The opposition has been critical of the Centre's handling of the situation, accusing it of not doing enough to ease the hardships of the migrant workers, many of whom have lost their jobs during the lockdown which started on March 25.
'Politicians's slogans on social distancing, showered like petals from their ivory towers, mock every single moment of pain and distress imposed on the vulnerable down below, at migrant labour stuffed like chickens on goods trucks, trying to get home at all costs,' observes Veenu Sandhu.
The recent protests by employees of Urban Company and the case of a a Zomato delivery executive who died in a road accident point to the severely straitened condition of gig workers during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Budget 2021 had promised several measures to help the cause of gig economy workers, but most of them are yet to see the light of day. Even after a year, the country's gig workers continue to be without any social security cover or a minimum wage guarantee. "In Budget 2021, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced that the government is looking toward including migrant and gig workers for social security benefits," says Srinivas Kotni, managing partner, Lexport, a consulting firm. Parliament had passed the Code on Wages in 2019 and Code on Industrial Relations, Social Security and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions in 2020.
Maharashtra has the most number of coronavirus cases with 23,401 cases.
'It seems the action against Nupur was because the vice president was in Qatar and officials in his secretariat did not want any embarrassment.'
With 1,209 new deaths reported across the country, the toll due to the disease stands at 76,271.
At least 18 coronavirus patients died after a fire broke out at a hospital in Gujarat's Bharuch in the early hours on Saturday.
Many of the tragedies occurred in the dark, which is when it is cooler to walk, and many people were caught in their sleep. The combination of no traffic and speeding vehicles has led to havoc, endangering the lives of those who found themselves without work or money in the coronavirus-induced lockdown and were frantic to get home, any which way.
Since jobs will remain scarce for the foreseeable future, an unemployment allowance should be the next big social-security initiative, suggests T N Ninan.
India is the third worst-hit nation by the pandemic after the US and Brazil in terms of cases and deaths.
Retirement fund body EPFO net added 14.81 lakh subscribers in August 2021, reflecting a growing trend in net payroll for the first five months of this fiscal. The provisional payroll data of Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) released on Wednesday highlights that it added around 14.81 lakh net subscribers during the month of August 2021, a labour ministry statement said. The data reflects a growing trend in net payroll for the first five months of the current financial year, it added.
The total number of positive cases has increased by 106 in the last 24 hours to reach 1,024.
Narrow lanes and bylanes, small houses, unhygienic living conditions, common toilets and several other factors are responsible for the easy spread of COVID-19 in Dharavi, apart from non-adherence to social distancing norms.
A circular-cum-advisory issued by the state Directorate of Health Services last week said the second wave of the pandemic is likely in January-February, and asked officials concerned to ramp up COVID-19 testing in the state.
Sunder Navalkar devoted her whole life to the cause of workers' rights, remembers Sanober Keashwaar.
Vipul Agarwal and Vivek Agarwal, the developers and partners in Alcon Landmarks, were arrested on Saturday after a portion of a 22-ft-high compound wall of a housing society collapsed on adjoining shanties of construction workers following incessant rainfall.
The AFSPA is in force in Assam, Nagaland, Manipur (excluding Imphal Municipal Council Area), Changlang, Longding and Tirap districts of Arunachal Pradesh, and areas falling within the jurisdiction of eight police stations of districts in Arunachal Pradesh bordering Assam.
Only vaccinations can eliminate the threat of new waves, help raise sentiments and allow sellers and buyers to participate aggressively in the much awaited economic recovery, observes Mahesh Vyas.
The Nazi death camp where more than one million people perished was liberated on January 27, 1945 and the day is commemorated as International Holocaust Remembrance Day worldwide. KL Auschwitz-Birkenau was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by the Third Reich near Oswiecim in occupied Poland during World War II.
Heads of fire departments of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) and Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) are part of the joint probe team.
"The lockdown was an attack on labourers, farmers and small shopkeepers. It was an attack on our unorganised sector. We have to understand this. We all have to stand against this attack," he said.
Surat houses more than 650,000 powerlooms. Of this, at least 60 per cent have been shut since a month, a loss of Rs 900 crore, finds out Vinay Umarji.
Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Jayant Patil said, "On May 29, the government will be holding a meeting to review the lockdown in the state. During this meeting, the decision will be taken on which areas should be given more relaxations. However, there will be no relaxations in the areas where the maximum number of cases are being reported."
Massive rescue and relief efforts were mounted by India and other neighbours in Nepal, as two powerful aftershocks today rattled the country, adding to the misery of Saturday's devastation in which the casualties soared to 2,400 people dead and over 6000 others injured.
The killing of a Rajput driver by a terrorist has generated a sense of fear and uncertainty among members of the tiny community in Kakran village in Kulgam district who have stayed on in Kashmir Valley despite decades of militancy but are now considering leaving for a safer place.
Even as the industrial cycle has ground to a halt during the 21-day lockdown, the industry has been hit hard by foreign orders from major clients in the US and Europe being cancelled. Also, a sudden lack of labour has crippled the sector because of a mass exodus of workers from industrial units to the hinterland.
Instead of mechanically consolidating all labour laws into one, provisions of all labour laws should be relooked in terms of their substance. The irrelevant and archaic provisions have to be fixed, says Aparajita Gupta.
Veteran Congress leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar passed away in New Delhi on Wednesday. He was 92.
Modi later contended at a rally at Gangarampur in Dakshin Dinajpur, that Banerjee has been abusing him almost every other day as he raises questions on Trinamool Congress track record of "corruption".
Criticising the handling of the COVID-19 crisis in Uttar Pradesh, a ruling party leader has claimed that at least 10 people died in every village during the second wave as no lessons were learnt from the first one.
India's COVID-19 tally climbed to 6,48,315 on Saturday, while the death toll rose to 18,655 with 442 new fatalities.
'You are with each other 24x7, so how can you ignore someone crying next to you?' 'How can you not share a piece of chicken with someone who is sitting next to you and watching you eat it?' 'Of course, you will share.' 'And you become friends with the kind of people you never thought you'd even know.'
The National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah on Wednesday said no peace talks were possible 'under the shadow' of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and termed Union home minister Amit Shah's statement in Parliament on the botched counter-insurgency operation as 'irresponsible.'
India remains a young nation, but it will not get younger in future. India has not managed to noticeably improve education. Nor has it managed to create employment opportunities, observes Devangshu Datta.
Of the 418 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, 181 are from Maharashtra.
Noting that the situation on the ground was "very difficult", the Congress leader said it was high time the prime minister announced a relief package for the poor and a financial stimulus for the economy.
A top Japanese virologist and government adviser has warned of the risks of spreading COVID-19 infections during the Tokyo Olympics.
The victims, labourers of Salmira tea estate, fell ill after they drank the illicit brew on Thursday night, the police said.
The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 543 and the number of cases climbed to 17,265 in the country on Monday, according to the Union health ministry.
