In Discussion

Environment and Energy

Can Green Hydrogen Fuel India’s Clean Energy Transition?

Abstract Due to the current global warming and climate change trends, there is a need to shift to cleaner forms of energy. Green hydrogen is a clean and sustainable alternative to other forms of hydrogen fuel. With India’s commitments to scale up on green hydrogen production, use, and export, there is a significant opportunity for […]

Environment and Energy

Can Carbon Markets Decarbonise and Revitalise Agriculture?

Abstract Agriculture is a significant employer and contributor to the GDP in India. However, the sector faces a two-fold problem due to climate change and a declining workforce. On the one hand, increased food demand is juxtaposed with a decline in the number of food providers – farmers. On the other hand, agriculture has to […]

Environment and Energy

India’s DISCOMs: Weak Link in the Power Sector

  ABSTRACT: Power is among the most critical components of infrastructure and serves as a crucial metric for assessing the living standard of a country’s population. Unfortunately, a variety of problems plague India’s power sector. The poor financial health of power distribution companies has often been recognised as a critical issue impacting the power sector’s […]

Economy and Society

Language Endangerment and Culture Loss – A Case Study of Tai Khamti

  Author: Ritwiz Sarma ABSTRACT: Language has a deep and well-documented relationship with culture. Therefore, its loss has significant implications for communities’ cultural heritage. This study attempts to analyse the cultural impact of language loss in Tai Khamti speakers, an endangered language community native to North-Eastern India. Primary data is collected to assess cultural markers […]

Economy and Society

Delhi Metro Rail System and the Need for An Inclusive Last-mile Connectivity System

Abstract The Delhi Metro-Rail [DMR] System is an essential mode of mass transit that facilitates an integrated urban public transport system. However, poor last-mile connectivity impacts the DMR system’s ridership and makes it less inclusive for socio-economically marginalised groups. It is important to understand the issues related to last-mile connectivity because it is essential to […]

Human Rights & Law

Digital Inclusion of Scheduled Tribes: Role of Law and Policy

Abstract The digital divide between marginalised and non-marginalised populations of the country has impacted the socio-economic growth of the Scheduled Tribes [STs] in India. The first part of this paper discussed the consequences of the divide for the ST populace. The second part of the paper discusses the role of policy instruments in bridging this […]

Governance

The Status of Indian Democracy: Contextualising Trends of Representation in the Lok Sabha

ABSTRACT Indian democracy shows a steady decline across various globally cited indicators of democracy, even while the practice remains strong and consistent. The Freedom House Index has changed India’s status from “free” to “partly free” in 2021. Peculiarly, India has performed well on indicators of political representation and indicators of free and fair elections at […]

Economy and Society

NEET: Looking beyond competitive entrance exams for higher education

Abstract Admission into professional courses via highly competitive entrance examinations is becoming the norm in universities. The Union government’s decision to make the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test [NEET] the sole criterion for admission to medical and dental colleges is a significant step in this direction. However, studies worldwide have criticised high-stakes examinations for propagating socio-economic inequalities […]

Economy and Society
Human Rights & Law

Hijab-Ban, Right to Education and Question of Agency of Muslim Women

ABSTRACT Muslim women donning hijab, burqa, or the veil has been a contentious issue and a source of discrimination against them worldwide. In India, this issue resurfaced in December after the Udupi Women’s PU College, a pre-university college in Karnataka, denied entry to several girls since they were wearing hijabs and ‘disrupting’ the college uniform. […]

Human Rights & Law

No Glimmer of Hope: Jharkhand’s Mica Mines and Child Labour

ABSTRACT In 2021 ‘Fenty Beauty’, a leading makeup brand owned by the pop-star Rihanna, was criticised for using mica from mines in Giridih and Koderma, Jharkhand (Sirur, 2021). The news brought into limelight the discourse around industries thriving on cheap raw materials, especially ones acquired from illegal mica mines through child labour. The issue of […]

Human Rights & Law

Revoking AFSPA in Nagaland: Current Trends and Possibilities

ABSTRACT For more than six decades now, Nagaland has been under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act [AFSPA] 1958. Despite the violence and impunity, the act grants the security forces, it is still in force. To bring peace to the region the Framework Agreement was signed in 2015 between the Government of India and the […]

Human Rights & Law

Houses of Tarp and Bamboo: Exploring the Fires in Rohingya Refugee Camps

ABSTRACT Rohingya refugee camps in India witnessed the highest number of fires in 2021 than any other year prior. Most refugee-camp fires demonstrated a peculiar trend of beginning at midnight, often on a disputed property, preceded by threats of eviction or bigotry but said to be the result of bad urban planning. With refugee settlement […]

Economy and Society
Human Rights & Law

Beyond Academics: A case for bringing comprehensive sexuality education to Indian classrooms

Authored by: Barkha Tripathi, Co-Founder, The Zero Period Edited by: Riya Singh Rathore and Avishi Gupta   ABSTRACT India is the second-most populous country globally, with the largest youth population between ages 10 to 24. Despite a young and culturally diverse demography, India has consistently deprioritised knowledge, awareness, and acceptance of comprehensive sexuality education [CSE] […]

Human Rights & Law

Examining Separatism in Post-colonial North Bengal

INTRODUCTION  In June 2021, Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP] MP John Barla raised a controversial demand for the separation of select North Bengal districts into a Union Territory. He argued that North Bengal has remained significantly underdeveloped in comparison to the rest of the state (Express News Service 2021). Following Barla’s rationale, BJP MP Saumitra Khan […]