-The Indian Express Six months on, there appears little justification for demonetisation in theories of politics, governance. Demonetisation has been evaluated through multiple dimensions — political, economic, constitutional, legal — and the role of the institutions involved. However, what were the philosophical underpinnings for “the most sweeping change in currency policy that has occurred anywhere in the world in decades”? One might think demonetisation was from the utilitarian school (given the rhetoric around...

-TheWire.in Since coming into effect 21 years ago, PESA has been grossly misused and underutilised, disenfranchising Adivasi communities all over the country. In India, tribal communities have had a long history of struggle, including during the colonial rule. In fact, the tribal war for independence has largely been ignored in the popular history of independent India. Today, most of us are not aware that the war of independence started as early as...

-PTI NEW DELHI: Seeking to stem the flow of black money in polls, the Election Commission has urged the government to amend laws to ban anonymous contributions of Rs 2,000 and above made to political parties. There is no constitutional or statutory prohibition on receipt of anonymous donations by political parties. But there is an "indirect partial ban" on anonymous donations through the requirement of declaration of donations under section 29C of...

-The Indian Express The Allahabad High Court has scrapped the user fee on the Delhi-Noida Direct (DND) Flyway, saying the concessionaire has already recovered its ‘reasonable’ dues. Allahabad High Court last week scrapped the toll levied on commuters using the Delhi-Noida Direct (DND) Flyway, a major traffic artery connecting southeast Delhi with Noida across the Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh. A subsequent bid by the Noida Toll Bridge Company Ltd (NTBCL) — the...

-The Hindu Business Line The NITI Aayog should revive district-level planning in order to implement the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution While the Planning Commission, which was virtually an executive arm of the Union government, stands abolished, the District Planning Committee (DPC), a constitutional institution mandated “to prepare a draft development plan for the district as a whole” with a focus on resource endowments, environmental conservation, infrastructural development and spatial...