-Newsclick.in For the sake of transparency and public knowing, shouldn’t the PM-CARES be merged with the PMNRF to grant it credence and credibility in these times? It is commendable that the Department of Revenue (DoR) gave into the widespread criticism of its earlier circular from April 17, 2020, and modified it through another circular dated April 29, 2020. But, it has done so – only partially. Broadly, there were two troubling issues in...

-Newslaundry.com Such interrogations have to happen officially, they cannot question me about my sources and contacts over tea.’ A journalist in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow was interrogated by the Special Task Force of the state’s police after reporting on low-quality personal protective equipment kits supplied to hospitals and colleges in the state. On April 17, Lucknow-based journalist Manish Pandey of News1 India, a Hindi news channel, broke the story of a letter sent by...

-Hindustan Times The government officials quoted the data, released by the Central government-run Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED), to highlight that Chhattisgarh’s purchase has been the highest in the country to alleviate the plight of the state’s poor forest dwellers and tribal villagers, who are dependent on the MFP for their livelihood. Raipur: Chhattisgarh government has announced that it has topped the country in the purchase of minor forest...

-Down to Earth The Union govt report had asked states to remove provisions that restricted migrants in accessing PDS benefits The Supreme Court asked the Union government on April 30, 2020 to consider adopting a ‘one nation, one ration card’ scheme for migrants stuck in cities due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. This has brought the spotlight on a 2017 government report on migration that emphasised that short-term migrants usually lose...

-Hindustan Times As migrant workers continue to be the worst-hit owing to the Covid-19 lockdown, the call for re-imagining migrant lives post the pandemic grew louder on May 1, International Labour Day. Various organisations working with migrant communities demanded immediate measures to address questions regarding the livelihood of the workers. “Sending them back home is not addressing the problem. It is a band-aid solution,” said Roshni Nuggehalli, executive director at Mumbai-based NGO Yuva. “The...