Articles by Yamini Aiyar
Reshaping the State-citizen relationship
A corrosive culture distances the State from the public and legitimises demands for public ‘discipline’ to achieve policy goals
Updated on Sep 02, 2021 06:40 PM IST
In India, a diminished economic future
Employment trends, the shock to informal sector and persistently high demand for welfare present an alarming picture. Don’t get misled by revenue numbers and corporate profits
Updated on Aug 13, 2021 07:22 PM IST
To reopen schools, India must go local
Involve parents; decentralise decision-making; and give schools greater autonomy for expenditure. Local innovation is the path forward
Updated on Jul 28, 2021 06:00 PM IST
Reforms and Indian capitalism
Crony capitalism is entrenched, regulation is weak, and inequality is high. Reforms need a new imagination
Updated on Jun 29, 2021 04:21 PM IST
Covid-19 and the disease of inequality
The second wave will deepen inequality. Expand support to states, universalise PDS, and ramp up MGNREGS now
Updated on May 27, 2021 05:45 PM IST
The second wave and the Indian State
The Centre and states are at war, but India urgently needs a coordinated response. It’s not too late. But soon it will be
Updated on May 09, 2021 10:32 PM IST
As Covid’s second wave surges in India, history repeats itself
From curbs to blindness towards the plight of labour, from opacity in data to blaming citizens, it is 2020 all over again
Updated on Apr 09, 2021 03:43 PM IST
The Union versus Delhi, Act II, Scene 1
The attempt to change the Capital’s governance structure raises a fundamental question — what should be the nature of the Indian Union?
Updated on Mar 21, 2021 10:40 PM IST
Navigating Centre-state fiscal ties
The 15th FC report re-enacts a fundamental tension that lies at the heart of India’s fiscal federal relations.
Updated on Feb 18, 2021 06:35 AM IST
Decoding the budget and the economics of welfare
Several announcements — a bad bank, the proposal for a development financial institution, and bank recapitalisation — aim at reforming the economy. But these will not respond to the structural inequalities caused by the pandemic
Updated on Feb 02, 2021 01:55 PM IST
Budget 2021 mantra: Spend and empower states
The direction of post-Covid recovery is skewed. The FM must prioritise employment generation and social security for the vulnerable through increased spending
Updated on Jan 30, 2021 04:46 AM IST
2020: The people vs the Indian State
The anti-CAA protests, the defiance of migrants, and now the farmers’ stir show that the everyday practice of democracy is a powerful corrective in the face of arbitrary and unilateral State decisions
Updated on Dec 26, 2020 07:40 PM IST
On farm laws, how the Centre faltered
Rebuilding trust with farmers is essential for India’s reform process and federal compact
Updated on Dec 02, 2020 01:06 PM IST
Creating an inclusive welfare architecture
Cover all of India’s poor; and merge welfare programmes under one umbrella scheme
Updated on Nov 18, 2020 08:26 PM IST
What happened to Nitish’s governance?
By insulating governance from politics, he failed to effect deep change, build a political constituency
Updated on Oct 30, 2020 06:55 AM IST
Where reforms and federalism clash | Opinion
The Centre’s attempt to bulldoze the states on agriculture weakens the entire reform process
Updated on Oct 06, 2020 06:06 AM IST
Grand bargain to great betrayal?
With the Goods and Services Tax dispute, the future of India’s fiscal federalism is at stake
Published on Sep 03, 2020 09:00 PM IST
Reimagining India’s welfare toolkit
Universalise PDS, make it demand-driven; give more funds to states; and ramp up MGNREGS
Updated on Aug 24, 2020 08:50 PM IST
NEP and the classroom consensus
It offers an alternative to the exam-centric, rote-learning model, and is strong on the foundations
Updated on Aug 02, 2020 06:57 PM IST
Covid: The State-citizen trust deficit
This distrust has shaped official communication, relief and the health response to the pandemic
Updated on Jul 23, 2020 06:01 AM IST
A blueprint to protect labour rights without constraining capital | Opinion
Take into account State capacity, new economic realities, and the informality of the labour markets
Updated on Jul 03, 2020 08:07 PM IST
Build a new economic imagination
Move beyond State-market, rural-urban, agri-non agri and welfare-growth binaries. They are linked
Updated on Jun 15, 2020 06:24 PM IST
Cash transfers: There is a way out
The Centre’s defence about lack of data on migrants is weak. It is possible to identify them
Updated on May 25, 2020 06:10 PM IST
To restart, revise national strategy
Rework migrant policies; reset the Covid-19 crisis management set-up, and improve communication
Updated on May 11, 2020 06:07 PM IST
The State needs to step up, urgently| Opinion
Provide food; improve Centre-state mechanisms; communicate better; and show compassion
Updated on Apr 16, 2020 07:23 PM IST
Covid-19: Centre and states must work together | Opinion
Coordinate on finance, procurement and supply chains. Activate inter-state coordination systems
Updated on Apr 01, 2020 07:29 PM IST
Covid-19: An emergency economic manifesto
To prevent distress, the State must manage the movement of people, food, money, schemes
Updated on Mar 25, 2020 08:07 PM IST
Covid-19 will test, reshape the State
Today’s choices will determine the future of the Indian State’s relationship with citizens
Updated on Mar 22, 2020 04:27 PM IST
How India is failing its Muslims
The community has been left alone to defend their constitutional rights in a secular State
Updated on Mar 05, 2020 07:05 PM IST
The states are financially squeezed | Opinion
The Centre’s budget arithmetic and delays in fund transfers are pushing them towards a fiscal crisis
Updated on May 15, 2020 02:39 PM IST