-The Indian Express The data released by UNICEF notes that more than 888 million children worldwide continue to face disruptions to their education due to full and partial school closures. As many as 1.5 million schools remained shut during 2020 due to the pandemic and lockdowns, impacting 247 million children enrolled in elementary and secondary schools in India, according to data released by UNICEF Wednesday. “Online education is not an option for all...

-Hindustan Times The BJP’s rise is remarkable. If the TMC still wins, it will offer a template on how to challenge a hegemon In West Bengal, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has emerged as the chief challenger to the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), which has ruled West Bengal for 10 years. This, in and of itself, is a major change in Bengal’s politics, where the BJP had never been much of an...

-The Indian Express NITI Aayog’s draft report is well-intentioned. But its failure to address the policy distortions at the root of migrant workers’ issues cannot be overlooked The lockdown-induced suffering of millions of migrants raised awareness regarding their magnitude, vulnerability, and role in the economy. It also led to a flurry of measures by the central and state governments. It is now encouraging that the Niti Aayog, on the request of the...

When a massive sum of public money is spent on a programme like Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGA)--a demand-driven programme, there is likelihood of financial misappropriations and mismanagement. Thankfully there are checks and balances in the rural employment guarantee legislation to counter such malpractices. It is worth noting that the total allocation under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGA) for 2020-21 was Rs. 1,11,500.00 crore (R.E.), up...

-The Hindu Modi government cracked down on critics: report. U.S.-based human rights watchdog Freedom House has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of “driving India toward authoritarianism” with a “hamfisted lockdown”, scapegoating of Muslims, and a crackdown on critics, and downgraded India’s status from ‘Free’ to ‘Partly Free’, in its annual report. “Under Modi, India appears to have abandoned its potential to serve as a global democratic leader, elevating narrow Hindu nationalist interests...