Wealth drives warming: Global report calls for ownership-based climate action

A new Climate Inequality Report 2025, released by the World Inequality Lab and UNDP, warns that global warming and economic inequality are tightly linked — with the richest 1% responsible for 41% of all emissions linked to private capital ownership. The report argues that climate change is not only a scientific crisis but also a “capital challenge,” driven by unequal ownership and investment patterns.

The study finds that wealthy individuals and institutional investors, mostly concentrated in high-income countries, continue to bankroll over 200 new oil and gas projects and 850 coal mines despite international pledges to phase them out. “Those who invest today are shaping tomorrow’s climate,” said co-editor Lucas Chancel, adding that ownership of polluting assets, rather than consumption alone, determines global emissions.

India features in the analysis as one of the emerging economies facing rising climate vulnerability and growing exposure to extreme weather. The report stresses that lower- and middle-income nations like India bear the brunt of global warming while holding minimal influence over high-emission investments.

It projects that if the world’s richest 1% continue to dominate green investments, their share of global wealth could rise from 38% to 46% by 2050 — deepening global inequality. Conversely, if public ownership and wealth taxation fund climate transition, the top 1% share could drop to 26%.

To tackle this imbalance, the report proposes three major policy steps: a global ban on new fossil fuel investments, a tax on the carbon content of wealth, and massive public investments in low-carbon infrastructure. It also calls for stronger financial transparency and an international registry to track cross-border fossil investments.

The authors conclude that achieving climate goals and social justice requires treating ownership as central to climate policy — ensuring that the transition to a green economy does not further enrich those most responsible for the crisis.

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Beyond the 'plum' posting: Why the caste lens still defines bureaucratic success

Following my recent blog on former IAS bureaucrat Atanu Chakraborty’s sudden exit as non-executive chairman of HDFC Bank, a few colleagues from the Gujarat cadre — mostly those I interacted with during my Gandhinagar stint (1997–2012) as the Times of India representative — reacted rather sharply. Most of them sent their responses directly on WhatsApp, touching upon on the merits and demerits of Chakraborty’s controversial move. One former IAS officer, a Dalit, however, went further, raising a broader question: why do some officials like Chakraborty secure plum post-retirement assignments, while others are overlooked?

Population as destiny: The dangerous logic of India's new delimitation move

Dr. Narasimha Reddy Donthi, a noted public policy expert and public interest campaigner, in a detailed critical analysis of two Bills introduced in Parliament in April 2026—the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Delimitation Bill, 2026 , has warned that the twin bills "raise significant constitutional, political and methodological concerns — most critically, a structural inconsistency in the census basis used for Parliament versus State Assemblies, and an over-reliance on population as the sole parameter for delimitation."

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. I don't know who owns this site, for there is nothing on it in the About Us link. It merely says, the Nashik Corporation site "is an educational and news website of the municipal corporation. Today, education and payment of tax are completely online." It goes on to add, "So we provide some of the latest information about Property Tax, Water Tax, Marriage Certificate, Caste Certificate, etc. So all taxpayer can get all information of their municipal in a single place.some facts about legal and financial issues that different city corporations face, but I was least interested in them." Surely, this didn't interest...

Blaming RTE, not underfunding: Education groups hit back at NITI Aayog working paper

A preliminary working paper by Arvind Virmani, economist and member of the Government of India think tank NITI Aayog, has concluded that the Right to Education (RTE) Act — enacted to guarantee free and compulsory schooling for children between six and fourteen — has actually worsened learning outcomes rather than improved them. The paper, published in March 2026 and reported by The Print on 16 April, has drawn sharp pushback from education rights advocates, who argue it builds a politically motivated narrative against constitutionally guaranteed entitlements.

Exile, empire and memory: Khergamker's '10/3' invites researchers into a living archive

Author and legal commentator Gajanan Khergamker has made his ebook '10/3: Exile, Empire And War In The Andamans' publicly accessible online, a month after its limited offline digital launch on 10 March 2026. What began as a publication has, in Khergamker's own framing, transformed into a live, evolving research framework — Project 10/3 — inviting participation from researchers, institutions and citizens.

No gas in cities, no work in villages: Double disaster for India’s migrants

A perfect storm of geopolitical crisis and policy paralysis is pushing India’s poorest into a devastating double-bind. The ongoing war in Iran has sent shockwaves through global oil markets, and as LPG prices skyrocket and factory slowdowns ripple across urban centers, a massive exodus of migrant workers is underway. But for millions fleeing the city’s hardships, the safety net of rural employment has all but vanished, leaving them stranded without work or income.

Pseudoscience? A Chandigarh man's brain-hacking claim nobody knows how to handle!

I receive a lot of unsolicited material in my line of work — op-eds, press releases, open letters, manifestos. But the document that landed in my inbox recently gave me pause in a way that most don't. It came formatted as a formal submission, signed by a Chandigarh resident called Sumeet, addressed to me in my capacity as someone who works with editorial and public interest content. The subject line read: Submission as Cyber and Human Rights Volunteer – Cyber Ethics and Human Rights Concerns.

Civil society flags widespread violations of land acquisition Act before Parliamentary panel

Civil society organisations and stakeholders from across India have presented stark evidence before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj , alleging systemic violations of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013 , particularly in Scheduled Areas and tribal regions.

Ambedkar’s radical legacy fueled resurgence in Gujarat Dalit agitations: Study

Over the past decade and a half, Gujarat has witnessed a remarkable resurgence of Dalit agitations that mark a decisive shift from accommodation to confrontation, according to a major new study published in the journal National Identities . The research, conducted by Mahendra Parmar of the Central University of Gujarat , draws on 18 in-depth interviews with victims and activists to document how B.R. Ambedkar ’s radical thought has become the central political resource shaping Dalit identity and mobilisation in the state.

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