Economy

When Chandra, in his late sixties, decided to invest his life’s savings in a house in Hyderabad, the builder promised to hand over possession of the new home in December 2018. But with the project nowhere near completion, Chandra has now been promised possession in March 2020. And lives in the hope that if even that date is not kept, the builder will pay him interest on the amount he has deposited, as the new Real Estate Regulation Act (RERA) mandates. Passed with much fanfare in 2016, RERA was supposed to protect home buyers like Chandra from unscrupulous builders, especially…

Supplying clothing to some of the major global brands, many garment factories have been paying a pittance to their workers. On May Day, Bengaluru’s garment factory workers, 90 percent of whom are women, demanded that companies pay them arrears as per the state government’s draft notification on wage hike last year. Hundreds of workers, mostly women marched from Kanteerava Stadium to Peenya, demanding action on issues ranging from poor pay, to working conditions to safety. The women held the protest under the banner of the Garment Labour Union (GLU). The union says that the companies in Bengaluru owe Rs 1862…

A G Mourya, retired IPS officer and Makkal Needhi Maiam candidate is contesting from Chennai North parliamentary constituency; rival candidates are DMK’s Dr Kalanidhi Veerasamy and DMDK’s former MLA Alagaapuram R Mohanraj. In a candid interview, A G Mourya, an MCC alumnus and the former Deputy Inspector General of Prisons, says he is confident of winning from the constituency, that had been a hot seat for the DMK for ten consecutive elections before 2014, when the AIADMK won it. Here are excerpts from the interview: How do you feel the transition from being a police officer to a politician? It…

India is in the midst of an acute unemployment crisis. Unemployment rate is at a 45-year high of 6.1 percent in 2017-18 as per the leaked Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report of the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO). According to the NSSO data, unemployment rate in urban areas is 7.8 percent with open unemployment of about 20 percent among the educated youth. In addition, majority in urban India work in the informal sector and are thus exposed to a host of risks and precarities. This, along with continued ecological degradation and crumbling urban infrastructure needs urgent attention. To address…

A first time Lok Sabha MP representing Chennai Central constituency, S R Vijaya Kumar is known for his impeccable record in Parliament. Chennai Central constituency consists of six assembly constituencies -- Villivakkam, Harbour, Egmore, Anna Nagar, Thousand Lights and Chepauk - Thiruvallikeni. S R Vijaya Kumar, 44 is an Advocate at the Madras High Court. He is an economics graduate from Kandaswamy Naidu College (1993-96). After completing a degree in Law from Dr Ambedkar Government Law College in 2001, Vijaya Kumar started practising at the Madras High Court.  In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Vijay Kumar (AIADMK) defeated Dayanidhi (DMK)…

The iconic Chennai Photo Biennale is drawing to a close this weekend. The event that showcases the work of 50 artists from 13 countries across the world has seen yet another successful run and will end on March 24, 2019.  A myriad activities that were part of the schedule included film screenings, workshops, interaction with artists and skill training. This year's exhibition saw the opening up of the exquisite Senate House to the public through the efforts of the organisers. With the Biennale winding up, here is what you can catch in the next few days! Biennale roundup Guided tours…

You see them every morning, all across the city. Pourakarmikas, pushing their rickety handcarts, sweeping the streets and collecting the garbage that residents, shops and others have just left by the roadside for them to clear. Bangalore actually needs many more of these unrecognised and overworked workers, who provide a truly essential service, keeping the city clean. But have you ever wondered what does their work mean to them? Is it a choice or a compulsion? Pourakarmikas toil in working conditions that are far from perfect, as numerous reports and studies have shown. Hired by contractors selected by the city…

“If these machines had been brought in before, my children’s papa would not have left them. Now they are not of any use to me, but they will at least be useful for other women. Their men will not die in the sewers. No one should have to suffer the way I do.” So saying, a visibly distressed Rani Kumari became silent. When I first met Rani late last year, she was sitting on the steps at a conference venue in Delhi, where she had come for an event organised by the Safai Karamchari Andolan, a nationwide movement to eradicate…

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had on January 21st released new tenders for Solid Waste Management( SWM) in Bengaluru city. However, the tender faced criticism from different quarters including several BBMP Corporators, Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA) and BBMP Contractors. As a result a committee was been constituted to study the tender and recommend changes, and the committee has now decided to go ahead with no changes in the tender. What does the new tender say ?  The new tender calls for proposals in all 198 BBMP wards for daily "Primary door-to-door collection and transportation of segregated wet waste,…

Over the Republic Day weekend, around 5000 Chennaiites flocked to an exhibition that showcased an art form that dates back to the days of the Indus Valley civilisation and is perhaps one of the oldest upcycling methods that has been traditionally and indigenously practised: Quilting. The first edition of the India Quilt Festival took place from 25- 27 January, 2019. The event, a pioneer in the space, featured competitions, stalls, workshops and lectures on quilting. Citizen Matters spoke to Varsha Sundararajan, one of the organisers of the fest. Does India have a special connection with quilting? India has a 4000-year-old…