WHY MILLIONS OF INDIAN WOMEN ARE LEAVING THE WORKFORCE

June 8, 2022

Alarming figures about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on India’s gendered labour force participation rate published in the past week have raised alarm bells amongst economists and policymakers. As per data collected by the World Bank, between 2010 and 2020, women working in India declined from 26% to 19%....

EXTREME HEATWAVES RAISING ALARMS IN INDIA

May 25, 2022

Large parts of India and its neighbouring countries, including Pakistan, have been experiencing record high temperatures as a heatwave continues to engulf the subcontinent. The heatwave began in early March and continues to aggravate millions across the country. Major cities, including the national capital, recorded temperatures as high as 49.2...

INDIAN ECONOMY SNAPSHOT: SHOULD WE WORRY?

May 18, 2022

In the past few weeks, newspaper headlines have caused worry and uncertainty over the future of the domestic economy. The Indian economy, which is still reeling from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, has been riddled with many issues in the past few months. Retail inflation in the country has...

DECODING LONG-TERM IMPACT OF FREEBIES ON STATE FINANCES

April 27, 2022

Parties offering freebies targeting various sections of society in the run-up to the 2022 Assembly elections was the trend this time. In Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party, which emerged as the second-largest party in the elections, announced a freebie package worth Rs 25,500 crores, involving 300 units of free electricity...

AAP, BJP LAUNCH POLL CAMPAIGN IN HIMACHAL PRADESH: WILL GRAND OLD PARTY BE LEFT BEHIND?

April 20, 2022

“You have given 30 years to Congress and 17 years to BJP to rule the state, all they did was loot Himachal. Just give me five years. If you are not satisfied, you can change us,” proclaimed New Delhi Chief Minister and National Convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP),...

ALL EYES ON DEC POLLS IN GUJARAT

April 13, 2022

24 hours after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) retained power in four out of the five states it contested in the first round of assembly elections in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi set out on another election campaign trail, kicking off preparations for the upcoming Gujarat elections. Gujarat is...

THE SRI LANKAN ECONOMIC CRISIS EXPLAINED

April 6, 2022

The economic crisis in Sri Lanka has debilitated the country, leaving it unable to pay for essential imports, including fuel, and has prompted widespread shortage of essential items across the island nation. Public outrage culminated in a series of mass protests across the country last week, leading to violence and...

DECODING RESULTS OF PUNJAB & UP ELECTIONS

March 16, 2022

The 2022 Assembly elections in the states of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh were both historic. For the first time in UP, an incumbent Chief Minister was re-elected after serving a full five-year term. In Punjab, where the Indian National Congress (INC) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), who have formed alternative...

IPCC Report On Impacts: More Than A Warning

March 9, 2022

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published the second instalment of its Sixth Assessment Report last week, leading to a widespread response from governments, international organisations, and environmental protection agencies. The first instalment of the report, released in August last year, was termed as a “code red...

Manipur Elections: One Week Till Ballots Cast

February 23, 2022

With one week left for the first phase of Assembly polls in Manipur, all parties have amped up their campaigning in order to woo voters in the northeastern state. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the state in 2017, after successfully forging a post-poll alliance with various regional parties. The...