Anuja

Independent journalist. I write on the intersection of policy and politics. Formerly at @livemint. For commissioning and leads - thisisanuja(at)outlook(dot)com

[Anuja @just_anuja]

India’s estimated 140 mn migrant workers, one of the most mobile populations, run the risk of being left out of the ongoing #COVID-19 vaccination drive either due to lack targeted strategy, low awareness or shortages.

I report for Al Jazeera @AJEnglish https://t.co/HWgI6N7LcT

[Anuja @just_anuja]

Through this summer, one kept hearing about "warm nights" but what does it actually mean on the ground?

For informal worker families, it translates to interrupted sleep, exhaustion, inadequate recovery & eventual work loss.

I report for @TMigrationStory
https://t.co/i7FAWQkbZL

[Anuja @just_anuja]

Before The Songs Fade Away

Initiatives like The Bidesia Project are preserving Bhojpuri folk music and oral histories before they disappear with a generation

I write in this month's edition of Reader's Digest, a magazine I grew up reading. Do pick a July copy of the magazine!

[Anuja @just_anuja]

A billion-people project

After years of delay, India’s mammoth 16th Census is finally rolling – but not without complications and controversies.

@nehabhatt70 and I write for @demchronicles

https://t.co/KHlfhi2FIu

[Harikishan Sharma @harikishan1]

Union Minister gets Rs 99-lakh subsidy for his cucumber farm — from scheme under own ministry

Read my investigation @IndianExpress

https://t.co/WCF9htwoVf

[Al Jazeera English @AJEnglish]

As ILO convention turns 30, India’s home-based workers demand equal rights⤵️

https://t.co/54E4ZPNmYk

[Anuja @just_anuja]

30 years after an ILO convention recognised home-based workers, millions in India still lack equal rights, social protection & fair wages.

I report for @AJEnglish

https://t.co/3uQ9hXEmLG

[Anuja @just_anuja]

https://t.co/xlKuZLNBDT

[Anuja @just_anuja]

Her Library, Their Future

An Indian state's initiative to establish women-run community libraries is giving rural students—especially girls—a safe space to study and access career guidance

My recent piece for Stanford Social Innovation Review (link in comments)

[Anuja @just_anuja]

Extreme heat is no longer just a public health concern but it is also eroding incomes and pushing low income workers into cycles of debt. A new @WIEGOGLOBAL report shows women vendors take on more debt to cope with heat in Delhi.

I write for @Mint_Lounge
https://t.co/4cPOEJL3e1

[Anuja @just_anuja]

What makes Kohrra 2 unusual is not that it includes migrant characters but that it never frames migration as exceptional. It is unremarked way of life in this part of Punjab, as ambient as winter fog the show is named after.

I write for @IndianExpress

https://t.co/5FeMJCn9Cx

[Anuja @just_anuja]

The union labour ministry recently directed quick commerce companies to stop promoting their business as a ten minute service. In this podcast for @TMigrationStory we spoke to delivery rider, consumers and experts to unpack what its longterm impact is.

https://t.co/EcCBAgXZzd

[Aniruddha Ghosal @aniruddhg1]

For the past year, I worked with @dakekang and AP colleagues on an investigation into how Chinese surveillance tech— based on technology developed in the U.S. — has spread across Nepal.

https://t.co/b5hZya9vdj

[Anuja @just_anuja]

The landmark Right to Information (RTI) law turns 20 today.

In a cover story for @the_hindu Magazine, I take a deep dive into into its success stories, the challenges it faces and more importantly, the people who are fighting to keep it alive.

https://t.co/BdkofC7EVV

[Anuja @just_anuja]

Missing the SIR Memo

Many Bihari migrant workers in the national capital said they are unaware of the electoral roll revisions owing to poor literacy and poor access to digital platforms

I report for @TMigrationStory

https://t.co/QHRIQAX0Tv

[Anuja @just_anuja]

These heat alert boards — which carry simple instructions in Hindi, like wearing full sleeved clothing, not eating stale food, and drinking water every 20 minutes — are more eye-catching and specific compared to regular advisories, workers said.

[Anuja @just_anuja]

How does one make climate messaging more inclusive? Particularly for outdoor workers?

Street vendor groups in Delhi, with @Indiametdept & @greenpeaceindia, have put up heat alert boards in some of the busiest street markets.

I report for @MongabayIndia

https://t.co/CkFztj5UKC

[Anuja @just_anuja]

They spoke extensively on the upcoming census, challenges faced by enumerators in surveying migrant workers and how robust data is essential for this group to access social security benefits.

[Anuja @just_anuja]

Indian government has last month officially notified the 2027 census, ending years of delay. But low income migrant workers have often found themselves being left out of the count due to a high mobility factor.

New podcast episode @TMigrationStory

https://t.co/HrDVRbfs08

[Anuja @just_anuja]

I spoke to K Narayanan Unni, retired officer of the Indian Statistical Service and a former Dy Registrar General and Asha M., founder and president of Karnataka based Yuva Chetna Foundation.