Reporting on Government from India Together.https://indiatogether.org/en-inhttps://indiatogether.org/liveable-city-government/https://indiatogether.org/liveable-city-government/In our minds, built environments represent modernity, and if we see enough of that in our homes, workplaces and means of commuting, we don't pause to consider how equitable it is. This must change, writes Prem Chandavarkar.Tue, 11 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/states-tax-mining-government/https://indiatogether.org/states-tax-mining-government/Apex court ruling comes as a boost to state finances, especially in mineral-rich states. The interpretation of the court in this verdict could also give states more power to raise their own taxes, which been diluted significantly in recent years.Sat, 24 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/large-firms-economy/https://indiatogether.org/large-firms-economy/Large Indian firms are yet to become global champions. Given the global headwinds, India should focus on improving the competitiveness of these companies so that they can tap into large external markets far more than they have managed so far, say Shishir Gupta and Rishita Sachdeva.Sat, 21 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/securities-laws-enforce-government/https://indiatogether.org/securities-laws-enforce-government/An analysis of over 8,000 enforcement orders passed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India over a span of ten years provides insight into the use of its powers by the institution, and its priorities. Devendra Damle and Bhargavi Zaveri Shah summarise their findings.Mon, 14 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/right-city-government/https://indiatogether.org/right-city-government/Informal settlements, despite containing a majority of the people, are treated as aberrations. Forced to live outside legal sanction, the poor in our cities are vulnerable to dispossession, and condemned to a degraded quality of life, writes Prem Chandavarkar.Mon, 04 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/congest-urban-government/https://indiatogether.org/congest-urban-government/Plenty of money has been spent widening roads, hoping that will reduce congestion. By now there is enough evidence against that. Instead, designing our cities for walking and cycling is a far better way rein in traffic, and is also imperative to fight climate change, says Madhav Pai.Sat, 20 Nov 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/third-reform-economy/https://indiatogether.org/third-reform-economy/Adequate attention has not been given to strengthening the government itself in performing key functions, directly or through public authorities. The next set of economic reforms must address this lacuna and direct attention to improving the government's own competence, writes Rakesh Mohan.Sun, 03 Oct 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/oral-arg-government/https://indiatogether.org/oral-arg-government/Huge backlogs in the justice system have prompted judges to look for ways to speed things up. The Supreme Court has twice pointed fingers at long and repetitive oral arguments, which increase the time spent on each case while others remain pending.Tue, 07 Sep 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/people-plan-government/https://indiatogether.org/people-plan-government/Formal city planning processes do not recognise the lived realities of people adequately. By listening to residents, and understanding the needs that have driven them to organic solutions, it is possible for Master Plans to be a lot more inclusive, writes Marina Joseph .Sat, 04 Sep 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/gov-swm-government/https://indiatogether.org/gov-swm-government/While urban finances do need to be strengthened, adequate expenditure alone is not enough to improve public services and other outcomes. A study of waste management in 27 cities shows the importance of other non-monetary influences.Mon, 16 Aug 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/institutions-op-ed/https://indiatogether.org/institutions-op-ed/States have followed varied paths to development, proclaiming models of their own. But these have been limited to administrative initiatives and infrastructure improvement, and not presented a new imagination of governance itself, writes Harsh Shrivastava.Mon, 02 Aug 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/jkfaisla-op-ed/https://indiatogether.org/jkfaisla-op-ed/Can people themselves decide how governments should respond to their needs? A new initiative, Janta ka Faisla , takes up the pressing case of migrants, to see how different the practice of democracy would look if it began from the most vulnerable citizens. Rajesh Kasturirangan writes.Sun, 18 Jul 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/participate-government/https://indiatogether.org/participate-government/In cities across Karnataka, civil society groups are pushing the government to establish Ward Committees and Area Sabhas as mandated by the Constitution and state laws, so that they can participate in decision-making to direct the governance of their localities, writes Kathyayini Chamaraj.Fri, 09 Jul 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/ranchi-wells-government/https://indiatogether.org/ranchi-wells-government/Can people themselves plan for their basic services? A new initiative in the informal settlements of the city which have been ignored by formal planners shows the potential of a different approach.Sun, 27 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/disaster-human-government/https://indiatogether.org/disaster-human-government/For long-term mitigation of disasters in urban areas, ward-level citizens' committees will need to carry out community-based bottom-up planning for sustainable and inclusive development. Only this can lead to a more systematised, localised, and humane response to disasters, writes Kathyayini Chamaraj.Sat, 05 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/states-dev-economy/https://indiatogether.org/states-dev-economy/Our federal nation, with its many languages, states, regions, and communities will always have different models of growth that suit local aspirations. State governments can distinguish themselves by asking what this means for each one of them, writes Harsh Shrivastava .Fri, 21 May 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/bird-eye-government/https://indiatogether.org/bird-eye-government/Planning for settlements in the country follows an outdated approach. Coupled with weak governance, Master Plans are nearly fiction. Re-imagining urban India will have to necessarily start with an overhaul of the existing statutory frameworks, writes Anjali Karol Mohan .Mon, 19 Apr 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/women-polls-government/https://indiatogether.org/women-polls-government/Why are there so few women in electoral politics at the state and national level? There are several reasons, but the biggest one is that in the absence of reservation, political parties deny tickets to women, writes Tara Krishnaswamy .Fri, 16 Apr 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/epic-aadhaar-government/https://indiatogether.org/epic-aadhaar-government/Data governance in India is evolving. Against that background, what are the potential benefits and risks of the proposal by the Election Commission to link voter IDs to Aadhaar numbers? An IDFC Institute working paper examines this.Mon, 22 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/food-policy-government/https://indiatogether.org/food-policy-government/Food system outcomes in cities are central to jobs growth and economic vibrance, to resilience, security, greenness, and livability. A new book by the World Bank urges cities of all sizes to develop and implement food policies aligned with their aspirations and challenges.Wed, 17 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/who-public-society/https://indiatogether.org/who-public-society/There is rising interest in public policy, but much of the focus so far has been on 'policy'. But it is even more important to understand the 'public' part of this phrase, because public policy must work for and with the public, writes Harsh Shrivastava .Wed, 10 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/fossil-taxes-government/https://indiatogether.org/fossil-taxes-government/The energy-mobility landscape is transitioning to renewables and electric vehicles. But public finances are highly reliant on the old economy of fossil fuels. Vignesh Nandakumar summarises a recent discussion of the challenges this poses.Fri, 05 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/science-policy-society/https://indiatogether.org/science-policy-society/The new science and technology policy joins its predecessors in presenting a wish-list for the country, but equally it also mimics the old policies in failing to detail how these wishes will come true, notes Shambhavi Naik .Sat, 20 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/metro-sprawl-government/https://indiatogether.org/metro-sprawl-government/The large metropolitan areas of the country are continuing to grow. But why, and is this the same thing as sprawl? A recent position paper from the IDFC Institute delves into the data, and discusses the challenges thrown up by India's urban expansion. India Together presents excerpts from this paper.Tue, 15 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/follow-yuan-government/https://indiatogether.org/follow-yuan-government/A research paper published by Brookings India argues that while rising investment from China helps correct a lopsided trade relationship between the two countries, the Indian government should also proactively safeguard security and privacy interests.Mon, 13 Jul 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/rural-courts-government/https://indiatogether.org/rural-courts-government/Observations from a recent study of the Bengaluru Rural Courts point to a sad reality - that many of the most basic and foundational things needed for efficient delivery of justice are missing. The authors of the research report identify specific and urgent measures to address this.Mon, 12 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/regulations-delayed-are-regulations-denied-environment/https://indiatogether.org/regulations-delayed-are-regulations-denied-environment/Efforts to rein in massive emissions of pollutants, and to reduce volumes of water consumed by coal-based thermal power plants have been thwarted by endless delays in implementing the regulations that were to take effect last year. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.Mon, 01 Oct 2018 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/tp-scheme-government/https://indiatogether.org/tp-scheme-government/Land pooling has helped steer development in Ahmedabad more equitably than in many other Indian cities, but with some limitations and challenges still to be overcome. A World Resources Institute report provides insight.Wed, 05 Sep 2018 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/monsoon-session-2018-laws/https://indiatogether.org/monsoon-session-2018-laws/The Monsoon Session of Parliament began today and will continue till August 10, 2018. It is scheduled to have 18 sittings during this period. PRS Legislative Research outlines what is in store in the upcoming session.Wed, 18 Jul 2018 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/thirty-four-years-of-irregularities-and-failures-government/https://indiatogether.org/thirty-four-years-of-irregularities-and-failures-government/The recently released CAG audit report on Maharashtra has heavily criticized the time and cost overruns in Gosikhurd irrigation project in Vidarbha. Himanshu Upadhyaya analyses the report to list the shortcomings of the project.Tue, 10 Jul 2018 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/bogus-crime-survey-society/https://indiatogether.org/bogus-crime-survey-society/Safety and criminality in society must be assessed directly from the people themselves. The government is deluding itself and citizens by conflating law enforcement statistics with crime data, writes Tara Krishnaswamy.Tue, 03 Jul 2018 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/what-you-can-t-measure-properly-you-can-t-manage-properly-government/https://indiatogether.org/what-you-can-t-measure-properly-you-can-t-manage-properly-government/Shripad Dharmadhikary critiques the recently released NITI Aayog’s report on Composite Water Management Index.Sun, 01 Jul 2018 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/what-is-a-smart-city-government/https://indiatogether.org/what-is-a-smart-city-government/Last month the government announced the list of 9 new Smart Cities, taking the total of Smart Cities to 99. Prachee Mishra of PRS legislative takes a look at the Smart Cities Mission and a few issues with it.Mon, 05 Feb 2018 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/urban-poor-lack-a-roof-over-their-head-poverty/https://indiatogether.org/urban-poor-lack-a-roof-over-their-head-poverty/Looking into what’s happening in the State of Karnataka, Kathyayini Chamaraj discusses the housing needs and rights of the urban poor.Fri, 08 Dec 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/chugging-along-in-the-name-of-sustainability-government/https://indiatogether.org/chugging-along-in-the-name-of-sustainability-government/Kanchi Kohli raises questions on the Voluntary National Review report which shows India’s efforts to achieve seven of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals.Sun, 12 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/how-successful-has-been-the-sc-st-sub-plan-government/https://indiatogether.org/how-successful-has-been-the-sc-st-sub-plan-government/It has been more than 3 decades since the scheme of Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan was implemented. It was given statutory status by converting it into an Act in Karnataka in 2013. Kathyayini Chamaraj examines the promises of the scheme and Act and questions the outcomes.Sun, 01 Oct 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/throwing-good-money-after-bad-environment/https://indiatogether.org/throwing-good-money-after-bad-environment/Shripad Dharmadhikary critically examines the proposed push for hydro power projects in the recently released Draft National Energy Policy for public comments by NITI Aayog.Sat, 12 Aug 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/financing-urban-development-government/https://indiatogether.org/financing-urban-development-government/Several schemes to address different Indian urban issues are introduced by the government. Prachee Mishra discusses the fiscal and policy level challenges these schemes will encounter.Wed, 05 Jul 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/popularity-vs-performance-government/https://indiatogether.org/popularity-vs-performance-government/Pradeep Baisakh analyses a recently released report by human rights activists and civil society organizations to see how the present government has performed in the three years it has been in power.Mon, 19 Jun 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://indiatogether.org/overview-of-the-legal-issues-around-aadhaar-laws/https://indiatogether.org/overview-of-the-legal-issues-around-aadhaar-laws/Anviti Chaturvedi of PRS Legislative Research discusses how the Aadhaar project started, why the courts have stepped in to examine its legality, and some aspects of the recent judgement.Sun, 11 Jun 2017 00:00:00 GMT