Special Lecture

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Myanmar’s Coup, Rohingya Genocide and Failed Democratization
Speaker: Dr Muang Zarni (UK-based fellow of the (Genocide) Documentation Center – Cambodia; Co-founder of FORSEA.co, a Southeast Asian Activist organization; Burmese coordinator of the Free Rohingya Coalition)

When: May 4, 2021 | 7:00 PM IST | REGISTER HERE

Chair: Dr Niranjan Sahoo (Senior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation)

#CityConversations and Book Discussion

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Dr Dev Pathak (Founding Faculty, Department of Sociology, South Asian University, New Delhi) on Neighbourhoods in Urban India: In Between Home and the City

When: May 5, 2021 | 6:00 PM | REGISTER HERE

Chair: Dr Rumi Aijaz (Head, Urban, Observer Research Foundation)
Discussant: Dr Arvind Kumar (Jamia Milia Islamia)
Moderated by Dr Soumyadip Chattopadhyay (Visva-Bharati; Senior Fellow, IMPRI)

#CityConversations

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Dr Ankur Sarin (Associate Professor, Public Systems Group and Ravi J Mathai Center for Innovation in Education, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad) on Deepening Democracy in Cities: Can Research play a role?

When: May 6, 2021 | 6:00 PM | REGISTER HERE

Moderated by Dr Soumyadip Chattopadhyay (Visva-Bharati; Senior Fellow, IMPRI)

#WaterAndClimate

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Shri Biplab Paul (Founder-director, Naireeta Services; Innovator, Bhungroo) on BHUNGROO: Smallholders Tool for Reusing Erratic Monsoon’s Excess Water for Dry Period Irrigation

When: May 6, 2021 | 4:00 PM | REGISTER HERE

Moderated by Dr Indira Khurana (Tarun Bharat Sangh)

#WaterAndClimate

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Dr M Dinesh Kumar (Executive Director, Institute for Resource Analysis and Policy (IRAP), Hyderabad) on Climate Change, Water and Food Security and Human Health

When: May 7, 2021 | 11:30 AM | REGISTER HERE

Moderated by Dr Indira Khurana (Tarun Bharat Sangh)

#CohesiveDevelopment

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Prof H S Shylendra (Professor of Economics, Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA), Gujarat) on The ‘Rural Question’: Issues in Rural Transformation in India

When: May 7, 2021 | 4:00 PM | REGISTER HERE

Moderated by Prof Sunil Ray (CDECS and IMPRI)

#TowardsAccountability

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Shri Ashok Sinha (Retired Vice Chairman, Tax Settlement Commission, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India), Hyderabad) on Tax Reforms and the Intention of the Government

When: May 10, 2021 | 03:00 PM | REGISTER HERE

Special Lecture and #DataDiscourse

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Dr J Dennis Rajakumar (Director, Economic and Political Weekly Research Foundation (EPWRF), Mumbai) on Evaluating Indian Macroeconomic Statistical Systems: DataTrends, Challenges for Evidence and Impact amid COVID-19

When: May 11, 2021 | 03:00 PM | REGISTER HERE

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Governance on Ventilator: Disaster, Denial, and Democracy by Amita Singh | #IMPRI insights

This column is not on what the government did not do, could have done or was able to do. It is about the impact of diverted governance and irresponsible leadership on the lives of citizens. Responsible governance is currently needed to manage the Covid-19 crisis and gigantic forest fires. And as I write this, the high magnitude earthquake at Dhekiajuli and Tezpur in Assam further strengthens this demand. It is a wakeup call for the government, primarily at the Centre, but States cannot be exonerated too.

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An Apology to Informal Workers by Sandeep Chachra | #IMPRI insights

As we mark the second consecutive International Workers Day under COVID-19, we need to recognise how the world has failed its workers.
This year, India is in the grips of a deadly second wave of the pandemic. Each day sets a new record for deaths and infections. While many frontline workers, especially in the health sector, have been justly recognised and celebrated, India’s army of informal workers, who are risking their lives on the frontlines of the crisis, continue to do so with little support or protection.

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International Workers’ Day 2021: The Catastrophe of Livelihoods caused by the Pandemic by K R Shyam Sundar | #IMPRI insights

This is the second International Workers’ Day during COVID-19 and hence as dark as it was in 2020, if not darker. For several reason, it is darker in many senses for the working class. Let us briefly review what happened post-May Day 2020. It is important to recount on this International Workers’ Day.

The COVID-19, 2020 period witnessed several legislations both at the state and at the central levels hurting the hard-earned labour rights over centuries. Capitalizing on the extraordinary situation created by the pandemic, several state governments hurriedly, and even unwisely, passed government orders extending the maximum hours of work in a day from eight to 12, and in a week from 48 to 60 hours.

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Gasping For Breath: Oxygen for Living Governance Systems by Rajesh Tandon | #IMPRI insights

The crisis of governance responsible for current distress, disorder and chaos in responding to the second wave of coronavirus infections in India can be understood from this lens of living systems. Information about the infections, its impacts on different communities and the status of health systems to respond did not become available to governance nodes in Delhi, and beyond. Several channels of feedback from the ground were denied, blocked, silenced or harassed over the past weeks.

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In the Battle Beyond Bengal: Who is the True Victor? by T K Arun | #IMPRI insights

Mamata Banerjee emerges as the tallest figure of these round of elections, trouncing a BJP that had used every trick in the book, and then some, to oust her, and had boasted of winning more than 200 of the state’s 294 seats. The BJP has retained Assam, lost the single seat it had in the Kerala assembly and come out on the losing side in Tamil Nadu. Its victory in Puducherry is neither here nor there. However, on balance, it is advantage BJP in this round of five state assembly elections. These Assembly Elections were indicative of a battle beyond Bengal.

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US Climate Summit redefined promises of Paris Agreement by Gurinder Kaur | #IMPRI insights

Climate Summit hosted by Honorable President of United States Mr Joe Biden, has been a success which was attended by global leaders from 40 countries. In his inaugural, he said that the average global temperature is rising rapidly leaving a very little time to control it, thus, there is need to act quickly without any further delay. To combat this problem, Joe Biden has taken an initiative to almost double the carbon emissions reduction targets (26-28 percent) committed by the United States in the Paris Climate Agreement. The United States will now cut carbon emissions by 50 to 52 percent from 2005 levels by 2030.

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The MTP Bill is a good move, but miles to go by Simi Mehta, Nishi Verma | The Pioneer

Abortion is a highly emotional issue and one that excites many opinions. However, equitable access to safe abortion services is first and foremost a human right. In March, the Parliament passed the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Bill, 2021 to amend the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. This amendment will help expand access to safe and legal abortion services on therapeutic, eugenic, humanitarian and social grounds. The Bill seeks to strengthen provisions for protecting the dignity and privacy of women who seek the refuge of law when confronted with such a life-altering decision.

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Pandemic has proved Migrant Workers are Frontline Indians -Prof. Irudaya Rajan
by | #IMPRI insights

Prof. Irudaya Rajan took upon himself the task to locate for the audience the coming future of migrants. He pointed that speaking about the second wave as in the future is a futile exercise because the second wave has already begun. The prediction is India will have a caseload ranging from 5 lakh to 8 lakh cases per day and 5000 deaths for the coming month, to say the least. It is a condition of helplessness where most of the population is directly or indirectly affected by the virus itself. 

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Earth Day: Humans and Not Capitalism for our Survival by Tikender S Panwar | #IMPRI insights

International Mother Earth Day, April 22, 2021, marks the 51st international day to protect ‘planet earth’ from the grotesque challenges it faces; challenges for the survival of the planet, and also of the living species, including human beings. Lots of actions were organised throughout the world by different communities and national leaders in this regard.

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Re-Exodus: Reverse Migration amidst Second Wave by Arjun Kumar, Ritika Gupta, Anshula Mehta, Sakshi Sharda, Sunidhi Agarwal, Chhavi Kapoor | #IMPRI insights

On April 20, 2021 PM Narendra Modi addressed the nation on the increasing cases of COVID-19 in the country for the second time. In his national address, he assured the myriad of workers that national lockdown will not be declared as a response to the pandemic. He proposed to create ‘micro- containment zones’, requesting all-state Chief Ministers to respond similarly and work tandemly with the central government. Yet, national dailies are showing images of the re-exodus amidst the second wave of coronavirus pandemic in the country.

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Amorphous Indian Migration Statistical System by Arjun Kumar, Ritika Gupta, Anshula Mehta, Sakshi Sharda, Sunidhi Agarwal, Chhavi Kapoor | #IMPRI insights

The second wave of Corona Virus has hit, the strain has proven to be more virulent. India in the past seven days has reported over three lakh cases per day. Currently, 150 districts in the country have a COVID positive rate passing 20 percent and hence debating a lockdown. This reminisce the terrifying images of the COVID-19 induced national lockdown in March 2020 which manifested the glaring gap in policy implementation in urban centers not accounting for the migrant population. It seems the country is back to the same page, none the wiser.

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Universal Living Wage is Urgently Required- Prof. Arun Kumar | #IMPRI insights

Migrant workers have been assured multiple times that an economic lockdown will not be imposed and yet photographs have already started to emerge of reverse migration. Given this context, IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute and Working People Charter organized a Panel Discussion on Reverse Migration amidst the Second Wave of Coronavirus Pandemic: Challenges and Solutions.The Chair of the session was Prof Arun Kumar, Malcolm S. Adiseshiah Chair Professor, Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi, and a Retd. Professor from Jawaharlal Nehru University. The immediate answer to the crisis is universal living wage.

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Forest Fires: An Ignored National Disaster
by Amita Singh | #IMPRI insights

In 2019-20 alone, India lost nearly 38,500 hectares or 14% of its tropical forests. With about one-fifth of it going up in flames each year, Indian forests are no more carbon sinks but carbon emission areas. Why then is the Ministry of Environment turning a blind eye to the issue? Forest Fires are a National Disaster being ignored.

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Fixing the Flaws Exposed by the Pandemic- Approach to Nature and Human Coexistence by Indira Khurana | #IMPRI insights

The pandemic has laid bare the correlation between economic growth, environment and human conditions — avoiding which could come at great cost. In March 2021, the WHO established the Council on Economics of Health for All which will focus on links between health and economic growth. Though coming late, this is a welcome move.

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Increasing Vaccine Production: India an Answer to Global Woes by T K Arun | #IMPRI insights

The government would appear to be paralyzed at the edge of the fiscal cliff, stricken by a fear of heights. Do not count on it to fund vaccine production. At this time there is a need for concerted effort, there is a need to increase vaccine production immediately and there needs to be an acceptance that the financial burden the Indian Government might not be able to fund entirely. 

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Empowering RWAs – Innovative and Decentralized Health Management
by Chandrachur Singh | #IMPRI insights

Unprecedented times solicit unprecedented policy responses that are both innovative and effective. Given the rate of the spread of the coronavirus and its ravaging impacts, the need for innovative and participatory health management policies focussed on enabling basic access in healthcare is perhaps more profound and pertinent than ever.

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Trauma, Education, and Healing: Prof Nyla Ali Khan at Oklahoma Governor’s International Team Speakers Forum | #IMPRI insights

Dr. Khan presents ways to help students in an educational setting who have experienced trauma, including trauma inflicted by living in conflict zones. As we see watch young people gathering on our southern border to escape the violence, poverty, and need in their own countries, as well as students immigrating from other parts of the world to the U.S. for the same reasons, Dr. Khan’s research and expertise can support our work with students in Oklahoma.