-The Hindu The Centre can afford to step up its COVID-19 assistance to a higher scale; fiscal deficit is no worry The three-week long lockdown imposed on the country, it can be argued, was an over-reaction. More widespread testing of possible cases, “social distancing”, self-quarantining by the elderly, and selective lockdown of sensitive areas (as the Chinese government did in Wuhan) might have Been quite adequate. But while this can be debated,...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Utilise FCI stock for those who have ration cards and those who don’t -Siraj Hussain and Ajit Ranade
-The Indian Express The states must engage NGOs, factories and charities including religious organisations to raise funds for meeting the expenditure on milk, eggs, cooking oil and vegetables, and even soaps and sanitisers. Nearly one-fifth of India’s labour force consists of internal migrants. As per the 2011 census, a quarter of the urban population consists of migrants. These tend to be predominantly male, from the less developed northern states, in the lower...
More »Survey shows 42% have no ration left for the day, let alone duration of lockdown -Seema Chishti
-The Indian Express/ PTI The immediate relief that migrant workers wanted was rations, then a promise of monthly support. About 83 per cent of them worried that they would not be able to find work at the end of the shutdown. New Delhi: A survey of 3,196 migrant construction workers whose livelihood has Been disrupted after the announcement of the 21-day lockdown over COVID-19 paints a dismal picture of migrant lives, especially...
More »What Does the COVID-19 Lockdown Mean for Food Security? -Gurpreet Singh
-TheWire.in At a time when the Rabi crop is ready for harvest and the Kharif crop will be sown, quick and effective policy responses are required. Amidst the COVID-19 crisis, India has announced a nationwide 21-day lockdown, shutting down all businesses except essential services. The government has assured that the supply of food items and other necessities won’t be hindered during this period. While social distancing has Been adopted as a measure...
More »K Sujatha Rao, former Union Secretary at Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, interviewed by Narayan Lakshman (The Hindu)
-The Hindu Former Union Health Secretary says the infection has come mainly from those middle-class people who have Been abroad and come back to India K. Sujatha Rao served as Union Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for the Indian government, until 2010, where she was involved in the process for a national policy for use of antibiotics, introducing vaccines in public health, and the first-ever national programme for non-communicable diseases....
More »