-The Hindu Disaster response funds can be used for shelters As lakhs of migrant labourers and workers continued to travel on foot to reach their homes in wake of the 21-day countrywide lockdown, the Union Home Ministry has asked the States to “immediately set up relief camps” along the highways and conduct regular medical checks while observing proper social distancing norms. The Ministry also issued an order authorising the States to use State...
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Shift to upscaling food rationing now -Madhura Swaminathan
-The Hindu Expanded rations will not only bring relief in this pandemic but also help sustain a nourished and healthy population Two days ago, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a ₹1.7-lakh crore package of social security measures to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic in the period of the 21-day lockdown. In respect of food security, the package falls far short of what is needed. I argue that we need to immediately...
More »Anxiety In MP, Punjab: Lockdown puts question mark on wheat procurement -Milind Ghatwai & Anju Agnihotri Chaba
-The Indian Express Nearly 19 lakh farmers had registered themselves on the MP government’s e-Uparjan procurement portal between February 1 and 28. Bhopal, Jalandhar: First it was over two weeks of political uncertainty and now it is the 21-day lockdown to combat COVID-19 that is giving anxious moments to the lakhs of wheat growers in Madhya Pradesh. Procurement of their produce —farmers in the state have sown a record 79.68 lakh hectares under...
More »Covid-19 lockdown: Over 15 lakh trucks, 35 lakh drivers stuck on roads without support -G Naga Sridhar
-The Hindu Business Line Hyderabad: The national lockdown is proving to be a nightmare for nearly 36 lakh truck drivers across the country. “Out of 75 lakh commercial vehicles in the country, over 20 per cent are stuck on the roads across the country and drivers are in need of urgent support,” Janakiram Reddy, Vice-Chairman, All India Motor Transport Congress Toll Committee, told BusinessLine on Friday. The 21-day national lockdown announced by...
More »Has the Finance Minister Pulled a Fast One on MNREGA Workers? -Jean Drèze
-TheWire.in It appears that the Rs 20 bonus is nothing more than an approximate average of the state-specific increases notified by the rural development ministry on March 23. The relief package announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday is more than a trifle misleading as far as provisions for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) workers are concerned. Please click here to read more. ...
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