-Press note by Right to Food Campaign (Jharkhand) dated 21st March, 2020 As the coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads, a double crisis looms over Jharkhand: a health crisis and an economic crisis. Already, unemployed migrant workers are returning en masse from different States, including some (e.g. Maharashtra) with many coronavirus cases. Food vendors are losing business, and more occupations are likely to be hit as economic activity slows down. As more and more...

-The Hindu Business Line INBI has said that emergency basic income should be completely unconditional Close on the heels of the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) announcing measures to protect incomes of vulnerable households through cash transfers and other fiscal measures, the Indian Network for Basic Income (INBI), an advocacy group working in the area of basic income transfers, has asked the Central Government to consider an emergency basic...

-Scroll.in The Working People’s Charter told the Centre that the economic risks the COVID-19 poses to workers employed in the informal sector cannot be overlooked. The Working People’s Charter, a labour rights group, on Friday urged the Centre to create an emergency fund of Rs 50,000 crore to provide social and economic support to workers in the informal sectors amid the escalating coronavirus pandemic. The organisation, which claims to represent trade unions...

-The Indian Express India’s response has been comprehensive and robust. Right from the onset, the government has taken things very seriously, as reflected in the high-level of political commitment, including by the Prime Minister himself, says Dr Henk Bekedam. While India is yet to adopt the World Health Organisation’s prescription of “test test test” against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Dr Henk Bekedam, WHO’s representative in India, tells The Indian Express that...

After the outbreak of COVID-19 in China during early January this year and its dissemination globally within a few days, health experts have suggested ways to check its spread exponentially among the rest of the population. In the age of internet connectivity, work-from-home and self-isolation have been advised as solutions to ensure social distancing and avoid large-scale social gatherings. Experts have asked governments and private enterprises to keep people at...