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.
The 21-day coronavirus lockdown in force since Wednesday has triggered a mass exodus of migrant workers across the country since the last few days.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday expressed hope that digital transactions will soon surpass cash as Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is increasingly becoming the most preferred payment mechanism in the country. Modi after the launch of the cross-border connectivity between the UPI and PayNow of Singapore said about 74 billion transactions amounting to more than Rs 126 trillion, which is approximately 2 trillion Singapore dolla, was done through UPI in 2022. "Many experts are estimating that very soon India's digital wallet transactions are going to overtake cash transactions," he said.
Heart-breaking stories of sorrow and shock began emerging from various parts of Kerala as people learned about the death of their loved ones.
Most deaths were due to smoke inhalation while residents were sleeping, and a significant number of occupants were evacuated, they added. The fire started in a kitchen in the six-storey building in the Mangaf area in Kuwait's southern Ahmadi Governorate, officials said, adding that the building reportedly had 195 people living in it, who are workers of the same company.
Bosses in the United Kingdom prefer to hire record number of migrants because they have a "shockingly low opinion" of local British workers, a survey has revealed.
Chidambaram said he would count every additional rupee the government infuses into the economy and examine what the poor, hungry and devastated migrant workers get after walking hundreds of kilometres to their home states.
'I have seen the tears in their eyes.' 'I want to thank God for giving me an opportunity to help these guys.'
'At this point of time, West Bengal is doing better than other states in tackling the crisis. We have a chief minister who herself has hit the streets to do what is to be done, and at the same time ensuring a proper lockdown. She is also trying day and night to set up the requisite infrastructure.'
Parliamentary standing committee on labour, led by Biju Janata Dal MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, has said in its report that it is unjustifiable for owners to pay workers' wages during natural calamities.
Gianni Infatino, who stood unopposed, was re-elected as FIFA President during the 73rd Congress in Kigali.
'The second generation of migrant labourers is not enthusiastic about continuing in this field.' 'The parents of the next generation do not wish their children to be part of this trade.'
'All governments disappointed us. Now we don't have faith in any of them'
"My father and uncles are no more, our family is devastated," said an inconsolable Avijit, the son of Haran.
In a bid to check organised gangs involved in drugging and looting railway passengers -- mostly migrant workers from Bihar and Jharkhand, the East Central Railway has identified 32 long route trains and 50 railway stations across five states to launch special drive against them.
The CM recently instructed officials to prepare a roadmap for providing local jobs to about two million people, especially in the rural-based industries, such as khadi, dairy, and food processing units and MSMEs.
Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya said that India is facing a health crisis that has led to a sudden stop of the economy.
A truck carrying a group of 54 migrant labourers and their families from Ahmedabad in Gujarat to Balrampur in Uttar Pradesh rammed into a stationary truck near Lalpur police post on Kanpur-Jhansi highway, killing three people and injuring 43 others.
The total number of positive cases has increased by 106 in the last 24 hours to reach 1,024.
Recounting the experiences of the morning, one which they will remember all their lives, Naveen said people at the Delhi airport were looking at them when they entered carrying jute bags and wearing slippers.
However, it will run special trains for migrants and others stranded across the country due to the ongoing lockdown.
Bangladesh labour activists said on Friday they had joined a lawsuit in Switzerland against world soccer body FIFA for allegedly failing to use its influence to ensure people working on 2022 World Cup facilities in Qatar are treated fairly.
He said the migrants and poor people had great expectations after the prime minister's address to the nation, but sadly...
'There was a statement by a minister that 30,000 Kashmiri Pandits have come back to the Kashmir Valley after the abrogation of Article 370, it is all b.......t and a white lie.' 'Nobody has come back.'
'Unlike Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu, there is no opportunity for workers to earn a livelihood in Bihar.'
Showing total disregard for the US constitution, Trump has said that this could be the last election to be held in the country. A Trump presidency could lead to mass deportation of undocumented migrants and harsh family separation, warns Aseem Chhabra.
Kerala on Friday said a tearful goodbye to most of the 23 victims from the state who died in the Kuwait fire tragedy -- one of the biggest incidents to ever affect the state's expatriate community known for their dedication and hard work.
'We expect the movements to come down to a trickle or even to stop at all these places,' says NDRF DG Satya Pradhan.
Despite difficult working conditions, Indians are still seeking jobs in Gulf countries
'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.
A global trade union for construction workers that has criticized labour conditions in Qatar will inspect soccer stadiums being built for the 2022 World Cup in the Gulf Arab state.
According to the findings, migrants had earned 424 pounds a week on an average, compared with 395 pounds for British workers, and had paid more in tax than they consumed in services last year. The report had also found that in 2006, record immigration pushed the number of foreign workers up to 12.5 per cent -- or one eighth -- of the labour force, compared to 7.4 per cent ten years back.
'The terrorists will allow only those who practice their tenets to live in Kashmir,' argues Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
Ashfaq Alam had been in jail for one month in connection with the crime committed in New Delhi and later came out on bail, Aluva Rural Superintendent of Police Vivek Kumar told reporters in Kochi.
Governments seem to be a lot more wary of imposing a draconian lockdown this time. Some lessons seem to have been learned. So, it may be fair to assume that these lockdowns will do less harm. But they will hurt the recovery process, which is still incomplete, warns Mahesh Vyas.
In the first such collaboration for India, the country's flagship payments platform, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), and Singapore's PayNow payment system have launched a real-time cross-border payment linkage system. The linkage, which was launched by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi and Singapore's PM Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday, was kicked off by a live cross-border transaction between Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das and Monetary Authority of Singapore managing director Ravi Menon, using mobile phones.
'The government is not ready to talk to us. They have their own agenda.'
Aseem Chhabra lists his favourite 2024 films that he watched at film festivals held in Berlin, Cannes, Toronto and India.
The two alleged gangmasters were arrested on Saturday and are under investigation for crimes, including enslavement and labour exploitation, the Italian news agency said.
Payal Kumari, daughter of a migrant worker from Bihar, battled the odds including financial woes, to top the BA archaeology course at Kerala's Mahatma Gandhi University.
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