-The Hindu Local governments remain hamstrung and ineffective — mere agents to do the bidding of higher level governments Democratic decentralisation is barely alive in India. Over 25 years after the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments (they mandated the establishment of panchayats and municipalities as elected local governments) devolved a range of powers and responsibilities and made them accountable to the people for their implementation, very little and actual progress has been...

-Economic and Political Weekly An overwhelming proportion of the poor live in low-income states in India. These states are home to over two-thirds of the children in the 0–14 age group. Therefore, provision of comparable levels of basic social services and physical infrastructure is important to ensure balance and stability in the Indian federation. This underlines the importance of intergovernmental Transfers. Conceptually, general purpose Transfers are given to enable the states...

-The Hindu The Transfer of the RBI’s surplus is only a stopgap measure which will not address the key problem of a lack of demand There is no longer any room for doubt on the parlous state of the Indian economy. The automobile industry, seen as a bellwether of activity in the post-liberalisation years, is in crisis, as automakers, parts manufacturers and dealers have laid off about 350,000 workers since April this...

-Newsclick.in It’s just a parlour trick to disguise financing of government spending that does not appear in the formal Budget. We all know by now, that economic activity in this country has come to a grinding halt. That’s not just bad for our earnings, but also for the Government of India (GoI). Because, when people don’t buy or sell things, or even produce them, the government doesn’t get enough taxes. So, economists...

-ThePrint.in Ex-SC judge Jasti Chelameswar, chief guest at the release of the study by Common Cause & CSDS, also alluded to political pressure on the justice system. New Delhi: A study released in the national capital Tuesday stated that 72 per cent of police officers have experienced political pressure while investigating cases involving influential persons. The chief guest at the event, former Supreme Court judge Jasti Chelameswar, also alluded to political pressure on...