-TheWire.in From demonetisation to GST and now the lockdown, the government's policies towards the 'unorganised sector' has spelt nothing but rack and ruin. What has the BJP-led government of Narendra Modi done since 2014 that does not suggest it wishes to destroy the informal economy, also known as the unorganised sector? While the ‘unorganised’ informal economy now accounts for roughly half of India’s GDP – and is shrinking relative to the share of...

-The Hindu There are clear, implementable steps the Centre can take in fiscal terms to revive the economy and support livelihoods The Prime Minister has just announced Lockdown 4.0. Despite some resulting increase in economic activity, vast numbers of working people will remain without their regular incomes. He also announced a package of ₹20 lakh crore, but this includes already allocated money of ₹6-lakh crore and monetary policy directives to banks and...

-Firstpost.com One of the most telling human stories to result from the COVID-19 outbreak and the resulting nationwide lockdown is that of stranded migrant workers. But theirs isn't a new story; it's taken a pandemic for urban India to take note of an issue that has remained an unseen aspect of the country's economy for much of its contemporary history. P Sainath, founder of People's Archive of Rural India (PARI) and...

-TheWire.in The government's secrecy around the issue assumes significance amidst a political row between the opposition parties and the Centre. New Delhi: In what appears to be a confirmation of the fact that the Centre was indeed making the home bound migrant labourers pay for their train journeys, the government on May 5 declined to share details of the ticket fares with the Supreme Court. During a hearing of social activist Jagdeep S....

-The Telegraph 'The way the clustering of cases is on the rise in hospitals — which has led to the closure of 20 hospitals so far — it may lead to more closures' As a gastroenterologist and transplant hepatologist, my speciality and commitment to my profession amid the current public health disaster because of Covid-19 demands that I stretch myself in whatever possible way to care for the sick who need healthcare,...