News: Recently, army and police forces conducted an operation in Srinagar which led to the killing of three civilians along with a Pakistani militant has raised questions of the overuse of their powers. What was the issue all about? Army and police personals in the disturbed areas have the special power under Armed Forces (Special Powers)… Continue reading In Hyderpora, leadership of security forces must ensure that personnel follow court’s directions, in letter and spirit

News: Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs has released the results of Swachh Survekshan 2021. What are the key takeaways of the Swachh Survekshan 2021 awards? Read here: President of India Graces Swachh Amrit Mahotsav and Presents Swachh Survekshan Awards 2021 Ganga Towns: Varanasi has been awarded the cleanest town award along the banks… Continue reading Shifting the pile: On inequity and Swachh citiest

News: During the Pandemic, Ayurveda based self-medication was promoted. But no attempt was made to educate people with the correct ingredients like Giloy or Dalcheeni. Many Ayurveda physicians claimed successful treatment of Covid, but none were recorded and researched. The coordination between ICMR and Ayush could have helped in better management of the pandemic. Why… Continue reading Making Ayurveda a real science

News: Recently, the Prime Minister in an address to the nation announced that the three controversial farm laws would be withdrawn in the upcoming session of Parliament. Yet, the farmer groups are pressing for a legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP) and the withdrawal of the Electricity Amendment Bill. Since this will not be… Continue reading Future of farms – On Farm Laws

News: Reliable and timely public data have a direct bearing on the state’s capability to effectively design and implement programmes. The coverage and reporting of Census data have vastly improved since independence. Among the emerging economies, India is credited to have a relatively robust public data system generated through its decennial Census and yearly sample surveys… Continue reading Reliable data, good policy

News: The newly-created National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL), first in the public sector, offers hopes for the faster clean up of lenders’ balance sheets. NARCL is not a bank, but a specialised financial institution to help resolve the distressed assets of banks. Over the last 5 years, considerable progress has been made in resolving and… Continue reading Tackling the problem of bad loans

News: The centrality of land to people’s lives is key to understanding the reasons behind the year-long, rigid opposition to the three farm laws by the farmers. The ongoing land acquisition issue between the Archaeological Society of India (ASI) and over 10 agricultural families in Dholaivra is a case point that explains the significance of… Continue reading Failure at the tri-junction of land, income and identity

News: The first US-India Trade Policy Forum in over four years begins. Over the past two decades, the partnership between India and US has strengthened tremendously. From strategic cooperation to our deepening people-to-people ties, the gains have been impressive. However, the current stakes for a growing economic partnership are greater as we experience a volatile… Continue reading Deeper trade ties will benefit both India and US