Two interesting nuggets of information have emanated in recent days about the functioning of the Supreme Court of India’s Collegium. As is often the case with the body’s processes, reports in the media attribute the news of these decisions to unnamed sources. The collegium, the accounts say, will now conduct interviews of candidates who have…
Government expenditures exceeding revenue by a high margin can lead to a difficult situation. In the 1980s, rising fiscal deficit accompanied by rising government debt led to a difficult balance of payments situation and a high ratio of interest payment to revenue receipts. This forced the government to borrow progressively more to meet developmental expenditures….
The ninth edition of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) is to take place from September 4-6, 2024, in Beijing. The event comes at a time when African nations are facing multiple issues such as high inflation, currency depreciation, a heavy debt burden, unconstitutional military takeovers and geopolitical challenges such as the Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine…
‘As democracies are experiencing backsliding there are newer methods being devised by the citizenry, including the use of digitalised spaces, to produce a democratic backlash’ | Photo Credit: Getty Images The recent developments in Bangladesh, and the earlier events in Sri Lanka and Pakistan as well as the recent electoral outcome of the general election…
‘In the absence of adequate structural protection by the state and the society, the onus of one’s safety often falls on women themselves’ | Photo Credit: Soumyadip Sinha/THE HINDU The brutal rape and murder of a woman doctor in Kolkata has led to the country finding itself, once again, engaged in a deep conversation on…
‘Though the Hema Committee report addresses various issues faced by women in the vernacular films, the issues transcend these boundaries’ | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto The Justice K. Hema Committee report, which was released by the Kerala government on August 19, 2024, has ignited a debate on the issues faced by women in Malayalam film…
As is commonly recognised, there are two ways in which compliance with human rights norms can be enforced. One approach is the enforcement of economic sanctions or military invasion. This is only possible in the case of powerful nations. The other strategy is through forceful condemnation which can be undertaken by non-governmental organisations or smaller…
The national flag manufacturing unit at the Karnataka Khadi Gramodyoga Samyukta Sangha, at Bengeri in Hubballi, Karnataka | Photo Credit: KIRAN BAKALE/The Hindu The Prime Minister’s renewed call for a ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign in the week leading up to our Independence Day (August 9-15) offers us an opportunity to collectively introspect on our national…
Padma (name changed) has been working with a prominent home delivery services company in Bengaluru, as a beauty services provider for three years now. After migrating from her hometown in Sikkim to Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, to work in a salon, she then moved to Bengaluru after the COVID-19 pandemic to become a gig worker. “The…
The Economic Survey that preceded this year’s Union Budget presentation makes a suggestion which has implications for inflation control. It is that the price of food be taken out of the inflation target that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is mandated with. In technical jargon, this would amount to targeting ‘core’ instead of ‘headline’…
