Category Policy Update

From Lunar Triumph to Enlightened Minds: A Call to Revise GST on Education & Training Services for Scientific Advancement

In the global quest for excellence, India's strides in scientific and technological advancements have drawn international attention. As the nation strives to ascend to new heights, fostering scientific temper and knowledge acumen becomes paramount. A significant leap towards this goal lies in the rationalization of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate on education and training services, with a special focus on scientific and technological education. The current rate of 18% should be revisited and reduced to 5%, facilitating broader knowledge dissemination and innovation across the country.

Carbon tax- a genuine concern for climate or just a way to fight back?

The most important issue of our day is climate change, and this is a pivotal period. The effects of  climate change are unparalleled in magnitude, ranging from shifting climates that endanger food  production to increasing sea levels that increase the likelihood of catastrophic flooding. Without  immediate action now, future adaptation to these effects will be more challenging and cost prohibitive. 

Off-Budget Borrowing: What it is?

The relevance of understanding the fiscal position of India and its states is always complex as well as interestingly pertinent. Here we will have a closer look at the concept of Off-budget borrowing and its correlated effects on the public finance. The policy insight here mainly discusses about the key idea of extra budget borrowings which is not really discussed across the economic literature though there is a rising relevance in the Indian public finance. We also discuss why government go for the off-budget borrowings from a fundamental axis by looking at some of the examples and case studies in Indian economy with a specific example of the state of Kerala. It also sheds some light on questions like why extra borrowing could be a problem and, if it becomes a threat, what is the generic way out?

Affordable Rental Housing Scheme (ARHC): State of Play

The Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHC) scheme was introduced in July 2020 by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, as a part of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana—Urban (PMAY-U). The reverse migration brought on by the COVID pandemic-induced lockdown is what brought attention to ARHC’s mission to provide rental homes for the urban poor and migrants. The PMAY-U mission phase and the ARHC plan both end in March 2022. This article evaluates the present condition of the plan’s implementation—its evolving modalities, stakeholder participation, and current status—given its significance as India’s first national rental housing scheme with only a few months left to call for bids and award projects.

GDP:  Not  a Significant Indicator for Inclusive Growth

The article highlights how the Indian economy has restructured itself from the 1950s from a poor economy to the current emerging world's fifth-largest economy supported by GDP growth as the focus has been on multidimensional and inclusive growth. It has been reported by NITI Aayog’s multi-dimensional poverty report that there has been a steep decline in poverty over a period of time but rural and urban disparity still exists. So, to overcome the challenges of inequality several multisectoral approaches are being undertaken along with an emphasis on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 1 of reducing poverty and SDG 10 of reducing income inequalities. Steps are being taken by the government for poverty alleviation, inclusive healthcare, sustainable development, financial inclusion, intragenerational equity, and inclusive education for the equitable growth of all sections of the economy. Moreover, to attain balanced growth in terms of both economic and non-economic aspects, various remedial measures have been discussed to achieve multi-faceted and compounded growth.  

In Between Involution & Laying Flat

The second part of the article seeks to understand the side of the Chinese youth specifically students- who "call attention to issues" that require states to change their behaviour by "carving in external pressure" to conform. There are "critical junctures" in every norm cycle- comprising of norm emergence, diffusion and internalisation- where an entrenched norm can be uprooted and replaced and China is clearly heading towards one (Bloomfield, 2016) - The question remains whether the youth will seize it or continue living in the permanent liminality of living on the limit despite being at the gate of social reaggregation because crises have the ability to break down roles and overturn culturally sanctioned functions and relations. (Mälksoo, 2012). Involution and Laying Flat is examined by looking at it in the field of education, as the critical juncture.

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