-Down to Earth Communication between migrant workers, their family members has come to a standstill April 14 usually marks the traditional new year for many communities in India. This year, amid muted celebrations, the Union government launched a system to connect thousands of schools online. This when thousands of migrant workers didn’t have enough money to talk on their phones. Welcome to India’s digital divide — the new, improved post-COVID-19 lockdown version. Amid talks...

-Centre for Pastoralism, dated 20th April, 2020 There are an estimated 30-35 million pastoralists distributed across several states in the country. These communities manage a wide range of livestock, through long-distance migrations that often span multiple states. India’s wool, leather, meat and milk economies are directly or indirectly linked to these communities. This report attempts to capture core problems confronting these communities with the COVID lockdown and identifies solutions to help...

-The Telegraph/ PTI Order issued to exclude non-essential items from cart The Centre on Sunday barred e-commerce firms from selling non-essential items during the lockdown, reversing its own four-day-old order that allowed online platforms to sell Mobile phones, refrigerators and readymade garments. The dismay of the e-commerce companies and the jubilation among domestic traders, considered a traditional vote bank of the ruling BJP, suggested politics has forced the Narendra Modi government to take...

-ThePrint.in Migrant workers protested in Kottayam on 29 March demanding to be sent back home. The state changed its strategy in dealing with them and has since seen no such protests.   New Delhi: It was a blot on the much-touted Kerala Covid-19 response model. On 29 March, hundreds of migrant labourers flooded the streets of Kottayam town demanding that they be sent back to their home states.    The protest caught the...

-TheWire.in New Delhi shouldn’t ignore the interests of developing economies over worries that the funds may be used for ‘extraneous reasons’. The global economy is in the grip of an unprecedented crisis, once never experienced before in its history. The virus pandemic has yet to run its course in most countries, but meanwhile, the containment measures – which have involved major restrictions on Mobility, gatherings and economic activity – have already imposed...