Category Centres

Child Labour: Status and Policy in India

Child labour in India persists primarily due to poverty, unemployment, and socio-economic conditions forcing children to contribute to family income. Urban migration exacerbates this issue, leading to children taking up menial work. Due to insufficient government reporting, reliance is placed on various NGOs' reports. Government efforts, such as the National Child Labour Project (NCLP), have faltered due to funding deficiencies, leading to the closure of schools meant for rehabilitated child labourers. A significant issue remains the employment of children above 14 years in hazardous work, affecting their schooling and future job prospects. The author suggests incorporating trade learning and skill development to better engage children above 14 years in schooling and improve their job opportunities.

Consumer Dilemma: Facing High Tariffs or Rising Temperatures

The political economy of power pricing discourages the utility to purchase high-cost power, even if that results in load shedding. Heat waves make load shedding unpopular. The alternative is to bite the bullet and raise tariffs

“Outrage over outages” — headlines like these strafe even the election-reinforced cocoon of citizen comfort in city after city, as unusually severe temperatures scorch India. At the same time, much of the installed gas-based generation capacity lies idle in the country. Blame the political economy. By aggressively pursuing the current strategy of adding ever more renewable energy capacity, without any complementary investment in storage, India will face ever-rising shortages of power, even as precious generation capacity lies idle.

India’s Strategy Amidst China’s Growing Presence in South Asia

Despite stating that it does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, China has made it an art to coerce countries that receive aid from it. Previously, China demanded deference from other countries to the “One China” policy with regard to Taiwan, Tibet and on its South China Sea disputes with South-East Asian nations.

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