India performs poorly in most of the health indicators. Yet, there isn’t much popular demand for a robust healthcare system. In this episode, Apurva Kumar and Sarthak Pradhan look at the state of public health in India and examine...
India’s power generation capacity is underutilized, and the Indian consumer is still underserved. In this episode, Jisha Cherian talks to Sarthak Pradhan about how the Indian power sector works and some possible ways to reform it. Jisha is an engineering...
India’s welfare architecture has changed over time. But have these changes been for the better? Apurva Kumar and Sarthak Pradhan discuss the evolution of welfare systems in India. Here are some articles referred to in the podcast: https://ceda.ashoka.edu.in/new-welfarism-and-the-child-in-india-new-evidence-from-the-nfhs/ https://www.ideasforindia.in/topics/macroeconomics/new-welfarism-old-wine-new-bottles.html...
As we record this episode, residents in East Delhi are facing an acute water shortage. The shortages come soon after the Delhi Government went to the Supreme Court against the state of Haryana, highlighting the increasingly polluted and depleted water...
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change invited comments on the Demand for Grants in Budget 2021-22. The following document presents an analysis of the overall budgetary trends across the concerned ministries and departments...
Does the government’s demand for funds actually match the outcomes it has promised? The department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology has tabled its report on the demand for grants by the seven ministries and departments under its...
Mumbai, one of the most densely populated cities, is reeling under growing levels of air pollution. Compared to 27 other cities globally, Mumbai bears some of the highest costs as a percentage of the GDP because of air pollution-related...
State Finance Commissions (SFC), constitutional bodies that recommend allocating resources between state and local governments, have had a chequered history in India. In yet another attempt to revive these institutions, the Fifteenth Union Finance Commission (15th UFC) recommended that the...
A major highlight of the Budget 2021-22 was the 137% increase in the budget allocation towards health. Sunila Dixit talks to Sarthak Pradhan and Apurva Kumar about the details of this hike and how this year’s budget compares with...
This year’s budget included several welcome steps such as higher infrastructure funding and a greater allocation to healthcare. It also included newer ways to raise resources, such as the use of asset monetisation. The budget’s drawbacks included higher import duties...
