-The Hindu Top COVID-19 vaccination official responded to query on mismatch with Health Ministry’s number of 135 crore doses. A May 13 estimate, by one of India’s top officials overseeing the pandemic response, that India would have 216 crore doses of vaccines from August-December was based on an “optimistic, aspirational assessment” and based on what vaccine manufacturers had conveyed to the government. VK Paul, Chairman, National Empowered Group on Vaccine at a press briefing...

-Press release by National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) dated 2nd July, 2021  The sudden and unplanned lockdown imposed by the union government in March 2020 in the wake of pandemic had caused immense hardship to the informal sector workers. After much criticism and concern on its inaction, Supreme Court on 26.05.2020 took suo moto cognizance of “problems and miseries of the migrant labourers”. Later, several persons associated with people’s organisations...

The rise in COVID-19 daily new cases and daily new deaths compelled many state governments to impose local level lockdowns during April-May 2021. As of 20th April, 2021, partial lockdowns were noticed in 10 states across the country and complete lockdown was imposed in Delhi. As of 8th May, 2021, nearly the entire country was under complete lockdown as a result of either partial lockdowns and night curfews or complete...

-The Hindu “It should result in universalisation of rations to all migrant workers during the pandemic” The Supreme Court’s ruling on Tuesday should result in the universalisation of rations to all migrant workers across India as long as the pandemic continues, as opposed to the government’s one-time relief measures, said intervenors in the petition. Social activists Harsh Mander, Anjali Bhardwaj and Jagdeep Chhokar also welcomed the Supreme Court’s direction to the government to...

-Hindustan Times The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had found faults with the ministry’s 2017 notification by which new norms for effluent discharge by sewage treatment plants (STPs) in waterbodies were laid down. It held that the new notification would lead to deterioration of the water quality and prescribed stricter standards based on the recommendations of an expert committee. The Supreme Court on Monday remarked that the ministry of environment should also act...