-Press release by Right to Housing Activists dated 3rd September, 2020 A press release has been issued by Right to Housing activists related to the order of the Supreme Court dated 31st August, 2020 in MC Mehta versus Union of India, WP(C) 13029/1985, that asked for the demolition of Jhuggis (slums/ shanties) along the railway tracks. The press release says that Jhuggis along the railway tracks are already covered by the...

-Livemint.com The collapse of GDP growth by 23.9% for the Apr to Jun period isn’t a surprise. The economy was under a strict lockdown for most of the time to contain the pandemic. Nevertheless, a little digging throws up interesting trends. Mint takes a look. * What does the GDP figure highlight? One way to measure the GDP is to add private consumption expenditure, government consumption expenditure, investment and net exports (exports minus...

ActionAid Association's (AAA) national level survey among people dependent on the informal economy during the third phase of the national lockdown towards the end of May 2020 (i.e. between May 14th and May 22nd, 2020) has documented the "nature and extent of the transitions in the lives and livelihoods of informal workers, including migrant workers, during the pandemic and provide[s] an insight into the precarity they experience and the coping...

-Hindustan Times Digital divide: Students who, in theory, have access to e-teaching will have to depend on inconvenient methods such as Mobile The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the education sector globally. Classes have been suspended to enforce social distancing and educational institutions, from schools to universities, have shifted to online methods of teaching and evaluation. As the number of cases continues to rise, there is no certainty about when normalcy will be...

-Press release by Right to Food Campaign, dated 11th August, 2020 Although One Nation One Ration Card has been projected as a solution to the food insecurity problems that Mobile or floating populations face, there are some serious problems associated with the scheme, such as exclusion errors, etc. Instead of the ONOR scheme, the government should universalise the public distribution system (PDS) and open community kitchens in urban areas. Please click here...