Economy

Everyone in Bengaluru city is a consumer of goods or services. Goods are purchased and services sought on an ongoing basis. The common man is however not always aware of his / her right as a consumer and ends up living with substandard or poor service. This programme is organised by Co Media Lab (a joint initiative Radio Active CR 90.4 MHz & Citizen Matters initiative) in association with Consumer Care Society, Bengaluru. Where: Radio Active, 1/1-1, Atria Towers, next to Raddison Blu (earlier Atria), Palace Road When: Saturday 4th November 2017, 9:30 am to 1pm Register here: comedialab.in/consumer-workshop-1415 This…

So you won’t live for another 115 years, but your house may. Even the angry monsoon waters that have hit Indian cities real hard this year - from Bengaluru to Mumbai to Gurugram -- might decide to break the record and roll in even faster and more furious next year. While they don't always make it to the headlines, many homes have got damaged due to the floods, and you certainly don't want your home to feature in that list. So why don’t you plan to insure it? Let’s begin. What is home insurance, anyway? It isn’t about being sure…

Three months have passed since the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was applied to housing societies/apartment associations, yet protests and confusion prevail. Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) collect monthly charges from residents, to provide goods/services for their common use. Now RWAs have to register under GST and pay tax on the monthly charges they collect; this tax burden is passed on to residents. So, instead of being the end consumer, the association is seen as a service provider to the residents. Association has to pay taxes to the vendor while buying the product, and then collect taxes from residents on maintenance…

The recent astronomical hike in tomato prices in the city weighed heavily on the household budgets of many Bengalureans. Here’s a look at some reactions to this price shock: “I usually go to the Yeshwanthpur city market to buy vegetables because it's much cheaper to buy from there. I was buying ½ kg of tomato when the prices shot up instead of my usual purchase of 2-3 kgs per week. The prices of vegetables fluctuate so much. On the day the rate is cheaper, I buy in bulk and preserve the vegetables at home.” - Housekeeping staff at a private company.…

The survey of street vendors in south zone was to have taken place in the south zone between 25th September and 28th September. The survey has started in several wards but is not complete and in fact has been called off. Additionally there are several issues in how it has been done. In Some wards like ward 170, it has happened as per guidelines however in a lot of other places its not done. Here are some issues: 1) Not enough forms: In ward 123 and 168, there have not been enough forms. We are not sure if the forms…

What are Employment Exchanges? An Employment Exchange is a government establishment which offers employment support to the unemployed youth on the basis of their educational qualification and work experience. The Department of Employment and Training, Karnataka looks after Employment Exchanges in the State including the offices in Bengaluru. Exchanges act as a bridge between the job seekers and the employers. They inform about the vacancies in public and private sector to the job seekers and pass on the information/data of the job seekers to the employers - both government and private - which the employers may use whenever there is…

Having lost their significance over the years, Employment Exchanges are in dire need of a revamp that will make them suit the changing employment trends and unemployment patterns. During the course of working on this series, what I gathered from talking to officials is, in Karnataka seemingly there is no full-fledged plan yet to revamp the Employment Exchanges. However, some attempts have been and are being made by governments of the times to make Employment Exchanges relevant. In 2008, Employment Exchange offices were given a major task of organising job fairs. Since then, the Directorate of Employment and Training considers…

With gradual decline in the number of job seekers approaching Bengaluru’s Employment Exchange offices in last two decades, these units which function under the State government’s Directorate of Employment Exchange and Training have started losing the significance that they once enjoyed. Sanath Kumar, Employment Officer at school dropout section in the Bengaluru’s Employment Exchange office recalls the days when the number of job seekers per day in the capital city used to be anywhere between 1,000 and 1,500. That was the kind of registration spree taking place in late 90’s. School drop out section’s live register then used to have…

In ‘Pratidwandi’, a Bengali movie directed by Satyajit Ray in 1972, there comes a scene almost at the end of the film, where the protagonist Siddhartha Choudhari waits outside the interview room hoping to get a job. The corridor is crowded. There are 75 applicants for four available positions and the applicants end up waiting for more than three hours, most of them standing on the corridors in the absence of chairs. The scene reflected the unemployment problem that plagued India in 70s and how well qualified people had to slog to get a job. Like ‘Pratidwandi,’ several other movies…

I’m not quite sure why I chose to volunteer at the Dastkar Mela. There was this exhibition held between 11th and 20th August 2017, at Manpho Convention Centre, Spectrum Grounds 1 & 2, near Nagawara in Bengaluru. But nobody else I knew was volunteering, so it wasn’t as though I’d get to have a fun filled day with friends. The only reason I can think of now, is that when I got to hear about the mela, I was relaxing after a long, tiring shopping spree at the mall. Seeing attendants busily arranging displays, putting clothes back on racks, and…