-The Hindu Health workers need better remuneration and safety guarantee, not just awards Recognition very often goes to those at the top of the pecking order, and stays there. Credit seldom trickles down to the worker at the bottom. The World Health Organization’s act of recognising India’s ASHA (accredited social health activists) and the polio workers of Afghanistan is an attempt to right that wrong. It is a rare, and commendable doffing...

-The Hindu Business Line Pesticide residues in India’s agri exports calls for a multi-pronged policy response As reported recently by this newspaper, India’s cumin exports have suffered a setback in recent months, with China claiming that pesticide residues exceeded the maximum residue limits (MRLs) spelt out by it about six months back. Chinese authorities have said that consignments must be accompanied by a pesticide residue report. India has been through all this...

-The Telegraph There is no respite in sight with the Regional Weather Forecasting Centre in Guwahati predicting rain in the region till May 21 Guwahati: Flood and landslides triggered by heavy rainfall in Assam have led to the death of eight people over the past 48 hours and snapped rail link to South Assam, Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura because of “unprecedented” damage caused by landslip and waterlogging on the Lumding-Badarpur hill section...

-TheWire.in/ Undark.org Under the pretext of COVID-19 safety, employers have tightened restrictions on live-in domestic workers in India. On a typical humid Sunday afternoon in July, Soni Tirki would be polishing off the chicken and rice that her mother makes every time the 20-year-old returns home. “I sit at ease and enjoy my meal,” Tirki says. “I eat however much I want. Nobody can stop me. Nobody can judge me.” But on this...

-Hindustan Times  THE BIG STORY: How five Adivasi women and a Gandhian activist scored a huge win for anganwadi workers After 21 years of service when Maniben Maganbhai Bhariya, an Adivasi women working as an anganwadi helper in district Dahod, Gujarat, retired on February 20, 2006 she was drawing a salary of Rs 1,250 a month. Based on this, Maniben was entitled to a one-time gratuity of Rs 14,423. Seven years later when...