COVID-19 lockdown provides opportunity to save Punjab’s declining groundwater

Pandemic forced Punjabi farmers to adopt a less water- and labour intensive rice growing technique because of labour shortage; it now might …

Life around Mumbai’s salt pans

The salt pans are a source of livelihood for more than 2,000 migrant workers from different parts of the country

COVID-19 is cruel to young and aspirational India

More than the pandemic, it’s the sheer abdication of responsibility from those in power that’s destroying the dreams of rural India &…

COVID-19 third wave: Returning workers may have led to Jharkhand spike

COVID-19 situation dire in Jharkhand, with healthcare workers, rural residents infected; state has no wherewithal for genome sequencing

One nation one ration card: Odisha to soon start dry ration scheme for migrant workers

The apex court had directed all states and Union territories June 29 to formulate an appropriate scheme to provide dry ration to migrant workers …

Free foodgrain until Diwali: What about migrants, those without ration cards?

Around 100 million Indians are excluded from the public distribution system, according to economists

Stockholm+50: How do we prepare for the next half century

When we mark the 50th anniversary of the 1972 Stockholm conference, we need to discuss consumption and production in a globalised world

Migration in India: A shift in agenda

Migration is an adaptation strategy for communities vulnerable to climate change impacts. Governments should plan for such demographic shifts

COVID-19: ‘Only a third of migrant workers getting relief measures’

At least 50 mln short-term circular migrants left out of any government identification process, according to IHD estimates

From quarters to kothis: A migrant couple’s journey to nowhere

Safety nets of millions of migrant workers came apart as COVID-19 lockdown came into force

Rural distress: Demand for MGNREGA work sees spike again

This points to rural distress despite absence of COVID-19 restrictions on economic activities for past few months   

India’s migrant construction workers: An analysis of their welfare framework

There are prominent shortcomings in implementation, especially registration of workers and and collection and distribution of Cess

Drying up of MGNREGA allocation will shrink the rural economy further

The focus of MGNREGA has, over time, shifted from employment creation to asset creation 

COVID-19: Odisha plans to prevent community transmission with weekend shutdowns at 11 districts

Doctors term the decision as illogical, say government should identify containment zones instead 

COVID-19: Sitharaman’s second tranche of economic stimulus fails to enthuse

Experts question announcements made for street vendors, small and marginal farmers and migrant workers

COVID-19: How will political economy of formal-informal sector play out

While the cost of lockdown was borne by population ignored by bureaucracy, benefits were incurred by a small influential group 

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 …

COVID-19 has made the invisible visible

Migrants make economies tick and now with their return there are many questions about the future of work, of …

Increase minimum wage by Rs 199, cut calorie intake by 300, suggests expert panel

Suggestions include different national minimum wages across different geographical regions in the country to suit local requirement

Salt rush

Every year, marginal farmers from across the country travel to Mumbai's saltpans to earn some extra money

Will MGNREGA help again? Rs 1,387 crore pending in wages

Migrant workers are returning to their home states again as COVID-19 pandemic lashes out brutally at several urban centres 

Court Digest: Major environment hearings of the week (June 6-12, 2020)

Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal

The untouchables: COVID-19 lockdown and the migrants

Social-distancing on the one hand and slipping back to age-old social discrimination on the other hand can break backs 

3 years of pandemic: I am still dealing with the havoc COVID wreaked on my health

Down To Earth reporter recounts his harrowing experience of dealing with post-COVID illnesses

Multiple crises: the cost of wasted time

Much like COVID-19, when WHO procrastinated, FAO too is “considering”when to declare the locust upsurge as a plague