ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

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Economic Impact of COVID-19-induced Lockdown on Rural Households

Through a series of data visualisations, the article attempts to illustrate the economic repercussions of the COVID-19-induced lockdown of 2020 on rural households. It focuses on how consumption, labour and income, healthcare, access to relief programmes and migration were effected by the lockdown in six major states.

 

Agrarian Structure of Punjab in the Post-green Revolution Era

While Punjab is endowed with population bonus from a macro perspective, the dividend viewed at a household level has placed Punjab farmers in two major difficulties: the shrinkage of farm size and the underutilisation of the dividend. Due to a dearth of decent non-farm job opportunities, Punjab farmers have struggled to pursue distress-coping strategies. This paper focuses on three primary strategies for survival: land leases, overseas migration, and obtaining informal domestic jobs outside the agricultural sector, based on our unique data of 956 landholders and 254 landless households across Punjab.

 

Government Policies Drive Farmers to Penury

Ironically, agricultural households now earn “more” income from wages than from crop farming.

 

COVID-19 and Tribal Communities: How State Neglect Increased Marginalisation during the Pandemic

In the absence of state support and social security, the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns created short- and long-term hardships for already marginalised tribal communities in India.

Understanding Housing Resettlement through Women’s Experiences

A Place to Call Home: Women as Agents of Change in Mumbai by Ramya Ramanath, New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2019; pp xvii + 170, `795.

 

How Unstable Are the Sources of Livelihood?

This paper, based on the data from the annual Periodic Labour Force Survey, reflects on the lack of sustainable sources of livelihood and the phenomenon of multiple activities pursued simultaneously. A thorough analysis of the quarterly data suggests that in the rural areas, workers largely dependent on agriculture are compelled to shift to other activities in the off season. The nature of employment also varies, particularly in the urban areas. The occupational choice model estimated based on the quarterly data is indicative of changes in the marginal effect for workers of a given caste or an individual with a certain educational attainment. Certain social categories and workers with less educational attainments are more susceptible to changing probability of joining a particular activity and adopting multiple activities.

 

On the Question of Access to Welfare and Health for Women During the Initial Phase of the Pandemic

As the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, women migrant workers were placed at a distinct disadvantage. Millions of women workers in labour-intensive occupations, from domestic work to construction lost their jobs, while also shouldering the responsibility of caregiving. This study draws on in-depth interviews with women workers in Delhi to document their life and experiences in the aftermath of the national lockdown in 2020. It brings to light a range of challenges around food security, caregiving, income security, and social protection. It documents the impact of existing inequalities of gender, migration status, and class on access to support, which has implications on the long-term repercussions of the current economic crisis.

The Need for Saving Livelihoods for Saving Lives

The pandemic has led to the loss of many livelihoods due to the economic crisis. In order to curb the ongoing economic crisis from aggravating further, an international fiscal coordination worldwide is the need of the hour.

 

Locked Down: Sex Workers and Their Livelihoods

As soon as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe, it was clear that the sex workers’ community would be badly hit by it. Far from being a “non-essential” activity, sex work is their bread and butter. COVID-19 has brought the livelihoods of tens of thousands of sex workers to a standstill and adversely affected their physical and mental well-being and that of those dependent on them. Women in sex work always have had to face difficult situations while earning their livelihood. Their marginalisation results in their having to struggle at all levels, including access to health, education and social justice. COVID-19 has gravely affected their livelihood and the looming uncertainty about when this could end has left them in a lurch.

COVID-19 Pandemic and Tribal Women in Nanded District of Maharashtra

This article is an attempt to critically analyse the impact of COVID-19 on tribal women. Tribal women already experience poor access to basic needs such as healthcare, safe and pure water, sanitation, education, etc. Now they are facing difficulties in obtaining immediate support from the government for healthcare facilities and emergency services for livelihood and survival. This pandemic has created food insecurity and these people have lost their homes and means of livelihood. Hence, this article highlights the consequences of COVID-19 and the struggle of tribal women in this difficult situation.

Agrarian Transformation and Quality of Life in Highlands of Tripura

Socio-economic Surveys of Three Villages in Tripura: A Study of Agrarian Relations edited by Madhura Swaminathan and Ranjini Basu, Delhi: Tulika Books in association with Foundation for Agrarian Studies, 2019; pp xxiv+376, `600.

 

Labour, Livelihoods, and Employment in the 2021–22 Union Budget

Coming in the midst of the immense damage inflicted on the Indian economy by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021–22 Union Budget needed to perform the unenviable task of compensating households for massive livelihood losses as well as stimulating economic growth while maintaining some fiscal discipline. As it turned out, the government chose to focus on the second and third goals and largely ignored the first.

 

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