Migrants walking during the lockdown was the defining image of the first wave of COVID-19.
Millions of migrants abandoned their temporary residences and belongings, along with their hopes and promises of a better future in an alien place, and started walking for their homes as a lockdown was announced with four hours’ notice. Some walked hundreds of miles, some even thousands of miles.
India has zero plans for building new towns; the only plans available are for urban redevelopment that yield juicy contracts. Redevelopment can accommodate only a tiny fraction of the prospective rise in the urban population. We simply need new towns. Building new towns is a great booster for overall growth.
The Union budget of India (2023-24) marked by ‘Growth, Green, Digital’ has been seriously debated over last 10 days after its presentation in the Parliament of India on 1-2-2023. The mainstream media has applauded ‘fiscal prudence’, massive investment infrastructure, cutting of fiscal subsidies, policy of disinvestment from public sector enterprises and tax cuts for ‘hard working’ middle class
The Center for Habitat, Urban and Regional Studies (CHURS), IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute, New Delhi hosted a book inauguration ceremony and an interactive lecture series on the topic titled “India's G20 Presidency & the Urban Agenda for Developing Countries” on February 13, 2023, at IIC Annex, New Delhi. The first session began with the formal launch of the book Cities in Transition, authored by Mr Tikender Singh Panwar, the former Deputy Mayor of Shimla and a Senior Fellow at IMPRI, in the presence of Mr Sitaram Yechury, former Rajya Sabha member and General Secretary, CPI (M) and Sandeep Chachra, Executive Director, ActionAid Association, India.
The IMPRI Center for International Relations and Strategic Studies (CIRSS) IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute, New Delhi hosted an interactive panel discussion on the topic “The Defence, Foreign Policy and Union Budget 2023-24” on 7 February 2023, under the IMPRI 3rd Annual Series of Thematic Deliberations and Analysis of Union Budget 2023-24, as part of the State of International Affairs – #DiplomacyDialogue. The discussion was opened by the chair, Dr Simi Mehta who is currently serving as the CEO and Editorial Director of IMPRI. She began with a brief introduction of how Defence and Foreign Policy play a crucial role in the Indian Budget and how it impacts the geopolitics of India.
The IMPRI Center for the Study of Finance and Economics (CSFE), IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute, New Delhi hosted an interactive panel discussion on the topic ‘New India’s Economic Transformation and Union Budget 2023-24’ on 6 February 2023, under the IMPRI 3rd Annual Series of Thematic Deliberations and Analysis of Union Budget 2023-24, as part of IMPRI #WebPolicyTalk.
It is estimated that there are more than one crore (10 million) delivery agents in the country today. They are not workers or employees; they are labelled as ‘delivery partners’ and ‘executives’. (Soon, they will be called GMs and MDs!). No labour laws cover them; they are treated as ’self-employed’. They have no stipulated working conditions. And, they still do not make minimum wages prescribed by law. These ‘aspirational’ youth of India earn less than Delhi’s minimum wages of 18-19,00 rupees per month for semi-skilled category. And, they have to own their own two-wheeler to earn this!