{"id":15108,"date":"2021-05-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current_affairs\/uncategorized\/07-05-2021\/covid-19s-impact-on-employment\/"},"modified":"2024-08-07T19:11:38","modified_gmt":"2024-08-07T13:41:38","slug":"covid-19s-impact-on-employment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/07-05-2021\/covid-19s-impact-on-employment","title":{"rendered":"Covid-19\u2019s Impact on Employment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><u>In News<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Recently, <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Azim Premji University\u2019s Centre for Sustainable Employment, Bengaluru<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> has released its <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>annual <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">report titled \u2018<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>State of Working India 2021: One Year of Covid-19<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2019 for 2021.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><u>About the Report<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It is based on data sourced from the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Consumer Pyramids Household Survey<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> of the<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> (CMIE), the Azim Premji University <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Covid-19 Livelihoods Phone Survey<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> (CLIPS), and the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>India Working Survey <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(IWS), besides other surveys by various civil society organisations.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It covered the period of <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>March to December in 2020<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> and highlights the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>impact of one year of Covid-19 <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">on <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>employment<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">, <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>incomes<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">, <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>inequality <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">and <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>poverty<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The pandemic has substantially <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>increased informality<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> in employment, leading to a <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>decline in earnings<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> for the majority of workers and <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>consequent increase in poverty<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> in the country.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><u>Key Findings of the Report<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Employment<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>100 million jobs<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> were <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>lost <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">nationwide during the April-May 2020 lockdowns.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Though <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>most <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">of these workers had <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>found employment<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> by June 2020, about 15 million remained out of work.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Incomes<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For an average household of 4 members, the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>monthly per capita income <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">in <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>October 2020 (Rs. 4,979)<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> was still below its level in January 2020 (Rs. 5,989).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Monthly earnings<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> of workers <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>fell <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">on an average by 17 per cent during the pandemic, with self-employed and informal salaried workers facing the highest loss of earnings.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Of the decline in income, 90 per cent was due to <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>reduction in earnings<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">, while 10 per cent was due to<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> loss of employment<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">. This means that even though most workers were able to go back to work, they had to settle for lower earnings.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">While the poorest 20 percent of households lost their entire incomes in April-May 2020, the richer households suffered losses of less than a quarter of their pre-pandemic incomes.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Inequality<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">During the lockdown and in the post-lockdown months,<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> only 19 per cent women remained employed<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> while <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>47 percent suffered a permanent job loss<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: square;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">On the other hand, 61 per cent of working men remained employed while 7 per cent lost their job and did not return to work.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For women who remained employed, the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>burden of domestic work increased<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">, <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>without any corresponding relief <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">in the hours spent in employment.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">About 33 per cent of<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> young workers <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(in the 15-24 years age group) had <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>failed to regain some form of employment <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">even by December 2020. The corresponding figure for those in the 25-44 years category was 6 per cent.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Poverty<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">With <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>230 million<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> falling <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>below the national minimum wage threshold of Rs. 375 per day<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> during the pandemic, <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>poverty rate has increased by 15 percentage points<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> in rural and nearly 20 percentage points in urban areas.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Households coped with the loss of income by <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>decreasing their food intake<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">, <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>selling assets<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> and <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>borrowing informally from friends<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">, <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>relatives <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">and <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>money-lenders<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The report notes that 20 percent of those surveyed said that their food intake had not improved even six months after the lockdown.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Informalization<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Post-lockdown, <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>nearly half of salaried workers had moved into informal work<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">, either as self-employed (30 per cent), casual wage (10 per cent) or informal salaried (9 per cent).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>fallback option varied by caste and religion<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> as the General category workers and Hindus were more likely to move into self-employment while marginalised caste workers and Muslims moved into daily wage work.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: circle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Education, health and professional services saw the highest exodu<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">s of workers into other sectors, with agriculture, construction and petty trade emerging as the top fallback options.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><u>Measures to Improve<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In the wake of the virulent second wave of Covid-19 and possible lockdowns, the government needs to<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> strengthen the inclusive social welfare architecture<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The government should try to <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>extend cash transfers of Rs. 5,000 for three months <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">vulnerable households using the existing digital infrastructure.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Free rations under the<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> Public Distribution System<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> (PDS) of the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #1155cc;\"><strong><u>Pradhan Mantri Garib Kal<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #1155cc;\"><strong><u>y<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #1155cc;\"><strong><u>an Anna Yojana<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> <span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(PMGKAY) should be ensured till the end of 2021.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The <\/span><\/span><\/span><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current-affairs\/03-05-2021\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #1155cc;\"><strong><u>Mahatma National Gandhi Employment Guarantee Act<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(MGNREGA) entitlement should be expanded to 150 days from the current 100 days.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: disc;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Covid hardship allowance<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> of Rs. 30,000 (Rs. 5,000 per month for six months) should be rolled out for the 2.5 million<\/span><\/span><\/span> <a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current-affairs\/13-02-2021\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #1155cc;\"><strong><u>Anganwadi<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> and ASHA workers<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Source: <\/span><\/span><\/span><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/coronavirus-average-monthly-income-for-workers-fell-by-17\/article34491703.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"color: #1155cc;\"><u>TH<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In News Recently, Azim Premji University\u2019s Centre for Sustainable Employment, Bengaluru has released its annual report titled \u2018State of Working India 2021: One Year of Covid-19\u2019 for 2021. About the Report It is based on data sourced from the Consumer Pyramids Household Survey of the Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy (CMIE), the Azim Premji [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15109,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[107,31,30,26,47,46],"class_list":["post-15108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs","tag-employment","tag-government-policies-interventions","tag-gs-2","tag-gs-3","tag-health","tag-indian-economy-related-issues"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2023\/07\/7601408current-affairs.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15108"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27266,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15108\/revisions\/27266"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}