Covid measures for poor, job loss to come under house panel scrutiny

After the deadly Covid-19 second wave, vaccine availability, socio-economic fallout, impact on railways and medium and small industries, unemployment in unorganised sector and overall impact of the pandemic have come under parliamentary scrutiny.

Parliamentary standing committees, led by Opposition MPs, have added new subjects for examination by the panels which would bring under scrutiny various aspects of the second wave, which had overwhelmed India in April and May.

As parliamentary standing committees resume meetings after a gap of two months, various aspects of government’s Covid-19 management during the second wave and overall impact would be minutely examined. Almost all parliamentary committees, headed by Opposition members, have added these politically potent subjects.


Parliamentary committee on home affairs, headed by Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP Anand Sharma, would examine the socio-economic fallout of the second wave. According to sources, the parliamentary panel would study job loss, migration from cities to villages, economic slowdown and effectiveness of measures undertaken by the government especially for the vulnerable sections. Parliamentary panel on labour, headed by Biju Janata Dal MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, has added and prioritised the impact of Covid-19 on rising unemployment and loss of jobs/ livelihood in organised and unorganised sectors.

The standing committee on chemicals and fertilisers, headed by DMK MP Kanimozhi, has also decided to add a new subject –– availability of medicines and medical devices for Covid-19. According to sources, the committee is likely to examine medical grade oxygen availability in India. This could open the issue of oxygen shortage which had led to loss of lives across the states during the peak of the second wave. This committee was already examining Covid-19 vaccine production in India since the March this year.

The parliamentary panel on industry, headed by Telangana Rashtra Samiti MP K Keshava Rao, would also be examining the impact of Covid-19 on micro, small and medium enterprises. The panel on information technology, headed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, would also be examining technological initiatives taken by MEITY in the wake of Covid-19.

The timing of the parliamentary standing committee scrutiny is significant as the Opposition would use the meetings to attack the government’s response during the second wave. Congress MP Jairam Ramesh, who heads the parliamentary panel on science and technology, had faced stiff opposition from BJP MPs last week when he had decided to conduct a meeting on vaccine development and genetic sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 virus and variants. BJP MPs had staged a walkout but some had later joined the meeting to hear government officials.

Several aspects of the pandemic are already under scrutiny, including plans for bridging the learning gap caused due to school lockdown and other related issues by the parliamentary panel on education, women, children, youth and sports and the impact of Covid-19 on railway operations.