Economy

Ten years back, Kamlaben Chavda was a stay-at-home mother of two children in the Gomtipur ward, at the far eastern end of Ahmedabad. Till one day, a neighbour and relative asked Kamlaben to accompany her to where she worked, the Saundarya Safai Utkarsh Mahila Sewa Sahakari Mandali Ltd. Today, thanks to that visit and the work she eventually found through Saundarya, Kamlaben says, “Now I have this experience where I can confidently go to any workplace and perform. And I can definitely say that I am standing where I am because of the support of my mandali (cooperative).”  Kamlaben is…

With eyes closed, *Jayalakshmi wades in and weaves through the Great Salt Lake, in the Kovalam-Nemmeli backwaters, her fingers scooping up prawns and fish. From morning to evening, she fills prawns inside a bag punctured with holes at the bottom. For as long as she can remember, the 43-year-old, who belongs to the Irular community in Thiruvidanthai, Chengalpattu, has practised the art of catching prawns and fish, by hand.  “Everything depends on this aaru (the lake). We know exactly where the prawns are, beyond the thorns, snakes and seru(mud or mud flats ”she says. The salt burns her eyes and…

80 kilometres south of Chennai stands the Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS) — one of two big nuclear power plants in Tamil Nadu  — and its affiliate organizations. These organizations employ around 15,000 permanent employees, who mostly live with their families in the Kalpakkam and Anupuram townships, located approximately 5 kms from the nuclear plant. The distance is said to mitigate health risks from radiation. But they are not the only human resources of the plant. More than 4000 workers, hundreds of them migrants to the state, are employed on a contract basis every year in construction, housekeeping, catering, hygiene…

Indian laws currently don't recognise gig workers either as organised or unorganised workers. While organised workers are protected by their agreements, unorganised workers like wage labourers, at least theoretically, can access some benefits under the Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008. The exclusion of one of the most conspicuous types of workers today from both these categories seem to contribute to the invisibilisation of their work. In Part 1 of this series, we saw how platform workers in Hyderabad become more vulnerable during extreme rains and flash floods. In this part, we explore what protections are available to them under…

On August 9, Syed Farhan, a Zomato delivery worker, fell into an open drain in Hyderabad while completing a delivery. In a video tweeted by Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) on X, Farhan is seen narrating his ordeal: “The water was [at a high] level and it was hard to understand the depth since nothing else was parked. My bike drowned and my phone, worth ₹20,000, also stopped working. My bike was worth ₹1.4 lakhs…I was still paying for it monthly.” In the video, he says he has been working for Zomato for the past seven years and…

The Shakti Yojane has recently crossed 500 crore tickets in the two years since it was launched by the Karnataka government in June 2023. The scheme offers free rides to women (including transwomen) in ordinary public buses, as long as they have a valid ID. Despite the milestone, the Shakti scheme has been at the forefront of political debate in the state. Opposition parties have labelled it a ‘scam’ that “betrays the people.”  A common argument is that male passengers are disproportionately burdened by Shakti, as they have to pay for tickets while women’s travel is fully subsidised.  This criticism…

The Public Distribution System (PDS) in India is one of the world's largest food security initiatives, covering approximately 800 million people. It provides free or subsidised food grains to over 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population. Yet, Rajendra Nagar, one of Bengaluru’s largest informal clusters with over 15,000 families living across a two-square-kilometre area, offers a stark example of how gaps in the Public Distribution System (PDS) leave thousands vulnerable. As many as 44% of households surveyed in this slum between September and November 2024 reported not receiving rations, despite being eligible. Households in the…

Bengaluru’s cultural scene is a dynamic blend of history and modernity. From Kempegowda’s legacy to its evolving cosmopolitan spirit, the city embraces tradition and change equally. It boasts several cultural landmarks such as the Bengaluru Palace of the Wodeyar dynasty, Rangashankara, Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum and Mavalli Tiffin Room (MTR), alongside green retreats like the Lalbagh Botanical Gardens, Cubbon Park and Bannerghatta. From the neighbourhoods of Basavanagudi celebrating 'Kadlekai Parishe' (groundnut fair), flower shopping at Malleshwaram, to the renowned 'Karaga' in Chickpete, the city flaunts many micro-cultures tied to communities and shared local narratives. Bengaluru has also become a…

Every afternoon, Nanda Kumar makes a difficult choice. He parks his bike outside his home in Chennai and suspends work, losing up to ₹800 a day. The 27-year-old Ola and Uber rider isn’t on a break for leisure, though. A brutal heatwave and a recent heat stroke that landed him in the hospital for two days cost him over ₹10,000 in medical bills and lost wages. Since then, he has been forced to stay off the roads during the afternoon hours. “I can’t ride between 12 and 4 pm in the summer months. The heat is just unbearable,” he says. …

Mita (name changed) is here, there and everywhere, managing her shop alone in Salt Lake,  Kolkata as she juggles her spatula, pots, pans, paper plates, teacups, and  dish soap. In the midst of this apparent chaos, she does some deft mental arithmetic to calculate dues, and tells her customers, “The QR code is displayed there.” Mita is one among the wide cross section of the Indian population who have adopted United Payments Interface (UPI)—a real-time, cash-less and secure payment system. The National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) introduced UPI in 2016 to facilitate inter-bank transactions for peer-to-peer, or individual-to-merchant transactions.…