Economy | Citizen Matters

Despite MSME package, Jaipur’s buzzing bazaars lie silent, textile sector steeped in gloom

May 31, 2020 Kavita Kanan Chandra

Barely 30-40 per cent of the MSME units in industrial clusters in and around the pink city are functional, and working to less than half their capacity. Lack of any monetary relief is their main grievance.

No baaraat, hence no band or baaja: In Kolkata, ban on social gatherings cripples many livelihoods

May 29, 2020 Gurvinder Singh

Wedding photographers, musicians with small bands, local caterers and many others, who depend on events and social gatherings for their earnings, talk of the sufferings that COVID-19 has brought upon them.

Tourism and local industries at a standstill, will infrastructure revive Himachal’s urban economy?

May 25, 2020 Ashwani Sharma

Himachal Pradesh has seen nearly 80 per cent loss of livelihoods, both rural and urban. The government is now pinning hopes on opening up construction and other infrastructure projects.

No jobs, farming season over: How long before migrants returning to Patna set out again?

May 20, 2020 Amit Bhelari

Faced with miserable conditions at district quarantine centres and no prospect of jobs, the 1.5 lakh plus labourers who have returned to Bihar could well be left with just one option — go back to where they returned from.

Will Odisha’s new urban employment scheme put money in the hands of the poor?

May 9, 2020 Lalit Pattajoshi

The UWEI looks at execution of labour intensive projects in urban areas, with an allocation of Rs 100 crore to be spent on wages of workers.

Patna: Ground reality trumps relaxation on paper

April 27, 2020 Amit Bhelari

Whatever partial relaxation has been allowed has brought little relief to the poor of Patna, which is not surprising given the many inconsistencies in the guidelines.

Bhubaneswar: The economy is battling the virus too

April 24, 2020 Lalit Pattajoshi

With the Centre’s new guidelines to slowly kickstart the economy, Odisha, too, has announced partial lockdown relaxation. But the problems that formal and informal sectors here face now is representative of what all states will have to tackle post May 3rd.

COVID-19 underlines crisis in jute mills in Kolkata suburbs

April 21, 2020 Gurvinder Singh

With no jute bags available, farmers switch to plastic bags to pack and transport their harvest as Bengal’s jute mills remain shut because of the pandemic. Its labour force is left in limbo with unpaid wages and little prospect of getting back to work.

COVID-19 impact: Final year students across colleges stare at bleak job prospects

April 13, 2020 Aruna Natarajan

Placement season would have been under full swing now in most institutions, under normal circumstances. But with the COVID outbreak, placement drives have been suspended, firms have rescinded offers…and the Class of 2020 stares at an uncertain job future.

Chandigarh: Ahead of harvest, farmers worried about labour and procurement

April 9, 2020 Raj Machhan

Every year, Punjab employs around 10 lakh migrant labourers to carry out the market operations during Rabi harvest. These labourers generally come in late March and stay on till June to complete the transplantation of paddy.

As harvest season draws near, will it be business as usual for the agricultural sector?

April 9, 2020 Vijaya Pushkarna

Some relaxation from the lockdown has been granted to ensure harvesting gets done, along with detailed health guidelines from the ICAR, with the promise that every grain that reaches the market will be procured.

Shimla: Corona fears cast shadow over Himachal’s apple produce

April 6, 2020 Ashwani Sharma

The worry among Himachal’s fruit growers is not just that the coronavirus lockdown will affect the apple orchards, but also the farms growing cherries, pomegranate and green almonds, all of which normally hit the market in July-August.

“If lockdown is extended, economic consequence could be worse than health consequence”

April 6, 2020 Rishabh Shrivastava

In an exclusive interview with Citizen Matters, Shekhar Tomar, Asst Professor of Business and Public Policy at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, says economic decision makers must chalk out a clear blueprint on how to respond to the economic crisis which could linger even after the lockdown ends.

Mumbai youth group urges support for the poor as they face starvation, job cuts along with COVID risk

April 2, 2020 Anuja Sirohi

Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA) conducted a rapid assessment in over 20 settlements across Greater Mumbai where low-income communities live and work, and found that they not only face risk of disease, but a threat to basic sustenance in the face of the coronavirus outbreak.

Coronavirus may go, but issues faced by migrant workers will remain

April 2, 2020 Harsha Raj Gatty

Interstate migrant workers form the backbone of the local economy, yet they have long been a faceless, voiceless community suffering due to hopelessly inadequate social security and class discrimination. The human crisis created by the coronavirus outbreak and resulting lockdown is just the manifestation of these deep-rooted issues.