Why 300 Million Workers Plan to Strike Across India on Feb. 12
NB, News Briefings, February 2026 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, February 2026 Vishal Arora

Why 300 Million Workers Plan to Strike Across India on Feb. 12

Central trade unions, supported by farmer groups, have organised a nationwide strike on February 12 involving over 300 million workers, who plan to disrupt key sectors including banking, transport and government services. The scale and composition of this mobilisation suggest a deepening conflict between policy direction and popular consent.

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Dignity of Labour in India Must Mean Justice

Dignity of Labour in India Must Mean Justice

In India, the idea of dignity of labour is missing in large part due to the caste system. While some discussion has begun, much of it centres on showing respect to workers or speaking favourably about their occupations. This limited framing can mask deeper issues of discrimination, exclusion and injustice. It does little to uphold the dignity of either the worker or the work.

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India’s New Labour Codes Have Dismantled Legal Protections for Journalists
NB, News Briefings, January 2026 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, January 2026 Vishal Arora

India’s New Labour Codes Have Dismantled Legal Protections for Journalists

The central government has brought into force the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, repealing the two special laws that had governed the service conditions and wages of working journalists since 1955. The change marks a retreat from the idea that journalism requires tailored labour protection and replaces it with a generic framework that weakens the professional security of the press.

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What Actually Works in Today’s Job Market? A Guide for Young Professionals
NB, News Briefings, January 2026 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, January 2026 Vishal Arora

What Actually Works in Today’s Job Market? A Guide for Young Professionals

A software engineer, Marmik Patel, applied to hundreds of jobs without success before changing his approach. By building products and networking in person, he eventually drew interest from over 80 recruiters, he shared on X. Does this suggest that traditional methods like mass online applications are no longer effective in competitive markets where access to opportunity is unevenly distributed?

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What We Can Do to Resist Gig Worker Exploitation
NB, News Briefings, January 2026 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, January 2026 Vishal Arora

What We Can Do to Resist Gig Worker Exploitation

Hundreds of thousands of gig workers across India logged out of the apps they work for, staging a coordinated strike to demand better wages, safety and dignity from their employers. But the focus now shifts to us, the customers. These platforms, like Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit and Amazon, operate because we use them. So what could we do, as consumers, to support the workers who bring us our food, groceries and parcels?

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Algorithms Now Decide Wages, Work, Punishment in India’s App Economy
NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora

Algorithms Now Decide Wages, Work, Punishment in India’s App Economy

A new study on gig workers employed through digital platforms has found that app-based companies are using algorithms to make decisions about pay, work assignments and punishment without offering any explanation or way to appeal. The system deprives workers of basic rights, treats them as disposable and creates conditions that must be called out as unjust and dangerous.

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New Scheme Replacing NREGA Dismantles the Idea of Economic Rights
NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, December 2025 Vishal Arora

New Scheme Replacing NREGA Dismantles the Idea of Economic Rights

The Parliament has passed a new law called the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VB–G RAM G, repealing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which had legally assured rural Indians a right to employment for up to 100 days a year. The new law removes this guarantee, alters how wages are determined and shifts more financial responsibility to the states. The implications are significant for India’s federal structure, its poorest citizens and the very idea of economic rights.

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