In Bihar, the PM-POSHAN scheme started running with full force after the formation of Bihar Rajya Madhyan Bhojan Yojana Samiti (BRMBYS) in 2008. Along with the arrangements to cook and serve mid-day meals in schools, the concept of a Centralized Kitchen was initiated to provide cooked food to schools through a centralized kitchen managed by Non-Government Organizations (NGOs). Currently, 12 NGOs are working to provide hot mid-day meals to schools located in 27 districts of Bihar. The program caters to several schools across the state of Bihar. Therefore, it becomes essential to comprehensively evaluate the centralized kitchen that cooks and supplies MDM to schools in the state. At the request of the BRMBYS, a comprehensive evaluation was undertaken to assess the performance of centralized kitchens run by NGOs.

As migration seems inevitable against the backdrop of more pronounced uncertainty and chaos due to the current pandemic scenario, the risks faced by many migrants and their families have been made more visible by this crisis. In this context, the focus on the capacity to avoid and escape poverty by the migrants was of interest to recognize the 'resilience’ of migrant workers and their families. Against this backdrop, this study involved a follow-up assessment to trace the lives and livelihoods of migrant workers and their families over time by going back to the same cohort of migrants surveyed during and post-lockdown phases in two 'source’ states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh (UP) that comprise a significant proportion of internal migrants in the country. The objectives of the study were to assess the impact of displacement on migrant workers and their families.

The uncertainty and chaos induced by COVID-19 with an extended lockdown exacerbated the situation, triggering an unexpected and unprecedented magnitude of reverse migration of migrant workers, especially from Uttar Pradesh (UP). The migrants in their desperation, took to walking back to their homes, the ‘source’ place, often hundreds of kilometers away from their present migration destinations. The sudden surge of migrants at the ‘source’ place has hit the under-resourced local government hard to accommodate the socio-economic needs of the returnees. DMI undertook a systematic assessment to understand the impact of COVID–19 on migrant laborers and their families, including underage migrants, in UP. The objectives of the study were to assess the impact of displacement on migrant workers and their families.

In Bihar, the PM-POSHAN scheme started running with full force after the formation of Bihar Rajya Madhyan Bhojan Yojana Samiti (BRMBYS) in 2008. Along with the arrangements to cook and serve mid-day meals in schools, the concept of a Centralized Kitchen was initiated to provide cooked food to schools through a centralized kitchen managed by Non-Government Organizations (NGOs). Currently, 12 NGOs are working to provide hot mid-day meals to schools located in 27 districts of Bihar. The program caters to several schools across the state of Bihar. Therefore, it becomes essential to comprehensively evaluate the centralized kitchen that cooks and supplies MDM to schools in the state. At the request of the BRMBYS, a comprehensive evaluation was undertaken to assess the performance of centralized kitchens run by NGOs.The sudden ‘lockdown’ on 24th March 2020 due to the COVID–19 pandemic across India triggered panic, particularly among millions of migrant workers, who suddenly found themselves without jobs or a source of income. The suspension of all transportation further aggravated their difficult situation, and men, women, and children were forced to take an arduous journey back home from the ‘destination’ to their ‘source’ states by making their own arrangements. The panic exacerbated the situation in the major source states of Uttar Pradesh (UP) into a full-blown humanitarian crisis as migrants, in their desperation, took to walking back to their homes. DMI undertook a rapid assessment to understand the impact of COVID–19 on children, migrant workers and families in UP. The objectives of the study were to assess the impact of displacement on migrant workers and their families.

The sudden ‘lockdown’ on 24th March 2020 due to the COVID–19 pandemic across India triggered panic, particularly among millions of migrant workers, who suddenly found themselves without jobs or a source of income. The suspension of all transportation further aggravated their difficult situation, and men, women, and children were forced to take an arduous journey back home from the ‘destination’ to their ‘source’ states by making their own arrangements. The panic exacerbated the situation in the major source states of Bihar into a full-blown humanitarian crisis as migrants, in their desperation, took to walking back to their homes. DMI undertook a rapid assessment to understand the impact of COVID–19 on children, migrant workers and families in Bihar. The objectives of the study were to assess the impact of displacement on migrant workers and their families.

Bihar ranked as the second least urbanized state with an urban population of 11.3 percent among the 35 states and Union Territories of India. This is in contrast to the unprecedented double digit economic growth that the state has witnessed in the recent decade, 2001-2011. It is, thus, a concern for urban policy analysts over the actual size of India's urban population. Further, this mismatch may lead to a host of problems, namely, from misallocation of resources to unsafe and unplanned development of densely populated clusters. It is imperative that the issues related to setting the criteria for classifying urban local bodies are addressed by the states so that the inequality in the rural-urban percentages are lowered if not mitigated. The objective of the study was to understand the comparative criteria and practices followed by major states of India in classifying the habitats as urban.