Tackle Second Wave: Protect People’s Health & Livelihoods

WITH the second wave of the Covid-19 infection unfolding, India is facing a calamitous situation. April 4 saw the breeching of the 100,000 mark (one lakh) in daily cases with 103,709 cases recorded.

New Vehicle Scrappage Policy: Who Gains Most?

THE union budget presented in parliament on February 1, 2021 announced a long-promised and much-awaited vehicle scrappage policy. Subsequently, the minister for road transport and highways (MoRTH) provided some additional details, although the final policy document was not made available in the public domain on or after February 15 as he promised.

TRIPURA: BJP, Allies Push Divisive Issues in Tribal Council Elections

CAMPAIGN for the April 6 Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) elections is going on in full swing. Though the BJP-led government was in favour of running the council through an administrator, it was compelled to hold election following a high court order. Left Front leaders, in their campaign, have been highlighting the sincere and commendable performance of the Left-controlled ADC Council despite total noncooperation of the state government, particularly in providing relief to the destitute people during the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

The IMF’s True Colours

THE Covid-19 crisis has seen a very different response from the advanced countries compared to the third world countries. The former have unrolled substantial fiscal packages for rescue and recovery while the latter have been trapped in fiscal austerity. Among third world countries, India’s fiscal package has been perhaps the most niggardly, amounting to no more than one per cent of GDP; but even other third world countries have not fared all that much better.

Interest On Small Savings Must Not Be Reduced

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on April 1, 2021.THE finance minister’s retraction of the announcement made by the government yesterday of drastically reducing interest rates on small saving schemes does not fool anybody. It is clear that due to the ongoing assembly elections in five states this decision has been kept on hold. This is similar to the dictate imposed by the government on oil retailers to not hike the prices of petroleum products till the elections are over.Crores of people who invest i

Cuba on the Go

ON March 28, caravans marched in Havana, Cuba and another 50 cities around the world demanding an end to the US-imposed blockade on Cuba. In addition to demanding an end to the blockade, the caravan in Havana was dedicated to thanking the world for the solidarity and opposition to the hostile policies of the US government. The caravans began in Miami, US and were held in many cities in the US and in other continents on the last Sunday of every month, since the last nine months.

Para Sportspersons Treated in a Reprehensible Manner

THE National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) expressed dismay at the deplorable and reprehensible manner in which the National Para Athletics Championship was conducted in Bengaluru from March 24 to 27, 2021. NPRD has written a letter to the minister for youth and sports, Kiren Rijiju, on March 25, after having been flooded with complaints of varying natures from the athletes.Originally scheduled to be held at Chennai, the venue was changed at the last minute to Bengaluru.

Keeping in Abeyance Elections to Rajya Sabha from Kerala is Wrong

NILOTPAL Basu, Polit Bureau member of the CPI(M) wrote a letter to the chief election commissioner(CEC), Election Commission of India on March 25, asking the CEC to immediately revoke the decision of the commission to put in abeyance the biennial election for three seats to the Council of States in Kerala.We reproduce the letter written by him:We are shocked at the abrupt announcement of the Election Commission of India’s decision to keep the proposed notification and schedule for biennial election for three seats to the Council of States in Kerala on March 24, in abeyance.(through the pres

TN: Farmers, Fisher Folk Mahapanchayat

MARCH 27, 2021 saw a huge confluence of over 20,000 farmers and fisher folk at the coastal village Keelhaulers Manakudy, near Kanyakumari, the land’s end where three seas meet at the confluence.Addressing the mahapanchayat, Ashok Dhawale, president, All India Kisan Sabha stated that lakhs of farmers of the country are at the Singhu, Tikri, Ghazipur and Shahjahanpur borders of Delhi for the last four months. 300 farmers have been martyred but the BJP government in power does not care; they only care for the corporates.

Linking Payment To ‘Poshan Tracker’ App, Illegal & Unethical

ALL India Federation of Anganwadi Workers and Helpers(AIFAWH has condemned the decision of the central government to complete the downloading of the “Poshan Tracker” App by March 15, 2021. This application is supposed to be downloaded by all the anganwadi workers and helpers.The payment of the honorarium of anganwadi workers and helpers from March 2021 onwards will be done through this app.

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