Context: In Bihar, PMJDY has covered more than 5 crore beneficiaries, of whom more than 3. 67 crore are in rural areas. Since 2015, more than 3. 8 crore RuPay debit cards have been issued in the state. The reach of this scheme is indeed impressive. The authors of this article examined the account level… Continue reading From Bihar, the good news on banking: How Jan Dhan has deepened financial literacy among poor women, and in rural areas
Tag: times of india
Scrap sedition: There’s no point trying to mend this broken law. It’s an anti-constitutional provision that must go
News: The Supreme Court has resumed its hearing of petitions seeking the scrapping of the sedition provision in IPC. This comes at a time when this colonial era law is becoming a major threat to political and personal freedoms. Why sedition law must be scrapped? Section 124A IPC punishes words or actions that attempt to… Continue reading Scrap sedition: There’s no point trying to mend this broken law. It’s an anti-constitutional provision that must go
Ride Between East & West
News: Recently, the Group of Twenty (G20) was facing the heat of disruption. The G7 group of rich nations have ganged. Their leaders walked out of a meeting of G20 finance ministers demanding Russia’s ouster. The developed countries have threatened to prevent the convening of the World Trade Organisation’s 12th ministerial meeting. About G20 It… Continue reading Ride Between East & West
Cities will drive growth, but only if we build right: Follow master plans, develop transit networks, grow vertically, conserve water, recruit urban managers
Context: Urbanisation will be the single biggest agent of growth in the next few decades in India, but only if we design optimum policies alongside. What is the scale of urbanisation in India? India is already the second-largest urban system in the world with 11% of the total global urban population living in Indian cities.… Continue reading Cities will drive growth, but only if we build right: Follow master plans, develop transit networks, grow vertically, conserve water, recruit urban managers
Retire judges later: Constitutional court judges are being pensioned off too early. Their services are badly needed
Context: With seven Supreme Court judges retiring this year and over a third of sanctioned high court judges posts lying vacant, Parliament should urgently consider increasing the retirement ages of SC and HC judges from 65 and 62 respectively. Scarce judicial resources are constantly expended in finding suitable candidates for these top constitutional positions. And… Continue reading Retire judges later: Constitutional court judges are being pensioned off too early. Their services are badly needed
Living in hothouse India: We have entered a new age of heat extremes. Concrete and glass-heavy urban buildings are a major hazard
Context: India is searing. Large parts of the country are in the grips of unbearable heat and heatwaves. It’s not supposed to be like this in March and April. Such heat is usually expected in May and June – the year’s hottest months. But this temperature anomaly is not unexpected. In fact, various IPCC reports… Continue reading Living in hothouse India: We have entered a new age of heat extremes. Concrete and glass-heavy urban buildings are a major hazard
That coal feeling: Shortage of rail wagons is one reason for dipping power plant inventory. But problem goes further
Context: Thermal power plants in India are once again struggling with coal inventory dipping to critical levels. A similar coal crisis had surfaced in India in October last year. Given that both coal mining and logistics through railways are dominated by GoI-owned enterprises, it reflects poorly on official management of an essential economic input. Contents1… Continue reading That coal feeling: Shortage of rail wagons is one reason for dipping power plant inventory. But problem goes further
The Missing I In India
Everyone grows up with individual traits such as gender and intelligence. However, they also have collective identities i.e., a Hindu, a Muslim, a Dalit, a Bengali or a Malayali, and so on. Positive side of focus on group identity It has empowered the socially underprivileged groups. They have the power of the group’s vote. Therefore,… Continue reading The Missing I In India
The Brittle Middle
News: Recently, the Supreme Court found serious fault within the high courts. The High Courts have consistently failed to uphold judicial discipline while pronouncing orders. Contents1 What are the recent instances in which the HCs have failed to uphold judicial discipline? 2 What are the issues in Indian Judiciary? 3 What are the steps that needs to… Continue reading The Brittle Middle
Not just dollars: Sri Lanka needs deep economic reforms to dig its way out of the crisis
Context: A series of positive developments in Sri Lanka have triggered hopes that it’ll eventually see through one of the worst economic crisis that it’s going through right now. What are the positive developments? On the political front, 17 new ministerial appointments were initiated by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, suggesting an end to the political logjam.… Continue reading Not just dollars: Sri Lanka needs deep economic reforms to dig its way out of the crisis
