The Time Is Right for an Urban Employment Guarantee Programme

The crisis in urban livelihoods precipitated by Covid-19 is of unprecedented proportions. Numerous reports and surveys have revealed that urban informal sector workers were the worst hit by loss of employment during the lockdown. At the time, the absence of any social protection measures for these workers was acutely felt. The continued economic slowdown and the lack of adequate creation of new jobs shows that the informal sector workers in the urban areas are yet to experience a recovery from their losses during the lockdown.