Category Center for Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development

Copy of Insights 2

Driving Out the Old: A Policy Analysis of India’s Vehicle Scrappage Policy – 2021

In 2021, the Government of India launched the V oluntary Vehicle-Fleet Modernization Programme (VVMP), commonly referred to as the Vehicle Scrappage Policy, with a threefold ambition: to improve road safety, reduce urban air pollution, and kick-start a domestic circular economy for vehicle materials. The policy couples regulatory instruments with financial incentives and institution-building to formalize how “end-of-life” vehicles (ELVs) are retired and recycled.

India-Bangladesh counterterrorism Information Sharing

India–Bangladesh: Counterterrorism Information Sharing

India- Bangladesh share South Asia’s longest border, sharing landmass with over 4000 km running across states like West Bengal, Tripura, and Assam, as well as riverine porous terrain. This historical geography has enabled illegal migration, human trafficking, insurgent safe havens, and extremist networks. In the 1990s and early 2000s, concerning extremist networks such as the United Liberation Front Asom (ULFA) and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) often used Bangladeshi soil for shelter, while Bangladeshi groups like Jamaat-Ul-Mujahdeen Bangladesh (JMB) exploited Indian territories for recruitment and logistics to and from.

Land-Use Change

Land-Use Change and the Challenge of Urban Planning in India

The review of master plans is never simply a technical exercise. It involves balancing strategies  for transportation networks, housing, infrastructure, social amenities, open spaces, urban design,  environmental management, and phased implementation. Yet in India, this process is  complicated by the fact that planners have limited influence over the most decisive factor of all:  land use. 

Dehradun

From Valley to Vanity: The Unravelling of Dehradun’s Ecological Identity

I arrived in Dehradun as a resident in 2012, drawn by its quiet charm, forested trails and the promise of Himalayan serenity. Back then, the city still carried echoes of Ruskin Bond’s prose—gentle rains, whispering pines and winters that brought snowfall to Mussoorie like clockwork.

Communities

Science by, of and for Communities

Water is a theme that I am keenly interested in focusing on. I have attempted to engage with water systems and treatment in various ways; During my internship at WELL Labs in Bengaluru (2025), I worked on irrigation mapping in Raichur, Karnataka, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Soil Health Card Scheme: Cultivating Sustainability in Indian Agriculture

Soil Health Card Scheme: Cultivating Sustainability in Indian Agriculture

The Soil Health Card Scheme was inaugurated by Hon’able Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi Ji on February 19, 2015 at Suratgarh, Rajasthan, with the motto “Swasth Dharaa, Khet Haraa” (Healthy Earth, Healthy Farm)

Rickshaws

Electric Rickshaws in Uttar Pradesh: Lifesaver or Burden? A Comparison Between Metro and Transitional Cities

The electric rickshaw (e-rickshaw) has rapidly transformed the urban mobility landscape  in Uttar Pradesh (UP). Initially introduced as a low-cost, battery-powered solution for  short-distance travel, it has now become one of the most visible symbols of India’s e mobility transition. As of FY 2025, UP accounts for nearly 38% of national electric three wheeler sales, with over 266,000 registered units.

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