With Indian States reaching out for foreign direct investment, Tridivesh Singh Maini points out that though investors’ summits are important, States s

In 2013, Nitish Kumar parted ways from an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Narendra Modi, arguing that Modi’s politics was at odds w

Prime Minister Narendra Modi taunted and mocked the Mahaghatbandhan only to have his words recoil on him.

This report looks at the emerging caste politics in the newly formed State of Telangana, as well as the policy towards Dalits, or, the castes that fall under the government category of Scheduled Castes (SCs). A survey was conducted in four Dalit neighbourhoods (bastis) in Hyderabad, the capital of the new Telangana State, covering 216 respondents. This report reveals notions of impurity and inferiority that still dictate the occupations and livelihoods of Dalits, particularly in the city of Hyderabad. It also analyses the tools available to Andhra Pradesh’s and the newly created Telangana State’s Dalit population to understand how Scheduled Caste reservation policy shapes the space and availability for inclusion in the public and private sectors. Of late, several studies led by economists and sociologists look into the effects of caste discrimination on the ability of Dalits to get employment, education, and equal status in society. This report highlights some of the challenges faced by the Dalit community in Hyderabad as well as the effectiveness of the policies in pre- and post-bifurcated Andhra Pradesh. [PDF 940 KB]

The Union Government appointed the four-member Seventh Central Pay Commission headed by Justice Ashok Kumar Mathur on February 24, 2014, to "examine, review, evolve and recommend changes" that should govern the "emoluments structure including pay, allowances and other facilities/benefits, in cash or kind" for the following categories of employees: (i) Central Government employees—industrial and non-industrial; (ii) Personnel belonging to the All India Services; (iii) Personnel of the Union Territories; (iv) Officers and employees of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department; (v) Members of the regulatory bodies (excluding the RBI) set up under the Acts of Parliament; and (vi) Officers and employees of the Supreme Court The Commission submitted its report on November 18, 2014. Its recommendations include a 23.55 per cent increase in pay, allowances and pension for government employees, and will have an impact on 47 lakh employees and 52 lakh pensioners. The Report of the Seventh Central Pay Commission can be accessed at the following link in PDF format.   Click here for the full Report of Seventh Central Pay Commission, as a PDF [7.19 MB].  

India’s urbanisation process has laid bare the crisis, or rather absence of urban governance. This report explains how India’s urban local bodies, which are democratic institutions conceived to be closest to the citizens, have been rendered inefficient by the governments at the Centre and the States. The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act meant to devolve power to urban local bodies was merely a cosmetic exercise which did not bring about any changes in the way our municipalities were governed. States continue to have overriding powers and accountability structures in urban areas are weak. Devoid of power — legal, financial and administrative — urban local bodies merely remain a tool of party politics at the grass-root level. In the light of rapid urbanisation, the report states that it is pertinent to go beyond the existing laws and enact mandatory provisions that would give real powers to urban local bodies, with the conviction of making the country a genuine democracy. At a practical level, the report suggests that the policy makers have to think of what is doable if revolutionary changes are not possible. [PDF 17.4 MB]

An effective legal framework for insolvency that gives both entrepreneurs and creditors confidence that the path for exit is predictable and relativel

As Bihar enters the final phases of polling in the Assembly Elections, Sarthak Bagchi reflects on the competitive campaigns launched by the Bha