Economy

At 51 years, N C Bhatra, a migrant labourer in Chennai, finds the 20-hour train journey to his hometown in Puri, Odisha, arduous and costly. So much so that he has limited his trips home to see his wife and two children to just one or two times a year. Bhatra had migrated from Puri to Chennai in 1996. Reserving a ticket in the sleeper coach was much easier then, he says. But over the past five years, he has never been able to book tickets directly as they get sold out much faster.  “To get a ticket nowadays, I…

The desire of citizens for effective governance has enabled a stunning victory for the Congress, the current government in power. But are they in danger of losing the goodwill placed in them by the people?  For instance, the latest suggestion to allegedly ease the globally notorious traffic congestion in Bengaluru is to create double-decker flyovers along the proposed metro lines so that private vehicles go above the metro. If there is a metro along the route already, where is the need for a flyover above it? Is this not a reversal of the idea of elevated corridors, which was put on the back…

Think of BBMP and the first thing that pops up in your mind is roads and potholes. After an evening of rains you might think of stormwater drains, and when the garbage piles up of solid waste management (SWM). However, these are only some (of the main) parts of BBMP’s duties. How the money is split A look at their budget and how the money is spent on different headers gives an idea of the functions of BBMP. The main headers for budget allocations and their functions in brief are: HeaderDescription of FunctionCouncilPayment for corporators, ex-corporators, mayor, deputy mayor, etc.General…

Akbar Hussain, a 60-year-old who lives with his wife inside the Koyambedu bus stand, waits in line amidst tens of labourers in Koyambedu for his turn to be called for work. "If I come and stand in this line, there is a chance of me finding a job for the day and there is also a certainty that I will find food for me and my wife," he says. A native of Kallakuruchi, Akbar was working in a tea shop until COVID-19. As the tea shop was closed during the pandemic, Akbar and his wife found it difficult to make…

“I was so happy when the bank sent the test amount of Rs 1. It means I have been selected for the scheme”, says Lakshmi V, a resident of NSC Bose Road, on being eligible to receive monthly cash assistance of Rs 1000 under the newly launched Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai scheme. In the fiscal year 2023-2024, the Tamil Nadu government has taken a significant step towards women's empowerment with the launch of the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai scheme. This initiative aims to extend the benefits of the State Government's Universal Basic Income Program to nearly one million women across…

The advent of technology and concomitant digitalisation has unleashed new business models and working arrangements in urban centres. The gig and platform economy are at the heart of this structural transformation of jobs, disrupting sectors like ride-hailing transport services, profession, education, home services and retail. I refer to this as ‘Digihenheimer’- a counter phenomenon to regular paid jobs. Definition of Gig Workers In the Niti Aayog (2022) report, gig workers are defined as those engaged in livelihoods outside the traditional employer-employee arrangement. They can be broadly classified into platform and non-platform-based workers. Platform workers are individuals whose work is based…

The auditorium was packed with women dressed in their best, clutching umbrellas. The week-long rainy weather and the challenge of getting to the venue, St Joseph’s College of Commerce, during the evening rush hour did not deter members of the Domestic Workers’ Rights Union from gathering there on July 26th to hold a public hearing to air grievances and demand their rights. One by one, domestic workers walked onto the stage to give testimony and speak about their challenges while officer bearers of the union provided the context. The women raised several issues, including wage theft, false criminalisation and police…

At the recently held BBMP – Work Orders, Budgets and Processes Datajam, a group of citizen volunteers analysed the data available in the public domain, here are their observations and suggestions on BBMP’s cess collection. To:Sri. Nagaraj SherigarBBMP Additional Commissioner (Finance) Dear Sir, We are a group of citizen volunteers who would like to share our observations and suggestions on BBMP’s cess collection. Observations: We attempted to find out how much cess and surcharge was being collected each year by BBMP based on the agency’s cess receipts and where it was spent. The team found that although typically cess forms…

The Karnataka state budget, with a total outlay of Rs 3.27 lakh crore, presented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on July 7th, was expected to deliver on the five guarantees.  But Bengalureans were also looking forward to what the city's share would be in the budget and if it would be any different from allocations made by previous governments. The new government has often emphasised its commitment to improving the city’s infrastructure. The recent launch of ‘Brand Bengaluru’, a portal to seek suggestions from residents for the city’s development, can be considered a step in that direction. As was expected, the state…

For the past three years, Anjana’s family of seven has had only one earning member. Anjana and her father, both workers at India United No. 5, a National Textile Corporation (NTC) mill in Mumbai, have been without work ever since the mills closed down during the COVID pandemic. Her brother works at a vegetable store. Expectedly, the income is not sufficient to run the household. “I dropped out after class 9 and started working at the mill in 2019 because the family needed more income. Once COVID happened, the mill closed down. We got full salaries for two to three…