A recent survey conducted by National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) -- a Delhi-based non-profit organisation -- shows how persons with disabilities in the country were disproportionately affected by the COVID–19 crisis. The report by NCPEDP has observed that persons with disabilities, particularly those from economically dePRIved sections, went through severe hardship during the lockdown. Without sufficient access to food or money, many of them faced hunger...

-The Hindu Instead of embracing the welfare state path, the BJP government is encouraging greater PRIvatisation The novel coronavirus is a global threat, but the pandemic has had an uneven impact across countries and within countries. Historically, social inequality has always been extreme in India. However, the lockdown has sharpened the edges of inequality even further, especially because of the way it has been implemented. Many countries have imposed lockdowns but not...

-The Hindu Deaths have occurred in eight districts, including 15 in Kolkata; casualties were due to falling of trees, electrocution, house collapse; PM to take aerial survey; Mamata sets up ₹1,000-crore fund. Kolkata: The death toll in Super Cyclone Amphan in West Bengal increased to 72, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday. Fifteen of the deceased were from Kolkata, she said. Ms. Banerjee, who met senior officials at the State Secretariat to...

-Livemint.com * Pollinators, especially bees, are a vital part of our ecosystem, responsible for the food security of not just humans but all living beings. * The government needs to take steps for the protection of indigenous bees before it is too late. In his address to the nation on 12 May, PRIme Minister Narendra Modi pointed out the criticality of local production. While its implications for industry et al have been discussed,...

-TheWire.in From demonetisation to GST and now the lockdown, the government's policies towards the 'unorganised sector' has spelt nothing but rack and ruin. What has the BJP-led government of Narendra Modi done since 2014 that does not suggest it wishes to destroy the informal economy, also known as the unorganised sector? While the ‘unorganised’ informal economy now accounts for roughly half of India’s GDP – and is shrinking relative to the share of...