-The Hindu The resultant distress in India has exacerbated pre-existing structures of disadvantage based on social identity In his book, The Great Leveler, Walter Scheidel, the Austrian economic historian, argues that throughout human history, there have been four types of catastrophic events that have led to greater economic equality: pandemic, war, revolution and state collapse. Currently, the world is going through one of them: a Massive COVID-19 pandemic. In Scheidel’s analysis, the...
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Over three-fourth of workers lost livelihoods since lockdown, finds a national survey of informal workers conducted by ActionAid India
-Press release by ActionAid India dated 13th August, 2020 Out of 11,537 respondents, over three-fourths reported that they had lost their livelihood since the imposition of the lockdown. Close to half of the respondents said that they had not received any income, and about 17 per cent had received only partial wages. Approximately 53 per cent said that they had incurred additional debt during the lockdown. More than half of the...
More »Draft EIA notification dilutes environmental protections, is in denial of ecological crises -Shibani Ghosh
-The Indian Express The environment ministry needs to be clear about its role — its mandate is to create and sustain a regulatory framework that prevents the plunder of our natural resources, not actively accelerate the pace of environmental devastation. The draft Environmental impact assessment (EIA) notification 2020 proposed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has met with Massive opposition. As the (hard-won) extended public consultation period draws to...
More »MGNREGA work demand drops in July 2020 as labourers get jobs in farms -Sanjeeb Mukherjee
-Business Standard Despite the drop, however, demand is almost 71% more than July 2019 After seeing a surge in May and June, demand for work under Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) tapered a bit in July as casual labourers returned to work in farms for sowing kharif crops. However, demand was still much higher compared to the previous years, underlining the scheme’s vital role in providing employment to the rural poor,...
More »Assam Reels Under Flood as Pandemic Wears On -Nabarun Guha
-TheWire.in Floods which are a recurring phenomenon in the northeast Indian state of Assam have hit the state heavily this year but healthcare workers have risen to the occasion serving the people by battling both flood and novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The floods have affected around 2.9 million (29 lakh) people across 26 districts covering about 80 percent of Assam’s total area (till July 24). As many as 103 people have...
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