-The Indian Express Over the last few weeks, many daily wage labourers and part of the unorganised or informal sector could not find work because of the lockdown. AT LEAST six top corporate leaders are said to have recommended to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the government should make payments to unorganised sector workers since they bear the brunt of the severe lockdown MEAsures to arrest the spread of Covid-19 disease. N Chandrasekaran,...

-The Hindu I request you to consider advising the State Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Boards to roll out emergency welfare MEAsures, particularly wage support, to construction workers who are in distress, she says Congress president Sonia Gandhi has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to roll out emergency welfare MEAsures for construction industry workers because of the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown, the party said on Tuesday. In her letter, dated March 23, Ms....

-The Indian Express In a slew of extraordinary MEAsures, authorities announced a complete lockdown of 75 districts in 22 States and Union Territories and suspended all passenger trains, inter-state buses and metro services across the country till March 31. As the Janata Curfew called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi wound up Sunday with people across the country responding by staying indoors and applauding those working to battle the coronavirus threat, the government...

-Scroll.in One of India’s most renowned epidemiologists cautions against unsustainable lockdowns and says community participation is the key to fight the disease. Jayaprakash Muliyil is one of India’s foremost epidemiologists, with decades of experience in the study of infectious diseases. The former principal of the Christian Medical College in Vellore spoke to Scroll.in about India’s response to the coronavirus outbreak. He said the stage of community transmission, when the source of infection for...

-The Hindu If the poor must stay at home, they need income support and essential services As the novel coronavirus spreads, a double crisis looms over India: a health crisis and an economic crisis. In terms of casualties, the health crisis is still very confined (seven deaths in a country where eight million people die every year), but the numbers are growing fast. MEAnwhile, the economic crisis is hitting with full force,...