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  A new report sheds light on the urgent human rights challenges within  India’s vast textile and garment industry , as global regulations increasingly demand corporate accountability in supply chains. Titled “ Beneath the Seams ,” the study reveals that despite the sector employing over 45 million people, systemic issues of  poverty wages ,  unfair purchasing practices , and the exclusion of workers from decision-making persist, leaving millions vulnerable.

The recent report, " State of Finance in India Report 2024-25 ," released by a coalition including the  Centre for Financial Accountability , Focus on the Global South, and other organizations, paints a stark picture of India's burgeoning digital economy, particularly highlighting the exploitation faced by  gig workers  on platform-based services. 

Findings by two Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, scholars, Sampurna Kundu and Prof Sanghmitra Sheel Acharya, has revealed that despite the efforts of the Reproductive and Child Health Services, that provided free or nominal cost public health services, the average out of pocket expenditure (OOPE) per delivery in public health facilities has increased for many states.

    The other day, I visited what is being billed as the  Ahmedabad International Flower Show 2026 , currently underway at the  Sabarmati Riverfront Event Centre . This was my second visit to the Ahmedabad flower show. I went with my NRI friends, who remarked that the display this year was far superior to what they had seen when they visited Ahmedabad around the same time last year.

  India must confront its accelerating ecological emergency with systemic reforms rather than symbolic gestures, climate and energy expert  Soumya Dutta  warned during an interactive workshop in  Ahmedabad  titled “India’s Environmental Crisis: Where Do We Go From Here Living?”. Introduced by  Jesuit activist Cedric Prakash  as both a scientist and people’s movement organiser, Dutta said India was already facing life-threatening consequences of environmental neglect.

  In a new episode of the  Unmute Podcast , activist  Deepa Pawar , founder of  Anubhuti Trust  and a voice from India's Nomadic and Denotified Tribes (NT-DNT), laid bare the deep-seated wounds inflicted by colonial-era laws that branded her community as criminals. Speaking with hosts Gagan Sethi, a veteran development practitioner with over 40 years in policy advocacy and minority rights, and Minar Pimple, founder of YUVA and former Amnesty International director, Pawar dismantled the myths of progress that sideline these marginalized groups, urging a reckoning with dignity, citizenship, and mental health in the fight for justice.

  The global health landscape is witnessing a decisive shift toward aggressive regulation of the food industry, a movement highlighted by two significant policy developments shared by Dr. Arun Gupta of the Nutrition Advocacy for Public Interest (NAPi). 

  A few days ago, I received an  email alert  from a veteran human rights leader who has fought many battles in  Gujarat  for the  Dalit  cause — both through ground-level campaigns and courtroom struggles. The alert, sent in Gujarati by Valjibhai Patel, who heads the Council for Social Justice, stated: “In 1935,  Babasaheb Ambedkar  burnt the  Manusmriti . In 1972, we broke the idol of  Krishna , whom we regarded as the creator of the  varna  (caste) system.”

  In a groundbreaking  study  spanning 26 countries across the  Global South , researchers have uncovered the widespread and concerning practice of  households burning plastic waste  as a fuel for cooking, heating, and other domestic needs. The research, published in  Nature Communications , reveals that this hazardous method of managing both waste and  energy poverty  is driven by systemic failures in municipal services and the unaffordability of clean alternatives, posing severe risks to human health and the environment.

  The latest analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch on the self-sworn affidavits of 102 re-elected Members of Parliament between the 2014 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections reveals a striking escalation in personal wealth among India’s political class. The average assets of these MPs have more than doubled in a decade, rising from ₹15.76 crore in 2014 to ₹33.13 crore in 2024, marking a 110 percent increase. This surge underscores the widening gap between political representatives and the citizens they serve, raising urgent questions about the nexus of power, privilege, and economic inequality.  

Professor Ghanshyam Shah ’s latest book, “ Caste-Class Hegemony and State Power: A Study of Gujarat Politics ”, published by  Routledge , is penned by one of  Gujarat ’s most respected chroniclers, drawing on decades of fieldwork in the state. It seeks to dissect how caste and class factors overlap to perpetuate the hegemony of upper strata in an ostensibly democratic polity. The book probes the dominance of two main political parties in Gujarat—the  Indian National Congress  and the BJP—arguing that both have sustained capitalist growth while reinforcing Brahmanic hierarchies.