Public Policy – NICKELED AND DIMED

Powering the Indian Energy Sector: Why the new Electricity (Amendment) Bill is necessary but not sufficient to revive India’s broken energy economics

The provision of electricity, as a good, has two main components: its generation and its distribution. The Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2022 focuses on reforming the distribution component of the Indian energy sector to remedy its long-standing malaise. This article analyzes the Bill and its potential impacts, specifically defending its necessity as an economic and public policy reform.
Read more: Powering the Indian Energy Sector: Why the new Electricity (Amendment) Bill is necessary but not sufficient to revive India’s broken energy economics
Bursting the EdTech Bubble: Why India Needs to Regulate the EdTech Sector

The EdTech industry in India has been experiencing rapid growth in the past few years, fuelled by increased access to technology and digital literacy after the pandemic. While the industry has transformed learning and paved the way for a more blended form of learning in both online and offline mediums, the industry is breaking its bubble with a slew of new challenges. News headlines about misleading advertisements, unprecedented layoffs, and other ethical issues have raised serious questions about the exploitative nature of the EdTech industry in India. Furthermore, due to the absence of any clear policy framework, the industry appears unregulated, leading to an overall lack of accountability and transparency.
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One-China Policy’s True Meaning

Taiwan and China’s relationship has evolved over several decades and both sides have looked forward to a sense of closure. As is the case for most conflict-prone areas, the concerned parties are unable to reach any accord. The only difference is the status quo which they have derived for themselves was a stopgap, which is haunting both nations thirty years later. The article will review the policy and its implications on the future of cross-strait relations in the region.
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Is Welfarism an Answer to Rising Hindu Nationalism?

The Aam Aadmi party’s victory in Punjab has been marked as the dawn of a new political bloc making the party be reckoned amongst the likes of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress (INC). A political startup has officially achieved the status of a two-state party without aligning under any regional or ethnic identities. It has done so by focusing on delivery in sectors like education and healthcare, steering away from the headwinds of nationalism or religion. This article aims to review the ideology of the AAP and whether it can answer the BJP’s right-wing nationalism.
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Nudging Patriarchy into the Grave of Stereotypes

This article aims to analyse how the application of Nudge Theory can turn the failure of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao initiative into a success by adding a few ‘new nudges’ recommended by me.
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Understanding Micro-Macro link from the lens of Corona Pandemic

This article aims to explain the links between micro and macroeconomics in the context of our present corona pandemic to prove the assertion – the recovery of the global economy is dependent on the revival of specific local systems chosen based on their relational status in the global economy. The proof is constructed by reflecting on the primary reading “micro-macro link in heterodox economics by Claudius Grabner and Jakob Kapelle” and exploring or analysing its workings in our present pandemic context through evidence and examples.
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The U.S.- Did the use of monetary policy solve inflation or postpone it?

The dual mandate of the Federal Reserve is to pursue the economic goals of maximum employment and price stability. When the pandemic hit, the Fed were worried about growth and employment. As the economy was recovering from 2 waves of Covid, inflation had already started its upward trend. However, the Fed assumed it was transitory and maintained a loose monetary policy to focus on growth and employment. The article aims to explore the implications of the Fed’s assumption on the U.S. economy.
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Women in the gig economy: Mileage or mere facade?

Being able to make one’s own decisions is one of the many options that the digital world offers. The gig economy refers to those individuals who work part-time or on a project-by-project basis under their own set of working conditions. Unfortunately, despite how ornate the concept may appear, some of its aspects have been hidden by the concept’s extravagant marketing, especially when it was intended to appeal to women who have been neglecting their jobs because of their obligations to their families. As a result, it is vital to determine whether taking up jobs in the gig economy is a viable option for facilitating employment prospects for females on crowd working platforms, both skilled and unskilled
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MID-DAY MEAL SCHEME IN THE GARB OF CASTEISM

The mid-day meal scheme is one of the programs undertaken by the central government to provide nutritious food and education to children. Though this scheme has a long history, what is even older is casteism. The roots of casteism are embedded so deeply in society that now they have found their way into the mid-day meal program in various ways. Be it the Dalit students being denied food, untouchability being practised, their rights infringed upon, or even their dropout, casteism is playing its part. What this results in is malnutrition, discrimination, hunger, and the lives of children who are getting affected. The authors in this article attempt to draw a parallel between mid-day meal schemes and casteism and how the former, despite being a wonderful scheme, has been caught in the vicious web of the latter. Further, it has also been discussed how the legal framework has failed to deter the evils of untouchability.
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Transition to Circular Economy: An Analysis

Although people acknowledge that resources are consumed at an alarming rate which jeopardises future supplies and contributes to carbon dioxide accumulation, they consider a circular economy as a trade-off between environment conservation and profits. This article deals with what a circular economy is, its impact on employment, its shortcoming and its reality in India.
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The Slippery Road of Vegetable Oil

As central banks around the world try their best to combat the rising inflation, the global edible oil crisis, caused by a variety of reasons, has unsettled the economic recovery.
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Quantum-like Modelling and Complex Adaptive Systems: Policy Implications

The emerging quantum cognition paradigm has both philosophical and modelling implications for decision science and social sciences.
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