A recent survey that was conducted through telephonic interviews among 1,405 respondents across the states of Delhi-NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Rajasthan and Jharkhand reveals the precarious conditions of workers nearly 45 days after the announcement of COVID-19 lockdown. The report entitled Labouring Lives: Hunger, Precarity and Despair amid Lockdown tries to understand the extent (and depth) of job loss and hunger 45 days after the lockdown. Hunger and...

-NDTV India is battling the worst desert locust outbreak in recent times. Swarms of locusts first attacked Rajasthan and have now spread to Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. New Delhi: The Delhi government on Thursday warned of a possible locust invasion and asked authorities to spray insecticides and pesticides on crops, vegetation, gardens and orchards while several states in western and central India struggled to contain the worst infestation in nearly...

These days a lot many articles, reports, documents, etc. are appearing in the public domain on Coronavirus infection and related issues. An attempt has been made in the present news alert to put together in one place some of the best articles, reports, blogs, webinars, podcasts, etc., which can be useful for our readers. We have divided the resources under various themes for the convenience of our readers and social media...

-TheWire.in "There was no ventilation. It was pitch dark inside and police gave us 10 mins to get into the container truck." Mumbai: On March 31, solicitor general Tushar Mehta claimed before the Supreme Court that there was “no person walking on the roads in an attempt to reach his/her home towns/villages”. He further claimed, under oath, that all migrant labourers had been shifted to shelter homes and are being provided with basic...

-The Hindu Serious efforts must be made to deter sex selective abortion and infanticide Few things cast a long shadow on human failing as much as sex selection does. To choose on the basis of gender and eliminate new life if the gender is not ‘favourable’ can easily be among humanity’s worst moments. Last week’s case of infanticide in Tamil Nadu’s Usilampatti, historically notorious for its crude methods of killing female babies,...