The essence of democracy requires that we hold governments to account vis-a-vis their claims and promises. But one of the biggest casualties of the recent years has been the idea of accountability. The divisive and jingoist hyperboles in the media facilitate a collective amnesia. These report cards are a part…
The state of welfare: India’s budget 2024–25
Social welfare allocations in the India’s budget have lagged behind promises for a decade. Here’s how Budget 2024 compares. As India accelerates towards becoming the third largest global economy, its growth is marked by increasing inequality. The post-pandemic recovery has been uneven and characterised by a K-shaped growth trajectory, where certain segments of…
Financial Accountability Network India (FAN India) & Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) congratulate Kerala Bank for writing off loans to affected people in Wayanad landslide
Press Release | 16.08.2024 Call upon banking and non-banking financial institutions to follow suit and initiate write offs Demand disaster-sensitive loan & credit policies nationally Demand sensitive and cautious investment practices in ecologically fragile regions The Financial Accountability Network India and Centre for Financial Accountability congratulate and commend the Kerala…
Derailed Priorities: Has the investments in our safety in the Indian Railways been compromised?
Sealdah-bound Kanchanjunga Express disaster leaves 8 dead, 30 injured—2nd major accident under Railway Minister Vaishnaw in a year. Balasore accident last year: 291 lives lost. CAG reports ₹1 lakh crore shortfall for track renewal, funds misused on trivial items. Only 0.7% of safety funds used properly. Focus on Vande Bharat…
Housing | Report Card 2014-24
How many houses were actually built? Did the most marginalised actually benefit? What discrepancies does the CAG report show? From the glaring inequalities in the housing sector to the evictions and the communally driven “bulldozer justice” the report reviews the housing sector. This is the fourteenth and the last in…
Balance Sheet of a Decade:Report Card on Transport
From handing over the ports & airports to corporates to the discrepancies in highway construction costs. From the duopoly in the skies to premium tatkals and Vande Bharats in railway. Transport infra is being sold off and made unaffordable for the poor. This longish report is the thirteenth in a…
Education | Report Card 2014-24
In terms of spending on infrastructure, privatisation, huge vacancies and changes in curriculum – the assault on education is from many directions. What is at stake is our future generations. This is the twelfth in a series of report cards by the Financial Accountability Network India, that attempts (even if…
10 Years of Modi: An Area of Darkness for the Old and Poor!
For widows and people with disability, the pension amount was raised from Rs 200 to a mere Rs 300 in 2012, when urad dal costs Rs 138/kg and mustard oil Rs 136/kg. As India prepares to vote for a new government, what has the past 10 years of the Narendra…
Health | Report Card 2014-24
While hospital tragedies like in Nanded or Gorakhpur are briefly covered by the media, the abysmal state of health infrastructure and paltry spending on public healthcare are glossed over. There are claims of increased budgeting and lowering out of pocket expenditure, the reality is worth digging into. This is the…
Food Security & Nutrition | Report Card 2014-24
Republic of Hunger? From anaemia to stunting, from malnutrition to wasting, the numbers that should concern us do not seem to capture the media’s attention. This is the tenth in a series of report cards by the Financial Accountability Network India, that attempts (even if not exhaustively) to glance through…
SOCIAL SECURITY & PENSIONS | REPORT CARD 2014-2024
No country for the old? From pensions, to social security to old age concessions, the government frowns upon spending to take care of our elderly. A mere 300 rupees for the widows and the disabled is a joke given the prices in the bazaars. A look into our abysmal social…