Revadi (sweetmeat) or more popular word, ‘freebies’, has been dominating headlines recently. A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in Supreme Court to bar all political parties from making such promises. In response, one leading political party, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has filed their objection to the PIL stating that schemes for the socio-economic welfare of the deservin
The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the entire digital landscape globally and compelled people, policy-makers and organizations to digitize their methods of reflections and operations. An analysis by UNCTAD [https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/dtlinf2020d1_en.pdf] points out that
India is the fifth-largest automotive market in the world and will have about 400 million customers in need of mobility solutions by 2030. With the government emphasizing an accelerated transition to EV and providing lucrative benefits for companies and customers alike, the Indian electric mobility demands have grown. With more than 16 million units sold in 2021, India is the wo
How many times a day do you flush the toilet? This number is probably between five and eight times for an average person. How many times a day do you spare a thought towards what happens to the human waste after you flush it away? The answer to this is likely to be close to zero for most people. While citizens with access to piped sewer networks rarely have a reason to worry abo
From obtaining an electricity connection to a driver`s licence, ration card, or old-age allowance, delivery of government schemes and services is an aspect of governance that impacts citizens at various points throughout their lives. The Haryana state government provides over 600 such schemes and services. However, lack of awareness, ambiguity around eligibility, complicated application process
While many countries have been chasing to reach the carbon neutral status, only a few seem to be living up to their pledges as of now. The famous ’Paris Agreement’ of 2015 was glorified and celebrated that finally 196 countries have united with an intent to mitigate and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions. Developed countries, home to 18% of the global population, are responsible fo
UPI has become an integral part of our daily lives now. We use it to buy groceries, we use it to send money to friends and family, we use it to purchase tickets, book shows, pay the cab driver, and a whole host of other things due to the ease and availability of such a platform at our fingertips. The best part is that it doesn`t even require typing in the bank details; just a QR code or a phone
The hospitality industry is one of the areas which were hit worst due to the Corona pandemic. Even then, the operators as well as owners in this field deserve congratulations for successfully overcoming the unimaginable impact of the pandemic. The fact that not only the industry has survived the crisis but is also hopeful of resuming all pre-pandemic activities with vigour indicates strong spir
It is believed that Otto von Bismark, the first Chancellor of the German empire from 19th century, was often quoted as saying, “Laws are like sausages. It is best not to see them being made.” The idea is that one tends to lose trust and confidence in proportion to the knowledge one has of how the law was made. One wonders if the same is also true for policy and the policy-making pro
Amid the campaign for building a temple in place of Babri Mosque, India in 1991 passed a law, the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, to prohibit the conversion of places of worship – like temples, gurudwaras, mosques, and churches – into different places of worship for other religions. The Act clearly mentions that “the religious character of a place o
The Singapore-based Chandler Institute of Governance recently released its Good Government Index 2022. The Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI) measures Government capabilities and outcomes across 104 countries covering roughly 90% of the world’s population. The Index comprises seven well-constructed pillars of good governance, built up on extremely relevant key parameters
Every month the Reserve Bank of India releases figures of Deployment of Gross Bank Credit by Major Sectors. While going through the recent release as on April 22, one striking feature was unmissable. While Gross Bank Credit registered 11% Year on Year Growth, consumer loans recorded a whopping 65% growth during the same period. And while the detailed official analysis is not available, it can b
MODI @ 20: DREAMS MEET DELIVERY Edited and Compiled by BlueKraft Digital Foundation Rupa Publications, 418 pages, Rs 895 PRIVATE ENTERPRISE AND NATION-BUILDING By UDAY S. K
Our hearts almost skipped a beat when we heard community health officer (CHO) Dr. Sandeep Kakuste’s success story with baby Pinki Lakhan Patil, who was born underweight in a brick kiln. Pinki weighed 1.7 kg at birth. As she was on exclusive breastfeed she could not have gained weight by any other method. However following the techniques of ‘Health Spoken Tutorials’ of IIT Bomb
The Government of Gujarat had set up a task force committee in February 2022 under the chairmanship of Dr. Hasmukh Adhia, former union finance secretary, to work out a strategy for the state to contribute in making India a USD 5 trillion economy, as per the vision of the prime minister. In three months, the task force committee submitted its final report to chief minister Bhupendra Patel this w
This time it was not Lord Hanuman, but the poor decision-making of the political leaders combined with several global economic factors that set Sri Lanka in flames. A state of emergency was declared in Sri Lanka. This month, after the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka resigned from his post, the Sri Lankans went on a rampage across the nation and set the PM’s residence and the g
The Congress is scheduled to hold a Chintan Shivir (meaning, ‘introspection camp’) from May 13th to 15th in Udaipur and it has identified six specific areas for introspection. These are 1. Political 2. Social Justice and Empowerment 3. Economy 4. Organization 5. Farmers and Agriculture and 6. Youth and Empowerment. Around eight to 10 leaders have been entrusted each of these six are
India has the largest share of the deprived and the marginalized among the 1.3 billion-plus, out of the 7.9 billion-plus inhabitants of the world, who are said to be living without shelter or basic amenities required for human existence. Clearly, we need to introspect as to why despite being the fourth or sixth biggest economy in the world alongside our highly acclaimed democratic governance st
On April 4, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its 6th Assessment Report that discusses its findings to mitigate the impact of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The report brings to our notice that a global temperature rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius in the near future will constitute a “critical level”, leading to significant risk to humans and ecosystems and h
The Sri Lankan economy is undergoing a twin crisis: debt and foreign exchange crisis. The total current external debt for Sri Lanka stands at $45 billion. However, in February 2022, the country only had $2.31 in foreign exchange reserves. Due to low foreign exchange reserves, the country is unable to pay for essential commodities and is hence enduring shortages of food, medicine, fertilizer, an
