-The Indian Express When asked about how many people they had come in contact with outside the house over the preceding 24 hours, over 50 per cent responded that they had not come in contact with anyone. With the nation in the midst of an extended lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the question of what to do next looms large. We are operating in a brave new world where modern...

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 Business Line In a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended the ongoing lockdown till May 3. While the move was imperative to save lives, taking stock of the massive impact of the extended lockdown on jobs and livelihoods is equally critical. More importantly, the Centre will have to announce big bang fiscal measures soon, to address the fallout of the virus-induced lockdown that...

-Hindustan Times Seema Kulkarni of the Society for Promoting Participative Ecosystem Management (Soppecom), Pune speaks about supporting 500 single and widowed women who do not have ration cards or bank accounts, access food supplies * What is the situation of agricultural village economy in Maharashtra after the lockdown? Maharashtra has been facing an agrarian crisis for some time now. Post-Covid-19 and the lockdown the situation has only worsened. Harvesting operations have come to...

-TheWire.in It appears that the Rs 20 bonus is nothing more than an approximate average of the state-specific increases notified by the rural development ministry on March 23. The relief package announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday is more than a trifle misleading as far as provisions for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) workers are concerned. Please click here to read more.   ...