- Press release by Right to Food campaign dated 30 December, 2022 The Right to Food campaign has demanded that the government should restore the grain entitlements granted under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY). On 23 December, 2022 the Union government announced that it would discontinue the PMGKAY from 1 January, 2023, thus halving the ration entitlements of eligible people.  Under the National Food Security Act, 2013, (NFSA), all priority category ration cardholders...

-Press released by Christian Aid dated 27 December, 2022 * Study identifies the year’s 10 costliest extreme events influenced by the climate crisis - each caused more than $3 billion in damage. * Report also examines 10 other extreme events that caused massive human and environmental damage, mostly in the poorest countries. * The floods that submerged parts of Pakistan in June displaced 7m people and caused more than $30 billion in estimated...

-Press release by NREGA Sangharsh Morcha dated December 26, 2022 * Centre withheld over Rs. 7,500 cr funds, Rs. 2,744 cr due to NREGA workers * Centre hasn’t sanctioned labour budget for 2022-23 * Loss of around Rs. 3,891-Rs. 6,046 crores of NREGA wages this FY due to stoppage of work * Average days of work for the current year dropped to meagre 23 from 63.46 days (pre-covid) and 49.96 days (post-covid) Victimisation of workers: MGNREGA...

Jharkhand's government schools have a massive teacher shortage, a survey by Gyan Vigyan Samiti Jharkhand has found. The survey was conducted in 138 primary and upper primary schools between September and October 2022 to assess their condition after the Covid-19 pandemic. Jharkhand's school system was shut for two years, among the longest in the world. Teachers told the surveyors they felt that most students had forgotten how to read and...

-The Hindu The Right to Information (RTI) Act was passed by Parliament in 2005, aiming to give people access to the records of the Central and State governments. It was a vital reform to help activists and individuals ensure transparency and accountability in governance. In a discussion moderated by Sonikka Loganathan, Anjali Bhardwaj and Saurav Das take stock of what’s working and the issues that appear to be weakening the law....