-The Indian Express Economic data raises questions about missed opportunities and expending of political capital by NDA government. As India’s political parties switch to poll mode, economic data released in the past few days at the end of the NDA government’s term paints a far from rosy picture. Industrial growth in January slowed down to 1.7 per cent compared to the 2.6 per cent growth in factory output in December last...

-Scroll.in Effects of demonetisation and GST continue to be felt across the country on the eve of the elections At THRee grimy market squares in India’s pink city of sandstone palaces, the fates of a former farming couple, a former factory owner, and a graduate illustrated how difficult it now is to find even a job of hard labour, as a general election looms in a country witnessing record unemployment. It had been...

-TheWire.in With respect to agriculture, a lot of data is either not available or is released with delay. Often, it is inconsistent with other data sets. At the recent Vibrant Gujarat summit, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani said, “In this new world, data is the new oil. And data is the new wealth. India’s data must be controlled and owned by Indian people and not by corporates, especially global corporations.” The data of...

-The Indian Express Laws like Official Secrets Act conflate the interests of particular parties, governments with the greater good. They must be contested. The greatest failing of Indian public life over the past 70 years is the manner in which the state and forms of government have become identified with the life of the people. We have come to believe that state and society are the same thing and that pronouncements...

-TheWire.in Issues tied to forest governance require a collaborative approach rather than narrow court action on the Forest Rights Act. The Supreme Court order related to the “eviction” of tribal and forest-dwelling communities has made big news. The February 13 order directing state governments to initiate action against all those with “rejected” claims has reignited longstanding ideological disputes over India’s forest governance. Reactions to the recent order in a case filed by Wildlife...