Orissa first off the block with National Rural Livelihoods Mission
Orissa became the first state to launch the NRLM, aimed at reducing rural poverty by providing self-employment and skilled jobs to people below the poverty line
Recognise hawkers' fundamental rights: SC
Observing that hawkers have a fundamental right to carry on their business, the Supreme Court has asked the Delhi government to enact a law to regulate their trade keeping in mind also the right of commuters to use roads without impediments
Pak frees 100 Indian fishermen
The Pakistan foreign ministry has reportedly informed the interior ministry that 456 Indian fishermen who had completed their sentences for trespassing into Pakistani waters would be released
Rs 1,000 a year pension aid approved for informal sector workers
The government has approved a Rs 1,000 per annum pension for unorganised sector workers to encourage the savings habit among this population of over 300 million
HC pulls up Delhi govt for Games workers' plight
Describing the plight of Commonwealth Games workers as a “complex human problem” arising from “flouting of welfare provisions bound by law,” the Delhi High Court has drafted a five-point directive for the state government and other agencies and ordered their early execution
Social activist Deep Joshi wins Magsaysay award
Joshi, who has done pioneering work for development of rural communities, was named, along with five others, for the prestigious award considered Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize
Construction worker deaths on the rise in Delhi
During 2008-09, 48 construction workers died in Delhi, and 98 suffered serious injuries. The growing number of accidents at construction sites raises questions about the lack of safety norms in place at mammoth projects currently underway in the capital
Unorganised Workers' Social Security Bill scrapes through Parliament
The need for a social security net for people who are unemployed and those at risk of losing their jobs has never been more acutely felt as it is now. With the global meltdown hurting economic activity, particularly small and medium enterprises, tens of thousands of workers face the prospect of losing their jobs
Indian couple win Alternative Nobel
Krishnammal and Sankaralingam Jagannathan’s years of working for land and livelihood rights for the poor in three districts of Tamil Nadu has been recognised with the 2008 Right Livelihood Prize given annually to those “offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today”
Pension plan for unorganised sector likely in six months
The move is expected to benefit millions in India’s unorganised sector by enabling them to access the benefits of a pension scheme. According to National Sample Survey Organisation data for 1999-2000, out of a total workforce of 397 million, only 28 million workers are employed in the organised sector. The rest work in the unorganised sector