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VB-G Ram G and Rural Employment Guarantees: Why Flexibility, Not Finances Alone, Determines Success

December 28, 2025

The passage of the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rojgar and Ajeevika Mission (VB-G Ram G) Bill has reignited a long-standing debate around India’s rural employment guarantee framework. Two provisions have attracted particular criticism: permitting States to pause work for up to 60 days during peak agricultural seasons, and revising the funding ratio to 60:40 between the Centre and States. Critics argue that these changes dilute the original spirit of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), especially for poorer States. However, empirical evidence suggests that the effectiveness of rural employment guarantees depends less on fiscal capacity alone and more on governance quality, labour-market conditions and local economic structures.

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Delhi’s EV Policy and the Limits of Clean Mobility: Lessons for Urban Air Quality

December 28, 2025

The Delhi government’s decision to introduce a revamped electric vehicle (EV) policy next year reflects both progress in clean mobility and a growing recognition of its limitations. Five years after launching one of India’s most ambitious EV policies, Delhi has learnt a crucial lesson: increasing the number of electric vehicles does not automatically translate into cleaner air. Without removing the most polluting vehicles, enforcing scrappage norms, and coordinating regionally, EV adoption alone cannot resolve the city’s air pollution crisis.

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Investment, States and India’s Path to 2047: Why Convergence Is the Real Growth Challenge

December 28, 2025

India’s recent economic performance has drawn global attention, yet behind the headline growth figures lies a persistent structural challenge: sharp disparities across states. Per capita incomes vary widely, as do patterns of industrialisation, infrastructure quality and employment generation. If India is to realistically achieve its ambition of becoming a developed nation by 2047, growth cannot remain concentrated in a few regions. It must broaden across states—and investment will be the central driver of that transformation.

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Europe, Ukraine and the Limits of Strategic Unity: Lessons from the Brussels Summit

December 28, 2025

The recent European Union summit in Brussels marked a decisive shift in Europe’s approach to the Ukraine conflict. Instead of confiscating Russia’s frozen sovereign assets—estimated at nearly €210 billion—the EU opted for a more cautious course: raising a €90-billion Eurobond to sustain Ukraine financially. This choice has exposed internal divisions within the bloc, raised concerns about global financial stability, and highlighted growing European fatigue with a war whose political and military endgame remains uncertain.

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Investing in India’s Youngest Minds: Early Childhood Development as the Foundation of Viksit Bharat

December 28, 2025

When India visualises itself in 2047, the centenary year of Independence, the image is often dominated by world-class infrastructure, digital connectivity and a multi-trillion-dollar economy. Yet, the true foundation of a developed India will not be laid only through highways or high-speed rail. It will be shaped by the children being born today, who will enter adulthood in 2047. How India invests in the first six years of their lives will largely determine whether the vision of Viksit Bharat is realised.

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