-Newsclick.in Funds squeeze causes 14-17% refusals every year. The rural jobs guarantee scheme has emerged as a lifesaver for millions of Indians as they struggle with relentless unemployment. But official data shows that a very large number of job seekers are being turned away and not given work. In the first six months of the current financial year (April to October 2022) nearly 1.5 crore applicants for work were refused work.  This situation...

-The Hindu 65% of Indians and a third of the global population had higher PM2.5 exposures during the Lockdown, largely attributed to biomass cooking activity During COVID-19 Lockdowns, many countries observed historic improvements in ambient air quality. Our new study shows that despite the historic improvements in ambient air quality, PM2.5 exposures increased for 65% of Indians and a third of the global population during the Lockdown, largely attributed to biomass cooking...

-Newsclick.in Inequality is not natural but manufactured. It’s time policymakers stopped normalising the wealth and income gap. Else, post-Covid inequality could become a permanent feature. Wealth and income inequality are more than just economic concepts. They also influence education and health outcomes, poverty levels, employment and unemployment rates, opportunities, choices, and, ultimately, happiness. Of late, several reports have investigated the impact of COVID-19 on various segments of society at the regional, national,...

-Down to Earth Over 2,000 households surveyed across four states; Massive expansion of work scheme needed to meet demand, finds study  About 39 per cent of all job card holders seeking work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005 did not get a single day of work during the national Lockdown imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021. The findings were revealed by a study conducted by Azim...

-The Telegraph ‘Hundreds of workers have left for other states and more are following them these days' Siliguri: The trend of out-migration from Bengal — often linked to the lack of employment opportunities in the state — is back in different districts after the Covid-19-induced gap of two years. Senior government officials and elected representatives at rural bodies in a number of districts admitted that they were witnessing the exodus of workers, who...