-The Hindu The incident has given an opportunity to the Opposition BJP to attack the ruling Congress government for ‘neglecting a long-pending public demand’. The self-immolation and death of a septuagenarian monk, Baba Vijay Das, who was protesting against mining in Bharatpur has intensified politics in Rajasthan, the State set to witness polls by the end of the next year. While both the Congress and the BJP, in their respective tenures, allowed the...

-The Hindu Dehumanisation is the likely outcome when humane aspects of governance get outsourced to technologies The right to live with dignity is a constitutional imperative. However, it rarely manifests in discussions surrounding digital initiatives in governance. Centralised data dashboards — valuable as they are — have become the go-to mode for assessing policies, relegating principles such as human dignity and hardships in accessing rights to its blind spots. Often when technological...

-TheWire.in There is little doubt that the practice of handing out freebies undermines both democracy and development. But the problem doesn't lie just with the opposition. Constitutional authorities in India have recently spoken about key challenges the country is facing. The Chief Justice of India (CJI) has said that there is “diminishing” space for the opposition, that there was no longer any mutual respect between the Union government and the opposition, and that...

-IndiaWaterPortal.org The Chauka system, the traditional water harvesting system of Rajasthan can not only provide a sustainable way to manage water resources in water stressed regions, but also support livelihoods through development of pastures. Over 55 percent of India’s population relies on groundwater for irrigation, water for cattle, domestic consumption, and industrial use making India the world’s greatest groundwater extractor, surpassing the USA and China combined. This paper titled 'Assessment of traditional rainwater...

-MoneyControl.com Bihar, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal could face a crisis if they fail to curb non-merit expenditure, the central bank has warned A study of fiscal parameters of states by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) identified Bihar, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal as highly stressed due to their high debt levels, the quality of expenditure and the level of fiscal deficit. These states could face a crisis if...