-TheWire.in Despite clear instructions from the courts to provide foodgrains to migrant workers and economically vulnerable families, none of the 62 distribution centres checked were found to be distributing rations. New Delhi: The Delhi government’s claims to have adopted a scheme to provide rations to Poor and marginalised communities – even if they do not possess ration cards – appears to be proving hollow as no distribution of rations is taking place,...

-Down to Earth Bihar needs to strengthen and enhance capacities of Gram Panchayats to realise the gains of a decentralised planning Imagine yourself living for ages in a remote village inside a dense forest in the 21st century. Basic amenities such as proper roads, safe drinking water, healthcare and education facilities are missing.  The nearest primary school and health centre is located at a distance of seven kilometres. You have to trek through...

-Scroll.in Frustrated by rules they see as onerous, a bunch of beauticians are speaking up – and sometimes being heard. Nidhi Chander* was full of hope until five years ago. That was when she gave up her job as a beautician at a unisex salon in Pitampura, Delhi, where she was earning Rs 20,000 a month, to work with Urban Clap. She believed the home services start-up would give her the freedoms...

-TheWire.in There is a need to set right the ‘national multidimensional poverty index’ framework to capture the true story of deprivation. The global sustainable development agenda demands that countries measure the population living in poverty and reduce it by at least half by 2030. So, in order to monitor progress on this critical development indicator, UNDP and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) compute what is called the ‘Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)’...

-The Hindu Business Line/ NetworkIdeas.org In recent years, when the economy as a whole performed Poorly, reports on how old and new businesspersons accumulated huge volumes of wealth in short timespans have been commonplace. There is also evidence that conspicuous consumption is on the rise. This has led observers to conclude that income and wealth inequality in India has increased. Hard evidence on the extent of that increase is difficult to...