When a husband dies due to an accident, natural causes or illness, widows of ex-servicemen (ESM) are left in financial distress and social isolation. To support these women, RMEWF launched a scheme in August 2023 to provide financial assistance for vocational training. This scheme under the Armed Forces Flag Day Fund (AFFDF) is for widows of ESM up to the rank of Havildar or equivalent in the Army, Navy or Air Force.
Unregulated and accelerated urbanization has fueled the expansion of unauthorised colonies, particularly in major metropolitan areas. The issue is especially pronounced in Delhi, where large numbers of migrants have settled over the years without access to formal housing options. The significant consequences faced by residents living in unauthorised colonies: they do not own the land on which they live, and they cannot legally transfer it; and the service provisioning is usually insufficient. Nearly one-third of Delhi’s population resides in such colonies, which are deprived of civic amenities and secure tenure.
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.
Arushi Pathania Introduction It is safe to say that public policy is not just rooted in theory but is surrounded by actual negotiation and compromise. Policy formulation is never the work of government alone and involves stakeholder engagement and mapping…
The promulgation of the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 (ESI Act), by the Parliament, was the first major legislation on social Security for workers in independent India. It was a time when the industry was still in its early stages, and the country was heavily reliant on a variety of imported goods from developed or rapidly developing countries.
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).
The administrators and the privileged (haves) sing the chorus of development, in the symphony of this choir the 'have nots' lose their melody ( 'haves' are the wealthy class, while 'not haves' are the disadvantaged groups). This is to say that development means different for all, and must be acknowledged.