-The Hindu Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana is a cashless/paperless healthcare access service for the poor and vulnerable families. Only 2,132 people have availed or are now undergoing treatment for COVID-19 under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), India’s cashless/paperless healthcare access service for the poor and vulnerable families, at a time when India has over a lakh cases, according to figures released AB-PMJAY on Wednesday. Testing for and...

-The Indian Express The bench asked the Delhi government to immediately ensure that food grains are distributed to poor, needy and marginalised non-PDS residents from Public Distribution System (PDS). The Delhi High Court Monday expressed anguish over the failure on part of the Delhi government in implementing its previous “clear cut” directions that “no citizen currently residing in Delhi should go hungry”. “We express our disappointment and dismay,” a bench of Justice Siddharth...

-The Indian Express Rather than encouraging workers to return by securing wages and improving working conditions, the amendments introduced by the states are removing basic labour law protections. In the wake of the migrant crisis, several states have amended existing labour laws, either suspending them altogether or increasing working hours. The Prime Minister’s address on May 12 also indicated legal changes in the offing, which will doubtless include amendments to labour laws....

-TheWire.in In each of the four large South Asian nations, the response of the state to the pandemic has been shaped by long standing and underlying political faultlines. In parts one and two of this article, we have discussed the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, preparedness (in terms of health infrastructure), and the government’s public health responses to the pandemic in four South Asian countries. In this concluding part, we discuss two...

-Business Standard Trade unions slam decision, employers welcome it, saying it was absolutely necessary especially in absence of grants from govt to industry for wage payment  In what may come as a major relief to businesses, the Union government has withdrawn its order directing employers to pay wages to workers, even with units remaining shut during lockdown. On Sunday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had issued a fresh set of guidelines which...