From the blog
July 1, 2021
On 24th March 2020, the Indian government announced its first lockdown to control COVID-19. What followed was a mass exodus of migrant workers from cities as industries & allied sectors closed down. India’s GDP per capita saw a fall & […]
June 24, 2021
Introduction G-7 countries are the most advanced industrial democracies in the world. Member countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US – the most industrialised countries of the world representing nearly 70% of global GDP for […]
June 23, 2021
Introduction Since its inception in 2019 December (WHO, 2021) COVID-19 has affected almost every country in the world. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to haunt us all around and 3rd wave warnings make it scarier, pandemic lessons from history may […]
June 23, 2021
Economist Joseph Stiglitz believes that the difference between developing and developed countries stems not only from resource gaps but also from knowledge gaps. Middle-and-low-income countries have low levels of innovation and patenting, and thus struggle with the affordability of life-saving […]
January 9, 2021
The year 2020 will go down in history as the year where an invisible virus brought the world to its knees. It started off with Wuhan gaining international attention for spreading the COVID-19 pandemic, to banning international flights, lockdowns of […]
January 8, 2021
To Indians, nothing can bring more tears to the eyes than an onion price hike. After all, it has led to the fall of governments and inflicted debilitating losses on farmers in the last few years. But what really baffles […]
January 8, 2021
“We will never bow to banditry on our continental shelf, nor will we pull back in the face of sanctions and threats,” said Recep Tayyip Erdogan once while talking about his country. Erdogan, a Turkish politician serving as the current […]
January 5, 2021
The Communist Party of India-Marxist [CPI(M)]-led Left Democratic Front’s (LDF) sweeping win in the local body elections this year was a morale booster for the ruling government, and foretells a clear edge for the incumbent in the upcoming Assembly elections. […]
May 28, 2020
A PDS Discussion (May 23)One could see long queues these days not only in front of the BEVCO outlets but also in front of the Ration Shops (PDS). As a public policy researcher, I was curious to understand the reasons […]
April 3, 2020
Democracy is government by discussion. The India Government, in announcing the nationwide lockdown in response to the global coronavirus blitzkrieg, appeared to have rewritten this definition. It now reads: democracy is government by action. This invariably leads to two questions: […]
March 23, 2020
The agriculture sector in our nation has always enjoyed the privilege of being a vital part of our economic structure and with almost 160 million hectare of land under cultivation, the sector employs the majority of our population. Though the […]
March 6, 2020
Diminishing readership of the print media and the entry of smartphones have strengthened social media’s role in shaping political narratives. In a way, it has become a linkage between the governing body and those who are governed, with people feeling […]
January 22, 2020
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has gained a lot of attention because of various ongoing trade wars around the world. The agreement can even bolster ties among the participating nations. So, does India’s withdrawal from the RCEP affect its […]
January 13, 2020
When one hears the word ‘critical thinking’, the first thing that comes to the mind may be the negative connotations attached to it. This is because the focus is on the word and one assumes that thinking critically must be […]
January 9, 2020
In the recent meeting between Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Haseena and Narendra Modi, both the leaders agreed on the need for greater efforts to facilitate the “safe return of Rohingya refugees”. This declaration came even after the UN fact-finding mission […]