-The Hindu Business Line WTO rules restrict India’s ability to build its food stock as the procurement of food grains at MSP is subject to strict limits With almost all economic activities likely to remain at a low key in the coming months, the Covid-19 pandemic could have a devastating impact on the livelihood and food security of millions of people across India. It is generally recognised that food stocks of 58...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Locking down two different Indias -Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey
-The Hindu While some can practise social distancing, most Indians simply cannot as they have no social security What could possibly have been the reason for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give only a four-hour notice for the lockdown? If the requirement was to keep the population indoors, strictly enforcing social distancing, how abjectly this has failed! Lakhs of migrant labourers have been jostling to get any form of transport back home;...
More »Mass migration defeats Corona preventive measures, MHA tells SC -Krishnadas Rajagopal
-The Hindu Blames ‘fake’ online messages for the panic The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that the 21-day national lockdown was “inevitable” in the face of an “unprecedented global crisis” like COVID-19. The government blamed “fake and misleading” messages on social media about COVID-19 for creating widespread panic, which led to mass “barefoot” journey of migrant workers from cities to their native villages. Please click here to...
More »An inadequate lockdown package -Brinda Karat
-The Hindu The government must ensure that the spectre of SARS-CoV-2 is not replaced by the spectre of hunger The Central government has asked States to seal borders to prevent lakhs of workers, who have been rendered jobless overnight with no guarantee of wages and shelter, from reaching their villages. The workers are to be herded into quarantine zones. These atrocious actions amount to a mass criminalisation of the labour force of...
More »From apathy to action -Reetika Khera
-The Hindu In dealing with the crisis, the Centre should not only learn from States but also act on its own In dealing with the health and economic crisis, the Central government’s apathy is disappointing. The Prime Minister’s speech created panic even for the well-off. For the most vulnerable, it triggered a huge exodus from the cities. They were given neither time to prepare for the unplanned lockdown nor support to cope...
More »