-TheWire.in While the increased allocation and attention is welcome, it will not be enough to counter the crisis. The current pandemic has led to loss of livelihood of substantial sections of the India population. With the economy, particularly production activities in the big urban centres, having come to a standstill, a process of reverse migration to villages took place. This decline in economic activities is taking place against a background of continuously...

-The Telegraph What transparency? Website does not specify contributions, spending The Prime Minister’s Office has refused to provide copies of the trust deed of the PM CARES Fund, besides those of the government orders, notifications and circulars related to its creation, saying the fund is not a public authority and is therefore exempt from the Right to Information (RTI) Act. “PM CARES Fund is not a public authority under the ambit of Section...

-The Indian Express The Indian Express spoke to a cross-section of migrant workers back from different parts of the country. These are day labourers and skilled workers such as carpenter, embroiderer, welder, among others. One thread connects them — demand for something beyond MGNREGA. Ranchi: Rakesh Verma and Suresh Yadav had left their homes in Jharkhand for jobs in metro cities and were in no hurry to return. Verma, 22, had a...

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...

-IndiaToday.in Paddy cultivation has been a worry for water conservationists for long worldwide. And, paddy is not the only water-guzzling crop to have come under the scanner. Beyond the frightening cries of coronavirus outbreak and displaced migrants, a section of farmers in Punjab, Haryana and Telangana, to begin with, are debating this: Can government decide which crop they cultivate in their fields? It began with Punjab. The story began during 1970's as a...