Recently, in an online webinar, I made the point that the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) community has not engaged enough with policy makers, and policy makers do not know whom to reach out to when they are making decisions around FOSS. This drew a sharp reaction from one of the participants who said …
Why the Game of Public Policy Requires Patience and Persistence Read More »
“People shouldn’t be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.” ― Alan Moore, V for Vendetta Governments are expected to keep a check on society, ensure law and order is maintained, and maximise the welfare of its citizens. The constitution acts as a toolkit and provides the framework to implement these …
The Importance of Institutional Checks and Balances on Government Beyond Elections Read More »
The Rajya Sabha passed the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill in December 2022. The bill aims to regulate and decarbonise energy consumption by industries, households, transportation, and others. Most provisions aim to promote renewable energy for industries and infrastructure. More interestingly, the bill proposes a carbon trading market in India. A carbon credit is a saleable …
Setting Up a Carbon Market at the Crossroads of What is and What Could Be Read More »
Since the pronouncement of India’s No First Use Policy, which is a voluntary decision to not use one’s nuclear weapons first, two decades ago, the matter has been under constant scrutiny. The necessity, relevance and effectiveness of the approach has been a matter of discussions and deliberations ever since. Historical Background India’s stance on the …
An electoral system impacts the quality of representative democracy and the nature and extent of voting behaviour. Different electoral laws produce different results and representatives of various types. The ideal electoral system in a representative democracy permits all eligible citizens to cast an equally weighted vote. It also allows united groups of voters to elect …
First Past the Post: Revisiting its relevance in the Indian scenario Read More »
The response to the serious global challenge of climate change is gaining momentum and changing at both the domestic and international levels. In the 2015 Paris Agreement, signatory nations agreed to pursue efforts to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C and to more aggressively adapt to the effects of climate change. They also agreed to …
Recently, on 2 January 2023, the Supreme Court of India, through a five-judge constitution bench, settled the contentious legal issue of demonetisation that has been raging in the country since November 2016 by upholding its validity via a 4:1 majority. While doing so, the court had heard 58 petitions filed against the move of the …
Authoritarian regimes despite having a strong negative connotation attached to them, have on multiple occasions managed to survive for decades. This essay explores the potential reasons which help explain the persistence of authoritarian regimes besides coercion, fear and violence, which are ever-present in most authoritarian regimes. The essay first attempts to define what an authoritarian …
What Explains the Persistence of Authoritarian Regimes? Read More »
Governance is a set of processes, policies, laws, and institutions that administer and affect the lives of common men in a society. It is considered good if it is transparent, ethical and accountable. Justice systems and processes strengthen governance making it more just and equitable. The use of litigation however to intimidate and coerce people …
The Union Government will again be going to introduce a revised personal data protection bill and for which it has released its draft. The draft bill comes up with many new provisions and changes in relation to the previous bills. On the one hand, these new changes brought new remedies and rights to the data …
An Analysis of Draft Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2022 Read More »
