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Dear Reader,
In India today, the wealthiest 1 per cent “control” more than 40% of the nation's wealth, a stark increase from the 12.5 per cent held in 1980 -- a "historical high' in income inequality. This staggering level of inequality places India among the most unequal nations in the world
The income and wealth disparities in India have recently ignited a public debate on the potential benefits of redistribution to support the poor and the marginalised. This dissemination of wealth is a critical step, The India Forum argues, as income inequalities are closely linked to the quality and delivery of social justice. The essay proposes 'wealth tax and redistribution' as a means to address the extreme inequality in India and create a facilitating fiscal space to support the poor and the marginalised.
The Indian Railways is the world's second-largest network by ‘passenger kilometres’ and is a critical lifeline for citizens, especially the poor and the marginalised. However, in recent decades, the Railways have discernibly and increasingly shifted their priorities to premium trains and premium passengers at the cost of ordinary users.
The ostensible logic for the shift in focus is the "commercial rationale"—the need to make the Indian Railways sustainable. However, after delving into the data of the last two decades, Article 14 finds that the Railways are not only far from being viable but are, in fact, losing money even as the ordinary passenger is short-changed.
In Uttarakhand, the forest fires that began in November continue to burn. The state has seen more than 900 incidents of forest fires, and according to one estimate, more than 1,145 hectares of forests have been destroyed in the last six months alone.
A fierce debate rages on who, or what, is responsible for the fires, with no less than the Supreme Court of India taking the state government to task for its lackadaisical approach to the task of fighting the fire. The Mojo Story talks to activists and experts on the ground to go into the probable 'first causes' of the fires and narrates how the lives and livelihoods of people have been affected by it.
Kerala is experiencing heavy rainfall following an extremely dry and scorching summer. Although the water crisis has somewhat abated, the abysmal quality of available water is causing concern, and disease.
There has been a sharp increase in the number of Hepatitis-1 cases in the state, with over 217 cases and two fatalities in the Vengur Panchayat of Ernakulum district. There is now anxiety that Hepatitis-1 cases are also increasing in the districts of Kozhikode, Malappuram, and Kannur. Keraleeyam Masika details the causes, and the possible remedies to arrest the trend.
For more such stories from the grantees this week, please read on.
Warmly,
Sunil Rajshekhar
IPSMF
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