India

Decentralization is the transfer of powers and responsibilities from the central government to the elected authorities at the subnational level. In India, as organs of the government closest to the people, the panchayati raj system has emerged as an effective good governance tool.

India is all set to usher in a ‘pandemic generation’, with 375 million children (from newborns to 14-year-olds) likely to suffer long-lasting impacts, as per the State of Environment Report, 2021.

Groundwater reserves are depleting at rapid rates in India, which is one of the world’s largest consumer of groundwater with it  providing 60 percent of the irrigation needs of the country.

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Groundwater levels across India have been falling rapidly, affecting the livelihood and wellbeing of village communities. Top-down approaches to groundwater management have not worked.

Dahanu, an ecologically fragile area about 120 km from Mumbai, in Maharashtra’s Palghar district witnessed massive protests in 2019. Over 59 gram panchayats were opposing the land diversion to high-tech infrastructure projects.

The pandemic and the inadequate measures to contain it have created a multidimensional crisis – economic, nutritional and in the field of education -- in addition to the original, and still ongoing health crisis.

This year’s budget was tabled when the country was grappling with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 induced crisis. The government was expected to provide an effective response to the pandemic-induced recession.