-The Telegraph 'The base of the MGNREGA beneficiaries needs to be broadened by including more deserving people as its beneficiaries' Ranchi: The rural job guarantee law can be a saviour for scores of workers who have lost their jobs during the ongoing lockdown and are returning to their villages, a group of social workers have underlined. Jharkhand NREGA Watch, a group of social workers who describe it as a forum of concerned citizens,...

Most reports and studies by official agencies, international think tanks and private entities indicate the cataclysmic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy and society. They anticipate that lockdowns imposed by various countries across the globe to reduce the exponential diffusion of COVID-19 (i.e. for flattening the curve by social distancing and quarantines) would adversely affect economic growth and disrupt supply chains in most sectors, on top of causing...

-The Hindu With worksites closed, activists urge SC to ensure wages for all those registered Employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has collapsed to just over 1% of the usual rate this month due to the COVID-19 lockdown. Activists petitioned the Supreme Court demanding that the government pay full wages to all active job card holders during this time, following its own instructions issued to other employers. Please click...

-Press release by Right to Food Campaign, Jharkhand chapter, dated 10th April, 2020 Members of the Right to Food Campaign (Jharkhand chapter) conducted a quick survey of essential facilities in rural areas during the first week of April 2020. “Observers” dispersed over 50 blocks in 19 districts of the state were asked to check the local facilities (ration shops, dal-bhat kendras, anganwadis, among others) and report their observations over the phone....

-The Hindu Support becomes critical as thousands of migrant workers return to villages The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme has been officially shut down in at least seven States, while it is effectively closed in many more, as COVID-19 lockdowns come into effect across the country. Workers’ collectives are demanding relief in the form of wages during the shutdown, payment of pending dues, and extension of the scheme in...