A recent report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) states that the countrywide lockdown imposed on 25th March, 2020, which was extended for nearly two months in phases, affected the food and nutritional status of vulnerable sections of the Indian population. It says that a programme like the Mid-Day Meal Scheme covers four-fifth of primary-school-aged children in the country that helps in improving not only nutrition but also...

-Hindustan Times The directives were, in effect, an extension to all states of the instructions given by the top court to the National Capital Region states of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana for migrants stranded in and around NCR. The Supreme Court on Monday told states that stranded migrants across the country must be given free dry ration and cooked food through community kitchens, in directions that sought to reduce the problems...

-TheWire.in Can the Union government exercise its sovereignty in extending food subsidies to states during a historic crisis despite an enlarged fiscal deficit? Some states have started responding to the Supreme Court’s directions on ensuring food security, cash transfers and transportation for migrant workers. It is time the Union government steps up. In a suo moto hearing on May 13, the Supreme Court observed that migrant workers have once again been left in...

-The Hindu Top court says provision of food for labourers need not wait until completion of registration The government’s delay in completing a national database to identify and register migrant workers across the country in order to provide them benefits in times of dire need stood out like a sore thumb in a Supreme Court hearing on Friday. A Bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and M.R. Shah acknowledged submissions made by advocate Prashant...

With the rise in Covid-19 daily new cases and daily new deaths since March this year, media reports (please click here and here) on migrant workers returning back to their native places (i.e. places of origin) from migration destinations (i.e. workplaces likes cities and large industrial towns to where the informal and low skilled workers from the marginalised sections of the society migrate seasonally, and sometimes for a longer duration,...