Striving to Make Financial Institutions Accountable
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Why does the tax structure pinch the poor more than the rich corporates? Why is higher GST collection not necessarily a good thing for the economy? Why are the states not happy with their share in the taxes? Why was wealth tax abolished? This is the eighth in a series…
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) 2016 was supposed to help in recovering mounting NPAs from the corporate sector. But over the years it has turned out to be a super salon where crores are written off in the name of haircuts and corporate sharks take over “ailing” companies for…