InsightHimanshu ChhetriIntroductionIndia’s urban local bodies (ULBs) are at the frontline of service delivery, yet their fiscal health reveals deep structural imbalances. Recent municipal finance data (FY 2021‑22 to FY 2023‑24) highlights sharp variations across city types, showing how both...
Policy UpdateGargi BishtBackgroundUttarakhand’s migration crisis presents one of India’s most acute demographic challenges. Between 2008 and 2018, approximately 118,981 persons migrated permanently from rural areas of the state, while 383,726 undertook semi-permanent migration for employment (Rural Development and Migration...
Mahenoor ImamBackgroundThe Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 insured workers against sickness, maternity, disability and death, but not against losing the job itself. It assumed a worker would hold one job in one factory for a working life, so an...
Policy UpdateGowri KodaliIntroductionA provident fund constitutes deferred wages and forms the basis of long-term financial security for employees. Likewise, the value of a pension is realized only when it is both approved and disbursed promptly to recipients.The digital transformation...
Policy UpdateSruti HalderBackgroundThe India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX) is India’s first regulated gateway for the import and trading of gold and silver, operationalised at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), Gandhinagar. Its conceptual origin lies in the Union Budget...
Policy UpdateRashi KothariBackgroundThe Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers – Disclosure Scheme, 2026 (FAST-DS 2026) was introduced by the Ministry of Finance under Sections 135 to 142 of Chapter IV of the Finance Act, 2026, to provide a voluntary, one-time...
Policy UpdatePurbaa JagannathBackgroundThe power sector was not the only challenge in the early 2010s for India. New inter-State electricity flows were accompanied by fast growth, which revealed transmission deficiencies, insufficient voltage management, protection vulnerabilities and investments that were not...
Policy UpdateAyan BordoloiBackgroundThe second generation rural transformation programme, FOCUS 2.0, focuses on a challenging policy question in Mizoram: how to increase the productivity and profitability of upland agriculture without degrading the ecological processes and community institutions upon which rural...
Policy UpdateDivya NatarajanBackgroundThe City Finance Rankings is a Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) initiative that evaluates, recognises, and rewards India’s Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) on the quality of their financial health and their improvement in financial...
Policy UpdateAnamika P KBackgroundThe Self Help Entrepreneur- Livelihoods and Enterprise Application for Prosperity and Sustainability (SHE -LEAPS) was launched on 29th June 2026 at Rashtriya Gramin Vikas Sammelan, in New Delhi. The application, introduced in the context of expanding...
