Solutions to Change

Entrepreneurship in traditional legal systems in India are often ‘non-existent’, even if we count the role of law firms or legal consultants, and debarring some very good legal journalism sprouting every now and then. However, from a citizen’s point of view or rather from a consumer’s point of view I just see the concrete in the pillars of justices; from the Supreme Court to lower courts. There was an emerging class of people, mostly lawyers who ‘fixed things’, a plumber like activity which, however with increasing leakages. They earned the tag of ‘settlement lawyers’ who over the years got overshadowed by the ‘administrative courts’, and an unhappy litigant who flew out of the country to seek justice. The concept of courts and justice have become stagnant (even some lawyers say that law has become stagnant thanks to the precedents!). There has been no innovation which has bettered the system to the benefit of its users, the litigants. Alternative Dispute Resolutions (ADR) m...

Does a tax on cigarettes serve any purpose? For a layman seeing the budget figures of a very high excise rate on cigarettes would mean that it indeed makes the stick costlier and would lead to a reduction in its usage. However, there are some crucial figures on smoking and the usage of tobacco which could paint a picture more nuanced than a layman’s observation. This picture also allows us to critically understand policy measures of the federal government. Here the federal budget 2014-15 provides us with this platform. Does an excise increase matter? Costs, benefits and the illegal. An excise taxes on the stick is likely to have little or no implications in terms of revenue generation (at least to sponsor health expenditure or to provide a source for funding big-budget expenditure) save for the cost burden passed on to the consumers of cigarettes. If that discourages them from smoking then well and good. The reason is simple and has often been cited. The Public Health Foun...