Antaraa Vasudev

While serious political developments are taking place in India with the 'hotly' contested elections, we've had some remarkable judicial interventions recently. One of them is the Supreme Court's verdict which ushered in a new constitutional right for the country's 1.4 billion citizens to be free from the adverse effects of climate change. Regardless of the electoral outcome in the coming days, the judicial thought process offers a glimmer of hope. The pertinent question is whether this will percolate to the lower levels of the judiciary to take down the powerful 'climate offenders'. With inputs from Apoorva and Ashish Kothari. Alongside the supremely skilled editor Robin Hicks. For Eco-Business. #Climate #Climatechange #India #Asia #Globalwarming #Pollution #Humanrights #Judiciary #ClimateAction #Sustainability

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What does building A-teams for climate ventures look like? 🫴🏼 Aastha, Amit, Anish, Anisha, and I came together earlier today to share and learn from perspectives across role levels and functions. Three perspectives that I gained: 🧬It's okay to get personal. Life experiences, interests, and choices help you see someone's growth and impact journey at your venture. ⏳There is a knowledge and network gap, especially for younger recruiters in leaner teams. Mentorship and building playbooks/cheat sheets can shorten hiring cycles for your venture. ℹ️Adding layers of context and trust to candidate profiles is a need. This will help recruiters pick and choose the most valuable conversations. If this interests you, or someone you know, The Sustainability Mafia is enabling similar in-person meetups for climate recruiters to learn and share. 🔗Fill out this form to be invited to the next meet-up in your city: https://lnkd.in/gezgj2wV -------------- More context on why SusMafia is focusing on this 👇 The Sustainability Mafia's Climate Ninja initiative will bridge education and talent gaps through 2030. We engage students, working professionals, recruiters, universities, and climate ventures for communities that will serve India's sustainability engine. Have an idea or discussion you want to pick? Let's collaborate! An #OpenDoorClimate approach is critical for rapid actions for sustainability. 🗓️Let's meet, book a time with me: https://lnkd.in/ggidtt3C

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Militant groups are freely recruiting for violence in India. Here's how 👇🏽 Reporters from the fact-checkers at BoomLive recently visited Manipur, where an armed conflict is ongoing since last spring. Their reporting examines how militant groups like the Arambai Tenggol are freely recruiting on social media: https://lnkd.in/eyys4mi3 Key reporting includes: 👉🏽Sophisticated music videos with lyrics calling for violence and killing 👉🏽 Children posing with gas-guns on social media 👉🏽 The Arambai Tenggol urging voters to vote for the BJP, followed by armed polling violence 

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We should aim to realize the promise of inclusive and equitable governance for all by reforming institutions, promoting transparency, and empowering communities through an updated or new statutory framework. My OPeD piece was published in the Hindustan Times, Chandigarh on 21st May 2024.

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Dr Sasmit Patra is an interesting parliamentarian to watch, bringing to the fore issues of an institutional nature. It may be the more reasoned deliberations at the back-end, of MPs like Dr Patra, that produces real work, in the absence of maturity and substantive depth in those leading the poor quality of the opposition's grouse mining narrative spins. Building congruency, needs a reasonable nod to reality, and that is compromised by the poor quality of legislative deliberations descending purely to exacerbating issues in the pursuit of vote-banks, rather than act as a check on government excesses. Even our institutional structures like courts, in many cases, appear to prefer moral posturing rather than building a bridge to better policy implementation, the decontextualized nature of their abstractions, and a procedural morass. where the fealty to procedural means have overtaken substantive and practical ends (tareek pe tareek!) - leads any resolution into an endless procedural maze. The tough task of "performing" in governance, making a careerist bureaucracy with its deep vested interests work, is difficult even for the strong willed, and may not even be in the agenda as the primary focus of those slanted by their electoral bargains.

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Here's an update (sort of) on the RTI request I raised with Election Commission of India. Background : Election contestant details were earlier available in PDF format at ECI Affidavits Portal (https://lnkd.in/gTbC5yCw). Crucially, the information regarding the 'Symbol Allotted' to the contestants was available only in the exported PDF, and was not displayed anywhere else in the Affidavits Portal. However, for some strange reason, 'Export PDF' option was disabled prior to Lok Sabha elections. In my RTI, I requested information about the reasons why the option was disabled, along with any information on alternative methods available for the public to know the details on allotted symbols. RTI Reply : "The sought information is a kind of suggestion and it does not come under the definition of information under RTi Act, 2005." RTI First Appeal : I immediately appealed on the grounds that information requested is a genuine query on the removal of a public utility feature. I am still awaiting reply to the First Appeal (20 Days and Counting). The (Partial) Good News : I came across ECI Form 7A Notifications in Indian Gazette (https://egazette.gov.in/), which have the information on 'Symbol Allotted'. Such Gazette Notifications are indeed the alternative method I was seeking through the RTI. However, Form 7A Notifications are available only for Lok Sabha elections, and sadly 'Symbol Allotted' information for Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim Assembly elections is still unavailable. p.s. The 'Symbol Allotted' information for all Lok Sabha Phase 1 & 2 Contestants is now available at Citijan (https://lnkd.in/gQT3GdxZ). Make an informed choice at the ballot. #JaagoVoterJaago

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If you are looking for a quick read on development finance during the Financing for Development Forum #FfD, this blog by Subhra Bhattacharjee uncovers the basics to bridge the development finance gap for the Global Goals through private finance: https://lnkd.in/dhschgB6 #Fin4Dev

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My article this week: Issue of Manipur District Creation and Now Demand for Their Rollback Refuels Ethnic Identity Politics in Manipur #manipur #ethnocentric #identity #politics #conflict https://lnkd.in/dW3Q_sfh

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With delayed pregnancies, sedentary lifestyles, and comorbid conditions, there is a growing trend of high-risk pregnancies -pregnancies that involve increased risk or complications for the mother or the foetus. My report published on #Xplorehealth of The New Indian Express. Rising concerns over high-risk pregnancies in India | https://lnkd.in/gZfrmdiU

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Govt defends Great Nicobar project amid criticism, cites national interest 👉 https://mybs.in/2dYG1DD #EnvironmentalImpact, #IndigenousRights, #NationalInterest, #EcologicalBalance, #DevelopmentVsConservation, #ProtectTribalCommunities, #SustainableDevelopment, and #IslandConservation. 

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Delhi Faces Severe Water Crisis Amidst Political Allegations Readmore: https://lnkd.in/eK2ZWei8 New developments from Delhi reveal a city in turmoil due to a worsening water crisis. Residents are deeply concerned, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has turned the issue into a political battleground. Water Minister Atishi Marlena has intensified the situation by alleging a plot to cut off the city's water supply, prompting her to write to the Delhi Police Commissioner for assistance. Charges from BJP Leader Kapil Mishra BJP leader Kapil Mishra has made serious allegations, claiming that the water crisis primarily affects Hindu-majority areas while sparing Muslim-majority areas. Mishra highlighted that areas in Old Delhi such as Seelampur, Okhla, Jaffrabad, and Jama Masjid are not facing water shortages. He accused the Delhi government of religious bias in water distribution and alleged that the government increased water supply to Muslim areas in preparation for Bakri Eid. Mishra demanded an immediate stop to these practices, asserting that water is being diverted from Hindu areas to Muslim areas as a form of political retribution for Hindu support of Prime Minister Modi in the Lok Sabha elections. #DelhiWaterCrisis #WaterShortage #AAPPolitics #DelhiResidents #WaterManagement, #DelhiGovernment #WaterMafia #DelhiNews #viralpost2024 #viralnews #aapexposed

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Delhi has 38 consecutive days with maximum temperatures at or above 40°C since May 14.  Heat wave warning systems need a major revamp and need to be translated for clear impact. Warning without impacts are of no use for 200 million people in NCT Delhi!Heat Action plans without action are only ceremonial achievements. Serious action is required than to count how many cities/ States have HAPs. Heat emergency can't be dealt with Business as Usual! Serious planning and implementation is required to make Delhi livable! 

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New work: How successive BJP and Congress governments in Rajasthan violated the landmark Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. RTI data shows that Rajasthan's SC/ST Vigilance Committee, mandated to meet twice a year under the Atrocities Act, met only twice in 13 years(!). Rajasthan has consistently led the charts on crimes against SCs and STs. Chaired by the CM, the Committee is responsible for reviewing the implementation of the Prevention of Atrocities Act. Ideally, it should have held 59 meetings so far since the notification of the rules of the SC/ST Act in 1995 — as opposed to the two times it actually met. Read:

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My article in The Wire which examines the wide gap between India’s income inequality based on incomes reported through household survey and those supplemented by information from other sources. Piketty and others note that adjustments to the household survey based data are required to arrive at actual income inequality given that the upper 1 percent and 10 percent income groups typically understate the incomes they self-report in surveys. The unreported incomes are mainly driven by holdings of black money in tax havens and developed country banks. Thus, India’s actual income inequality is far worse than inequality derived from reported data on incomes.

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Acquiescing to unsustainable decisions that defy the logic of public interest, as the new normal, should not be the norm but rather an aberration in governance. My OPeD piece published today in the ET@government.

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