A recent report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) states that the countrywide lockdown imposed on 25th March, 2020, which was extended for nearly two months in phases, affected the food and nutritional status of vulnerable sections of the Indian population. It says that a programme like the Mid-Day Meal Scheme covers four-fifth of primary-school-aged children in the country that helps in improving not only nutrition but also...

-The Hindu Technological changes in education and health are worsening inequities Virginia Eubanks’ widely acclaimed book, Automating Inequality, alerted us to the ways that automated decision-making tools exacerbated inequalities, especially by raising the barrier for people to receive services they are entitled to. The novel coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the use of digital technologies in India, even for essential services such as health and education, where access to them might be poor. Economic...

-The Indian Express In a nation where access to education remains a fundamental issue and where an individual’s success largely depends on access to resources, shaped by socio-economic and caste advantages, 'merit' is just another form of discrimination. While a public health crisis grips the nation, the recent incident at IIT Kharagpur where a professor named Seema Singh at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences allegedly made casteist slurs during a...

-GoIMonitor.com Study shows that hold of caste and social standing persists despite affirmative actions like reservations. Cities offer better occupational mobility than villages ARE YOU likely to be poor and socially backward if your grandfather was too?  A latest paper finds that educational levels have increased in India over three generations but people are still holding same occupations. So, there is clear evidence of “grandfather effect”. This multigenerational mobility differs in social groups....

-The Indian Express India started the calendar year by recording the slowest GDP growth rate in six years and ended it by entering a technical recession. Here's how it all unfolded. Dear Readers, Right through the year, at ExplainSpeaking, we have strived to make sense of the most important developments in the Indian economy. As the year ends, here are the highlights from 2020 and five things to watch out for in 2021. The...