An unprecedented economic growth during the last decade has also seen increasing malnutrition, hunger and starvation amongst certain sections of society. India ranks 66 in the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO’s) World Hunger Index of 88 countries (Inter-national Food Policy Research Institute). More than 200 million people in this country are denied the right to food. One-third of all underweight children (57 million) in the world due to lack of...

For some people, life is all about a fried hollow globe with a thumb-jabbed hole in the middle. Hot, sour, sweetened or served in dahi (curd), phuchkas are a part of growing up. Unfortunately, the men who sell the phuchkas don’t know where the next jab will come from. Their thumb, or the sudden snatch of officials. Reason: there’s no law to protect them from harassment for selling their stuff on streets. But things...

The government is in a dilemma as it grapples with the expanded scope of India’s proposed privacy law: Should it scrap all existing provisions on lawful interceptions and fold them under the new legislation, or strengthen the various laws under different ministries so their turfs remain undisturbed? The right to privacy Bill aims to uphold the right of all Indians against any misuse of their personal information, interception of personal communication,...

The Union Government has prepared the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill, 2001 (BRAI in brief) for the regulation of the biotechnology sector in India. While the need for strong and careful regulation certainly exists keeping in view the serious threats posed to health and environment by the genetically modified (GM) crops, the BRAI can actually increase this threat by paving the way for the rapid spread of GM crops...

Cash transfers are now suggested by many as a silver bullet for addressing the problems that plague India’s anti-poverty programmes. This article argues instead for evidence-based policy and informed public debate to clarify the place, prospects and problems of cash transfers in India. By drawing on key empirical findings from academic and grey literature across the world an attempt is made to draw attention to three aspects of cash transfers...