-Article-14.com Scepticism about Covid-19. Lack of smartphones, health information and healthcare. Resistance to vaccination. We found a perfect storm devastating the poor, southwestern interiors of India’s most-populous state. Banda (Uttar Pradesh): “At least one person in every household here is extremely unwell.” Shivdevi, who uses only one name, has over a decade’s professional experience as a journalist and has been reporting from rural Bundelkhand in southwestern Uttar Pradesh (UP) for the women-run, grassroots...
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Rework social security code for informal workers -Santosh Mehrotra and Kingshuk Sarkar
-The Hindu Business Line It needs to be simplified, avoiding multiple authorities and allowing for seamless integration of existing State-run schemes The Code on Social Security 2020 (SS Code) was passed in Parliament in September 2020 and obtained presidential assent. Thankfully, its implementation has been postponed due to States not issuing notifications. Now, due to the Covid crisis, implementation of all the four new Codes on labour is to be postponed to...
More »Why aren’t journalists covering the Covid disaster showing 'positive news'? -Diksha Munjal
-Newslaundry.com 'What positivity do we look for in people's suffering?' “A 29-year-old man died in the hospital while his wailing wife and children waited outside,” Ronak Shah, a reporter for the Gujarati daily Sandesh said, recalling a tragedy he witnessed on April 12. “The three-year-old daughter kept saying, ‘My father is coming soon and we are here to take him home. I offered her a biscuit to eat, she did not take...
More »Prioritising the right to life -Harsh Mander, Jayati Ghosh and Prabhat Patnaik
-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...
More »Vaccination in rural India trails urban areas even as cases surge -Vignesh Radhakrishnan
-The Hindu Only about 15% have been immunised outside urban areas, despite reporting over 60% of the cases Even as the second COVID-19 wave has showed signs of easing, the spread of cases into rural areas and the relatively lower vaccination numbers in rural India points to a burgeoning rural crisis. During the first wave (which peaked in September 2020), the COVID-19 cases started piling up in the urban areas initially and...
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