-Newsclick.in At least 45 farmers have killed themselves since the lockdown began, said farmers’ body Rythu Swarajya Vedika. About 70% of farmers who committed suicides during the lockdown period in the last two months are tenant farmers cultivating crops in 5 to 20 acres of agricultural land, a study conducted by Telugu daily Eenadu has revealed. Besides difficulties related to crop procurement, the study found that loss of crops, financial distress related...

-TheWire.in It is high time migrant workers were included in the ambit of the public distribution system. The government’s proposal for ‘one nation one ration card’ is a longstanding need for migrant labourers across the country. The proposed measure will provide workers not only with monthly food entitlements wherever they are living for work, but also improve their nutritional status. Tracing developments in the public distribution system (PDS), it can be seen that...

-The Indian Express If done well, One Nation, One Ration Card, could lay the foundation of a truly national and portable benefits system that includes other welfare programmes like LPG subsidy and social pensions. The economic crisis precipitated by COVID-19 has focussed the country’s attention on inter-state migrants. Millions of Indians in this diverse, complex group have crossed state borders in search of better economic opportunities. The crisis, however, has highlighted their...

-The Hindu If doctors have a duty to provide care then what about the value of reciprocity: does society not have a duty to support those who assume the burden to buttress the public good? During the lockdown I come across a number of stories in the press that are in some way related. A woman in Bengal was refused admission into a government hospital and eventually gave birth in an autorickshaw....

A recent survey conducted by National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) -- a Delhi-based non-profit organisation -- shows how persons with disabilities in the country were disproportionately affected by the COVID–19 crisis. The report by NCPEDP has observed that persons with disabilities, particularly those from economically deprived sections, went through severe hardship during the lockdown. Without sufficient access to food or money, many of them faced hunger...