GENRE: Explainers

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities The gruesome rape and murder of a veterinarian in Hyderabad recently shocked our country. But after the dust settles, the question that would be asked of a dead woman is “What was she doing out so late in the night?” As working professionals and contributing members of society, women shouldn’t have to answer this question at all. But we don't live in a perfect world. Hence the law needed to step in to protect women who work at night. In 2002, state government amended the Karnataka…

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities An alarming number of women have been subjected to violence and abuse in the private and public sphere over the ages, and the incidents reported are on the rise. Survivors of such trauma often require assistance on multiple fronts,  seeking medical, legal and emotional support.  State-operated emergency helplines that women can dial in times of crisis have been set up at various levels over the years, providing emergency services, police intervention, medical and legal assistance.  In addition to this, Chennai is home to various non-profit organisations…

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities In 2018 alone, there were 53 dowry deaths in Bengaluru, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. Bengaluru was also the metro with the highest number of dowry deaths in south India that year, and the city where the highest number of dowry harassment cases were filed. If you suffer dowry harassment, sexual abuse, or other forms of violence within or outside your home, what options do you have? There are many helplines in Bengaluru that offer services like shelter, counselling, legal support, help securing employment…

Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) is facing a personnel crunch. The city only has 4,638 traffic police personnel for a vehicle population of over 80 lakhs. As per a 2015 report of the Home Ministry's Bureau of Police Research and Development, there should be one traffic police personnel for every 700 vehicles. By that yardstick, Bengaluru has a traffic cop shortage of almost 54 percent. In addition to the challenges in managing traffic, this also means difficult working conditions for the constables who man our roads. Imagine standing eight hours in Bengaluru traffic, not following a regular timetable of shifts, with…

Picture this. You could sell your paper waste for the highest market rate; contact local scrap dealers and sell your discarded plastic containers, unused bags and slippers and even buy compost at dirt cheap rates. All online. Waste management and recycling in the city just got easier with the launch of India’s first web portal-cum-mobile application for waste trading, called Madras Waste Exchange . On December 3 2019, Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) Commissioner, G Prakash inaugurated the website that is developed under the Smart City Mission. Three weeks after the launch, Citizen Matters Chennai spoke to Azhagu Pandiaraja M P,…

Last month, the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) released a Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) for Bengaluru. You have till January 5th to send in your suggestions and objections to the plan. Set in three phases, CMP is expected to be implemented between 2020 and 2035. What are the key suggestions and projects in the CMP? It's heartening that pedestrian infrastructure - which had been ignored in previous mobility plans - makes an appearance in this one. But what's most striking is that the elevated corridor project, which the government had shelved after major citizen protests, makes a sudden comeback…

Indian Constitution guarantees the right to free movement to all citizens. But in Bengaluru, pedestrians are an endangered lot. Of the top eight metros in India, Bengaluru has the third highest number of pedestrian fatalities. This is not surprising given that about 60 percent of our mobility budget focuses on road construction and expansion. In the absence of safe footpaths, zebra crossings, and accessible skywalks, pedestrians are prone to jaywalking, putting themselves as well as motorists in danger. If policy makers continue to invest in infrastructure for motorised transport as opposed to that for walking and other non-motorised transport, we…

As responsible citizens, we need to realize that safe driving is in the interest of each of us, and our safety is not the responsibility of the government or of anyone else. The sooner we accept this fact, the better. Earlier this year, the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act 2019 was passed by the government with a view to strengthening road safety. The new law sets out much harsher penalties for violation of traffic rules, but even after that we see newspaper headlines on accidents across the country almost every other day. Many of these could have been clearly avoided if…

Translated by Sandhya Raju ஆஃப்கானிஸ்தான், பங்களாதேஷ், பாகிஸ்தான் ஆகிய நாடுகளிலிருந்து 2014 ஆம் ஆண்டு டிசம்பர் 31-ம் தேதிக்கு முன் இந்தியாவிற்குள் சட்டவிரோதமாக நுழைந்தவர்கள் ஹிந்து, சீக்கிய, புத்த, ஜெயின், பார்ஸி, கிறிஸ்துவ மதத்தை சேர்ந்தவர்களாக இருப்பின், குடியுரிமை திருத்த சட்டம், 2019(CAA) படி இந்திய குடிமகனாக விண்ணப்பிக்க தகுதியானவர்கள். 1995 ஆம் ஆண்டு ஏற்படுத்தப்பட்ட சட்டத்தின் படி, இந்திய குடியுரிமை பெற குறைந்த பட்சம் பதினோரு ஆண்டுகள் இந்தியாவில் வசித்திருக்க வேண்டும் (அல்லது மத்திய அரசாங்கத்த்தில் பணி புரிந்திருக்க வேண்டும்). இப்போழுது மேற்கொள்ளப்பட்டுள்ள சட்ட திருத்ததின் படி, மேலே குறிப்பிடப்பட்டுள்ள மூன்று நாடுகளிலிருந்து இடம் பெயர்ந்த மேற்கூறிய ஆறு மதங்களை சேர்ந்தவர்களுக்கு இந்த கால கட்டம் தற்போது ஐந்து ஆண்டுகளாக குறைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. இந்திய குடியுரிமை சட்ட திருத்தம் பற்றி அரசு கூறுவது என்ன? இந்த மூன்று நாடுகளிலிருந்து மத துன்புறுத்தல் காரணமாக தப்பித்து அகதிகளாக இந்தியாவில் தஞ்சம் புகுந்தவர்களுக்கு…

As the central and state governments seek to boost startups and create a startup culture, there has been a spurt in young entrepreneurs experimenting with innovative ideas that will become the next unicorn. In 2019 alone, over 1300 startups were registered in the country. India currently has around 8900 startups in the technology domain alone. While a good number of new ventures are centred around technologies like artificial intelligence, other fields too are seeing a host of startups, some examples being YourStory, a startup about startups, legal-tech startups such as Leegality and startups focusing on social issues like Think Niti,…