-Livemint.com * New norms on foreign donations and covid-19 could end up shrinking the money pool for philanthropy and CSR * Domestic philanthropic spending has grown at a fast clip, but a closer look reveals a bias on priorities set by Indian donors as well as the geographical spread of funds NEW DELHI: Arpan is a small non-profit working out of remote Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, bordering Nepal. It helps primitive tribal groups...

-The Hindu The worst blow to the right to information regime has come in the form of a persistent attack on the transparency watchdogs This year marks 15 years of the enactment of the Right to Information (RTI) law, which has empowered millions to assert their citizenship and show truth to power. It was a vibrant grassroots movement, led not just by the educated elite but the working poor across the country,...

-The Indian Express What does the UP government so ferociously seek to protect — after having violated every possible fundamental right of its people? This article shall neither delve into whether a rape happened or someone simply went missing while going into the field, nor the atrocity of dragging someone by their dupatta while injuring their neck and spinal cord. The authors shall not devote space to how abominable the incident is....

-The Hindu The new labour codes do little to provide better pay and definitive rights to platform workers The new Code on Social Security allows a platform worker to be defined by their vulnerability — not their labour, nor the vulnerabilities of platform work. Swiggy workers have been essential during the pandemic. Even so, they have faced a continuous dip in pay and no rewards for being essential workers. During the last six...

-Down to Earth Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs should create a COVID-19 response cell to monitor issues and provide support, it said The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis has hit the forest dwellers in India hard: The pandemic has led to a loss of livelihood and employment, caused food insecurity and socio-economic distress for the marginalised forest-dwelling communities, according to a new report. Atrocities and injustices faced by these communities due to forest,...