Insights
Spiraling Violence Against Women: Need for an Overhaul of Existing System
July 27, 2018
The debate around sexual violence has grown in India with rising cases of unprecedented forms of sexual assaults against minor girls. The horrifying accounts of gang rape in Kathua and Unnao in early 2018 and instances of sexual assaults from other parts of the country, like Banda, Surat and Nadia point to the weak laws and mechanisms to secure women’s dignity and rights.
'Happiness Curriculum' introduced in Delhi govt schools: In world obsessed with marks, studies can still be source of joy
July 23, 2018
On 26 May this year, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) declared Class XII board examination result. The next day, a number of regional and national dailies reported suicides by Class XII students in various states, including Bihar, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Uttarakhand. The reason for this was said to be securing poor marks or failure in the exams.
Illicit Financial Flows: Damaging the foundations of justice
July 17, 2018
Illicit finance is generated through both national and international illicit activities and markets impacting the sovereign ability of states to make coherent and responsive policies. As they are hidden, illicit financial flows easily enter licit financial circles using loopholes in national laws and the sophisticated network of professionals known as gatekeepers and enablers facilitated by the opacity in the international financial system.
Indo-Swiss pact on hidden wealth: Why it isn't helping in India's fight against black money
July 16, 2018
The country has been witness to an emphasized narrative on black money in the past few years. The Indian government defines black money as “any income on which the taxes imposed by government or public authorities have not been paid”.
How Taxes are Raised has an Impact on Gender (In)Equality
July 12, 2018
Take any global measure, and in all likelihood it will point towards the same fact: women are disadvantaged relative to men. Women do much greater amounts of unpaid care – caring for children and the elderly, fetching water and household chores – across the world, all of which provide crucial support for economies to thrive. Women’s unpaid care work is conservatively valued at 13 per cent of global GDP.
The Fiscal Deficit: What is so bad about it?
July 9, 2018
We have all heard, time and again, that a high fiscal deficit is inherently bad for the health of an economy. This is repeated so often that most of us take it to be a given truth. We are even told that only around 3 percent of fiscal deficit (relative to GDP) is okay, but anything beyond that is problematic.
Darwaza Band is Not Enough
July 5, 2018
“We don’t have a toilet at home and the public toilet near our house is locked after 10:00 pm; it is particularly difficult for my twelve year old daughter to manage, who uses a crutch.” says Abha*, a middle aged woman from Madanpur Khadar, a low income settlement in south Delhi. “Each visit to the toilet costs two rupees- the caretaker simply won’t allow us to use the toilet if we don’t pay.” adds Meeta*.
How have social security pensions progressed over the past five years?
July 2, 2018
In January of 2013, I spent a month in the Sahayta Kendra at Khunti block, in Khunti district of Jharkhand. At that time, it was one of a couple of Sahayta Kendras in Jharkhand. Started by local activists initially focusing on Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), they are intended to be spaces where workers learn to help each other, collectivize and claim their entitlements.
Need to Strengthen Municipal Corporations for Prevention of Air Pollution
June 28, 2018
Air pollution is responsible for many health problems in urban areas. A report published in the medical journal, ‘Lancet’ says that the pollutant PM2.5 (particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 micrometer) alone killed five lakh Indians in the year 2015.
NHPM - will it bring affordable healthcare within reach?
June 25, 2018
As the Union government gears up to launch the National Health Protection Mission (NHPM), questions around how desirable a prescription it is for India continue to be asked. Debating them objectively to draw lessons from the experience of last few years of implementing publicly run health insurance schemes across states can be useful, as the MoUs with states are being worked out.
Who has been investing in India through Mauritius?
June 22, 2018
The official statistics provided by the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) under the ministry of commerce and industry shows that between January 2000 and December 2017, India received $368 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI). It also says that Mauritius was the source of $125 billion of FDI, meaning this tiny island nation contributed 34 percent of the total FDI inflows to India in this period.
Budgetary Strategies for SCs and STs: Over, But Not Out
June 21, 2018
Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) were introduced in the 1970s for the specific purpose of the socio-economic development of the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and the Scheduled Tribes (STs) and to bring them at par with other social groups.
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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