Insights
Budget 2019: Time to rethink introduction of multi-year budgeting, setting rolling targets for desired outcomes
January 29, 2019
India is a federal country, but the Constitution renders a strong unitary bias in many spheres, including the domain of Centre-state fiscal governance. The institutional measures to augment resources, over the years, including the recent Constitutional amendment on Goods and Services Tax (GST) were steps that have strengthened this hallmark of strong centralisation.
Why India’s Public Health Facilities May Suffer Despite A Likely Rise In Health Spending
January 29, 2019
The allocation for the ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) in Budget 2019 is likely to increase from Rs 52,800 crore (budget estimates) in the current financial year 2018-19 to Rs 59,039 crore in the next financial year (2019-20), an increase of 11%, according to the medium term expenditure projection statement presented to the Parliament in August 2018 by the ministry of finance.
Budget 2019: Share of education in total expenditure has been declining since 2014; will it be different this time?
January 25, 2019
The upcoming Union Budget to be announced on 1 February would be the sixth Union budget of the NDA government. Though an interim budget, given that this is an election year, there is a high possibility that it will be a populist one. It will be interesting to see what the budget kitty holds in it for school education.
Land Acquisition for ‘public purpose’: Time to Amend the Legal Framework
January 24, 2019
Acquisition of land for developmental purposes has historically been a contentious issue, not only for a country like India, but in many parts of the world. Allocating a scarce resource like land in competing and often conflicting uses is not without complications. What aggravates this problem is the involvement of government as an active ‘taker’ of land as it adopts the responsibility of transferring it for alternative uses.
The ‘progressive’ wolves in sheep’s clothing!
January 10, 2019
The MeToo movement in India has exposed enablers that institutionally protect predators and abusers. They play a crucial role in silencing survivors of abuse; selecting and strategically choosing whom they call out. However, the unsaid toxic culture of glossing over the stories of abuse or predatory behaviour in progressive circles is more common than one would have imagined. Thus, the current discourse on gender effectively fails women, men and the non-binary survivors of abuse.
Financing Resources for Rural Water and Sanitation
December 31, 2018
The 14th Finance Commission (14th FC) facilitated the transfer of resources between the national and State (sub-national) governments and assigned 42 percent of the divisible pool of Central taxes to the States, a jump of 10% from the previous Commission. With the underlying principle that the higher tax devolution would allow states greater autonomy in financing and designing of schemes as per their needs, the expectation was that the funds would also be used for alleviating rural water and sanitation woes.
Health Care Financing in India: Time to Revisit Policy Framework
December 27, 2018
India’s health system has been going through an incessant transformation since pre-colonial period. Combination of four basic health financing models, namely, Beveridge, Bismarck, National Health Insurance, and Out-of-Pocket (OOP), have succoured the system to transpire in its present form which has failed to reach out to vulnerable, marginalised section of the population.
The Most Important Success of Demonetisation No One is Talking About
December 7, 2018
The most remarkable aspect about the policy decision of demonetisation was the sheer number of people it directly affected merely hours after the announcement. Based on this parameter only, it is among the biggest policy decisions in recent times taken by any government worldwide.
Administrative Decentralisation to Panchayats: Imperative for Rural Development
November 30, 2018
There has been disparity between rural and urban areas across the country in terms of many socio-economic and infrastructural development indicators. People in rural areas, generally, have lower levels of literacy, inadequate access to health services, poor infrastructure, poor quality of basic amenities, and face agrarian distress, migration and unemployment.
The lack of democracy in the international financial order
November 19, 2018
The Paradise Papers, Panama Papers, Lux Leaks and Swiss Leaks have presented rare insights into the murky workings of secrecy jurisdictions, financial opacity and enablers of illicit financial flows (IFFs). For instance, the Panama Papers revealed how a Jersey-based company used offshore services in an endeavour to avoid paying $400 million in taxes to Uganda. That is more than what the Uganda government spends on healthcare every year.
Budget Transparency at the Local Governments in India: Missing Links-I
November 12, 2018
Availability of budget data / information through various reports and web portals of a government is considered as one of the strong pillars of budget transparency. Since governments deal with public money, the public has the right to know what governments are doing with their money.
The long road to seeking accountability for the makers of modern India
November 6, 2018
A recently concluded social audit of the implementation of Building and other Construction Workers (BOCW) Act in Delhi and Rajasthan clearly demonstrated that construction workers who build and make the foundation of cities, town and glitzy metropolises were victims of systemic corruption and arbitrary use of power.
Recent OP-Blogs
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- Need for SDG-linked outcome budgeting in India: A case of Assam
- How much did the Interim Budget push for India’s Climate Action?
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