Arjun Kumar

Arjun Kumar
Support mechanism needed to halt mass reverse migration
Reverse migration amidst the second wave of COVID-19 Posted on 24 May, 2021 08:50 PM

Migrant workers had been assured multiple times that an economic lockdown will not be imposed and yet by mid-April reverse migration was in full swing.

Stranded migrant workers during lockdown because of COVID-19 pandemic in Delhi (Image: Sumita Roy Dutta, Wikimedia Commons)
Rural realities amid second COVID surge
Practitioner's experiences in tackling the second wave in Indian villages Posted on 17 May, 2021 10:44 PM

The second wave of COVID-19 has now spread to the rural pockets of the country at a much faster rate than it did during the first wave of the outbreak.

There is a need to strengthen the capacities of ASHA workers, and other healthcare and grassroots workers. (Image: DMD, Government of Bihar)
Need to revamp developmental planning in the Uttarakhand hills
The havoc points to the faultlines in the developmental planning of ecologically sensitive areas. Posted on 12 Feb, 2021 11:02 AM

The recent catastrophe in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, where a large part of the Nanda Devi Glacier fell into the Alaknanda stream near Joshimath, caused severe flooding. The rapid flow of water caused mountain slides that fell into deep ravines destroying all the houses and structures that came in their path.

The glacial burst in Chamoli is nature’s way of telling the state not to play havoc with the local ecology. (Image: Down to Earth)
Budget 2021: Cash transfer and urban employment guarantee can help blunt the economic blow
Expand Rs 500 per month cash transfer to poor non-farmer and urban households: Prof Santosh Mehrotra Posted on 26 Jan, 2021 11:03 AM

To revive India’s growth story and to cash in on our rapidly closing demographic dividend window, Prof Santosh Mehrotra, a human development economist suggests four essential proposals that must be included in the Budget 2021. This includes an increased expenditure in infrastructure, health sector and an urban employment guarantee programme.

There should be an increased expenditure in infrastructure to create jobs in the construction sector. (Image: PxHere)
District development, data and diversity: Lessons and the way forward
Though we have highly sophisticated ways of depicting data nowadays, we have gone backwards on linking data with decision making. Posted on 08 Dec, 2020 01:35 PM

The coronavirus pandemic poses a challenge for implementing developmental responses in the context of district, one of the most important administrative units in India. There has been a push towards development at the grassroots level through AtmaNirbhar Bharat, Vocal for Local, One District One Product and National Infrastructure Pipeline.

The quality of the government data for schematic reporting has improved as compared to 20 years ago, that does not necessarily mean that planning has improved (Image: Pikist)
Administrative reforms towards Atmanirbhar Bharat
Accountable and efficient governance should reach the last mile. Posted on 25 Nov, 2020 12:49 PM

Policies are seen as a political investment, and the executive and legislature have electoral pressures and considerations. Civil services and other government jobs have generated interests primarily for their job security, high salaries, and promotions.

Agriculture and food security challenges amid Covid-19
The pandemic has bared our vulnerabilities and shaken our collective consciousness to focus on agriculture and rural economy. Posted on 09 Sep, 2020 03:32 PM

India has seen large scale rural-urban migration of people trying to escape rural distress in the last few decades.

Women farmers produce vegetables through innovative farming practices in Banka, Bihar. They can sell their produce at regional markets, and earn a better income for their families. (Image: USAID, Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Is the draft EIA notification 2020 anti-environment?
The draft notification is alleged to dilute the process and standards for environmental clearances for industries.
Posted on 30 Aug, 2020 04:48 PM

Economic development and creation of jobs have been India’s most critical challenges, and continue to be an overriding priority for the government. India’s rise in the World Bank’s global ranking on the ease of doing business is complemented with a successive downturn in its position on the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) from 2014 to 2019.

Villager looking at mining devastated areas in Goa (Image: Frederik Noronha; Wikimedia Commons; CC A-S A 4.0 International)
Creating an Atma Nirbhar Bharat amid the Covid-19 pandemic
There is an urgent need for a comprehensive National Employment Policy based on responsive real-time data analysis integrating sectors amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Posted on 18 Jul, 2020 05:16 PM

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), about 63 countries across the globe have prepared National Development Framework or National Employment Policy (NEP) to decide the roadmap for employment generation mainly after the global financial crisis, 2008.

Brick kiln workers (Image: ILO Asia-Pacific)
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