The DMK manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is typical in the sense that it promises loads of freebies even while fleshing out some worthwhile points regarding the long-term needs of the people. Today, the discourse on freebies has evolved to judging freebie promises on two counts:...
Tamil Nadu budget 2024-25 has several warning signs for the state economy. While there is no official assessment of the economy through a State Economic Survey, the budget does show that blaming the Center will not camouflage deep set problems. Fiscal deficit has increased by some 18% compared...
Investors may be drawn to other states by good governance and ease-of-doing business. The Tamil Nadu story is one of human capital, natural resources and good core infrastructure like good roads, ports, airports, waterways, railways and affordable power. Human capital has been depleting because...
Urbanization has reached such a level in Tamil Nadu that the functioning of the CMDA (Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority) is under the lens now. A failing CMDA is an indication of the poor state of urban governance in the state reflected in declining migration from villages. Seasonal...
There is a perpetual tussle between the present government in Tamil Nadu and the Governor or anti-corruption crusader NGOs on some social, economic, or cultural issue. Also, the debate gets interesting since the contentious issue of governance is looked at through the prism of ideology for the...
The recent incidents involving the tusker Arikomban in Kerala and later in Tamil Nadu have sparked a furore among the public and unsettled government officials in both states. There was an outpouring of sentiment from stakeholders on the rough handling of the elephant. However, the issue of...
India aims to reduce imports of fossil fuels by achieving 20% ethanol blending with gasoline from April 2023. A nationwide rollout is planned from 2025-26. At present, India’s ethanol production capacity is 426 crore litres from sugarcane-based distilleries and 258 crore litres from grain-based...
The State budget is as important as the Union budget, no importance has been given to pre-budget debate on important issues at the district level even in a state like Tamil Nadu, which claims to be a model state for the country. The state government has not decentralised decision-making either....
Before the industrial revolution and the large-scale production of chemicals opened up farming to synthetic inputs like fertilisers and pesticides, all farming had been organic farming. In India particularly, the need to become self-sufficient in food production in the years after Independence...
Tamil Nadu has been known for its model of social development, especially with regard to access to primary health care and high enrolment of students in schools. However, the quality of school education, when measured by foundational learning outcomes, especially in primary schools in Tamil...
