The case for inheritance tax: Combating inequality and promoting social mobility
A feature of the ongoing election to the 18th Lok Sabha is an extraordinarily communal campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The debate on the reintroduction of inheritance tax and wealth tax in the country is an example of this. The Prime Minister began by misinterpreting an old speech
Long on rhetoric, short on practice: Modi government battling corruption
A decade ago, in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Narendra Modi, then still the Chief Minister of Gujarat, famously declaimed: “Na khaoonga, na khaane doonga” (Neither will I take bribes, nor will I let others take bribes). He added that he would bring back illegal wealth stashed away
Era of deprivation: India is haunted by an unprecedented economic deprivation
The economic situation in the country today is extremely grim. It consists in the fact that the economy, through its spontaneous functioning, does not provide a level of income to the overwhelming majority of people that is enough to buy even a subsistence bundle of goods by contemporary standards. The
India’s employment crisis: Jobless growth, threat of automation, and impact of climate change on productivity
Unemployment and underemployment have always been important issues in post-Independence India. We have always been a primarily agrarian, labour-surplus economy with low capital stock that has manifested in low industrial productivity and a largely non-remunerative, monsoon-dependent agricultural sector. Key metrics for measuring the health of the job market are the
Editor’s Note | Vaishna Roy writes: Will India vote for what really matters?
As Prime Minister Modi stokes divisive fears, can the opposition offer a compelling alternative focused on lives, livelihoods and liberties? As I write this, a blazing summer is well underway across the country accompanied by the return of vitriol to the campaign trail. Prime Minister Modi’s brazenly communal reference to
Despite Election Commission’s campaigns urging every citizen to vote, millions of India’s migrant workers find it nearly impossible to exercise their democratic right.
“Among every 1,000 men in our villages, around 300 voters are working outside the State. It is not possible for all of them to return to cast their vote,” says Habib Biswas, 29, from Faridpur in Murshidabad district, West Bengal, who drives heavy vehicles for a living. He is, however,
The other ‘Coal Scam’ – Frontline
More than a decade ago, when media and civil society were going gung-ho against the then UPA government for the “Coalgate” scandal, the furore was focussed on a report prepared by an independent institution, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, that revealed evidence implicating the Union government and
Lok Sabha Election Results Highlight India’s Jobs Crisis: Lessons from Demonetisation, COVID Mishandling, and Rising Inequality
India has voted. And as we emerge from that occluding corridor of time, there is space to see more clearly. A few grim realities continue to exist. India still has a jobs crisis, households are still struggling to make ends meet, and hate, as we have seen, does not make
Gujarat: Before industry, comes the safety of lives
This year, Gujarat’s Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said his government aims to become a $500 billion economy by 2026-27. Much of this stellar growth, said Patel, was thanks to the State’s ease of doing business, investor-friendly approach and robust industrial infrastructure. By extension, it would make sense that a State
India Heatwave 2024: Deaths, Crop Failures, and Economic Impact Highlight Climate Vulnerabilities
In his book The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet Jeff Goodell writes; “We simply have not come to terms with it, especially in the way I am describing. It is not how anyone expects to die. In part, it’s because we live in