Strengthening Regulatory Governance in India: The Role of Risk-Based Inspection Systems
Should every business be inspected in the same way?Imagine two food businesses operating under the same regulatory framework.
Category Public Finances and Macroeconomics
This Raksha Bandhan, UP Should Extend MMJAA to All Women Voters (18-69 Years) for Real Nari Shakti
Manorama BakshiArjun Kumar On Raksha Bandhan, threads of silk and cotton are tied across millions of households in Uttar Pradesh to signify care, responsibility, and mutual protection. Beyond these traditional rituals, the occasion provides an important moment to examine what…
National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (NARCL), 2021: Assessing India’s Bad Bank Strategy for Resolving Stressed Assets
In the Economic Survey 2016–17, the idea of a centralised ‘bad bank' for India was first floated on the background of legacy non-performing assets (NPAs) that had built up in the public sector banks as a result of the infrastructure and corporate loan surge between 2008 and 2014. The idea of a ‘bad bank' is to buy and manage the stressed assets so that banks can realign their balance sheets and concentrate on their core business of lending and specialised institutions can focus on value recovery.
Atal Pension Yojana (2015-2026): Assessing a Decade of India’s Pension Push
The Atal Pension Yojana (APY) was introduced in 2015 as a voluntary pension scheme to address a pressing gap in India's social security system. It was originally launched as the Swavalamban Yojana under the UPA government before being relaunched and renamed Atal Pension Yojana in 2015 and thus, giving the scheme a stronger and wider reach. This shift was necessary because most Indian workers exist outside formal employment. As a result, they do not receive employer-linked pension benefits, which leaves them with limited financial security after retirement. To address this, Atal Pension Yojana was designed to encourage retirement savings among this segment in order for subscribers to become entitled to a guaranteed monthly pension once they turn sixty.
Transforming India’s Credit Ecosystem through the Unified Lending Interface (ULI)(2025)
India's financial inclusion landscape has witnessed significant transformations over the last decade, primarily driven by the expansion of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). While the combination of Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile (JAM) accounts and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) successfully democratized the payments ecosystem, a critical structural challenge remained unsolved: the formal credit gap.
Atmanirbhar Panchayat Programme: Can Fiscal Autonomy Strengthen Grassroots Democracy?
The 73rd Constitutional Amendment gave Panchayati Raj Institutions constitutional status and strengthened the framework for decentralised governance. However, effective local self-government also requires financial capacity. Article 243H of the Constitution enables State legislatures to authorise Panchayats to levy, collect and appropriate taxes, duties, tolls and fees, and to provide for the assignment of revenues and grants to them. Thus, the constitutional framework recognises fiscal capacity as an important component of effective local self-government. Continued dependence on government grants, however, can limit the ability of Panchayats to respond independently to local priorities.
Building a Healthier Rajasthan: The Economics of Health Assurance
Manorama BakshiArjun Kumar India cannot claim first-world economic productivity while its citizens remain exposed to third-world, catastrophic medical bills. Healthcare shocks routinely force households to sell assets, take on debt and cut essential spending, trapping families in a cycle of…