Odisha’s big challenge: Meeting MGNREGS target of 200 million person days

Although the state govt picked up pace compared to recent years, there are reports of slowdown in work being done

How e-waste crisis continues to plague informal sector

Over 90% of electronic waste management is done by informal sector workers, most of whom are unaware of their rights  

COVID-19 relief didn’t reach Jan Dhan a/cs of many women: Survey

At least 12,500 women Jan Dhan account holders across 13 states were surveyed; 16% reported their Jan Dhan accounts were either not operational, …

COVID -19: Invisible policy fault lines are more by accident than design

Fractures in public policy always existed. They are now only more blatant than ever before.

COVID-19 rural crisis: Why MGNREGA needs a harder push

MGNREGA workers across the country on June 29 staged peaceful demonstration, raised demands for higher benefits and wages

COVID-19 virus now in community, getting bigger: Himanta Sarma

Assam recorded its highest one-day spike of 1,202 new COVID-19 cases on July 4; 782 cases were from Guwahati alone

Bihar doctors worried as more healthcare workers fall prey to COVID-19

At least 150 healthcare professionals, including 100 doctors, have tested positive for COVID-19 so far in the state

COVID-19: Sales hit, Odisha sculptors struggle to stay afloat

Absence of tourists and cancelled festival celebrations have hit their livelihood

Will agriculture help twice-returned Saurashtra migrants tide over COVID-19 crisis?

Several Saurashtra migrants who had returned to work in Surat in May-end said they have fallen back on land resources for agriculture 

Can MGNREGA be a tool for post-COVID-19 rural recovery

Agriculture is the least-affected sector of the economy. It is poised to gain and lead economy’s revival process

Wanted: An urban equivalent of MGNREGA

Such a programme is the need of the hour not only as a measure to revive the urban economy now, but also to mitigate any further shocks to …

More than 3,000 healthcare workers in 79 countries have died from COVID-19: Report

Health workers work in unsafe conditions and lack adequate safety gear, wages and medical care in addition to reprisals for protests

Reporter’s diary amid COVID-19: Reaching home

Down To Earth’s Vivek Mishra has walked from Delhi to Shravasti in Uttar Pradesh to capture the plight of workers returning home after …

Reporter’s diary amid COVID-19: The long walk home

As india witnesses its largest movement of workers, Down To Earth’s Vivek Mishra walks with them for over 500 km, chronicling the crisis. …

India in a microcosm: Will COVID-19 reverse migrants pick up the plough again? Palanpur throws up a question

Palanpur has been closely monitored and studied since the early 50s to help economists, policy makers understand the changing rural landscape of …

From tailors to paani poori sellers: MGNREGA lends a hand to migrant returnees

DTE visited village Dhamna in Uttar Pradesh’s Jalaun district to see how life in rural India is being sustained by the biggest …

Can MGNREGA cushion the COVID-19 lockdown blow for Moradabad’s returning villagers

There is a sharp rise in demand for work under MGNREGA in Moradabad and other districts of the state

COVID-19: 10,000 health workers infected in Africa, says WHO

South Africa, one of the five countries most affected by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, accounted for 35 per cent of the …

COVID-19: Even skilled workers line up for MGNREGA in Kurukshetra

With economic recovery uncertain, those who would earlier avoid central job schemes are now ready to take up work

India’s mysterious diseases: Why are they happening?

The Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme is not working as it was conceptualised, say experts

COVID-19: How distant laws, uneven measures afflict sanitation workers

The pandemic has further aggravated the dichotomy of livelihood and safety of sanitation workers 

Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance: A strong EC Act is still needed

The ordinance does not expressly define ‘extraordinary circumstances’: Such legislative ambiguity makes one question the entire …

On a fast track: How MGNREGA is allaying job distress in UP’s Jalaun

Jalaun district administration spent 70% of labour budget between April and July, says official

How MGNREGA helps revive village infra, increase employment in Haryana

Villagers gain employment through the job guarantee scheme, used as a means to revive rural infrastructure like reservoirs, cattle sheds

Gloom ahead of Handloom Day: Centre scraps handloom, handicraft boards

Experts slam government move to get rid of advisory bodies, say they let stakeholders present their case