The world of work today is witnessing a transformation with the onset of Industrial Revolution 4.0 fuelled by the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence. Gig work, though not a totally new phenomenon has picked pace over time and India is among the largest gig economies. The pandemic has further accelerated the growth of the gig economy in India. It is estimated that by 2025 more than 300 million will be doing gig jobs in India standing at about US$ 250 billion. The millennials and the Gen-Z actually prefer doing gig jobs as this provides them with flexibility, better/more satisfying wages and keeps up their pursuit of happiness. It is evident that gig work is here to stay and all research points in the same direction. Governments across the globe have rushed to regulate the sector and the Government of India is not much behind on this, though a lot remains to be done. It is necessary that if such a large proportion of our workforce is going to be in the gig economy, mostly in blue collar jobs, the government makes sure that the interests of these workers are taken care of. The column introduces gig work, its presence/growth in India and makes some recommendations for policymakers.

Solid Waste Management (SWM) is one of the most important public health services which is provided by the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) across the globe. The key focus of this service is to manage the generated wastes from different sources. With the onset of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)-COVID-19 in late December (2019), there is a sudden upsurge in the quantity and quality of waste generation. Most people around world were locked down in order to prevent the transmission of the virus and have also started to use facemasks, sanitizers, and gloves to remain safe from the COVID-19 virus as per the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. With this lockdown scenario, there is a huge increase in the quantity of municipal solid wastes (MSWs) across the planet. With its initial wave, COVID-19 had struck several metropolitan cities. But with the introduction of the second wave, the infection rate affected the peri-urban areas, starting to impose serious challenges to the existing waste management infrastructures. In this study, by using the empirical research processes mainly the key informant interviews (KIIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs), the key perspectives and performance mechanisms of different stakeholders especially the ULB officials and local community members of three sub-divisional towns of the Hooghly District, West Bengal, namely Chandannagar, Hooghly-Chinsurah and Serampore, have been traced respectively. This study further argues that from those challenges and potentials of those stakeholders, a (co)management framework can be (co)designed and (co)implemented to cope with the COVID waste management problems in the peri-urban areas across India.

The study investigates into the explanatory factors for the variation in COVID-19 infections and deaths reported in Indian states as on March 31, 2021. The analysis considered the following state-wise data: proportion of people living in cities with population density higher than 5,000 persons per sq. km, per capita public health expenditure, health infrastructure per thousand population, per capita NSDP, and proportion of aged (above 60) people. As regards COVID-19 infections, the proportion of people living in densely populated areas (above 5,000 persons per sq. km), per capita NSDP and proportion of aged people explained the variation across states. As regards the deaths due to COVID-19, in addition to these three factors, per capita public health infrastructure was found to be a contributing factor, with its impact on death being negative. The curious situation of income increasing COVID-19 transmission and death could be probably explained by the considerable proportion of the people in some of the high-income states living in congested slums under extreme poverty with poor access to basic infrastructure, and the high mobility and exposure of some of these states to domestic and international travel footprint and large migrant population, all resulting in increased risk.

This article explores themes of teaching and learning innovations that emerged or were reinforced during the pandemic. Some innovations have survived, and even thrived, and the authors believe they have a role post-pandemic. The authors explore these themes and recommend policy steps that can secure future benefits from this unwelcome but still hard-won experience. The themes emerged from discussion between a U.S. STEM researcher and five Indian education professionals whose backgrounds cover private schools, public schools, educational technology, science and technology informal learning, and policy. The themes are: improved access to teachers, improved access to content, and acceleration of supporting pedagogies. Various lenses are applied: technology, process creativity, real-world learning, self-efficacy and social-emotional learning, and the perspective of teachers. A lens of special note is the digital divide and ways innovations differed in their usefulness between those with resources and those without. A summary is provided of the student learning that has occurred despite the pandemic, or because of it—learning that is often hard to measure. Overall, teaching and learning have suffered greatly. Where gains have been made, the authors’ greatest hope is to help secure them long-term.

With the onset of COVID-19 and the resultant lockdown in India did not impinge upon the economic activities in the Kunariya village in the Kachchh region of western India. This included works under the MGNREGA. During the entire year of 2020, Kunariya did not have a single case of COVID-19 infection, nor did it experience any significant loss of livelihoods, unlike a huge swathe of India that was affected by both. Even during the devastating second wave, those who got infected recovered fully. This article raises an important question as to what made Kunariya resilient to both the health and economic impacts of COVID19, the answer to which is the habit of sincere implementation of schemes, and allocation of funds received from the Union and State governments. It also describes the resilience of the village of Sittilingi in the state of Tamil Nadu. What connects both these cases is the indomitable efforts of elected respresentatives at the Panchayat levels, along with that of sensitive officials, politicians and civil society organizations.

In a rapidly changing world of technology, the significance of a legal identity in securing a person’s status before the law cannot be underrated. Digital identity systems have the potential to significantly accelerate access to formal identity and enable more inclusive and equal participation in the digital economy. It is thus critical to ensure that ‘good’ ID is adopted by governments and service providers: ID that empowers individuals to receive the benefits of a formal identity, while ensuring adequate safeguards against misuse. This article describes how Modular Open-Source Identity Platform (MOSIP) as an open-source platform meant for governments or international organizations to build a foundational identification system in a cost-effective way as well as to ensure that digital identification programs are governed in such a way that is inclusive, safe and empowering to individuals. It has the capacity to set an example for the rest of the world.

Planned cities started in Britain with the Garden City movement. The main idea was to build cities with limited population with sufficient amenities and environmental considerations to do away with the ills of Industrial Revolution, with squalor, filth and chimney smoke. It was taken to a different height by the former Soviet Union. They built new cities to accommodate industry, academic institutions and sometimes agriculture. The same model was followed by other East European countries in the socialist block (especially Poland) and even China (in the fifties of the last century). The government or its subsidiaries were the main force behind the construction of such a planned township. Of course, they had their counterparts in the capitalist countries, but they were generally built by the land developers with private initiatives. India also had some instances of planned townships in the colonial period, especially by mining companies and plantations.