-Hindustan Times Those sympathetic to the establishment argue that had it not been for the second wave, the economy would have been in a much better shape. Those who disagree claim that even the sequential recovery which was achieved was profit-led and inequality-generating in nature On June 28, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced an economic package to deal with the adverse effects of the second wave of the pandemic. The contours of...

-Hindustan Times While recognising that women’s and girl’s empowerment is a moral imperative, investing in academic, vocation, and life skills for girls and young women represents one of the most significant opportunities for sustainable and inclusive development Even after decades of work and attention, gender inequality remains a significant barrier to human development. Women and girls worldwide are still discriminated against in accessing healthcare, education, political representation, and employment, impeding the realisation...

-Hindustan Times A primary barrier to getting women vaccinated is the limited understanding of the disparate impacts Covid-19 vaccines have on them While less than 20% of India’s adult population has received their first Covid-19 vaccine dose, clear gender disparities have arisen in the rollout. A recent analysis by Ashoka University shows that for every 100 men, around 86 women were vaccinated. This is significantly lower than India’s sex ratio of approximately...

-The Hindu Dalit-Muslim alliances are not enough; upper caste Hindus are needed too, to restore secularism Ever since the Sachar Committee Report of 2006 demonstrated that the socio-economic conditions of Muslims have worsened compared to Dalits, some have argued that Muslims have become India’s new Dalits. It is further proposed that the two communities should forge an alliance to fight the Hindu Right to restore secularism because together they constitute a significant...

-Hindustan Times The Union health ministry has still not classified the Delta plus variant as a ‘variant of concern’. Last week, NITI Aayog’s Dr VK Paul said the way forward is to watch for the variant’s potential presence in the country and take appropriate public health responses. As India continues to fight the second wave of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, it is also struggling to control the increasing spread of the...