Policy UpdatePragya Raghav Background Kerala’s welfare delivery operates in a state where geography, demography and social needs make reaching people effectively particularly important. Spread across 38,863 sq km and home to nearly 3.6 crore people, Kerala combines a densely populated…
Chhattisgarh, carved out of Madhya Pradesh in November 2000, covers 1,35,192 sq km, the 9th largest state in India, and had a 2011 Census population of 2.55 crore, of which 30.6 percent belong to Scheduled Tribes and 76.8 percent live in rural areas (Forest Survey of India, 2019). Nearly 44 percent of the state is under forest cover, concentrated in the Naxal-affected Bastar and Surguja divisions, which makes last-mile welfare delivery in scattered, forested, low-density habitations a central governance challenge.
Accessible and affordable public transportation is an important feature of inclusive development. It allows individuals to take part in the education system as well as access essential services like job placement and health services thereby encouraging economic participation. However, the cost of daily travel often places a financial burden on low- and middle-income households , especially women who have to use public transport to travel around. This may act as a discouragement for women to gain education, seek formal employment, become entrepreneurs, and engage in public activities. Therefore, it reinforces the existing gender inequalities.
As stated in an IMPRI Policy Insights piece by TK Arun, (Arun T. K., 2026), Mountains are potential mines! This cogent statement seamlessly highlights an ideological threat that has the potential to manifest into an ecological one. As four states, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi share one of Earth’s oldest geological structures, they each uptake non-uniform definitions in defining the hills. Thus, allowing loopholes as sanctions for mining in the Aravallis.
Women constitute nearly half of the world's population, making their participation essential for achieving any meaningful development agenda. Yet women and girls continue to face barriers in education, healthcare, employment, political participation, financial inclusion and decision-making.
In the world of information technology, digitality has seeped into battlespaces and has found its place within the world of security as well
The Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Order, 2000 has for over two decades formed the legal backbone of household cooking fuel regulation in India. Issued by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas under Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, the Order governs how LPG connections are granted, how cylinders are distributed through government oil marketing companies, and how misuse of subsidised domestic LPG is prevented. Through the year 2026, the Ministry issued two significant amendments to this Order, each responding to a different aspect of India's changing cooking fuel landscape. The first amendment, notified on 14 March 2026, introduced a prohibition on the dual holding of LPG and Piped Natural Gas (PNG) connections by the same household. The second amendment, notified on 25 May 2026, eased the transition process for consumers who move from LPG to PNG by allowing them either to formally terminate their LPG connection or to obtain a transfer voucher that permits restoration of LPG supply if they later shift to an area without PNG infrastructure.