There have been many successes and failures in economic and social development of India in the last 75 years. The recent covid-19 pandemic had also an adverse impact on growth, employment, health and education etc. In this paper, issues and policies are discussed beyond India@75 for achieving growth, inclusion and …
From now on, animals will be treated at par with human beings, at least when it comes to insurance claims in Rajasthan. In a recent judgement, Rajasthan High Court has adjudged the elephant as a "living creature equivalent to a human being' and awarded compensation of Rs 599,440 for the …
Very few water experts are aware that water resources and water services can be subject to the terms of investment and trade agreements. In fact, free trade agreements can blur the boundaries of national jurisdiction and the control of water resources and public utilities, often producing negative social and economic …
This paper discusses recent trends in poverty concepts and suggest a locally adapted multidimensional model for measuring and monitoring poverty. The model comprises nested layers with subjective wellbeing in the centre surrounded by a core of health, wealth and knowledge, and a context that includes natural, economic, social and political …
public sector banks have long been chastised as the black sheep of the financial sector. But while a lot of experts might deride these institutions for their non-performing assets and lower productivity, at the end of the day, public sector banks have far happier customers compared to their counterparts in …
In 1995, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) instituted the banking ombudsman: a quasi judicial authority to address banking complaints. Dissatisfied bank customers have the option of approaching this authority when all else fails. Says P Shimrah, secretary to the Banking Ombudsman, "We encourage complainants to approach their respective banks …
It seems the ruling United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre is seriously considering undertaking social banking reforms. It has agreed to implement the report of the A Vaidyanathan committee, set-up by the Union government, on the revival of cooperative credit institutions. The Union ministry of finance has accepted the …
This paper builds an analytical and practical framework for using resources more effectively by making services work for poor people. It focuses on services that have the most direct link with human development – education, health, water, sanitation and electricity – and uses examples of service delivery from India, elsewhere …
global warming will have serious repercussions on the world economy. The damage from climate-induced natural disasters could rise so steeply that will will become difficult for insurance companies and even the governments to absorb it, a spokesperson for a leading British insurance company said. Global economic losses from natural disasters …
The United Kingdom has decided to allow insurance companies to use genetic test results to decide whether a person be given a life insurance or not. At present, only tests for Huntington's disease, a degenerative brain disease, is being considered. But in the future, tests for six more diseases may …
A thin strip of land trapped between the Arabian Sea and the Kerala backwaters. This is Challanam in Ernakulam district. Freshwater used to be very scarce. Although it rains in torrents during the monsoon, the water would flow into the sea. Groundwater was useless due to ingress of saline water. …
Leftist politicians have a reputation across the world for being immensely centralised in their thinking. So, what was different in Kerala, where the major steps in the decentralisation drive have been taken by the ldf alliance? For one, the socioeconomic conditions desperately called for a change. For another, a highly …
Four years of decentralised planning have resulted in a functional division between state plans and local plans. Policy analysts say this would lead to subsequent material improvement in local life, for example, better management of agriculture and water resources. "An important change is the right focus of planning and, so, …
It is a labour bank called Thozhil Sena . Its capital is human labour and the clients are mostly farmers who loan labour at a rate of interest. Perhaps the first of its kind in India, the
The future of the decentralisation process is uncertain, and the real threat comes from the bureaucracy. A wide spectrum of people - from political leaders to policy planners - share such fears. "The bureaucracy is organised, and is a great problem. Earlier there was stiff resistance from the bureaucracy to …
DOES money grow on trees? The plantation companies' advertising blitz had the investors believe that it really does. But that, as an investigating committee of the ministry of environment and forests (MEF) found out recently, is very far from the truth: a huge gulf exists between the "real" profit figures …
The investigation by the committee revealed several surprises, one of which is that in a few cases, even the state governments approved of these companies' tactics. Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, for instance, liberalised their land ceiling acts in the mid-90s to attract plantation companies. The Madhya Pradesh land ceiling amendments …
green banking has become big business in the Netherlands. Two years ago, politically-correct banking and investment was limited to three small idealistic banks-Triodosbank (originated from the anthroposophic movement which sees human beings in relation to the cosmos), asn Bank (founded by the trade unions) and the Other Investment Fund (founded …
INITIALLY developed for electron microscopy, holograms have found a range of applications from gift shop CHIJositics to identification labels on credit cards, Recently, a new application Was added to this list - holographic data stora-e. R H Berg and his collaborators at the Riso National Laboratory in Deninark have investigated …
inspired by the success of informal banking schemes in rural Bangladesh, Kerala's department of fisheries initiated similar programmes of assistance, three years back. These schemes, which can be accessed only by fisherwomen, are primarily meant to assist them financially. The main state-level body heading the schemes is the Vanitha Fisheries …
