Economy

In an essay, ‘A Tale of Three cities and the search for Dharma’, sociologist and author Arshia Sattar examines the three cities depicted in the epic Ramayana. Ayodhya, the human city, Kishkindha, the monkey city and finally Lanka, the rakshasa city, each governed by codes of behaviour depending on who resides in them. As she puts it, in the cities, “ways of being and doing are determined and unalterable”. The ‘codes’ in each city are remarkably different, each allowing for a different kind of morality and way to live. The only similarity between them is that each upholds a certain…

Have you ever wondered, where does the food on your table come from? Ok, you bought it from a local grocery or a neighbourhood supermarket, but where was this produce actually grown? As India’s urban population spikes, so does its food requirement. India’s 377-million urban population is expected to grow by another 300 million by 2050 and yet, agricultural land is rapidly shrinking in urban areas, leaving city dwellers increasingly reliant on rural farmers for meeting their sustenance requirements. Transported across long distances and handled by several middlemen, the price of rural produce shoots up by the time it actually…

For long, Information Technology was the blue-eyed poster boy of Indian industry. It brought in foreign exchange, employed millions and made sure we were part of the new world. Manufacturing, which had kept Tamil Nadu going for decades, was suddenly passé and lost its sheen. Nobody wanted to work with machines, in factory spaces, filled with unionised labour. In contrast to that, the world of IT was hugely attractive. But that scenario may soon change, for the worse. The nature of the industry has suddenly undergone a change. Gone are the days when IT companies required millions of coders, 50…

RJ Priyanka and Geetha Menon of Stree Jagriti Samiti interact with some women domestic workers to understand more about their demands for basic things like ID cards, monthly pensions and humane treatment. These women were protesting at Karmikara Bhavana recently. Geetha Menon spoke with representatives of Gruhakarmikara Hakkugala union which has been working with domestic helpers, both part-time or full time. Their demand is that domestic workers be treated in a humane manner and be considered as service providers not servants or slaves. They talk about harassments and disparities. The four major demands that the workers were protesting for were:…

June 16, 2011, was a landmark day for domestic workers the world over. The Convention C 189 was passed, giving domestic workers the world over increased hope of legislative and social justice. Eighteen countries have ratified the Convention so far, but the Indian government has remained non-committal. Domestic workers in India have had to fight long and hard for basic rights. Stree Jagriti Samithi is a women's organization that works for the rights of women who are domestic helpers. It addresses problems faced by these women be it in terms of wages or allegations of stealing or other aspects. Parijatha…

Whether as “India’s Great Migration Challenge,” or its “landmark tax reform” or the current government’s “most significant legacy,” the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax, in short GST, has hogged media headlines for a considerable while now. There are news flashes about the different tax rates fixed for specific goods and services, various discussions on its likely impact on the Indian economy as well as debates over the basic wisdom of the form in which it is currently going to be implemented. With an overload of information and analysis, the common man cannot be blamed if he feels slightly…

“In Bihar, having your own startup is not a common thing. People mostly want government jobs, because that brings security. According to me, they do not understand. There are many other things out there in the world.” With these words, Ravi Kumar certainly counters the Bihari stereotype. Passionate about technology, he and his friend Anshu Kumari founded “RK Crystal” in Patna, where they provide students with the practical skills necessary to work in the technology industry. They began to consider this when Anshu struggled with her application to a company. “I went there for work experience, but they told me…

Every day we produce tonnes of organic waste – banana peels, potato skins, egg shells, and wasted food – that all get dumped into the dustbin. Most of us give no second thought to where this garbage is going, let alone the people who come to whisk it out of our lives. Pic: Sanaya Katrak A candid chat with the group of garbage collectors doing their rounds in Green Glen Layout, Bellandur every morning, offered a peek into their daily encounters. They were immensely grateful for even the chilled bottle of water given to them as they willingly talked of…

The Karnataka government passed an order on May 2, 2017 capping prices of movie tickets at Rs 200, based on the proposal made in the 2017 budget. A lot of Bengalureans whine about the exorbitant prices of movie tickets in multiplexes, and were happy with this move. Prices of movies tickets were quite high in Bengaluru, sometimes reaching 700-800 rupees for a blockbuster release on a weekend. Though, more commonly, one would have to pay Rs 300-400 for a movie ticket in a multiplex. Many people found this unaffordable as they could not make as many visits to the multiplex…

Ajay Gopi greets you with a shy, heart-warming smile. As is usual, the now twenty-year-old is accompanied by his camera – photography is one of his greatest passions. As he happily chats away, one is hardly likely to suspect that he is quietly working to revolutionise Indian farming systems. In fact, Ajay is the founder of “Hands on Agriculture”, which aims to establish aquaponics as a less water-dependent alternative to conventional farming. His journey began with countering his parents’ explicit will. Ajay recounts that his father wanted to make him an electrician, but he had other ideas. “My wish was…