Category Insights

Insights, a blog published by IMPRI.

Rethinking India’s Urban Agenda in the Context of the G-20 Presidency

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.

Taking Defence Beyond the Borders

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.

New India’s Economic Transformation and Union Budget 2023-24

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.

Towards an Inclusive Imagination of Citizenship

While we are all proud of India's democracy, few of us actually bother to fund any political party. We are content to let parties fund themselves by mobilizing funds as they traditionally have from the time of the freedom struggle, when industrialists like G D Birla used to fund the Congress. But most such funding was informal, with no structured, transparent disclosure of who funded which party to what extent.
Citizenship has evolved from the city-states of ancient Greece and perhaps from the republics or ganas of ancient India to finally emerge as the cornerstone of representative democracy in the twentieth century. Today the idea of citizenship is undergoing several transformations. Mindful of its long history, we need to ensure that our re-imaginations help us escape the past and embrace new futures.

The Hardships of Delivery

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!

The Air India Deal: A Tale of Government in Corporate Affairs

Air India is a commercial airline, albeit newly privatized. Boeing, Airbus, GE, Rolls Royce, and CFM International are all commercial operations. Yet this commercial deal among commercial entities has excited three heads of states, of the US, France, and India, to make joyous announcements, video presentations, and long-distance phone calls attesting to mutual cooperation. Business, after all, does seem to be the business of governments, especially when it is big enough.

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