Pew Center study The religious composition of India’s population since Partition has remained largely stable, with both Hindus and Muslims, the two largest religious groups, showing not only a marked decline but also a convergence in fertility rates, according to a new study published by the Pew Research Center, a non-profit based in Washington DC. The study, based on data sourced from...

-TheIndiaForum.in The Periodic Labour Force Survey for 2019-20 has thrown up some unusual and contradictory patterns in employment and unemployment. However, the trends in the labour market over three years of the PLFS from 2017-18 onwards are clear and cause for worry. The pandemic has had a disastrous impact on lives and livelihoods. The national lockdown of March–May 2020 will be remembered for its devastating neglect of migrant workers and the unprecedented,...

-TheWire.in India loses 4% of its GDP annually due to malnourishment and hence, the objective of economic development cannot be met without addressing the issue of child malnutrition. India has achieved remarkable levels of Economic growth, and yet, despite all the progress, it continues to host the highest number of malnourished children in the world. Child malnutrition is classified as ‘undernutrition’ (inadequate consumption of calories) and ‘overnutrition’ (excess consumption of calories). Of these,...