SPRF
Around 600 million people in India face severe water shortage, and according to NITI Aayog’s Composite Water Management Index (2018), the situation is predicted to get worse in the next few years. [1] The report states that 21 cities are expected to completely exhaust groundwater resources available to them by 2020. Over the last two […]
The Indian government, as part of its efforts to revamp forest conservation and management, announced two new changes to India’s forest policies in 2018 and 2019. The first of these, the Draft National Forest Policy (NFP) 2018, has been under review since it was first made public in March 2018, and seeks to replace the […]
India is primarily an agrarian economy and has the 10th largest arable land resources in the world. Its varied climate and the agrarian culture have contributed significantly to the global food basket and India is currently among the 15 leading exporters of agricultural products in the world. Agricultural export is one of the major […]
The most widely accepted definition of human trafficking across the globe can be found under Article 3(a) of The United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children of 2000 (also called the “Palermo Protocol”) [1]. Simply put, it is the trade and transport of human beings for the […]
INTRODUCTION The Chakma and the Hajong refugees have been inhabitants of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh for over 50 years now. Despite their coexistence for several decades, the indigenous communities of the state still consider them to be ‘outsiders’. The recent Supreme Court judgement [1] of granting citizenship to these refugee groups, in consonance […]
On August 1, 2019, the Indian Tea Association (ITA) made a public appeal to both the Centre and the state government of Assam for urgent intervention for the survival of the tea industry. Subsequently, the Consultative Committee of Plantation Association (CCPA) made a press statement on August 20 that the tea industry might not be […]
The decision to ban single-use plastics in India on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi (October 2) was retracted that very day by the Government of India. This analysis explores the ban, would it have been initiated. On the occasion of India’s 73rd Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, called for a nation-wide movement against […]
In April 2014, in a landmark judgment in National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) v. Union of India and Others, the Supreme Court created the third gender status for transgender persons, recognising their legal and civil rights, and providing directives on affirmative action, access to public healthcare and other social welfare services. Though activists had pointed […]
Today, more than 1.2 billion Indians have a unique digital identity [1], and along with that, access to a basic savings account as well as the choice to conduct payments online using the simplest, low-cost mobile phones. Aadhaar has been the foundation, in the truest meaning of the word, of the bridge built to reach […]
Authored by: Shubhangi Priya The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in 2016, and passed on December 2018, provisioning a ban on surrogacy intended for commercial purposes. The Bill lapsed upon the dissolution of the parliament the same month, and was reintroduced in the Lok Sabha on July 2019. In […]
Authored by: Jasmine Bhalla According to World Bank estimates, spending on education by both central and state governments in India was 3.8% of the nation’s GDP in 2013 – significantly below the world average of 4.7% in the same year [1]. The country has also performed poorly in terms of quality, scoring second lowest with […]
Authored By: Diksha Pandey Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) are set to play a crucial role in India’s transformation into an outward-looking global economy. Contributing close to 30% to our GDP, and employing over 120 million people [1], MSMEs have the potential to de-burden the agricultural sector and help in the diversification of the […]
Authored by: SPRF Research Team The Economic Survey 2018-2019 serves as an aspirational document for the sustained economic growth of India. The Survey presents a strategic blueprint for a nation of 130 crore citizens aiming to become a 5 trillion dollar economy by 2025. A blue sky thinking underlies the growth model pitched by the […]
Authored by: Anshu Chaudhery The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM, hereafter) was introduced in 2014 as an ambitious national project to eradicate open defecation, improve living conditions, ensure women’s safety, and achieve universal sanitation coverage. Open defecation, and the resultant contamination of water, has been an endemic problem associated with sanitation in India. The Lancet Journal, […]