-NDTV On March 26, the Finance Minister made the announcement of doubling the entitlements of PDS ration card holders for the months of April-June. Since then, it has been clear that the PDS has served as a lifeline for millions of Indians who were left high and dry when the sudden and complete lockdown had been announced two days prior. As we approached the end of June, pressure had been mounting to...
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Amid demand surge, 1.4 lakh families have reached annual MGNREGA work limit -Priscilla Jebaraj
-The Hindu Activists demand doubling of 100 days per household limit At least 1.4 lakh poor rural households have already completed their quota of 100 days of work under MGNREGA in the first three months of the year, and will not be eligible for further benefits under the rural employment guarantee scheme for the rest of the year. Another seven lakh households have completed 80 days and are on the verge of...
More »COVID-19 rural crisis: Why MGNREGA needs a harder push -Debmalya Nandy
-Down to Earth MGNREGA workers across the country on June 29 staged peaceful demonstration, raised demands for higher benefits and wages The nationwide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) left Mahatma Gandhi Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (MGNREGA) workers in the lurch. Thousands such workers, facing an economic crisis, have demanded an increase in the annual guarantee of work to 200 days per person. The workers from across...
More »Reset rural job policies, recognise women’s work -Madhura Swaminathan
-The Hindu As India emerges from the lockdown, labour market policy has to reverse the pandemic’s gender-differentiated impact The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on women’s work, but as official statistics do not capture women’s work adequately and accurately, little attention has been paid to the consequences of the pandemic for women workers and to the design of specific policies and programmes to assist them. A survey by the Azim Premji...
More »Weavers in Varanasi Pawn Jewellery, Houses for Survival - Abdul Alim Jafri
-Newsclick.in Weavers in Prime Minister Modi’s constituency, reeling under the triple blow of demonetisation, GST and lockdown, are on a week-long token protest against hiked electricity bills. Lucknow: To keep his home fires burning, Mohammad Obaid had to sell three handlooms and a wrapping machine that he had bought with his hard-earned money following demonetisation (November 2016) and the imposition of goods and services tax (GST). Now, the coronavirus pandemic-induced over three...
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