The battle for Benaras & Bihar
8 May 2014

The battle for Benaras & Bihar

Be it Benaras which is gearing up for the most crucial battle between BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and the Aam Aadmi Party’s Arvind Kejriwal, or Bihar and U.P. where people are yearning for the ‘Gujarat model’, this election is focusing on some of the substantive issues that impact India

brts2 Courtesy: IncMan/Wikimedia Commons
6 May 2014

Re-evaluating rapid transport

India’s transport network has failed to keep pace with the ever-expanding cities. This has necessitated the import of alternatives such as the Bus Rapid Transit System. However, unless impediments like the absence of a dedicated corridor and lack of city planning are addressed, the project is destined to fail

raghuram rajan_right Courtesy: Dhiraj Singh/getty
6 May 2014

Decoding RBI’s policy on foreign debt

The RBI’s two-pronged strategy to protect the economy from tapering-led volatility discourages unproductive external borrowings and prods foreign portfolio debt investors to think long-term. There's another vexed issue: the IMF has sounded a cautionary note on the rising number of foreign currency debt laden Indian firms

rajni's blog Courtesy:
28 April 2014

Elections: citizens’ initiatives

Elections in India have long inspired a wide variety of citizens’ initiatives aimed at making the electoral process more free, fair and democratic. These initiatives during the 2014 general elections are giving voters not just a chance to be better informed, but also more deeply engaged with the process

gendergap Courtesy: Narendra Modi/Wikimedia Commons
24 April 2014

The missing women of Parliament

Fewer than 10% of the candidates in the ongoing elections in India are women. A law to reserve seats for women in Parliament, which will increase this number, is in abeyance. Our next government can take lessons from Latin America, where 16 countries have successfully implemented reservations and other enabling measures

election symbols_Ballot box Courtesy: Rama/Wikimedia Commons
22 April 2014

50 elections in 2014: a year of democracy

The year 2014 will witness elections in some of the biggest countries including India, Brazil and Indonesia. Like in India, the participation of youth voters is likely to be an important determinant in the outcome of the elections. Gateway House examines the presence of issues common to India and the major countries going to the polls in early 2014

rajrishieco Courtesy: Ravindraboopathi/Wikimedia Commons
10 April 2014

Inadequate economic manifestos

What do the manifestos of the three main parties say about India’s economic challenges – managing inflation, reviving investment growth, and handling the fiscal and current account deficits? To address the country’s serious economic slowdown, these must be the three priorities for the party that comes to power