India’s Gig Workers Remain Undocumented, Unprotected
There are only estimates of India’s gig workforce, and this lack of data is one of the reasons why gig workers are largely bereft of social security in a little-regulated gig sector, say experts.
From Guest Workers to Ghost Workers: The Electoral Exclusion of India’s Migrants
Migrants are often unable to cast their votes due to systemic exclusions and economic constraints. This has made them invisible as a vote-bank and heightened their marginalisation.
Capitalism | India | Online Blog | Poverty
The Economic Situation in 2023–24, Part 3: India’s Grim Poverty Situation
In this third part of our review of the economic situation of the country in early 2024, we take a look at India’s poverty levels, and the hunger and malnutrition situation in the country.
Exploitation | India | Indian Economy | Inflation | Online Blog | Poverty | Privatization | Unemployment
Welfare Spending in the Past Two Decades: Has the NDA Era Been Different?
The last two decades have seen little increase in welfare spending. But the NDA government has created an image of being focused on welfare by renaming schemes, appropriating older ones, and starving some UPA schemes of funds.
Subsidised Food Canteens Create Democratic Spaces In Deeply Divided Societies: Reetika Khera
Shreehari speaks with Khera, an economist, on various social security schemes including maternity entitlements, healthcare, food-related welfare like community kitchens, which are important in the context of the decline in real wages. Also: ‘Right to Food Campaign Demands Universal Maternity Entitlements’.
On Board a Ghulam Express of the Indian Railways
Away from the cool coaches of the Vande Bharat trains with their electric blue seats, wide clear glass panels and LCD screens are the trains that continue to transport millions of GDP-producing workers across India, packed like sardines and without access to basic facilities.
In the Name of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Looting the Poor, Benefiting the Rich – 5 Articles
‘Dharmic SEZ and “Hindu Renaissance”: Ram Rajya for the Rich’; ‘Temple Construction Meant Small Business Owners in Ayodhya Lost Money – and Hope’; ‘Survival at Stake: Meat, Liquor Ban Hits Livelihoods of Thousands in Ayodhya’; ‘Ayodhya: All Eyes Skyward at Grand Temple; Shopkeepers Left With Rubble Below’; ‘When Death Came Knocking on a Family in Ayodhya’.
NITI Aayog’s Unbelievable Poverty Statistics – 4 Articles
‘Everything Wrong with NITI Aayog’s Claim of 24.8 Crore Emerging Out of Poverty in 9 Years’; ‘Niti Aayog “Poverty” Stats: Serious Theoretical, Methodological, Empirical Questions’; ‘Three Charts: What the Modi Government Wants Us to Forget Before the 2024 Lok Sabha Polls’; ‘Hunger, Undernutrition Stalking India; Placed Worse Than Least Developed Nations’.
Economy | India | Inflation | Online Blog | Poverty
The Pervasiveness of Poverty in India; Over 74% Indians Unable to Afford Healthy Diet
One of the striking findings of the Bihar Caste Survey is that absolute poverty in the country is far more pervasive than what successive governments in India have been claiming. Also: ‘’Over 74% Indians Unable to Afford Healthy Diet’: UN Report’.
India – Worsening Economic Distress – 3 Articles
Household Savings in India Drop to a 5-Decade Low in FY23; Low Small Vehicle Sales, Rush for Gold Loans Point to Economic Distress; India’s Poverty Soared Pre-Pandemic, Eased in 2021 but Remained Above 2018 Levels.