February 6, 2023

അടിസ്ഥാനസൗകര്യ വികസനത്തിലൂന്നിയും മധ്യവർഗ്ഗത്തെ സന്തോഷിപ്പിക്കാൻ ശ്രമിച്ചും

പ്രതീക്ഷിച്ചതുപോലെ ഈ വർഷവും അടിസ്ഥാനസൗകര്യ വികസനത്തിലും മൂലധനച്ചെലവിലും ശ്രദ്ധ കേന്ദ്രീകരിച്ചുള്ള ഒരു ബജറ്റാണ് കേന്ദ്ര സർക്കാർ പ്രഖ്യാപിച്ചിട്ടുള്ളത്. കഴിഞ്ഞ കുറേ വർഷങ്ങളായി മോദി സർക്കാരിന്റെ പ്രവണത ഇതാണ്, പ്രത്യേകിച്ചും റെയിൽവേ, റോഡുകൾ, സാമൂഹിക അടിസ്ഥാന സൗകര്യങ്ങൾ എന്നിവയുടെ കാര്യത്തിലാണ് കൂടുതൽ ശ്രദ്ധ നൽകിയിരിക്കുന്നത്. സമ്പദ്‌വ്യവസ്ഥയുടെ മിക്കവാറും എല്ലാ മേഖലകളെയും സ്പർശിക്കാൻ ബജറ്റ് ശ്രമിക്കുന്നുണ്ടെങ്കിലും റവന്യൂ പിരിവ്, […]
February 3, 2023

Kerala Budget Expectations: A ‘road’ map for development

The Union Budget presented on February 1 focused on capital expenditure for infrastructure development that mainly includes the railways, highways, and roads. The Union Budget presented on February 1 focused on capital expenditure for infrastructure development that mainly includes the […]
September 21, 2022

National Logistic Policy is a right step towards a well-integrated, efficient Freight System

India has a growing logistics sector representing 5% of India’s Gross Domestic Product and employing 2.2 crore people. India has the second largest road network in the world through which 68% of the freight movement happens along with a well-functioning […]
September 15, 2022

Floods will continue to inundate India’s unplanned city development

The recent floods in Bengaluru was a result of an unplanned infrastructure, developed by flouting the laws in city governance, and by disregarding the building capacity to tackle the challenges of urbanisation. In recent years, the paucity in programming and the lack […]
May 11, 2022

Do governance dashboards actually provide any insights?

Dashboards need to carefully select key indicators and ensure that the quality of the data used is high. Otherwise, they will remain as a visualisation exercise and not be able to provide insights expected from them The recent controversy about […]
March 24, 2022

Bigger Concerns of Big Government

The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered many economies towards ‘Big Government’, triggering a populist surge with large expenditure and borrowing, coupled with unprecedented power to meet contingencies. With Kerala, this has been a decadal trend regardless of the political parties coming […]
March 22, 2022

What should prevail instead of K-Rail?

The debate on the utility and feasibility of K-Rail continues in Kerala. The arguments range from the environmental to the geographical divide for those who do not favour the proposed project, whereas the supporters of the project pitch for the […]
February 21, 2022

കേരള ബജറ്റ് 2022: വലിയ പരിഷ്കാ രങ്ങള്‍ എന്തുകൊണ്ട് പ്രതീക്ഷിക്കേ ണ്ടതില്ല

കിഫ്ബി, മറ്റു വരുമാന സ്രോതസ്സുകളിലൂടെയുള്ള വായ്പകളും സിഎജി റിപ്പോര്‍ട്ടുകളുടെ അടിസ്ഥാനത്തിലും ഒടുവില്‍ ഇപ്പോള്‍ സംസ്ഥാന സര്‍ക്കാര്‍ തന്നെ സമ്മതിക്കുകയും ചെയ്തതിലൂടെ കേരള സര്‍ക്കാരിന്റെ കടുത്ത സാമ്പത്തിക സ്ഥിതി വ്യക്തമാണ്‌. ഒരു സാമ്പത്തിക ദുരന്തം ഒഴിവാക്കാന്‍ വേണ്ടി വരുമാനം ഉണ്ടാക്കാനുള്ള തീവ്രശ്രമത്തിലാണ്‌ സര്‍ക്കാര്‍. വരുമാനവും സാമ്പത്തിക പോരായ്മയും അതിരൂക്ഷമാണ്‌. ഈ പ്രതിസന്ധി തരണം ചെയ്യാന്‍ വരാനിരിക്കുന്ന സംസ്ഥാന […]
January 25, 2022

In a week, nearly three-fold rise in Covid clusters in Ernakulam

The total number of Covid-19 clusters in Ernakulam increased to over 60 on Sunday. This is a three-fold increase in a week.There were only around 22 infection clusters in the district on January 16.All the infection clusters have sprung up […]
January 15, 2022

Call to extend Kochi Metro’s feeder service

It was in February 2020 that the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) had started a feeder bus service named ‘Pavan Doot’ between Aluva and Cochin International Airport Ltd (Cial).Two AC electric buses were operated along the route with an aim […]
January 12, 2022

K-Rail goes against Kerala’s much-vaunted decentralisation model

The hotly-debated topic in recent times in Kerala is the K-Rail project. K-Rail is a government-proposed speed-rail corridor connecting Kasaragod in the north and Thiruvananthapuram in the south. K-Rail promises a 200 km per hour speed, and is expected to […]
January 12, 2022

Outskirts of Kochi parched and pleading for drinking water

Access to safe drinking water is a fundamental right. But for many families living on the outskirts of Kochi, it is a luxury. Take Cheranalloor for instance. Over 100 families have been waiting for years to get a stable water […]
December 15, 2021

Uptick in registration of transport vehicles in Ekm

Ernakulam RTO has registered 2,030 non-transport vehicles in January this year. But it came down again with the onset of the second wave and took a U-turn by July. In September, 2,013 vehicles were registered in the non-transport category and […]
December 9, 2021

Lack of able leadership stands in way of development projects in Kochi

KOCHI: Kochi accounts for more than 40% of the state’s total revenue. Still, lack of effective implementation, absence of proper monitoring and want of a leadership to spearhead the execution of projects cripple the development of the city. Work on mega projects, […]
December 7, 2021

How remittances have shaped the socio-economic landscape of Kerala

Dwindling remittances will have dire consequences for the Kerala economy The historic discovery of oil in West Asia and the subsequent commercialisation of it in the 1960s stimulated great demand for skilled and unskilled labour. Keralites, confronted with a stagnant […]