-The Hindu In 2018, India failed to comply with multiple requirements prescribed in the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) mandatory for all IMF members Chennai: Even as questions have been raised about the delays in data dissemination from various Government Agencies — the most recent data from the National Crime Records Bureau dates back to 2016 and accident statistics have not been updated since 2015 — a recent report published by the...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Drivers and riders will become “ATMs for traffic policemen and transport department officials”, traffic and safety experts have cautioned the government while suggesting that preparatory steps be taken before high penalties for violations kick in. Amendments in the motor vehicle law have been passed by Rajya Sabha and are all set to pass through Lok Sabha on Monday where BJP has a majority. One of the...

-The Hindu Cutting down the Forests Right Act will only weaken the conservation regime and affect the rights of forest dwellers I have had the good fortune to work in, visit and learn about protected areas and wildlife habitats across India since 1980. Beginning in the late 1980s, I have written and spoken about the ecology and conservation of Indian wildlife to numerous and varied audiences. One question that is invariably asked...

-The Hindu The recent PLFS data, which show a historic decline in manufacturing employment, make one fact plain — India desperately needs a comprehensive industrial policy, absent since 1991 The Union Budget suggests that the government has not recognised the need to create more manufacturing jobs. For the first time ever, manufacturing jobs fell in absolute terms between 2011-12 and 2017-18, to quote the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) of the National...

-The Hindu When data is monetised, as the Economic Survey advocates, it becomes toxic and harms public interest Last year, I was denied information requested under the Right to Information Act (RTI) 2005. I had sought the names of agencies empanelled by the Unique Identification Authority of India for an “image makeover” and the expenditure on it. It was denied by invoking the exemption clauses of Sections 8(d) and 8(j), respectively, i.e....