Times of India (06.07.2021) Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday launched a scheme and an online portal to provide financial assistance to families who lost their loved ones to Covid-19 and asked officials not to find faults in their claim applications. Under the 'Mukhyamantri Covid-19 Pariwar Aarthik Sahayata Yojana', Rs 50,000 ex-gratia will be given to every family that lost a member to Covid-19 and an additional Rs 2,500 per month will be given if the deceased was the sole breadwinner. 

Pension Policy International (09.07.2021) Germany’s basic pension scheme kicks off this July Shortly before the federal election in September, Germany’s coalition government is finally delivering on its promise to top-up insubstantial pension benefits to ensure a basic standard of living for all retirees who have contributed to the social security system. Under the new system, anyone who has contributed towards a German pension for at least 33 years will qualify for a basic pension. This includes not just time spent working, but also time taken out to raise a family or care for a relative.

ESRI (21.06.2021) COVID-19 had, and continues to have, a strong negative effect on incomes in Ireland due to widespread job losses as the measures put in place to slow the spread of the disease resulted in severe economic restrictions. Despite the existence of unemployment supports, additional income supports were introduced to protect incomes. As public health restrictions lift and the economy recovers, we face the withdrawal of such supports. We examine these supports and the role they played in supporting incomes.

Privacy International (22.06.2021) The global Covid-19 pandemic has acted as a catalyst for technology-intensive initiatives for welfare distribution, coming at a high cost to human rights and inclusion: enforcing automated discrimination, exacerbating existing inequalities and compromising access to essential benefits.

UNCTAD (16.06.2021) Coronavirus pandemic recovery efforts should provide comprehensive social protection, fight climate change and ensure vaccines reach the poorest people quickly.

Project Syndicate (16.06.2021) During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments worldwide have taken advantage of technological solutions to streamline social-protection schemes. But, for all its benefits, a digital approach to welfare programs implies an obvious risk: exclusion of those on the wrong side of the digital divide.

bbc.com (18.06.2021) The US Supreme Court has rejected a Trump-backed challenge by Republican-led states to former President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul. Despite the court's conservative tilt, its nine justices ruled by 7-2 that the challengers did not have legal standing to sue. It is the third time since 2010 that the Affordable Care Act (ACA), known as Obamacare, has survived a challenge. The law gave millions of low-income Americans access to medical insurance.

weforum.org (18.06.2021) Parental leave is a good thing, according to 90% of men who take it. Each month of paternity leave can increase a mother’s earnings by 6.7%. Billions of dollars in economic output is lost every year because women shoulder the burden of childcare.

social-protection.org (2021) The brief presents the Mozambican practice of preparing and publishing an annual National Statistical Bulletin on Social Protection. This practice demonstrates how this country has successfully developed a tool that harmonizes national data and underpins informed social protection decision-making, based on concrete and comprehensive data.

europa.eu (04.06.2021) The Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) has adopted the Commission proposal on establishing a European Child Guarantee. The objective of the European Child Guarantee is to prevent and combat social exclusion by guaranteeing the access of children in need – persons under the age of 18 years who are at risk of poverty or social exclusion – to a set of key services: early childhood education and care, education, healthcare, nutrition and housing.