Policy UpdateAnushree KhareBackground Before the concept of “solar energy” became a focus of governmental policies, sunlight was viewed as currency. Calendars were designed around the position of the sun. Temples were constructed facing the sun and economies would wait for...
Policy UpdateSaachi SaxenaBackgroundEnvironmental policy is moving beyond regulating factories and emissions towards influencing what consumers buy and what firms produce. The Ecomark Rules, 2024, represent this shift in India by attempting to use product information and certification as a...
Policy UpdateNinchen TamangBackgroundThe Mahakali Treaty of 1996, formally the “Treaty between His Majesty’s Government of Nepal and the Government of India Concerning the Integrated Development of the Mahakali River including Sarada Barrage, Tanakpur Barrage and Pancheshwar Project”, was signed...
Kanchan MondalLand is emotive, social, and intensely political. But it also very concrete, and material. It isflexible and mobile. There is nothing abstract about land. In being able to physically identifyand demarcate it, while also flexibilizing it and socializing...
Policy UpdateAshi VermaBackground Rajasthan, with geographical area of 3,42,239 sq km as largest state and 7.9 crore population as seventh most populous, is characterised by sixty percent Thar desert, scattered habitations, low population density in western districts of Barmer and...
Policy UpdateVishal KumarBackgroundThe global labour market has undergone a fundamental transformation since the 2008 global financial crisis. Traditional employment relationships have increasingly given way to flexible platform-mediated forms of work collectively referred to as the gig economy. In India,...
Policy UpdateKaranvi ShendeBACKGROUNDMahtari Vandan Yojana is a women-centred social-protection scheme of the Chhattisgarh government. Launched on 1 March 2024, it provides monthly financial assistance of ₹1,000 to eligible women through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). The official scheme portal states...
Background In May 2010, Ahmedabad experienced a severe heatwave, with temperatures reaching 46.8°C. The heatwave was associated with 1,344 excess all-cause deaths in the city during May alone, a 43.1% increase compared with the reference period. The event showed how...
Soham DuttaShould every business be inspected in the same way?Imagine two food businesses operating under the same regulatory framework. One has maintained a strong compliance record for years. The other has repeatedly failed to meet safety requirements. Should a...
Policy Update Purbaa JagannathBackgroundSmall hydropower is among the oldest and most geographically democratic forms of renewable energy in India, capable of delivering firm, round-the-clock power to hilly and remote regions where the terrain makes solar parks and large transmission...
