Although services provided by the gig and platform workers touch the lives of each one of us, we have little knowledge about the role of digital labour platforms in transforming the world of work. Such digital labour platforms have created unprecedented opportunities for workers, businesses and society. However, they also pose serious threats to decent work and fair competition. A recent report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) shows that the...

-The Indian Express The budget should have shown how serious it was about inclusive growth by announcing direct cash support to informal workers, circular migrants, agricultural labour, in addition to steady in-kind food transfers from the overflowing coffers of the FCI by making PDS universal. India’s annual budget, announced amidst much anticipation, focused on health as one of its key pillars. The fact that health and “inclusive growth” found their way into...

-The Hindu If the top court does find itself mandated by a higher public duty to intervene, then it must observe some essentials For nearly half a hundred days, the farmers of North India protesting against the recent farm laws have been at the capital’s outskirts, braving the bitter cold, and growing in numbers. They have mostly kept the peace and their dignity, and their communities seem ready to support them for...

-The Indian Express Traditional redistribution, which aims to deliver on intangibles like health and education, has ceded to a distinctive ‘New Welfarism’, where Centre is demonstrably providing tangible essentials to citizens The recently released fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) provides reliable and independent evidence to assess micro-development performance under this government. The survey covers many dimensions of health, nutrition, and the overall quality of lives. Here we focus...

-The Telegraph The Indian economy is in a quagmire Data released by the National Statistical Office, which show the gross domestic product for the second quarter (July-September) of 2020-21 declining by “only” 7.5 per cent compared to the second quarter of the previous year, have been hailed in official circles as “good news”; on the contrary, they show the economy being stuck in a quagmire. The first point to note is that while...