-NetworkIdeas.org In terms of economic policy, the Modi government must be perhaps the most conservative in the world. During the entire period of the pandemic when millions of people lost their incomes and Livelihood support, most governments around the world provided universal cash transfers to the people, but not the Modi government. True, many other third world countries too did not provide such universal cash transfers, but their hands were tied;...

-IndiaSpend.com To fight hunger and distress due to the pandemic, India must universalise foodgrain distribution, expand the food basket in its rations scheme and provide cash transfers, activist Anjali Bhardwaj tells us in this interview Bengaluru: The pandemic-induced lockdowns have had a profound impact on Livelihoods, affecting poor Indians' food intake, studies show. In October 2020, more than half the respondents of a Hunger Survey said their rice/wheat consumption had declined during...

-IndiaSpend.com Massive job losses, up to 51% decline in earnings and reduced food intake--migrant workers struggled to survive through the recent lockdown in Gujarat, finds a study. Migrants received no relief during the second wave, and the measures taken in the last lockdown were not adequate, it shows Ahmedabad: Migrant workers were weeks from running out of food, struggled to access healthcare and faced acute Livelihood problems during the partial lockdowns imposed...

-The Telegraph With opportunity costs attached to the Livelihoods of pastoralists being so high, the government must facilitate their safe movement India is battling a second wave of Covid-19 infections; this time it has made inroads into rural India. Pastoral communities, who have limited information about the symptoms, preventive measures, diagnosis, treatment and vaccination, are becoming silent victims. A brief by the League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development claims that...

-Livemint.com Policymakers are flying blind when it comes to designing an effective response to the pandemic As the second wave of covid-19 ebbs in India and policy focus shifts to the economic damage caused by lockdowns for the second consecutive year, economists are finding it hard to assess the extent and spread of the damage. The absence of benchmark survey data in the pre-pandemic period, the abrupt halt to most survey work during...