RajivBuzz

  A comprehensive new study examining 1.5 million urban and rural neighborhoods across India has uncovered deep patterns of residential segregation and systematic inequality in access to public services, with findings that researchers say rival the scale of racial segregation in the United States.

A new World Bank flagship report reveals that  human capital accumulation  in India is being critically undermined by severe deficits in child health, home-based care, and educational quality, with stark disparities linked to gender, birth order, and  environmental pollution . The report,  Building Human Capital Where It Matters: Homes, Neighborhoods, and Workplaces , argues that without urgent policy action targeting the home, neighborhood, and workplace, India risks perpetuating a cycle of low productivity and stagnating economic growth.

  A comprehensive review of the  after the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana (PM-SGMBY)  by the advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has found that the scheme is structurally unsuitable for  low-income families  and has largely benefited relatively affluent households instead.

India's ambitious  National Perspective Plan  to interlink 37 rivers — at a cost exceeding Rs 10 lakh crore — has attracted fierce opposition from scientists, environmentalists, and affected communities. Ever since Prime Minister  Narendra Modi  laid the foundation stone for the first major project under this plan, the Ken-Betwa River Link Project (KBRLP), on December 25, 2024, that opposition has only grown louder. 

  A public appeal by local advocate  Kamlesh S. Madhiwala  has drawn attention to a growing crisis in urban India’s smaller towns—the steady disappearance of accessible sports infrastructure and its ripple effects on children and youth.

  South Asia is at a critical crossroads as it faces a massive surge in waste generation that is set to nearly double by 2050, according to the  World Bank ’s latest " What a Waste 3.0 " report. The region, which currently produces 346 million tonnes of  municipal solid waste  annually, is projected to see a 99% growth in volume over the next quarter-century, fueled by rapid population growth and accelerating urbanization. 

After I was transferred as the Times of India representative in Gandhinagar, the Gujarat capital, in 1997, one of the many changes I noticed in my interaction with state officialdom and politicians was the kind of courtesies extended to me—even by those I would rarely meet. One such courtesy came in the form of a phrase I knew nothing about:  Micchami Dukkadam .

In its April 2026 South Asia Economic Update , the World Bank identifies India as the primary engine of regional growth, with the economy estimated to have accelerated to 7.6% in fiscal year 2025/26.  This macroeconomic surge, however, exists alongside a highly fragmented labor market where the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deep-seated inter-state wage disparities—specifically between states like Kerala, Gujarat, and Chhattisgarh—create a complex landscape for the workforce.

A comprehensive new study from Deakin University in Australia has delivered a sobering verdict on the Health Star Rating (HSR) system: after more than a decade of operation and multiple algorithm "improvements," the voluntary front-of-package labelling scheme continues to classify a significant proportion of ultra-processed foods and discretionary foods as healthy.