Economy

The G20 Presidency rotation among middle income countries is expected to give a voice to poor nations. The Finance Track aims to address debt crises and climate finance gaps, but obstacles from developed nations have led India's Presidency to focus on softer options.

We cannot any longer afford to live under the illusion that we alone possess the only true perspective of the world and that this can just be handed over in readymade form to the others. For a genuine unity-in-difference to take place, it is necessary to establish a mode of conversation between diverse transformative movements from below that can allow for changing ourselves while changing society.

The international financial institutions (IFIs) contribution to promote international economic cooperation and stability in developing countries is well celebrated. However, can they play a role in achieving gender equality?

There are some welcome allocations and indications of shifts in thinking (e.g. in agriculture and climate). However, overall, environment continues to be a ‘sideshow’ – it is given a few token sops, while in fact financial allocations continue to fuel an economy that is fundamentally unsustainable. 

On the first day of the Glasgow climate conference – COP26 – the biggest announcement came from India. Ending speculations on whether India ‘will’ or ‘can’ make a net-zero pledge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the country will reach net-zero emissions by 2070. How ambitious are these targets?

In this article, the author reflects on the nature of the Indian social protection system and its limitations. He describes two lenses through which the government views its population to fulfil its welfare role: One, by way of regulating employment relationship with a view to protecting workers from arbitrariness and exploitation by employers; and two, by way of reaching out to the poor through in-kind transfers. Pointing out their shortcomings, he argues in favour of a basic income system, which views people as empowered citizens.

Distress migration of youth from rural India to cities due to lack of livelihood opportunities and rising climate impacts is deeply worrying for Indian economy. Although the present government announced several measures such as rural housing, toilets and better road network for rural development, they have failed to yield overall progress in rural sector. Besides, impetus to budget allocations for rural livelihood mission and employment guarantee schemes has not shown promising results. Constant downslide in the rate of economic growth, business investments and employment indicate an inherent flaw in the country’s development framework. The rural infrastructure calls for a redesign so that it boosts rural economy through integrated planning of fostering small businesses, job creation, expanding irrigation network, agriculture and allied sectors. The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic further exposes the dangers of lopsided development where a major part of the country lives under the shadow of shining urban India that has taken an unsustainable path to prosper. India needs a deeper analysis of what is going wrong and where.

The article analyses Quality Infrastructure as a catalyst to achieve sustainable development considering the underlined emphasis it has received from G20. Quality Infrastructure conceptualises economic efficiency, safety, resilience against natural disaster, job creation, addressing social-environmental impacts and aligning with economic and development strategies. It will become an instrumental policy agenda because the Modi government’s attention is geared towards elevating India’s infrastructure status. With infrastructure carrying heavy weightage in the development basket, there is a need to make civil society an effective participant in its decision-making that ensures investments result in social good and all-round prosperity.