Most reports and studies by official agencies, international think tanks and private entities indicate the cataclysmic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy and society. They anticipate that lockdowns imposed by various countries across the globe to reduce the exponential diffusion of COVID-19 (i.e. for flattening the curve by social distancing and quarantines) would adversely affect economic growth and disrupt supply chains in most sectors, on top of causing...

-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...

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...

-Livemint.com * Agriculture being a state subject, the state governments take appropriate measures for development of agriculture in the state * Majority of the agricultural households that possessed more than 0.40 hectare land reported cultivation as their principal source of income NEW DELHI: The government does not have data regarding financial condition of farmers in the country, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Tuesday. In a written reply to a question in the...

-Down to Earth This comes even as rural India is suffering its worst unemployment crisis in 45 years The Union government slashed budgetary allocation for its flagship Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Generation Act (MGNREGA) in the Budget 2020-21, at a time when rural India is facing all sorts of crises including rising food bills and highest unemployment in the last five decades MGNREGA guarantees at least 100 days of employment to adults...