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When the hospital closes, the heart stops: What's behind India's 'excess' COVID deaths?

A landmark study , “The mortality burden from COVID in low-income settings: evidence from verbal autopsies in India”, using verbal autopsies of 20,000 deaths reveals that only one-third of India’s pandemic excess mortality was directly caused by SARS-CoV-2. The rest — a hidden toll running into millions — was the collateral damage of a healthcare system brought to its knees. 
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India’s minimum wage policy backfires, hurting vulnerable workers: Study

A sweeping policy report released by the Foundation for Economic Development (FED) argues that India’s minimum wage regime has become counterproductive, pricing millions of workers out of formal employment and costing the economy an estimated $60 billion in unrealised low-skill exports annually.

High privatisation in Gujarat's healthcare pushes up out-of-pocket costs: NSS data

A new  National Sample Survey  (NSS) report on  household health consumption  reveals that  private healthcare facilities  account for the majority of  hospitalisations in Gujarat , placing a significant financial burden on families. 

Gujarat records 1,746 construction worker deaths over 18 years; safety gaps continue

Marking  International Workers’ Memorial Day , fresh data from  Gujarat  has highlighted a troubling pattern of fatalities and injuries in the construction sector, with activists pointing to weak enforcement of safety norms and rising  climate-related risks .

India trails peers in human capital indicators, says World Bank report

 India’s human capital outcomes in health and education remain below global averages, with the latest World Bank report warning that learning levels and health indicators are stagnating compared to peer countries such as Vietnam and Peru. The report highlights persistent gaps in maternal education, child nutrition, and learning outcomes, underscoring the urgent need for investment in homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces.

Privatised urban development undermining equity and ecology in India, opine experts

A panel of urban planners, academics and grassroots practitioners has warned that  India’s urban crisis  is increasingly becoming “a crisis of dignity,” driven by deepening inequality, ecological destruction and the growing marginalisation of the urban poor, according to a discussion hosted by the  Balwant Sheth School of Architecture ,  NMIMS University .

India’s USD 9.4 billion textile blind spot: Waste that isn’t waste

India's textile sector, valued at approximately USD 225 billion and projected to reach USD 350 billion by 2030, is sitting on a USD 9.4 billion opportunity buried in its own waste. Yet fragmented systems, absent infrastructure, and a near-total reliance on virgin materials are destroying that value annually, according to a major new report released by FICCI under the Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy Industry Coalition (RECEIC).