Solutions to Change

By Anupama Ghosh* Assembly elections in the Northeast of India have never caught the nation’s fancy, but elections in Tripura this time seem to be a different matter altogether. The major reason for the interest in Tripura elections is the long and uninterrupted rule of the Left Front, which has, for the first time, entered into a direct contest against the right-wing parties. Ending a high-pitched election campaign, the BJP claimed that it would successfully end the long rule of the CPM in Tripura. The Left The left parties have been in power in Tripura since 1993, with Manik Sarkar as the Chief Minister from 1998. Data from previous elections show that the Left Front has improved its seats tally and vote share consistently in the 60-seat assembly. Graph 1: Seats Tally and Vote Share of Left Front in Tripura (1998–2013) The Congress The Congress, which has been in power in the state for two terms, had won 10 seats in the 2013 polls, securing 36.53 per cent...

By Ispita Mishra* Fundamental duties are moral and civic duties which are confined only to the citizens and not to the foreigners. They essentially contain codification of principles that are essential to the Indian way of life and are not justifiable like the Directive Principles of State Policy. They act as warning against the anti-national activities and are enforceable by law. Fundamental Duties were added by the Swaran Singh Committee as it emphasized that the citizens should also perform certain duties along with enjoying the rights. The need was felt during the internal emergency. Article 51A hence specified a code of 10 fundamental duties under 42 nd  Constitutional Amendment. However, the Fundamental Duties are not without criticism that needs to be emphasized upon. Firstly,  they are superfluous and ambiguous. Terms like ‘scientific temper’, ‘composite culture’ etc mentioned in the fundamental duties are difficult to be comprehended by common man. Seco...

By Chithira Rajeevan* Finance Minister (FM) Arun Jaitley presented his government’s last budget in the lead up to the general elections in 2019. The budget has directed its lens on the rural communities in the country, with a focus on women, and a few eye-grabbing announcements in the health sector. An outlay of ₹ 1200 crore has been announced towards bringing quality healthcare to the people through 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres offering maternal and child healthcare services along with free essential drugs and diagnostic aids. In a landmark pronouncement, Jaitley introduced the National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS), touted as the world’s largest government funded programme. The scheme will provide an annual coverage of ₹ 5 lakh to 10 crore families. This step towards universal health coverage is laudable but requires a closer inspection. The FMhad announced these schemes in his previous budge ts with no significant improvement in the status quo.Of the then propo...