India is facing a growing mental health crisis marked by a high burden of depression, anxiety, addiction, and suicides, with nearly 70–92% treatment gap and a severe shortage of professionals. The Union Budget 2026 has focused on institutional expansion, including a second campus of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, upgradation of regional institutes, and continued support for digital services like Tele MANAS. However, mental health spending remains below 2% of the health budget, and challenges such as stigma, limited community-level services, workforce shortages, and rising youth and digital-age stress persist. Addressing the crisis requires greater funding, community-based care, preventive strategies, and stronger primary healthcare integration to ensure accessible and affordable mental health services for all.
Click to View MoreThe Supreme Court’s intervention revives the freebies versus welfare debate. Distinguishing constitutional, productive welfare from populist giveaways, the issue highlights fiscal stress and dependency risks. A balanced solution needs legal clarity, stronger fiscal norms, electoral transparency, and informed voters to protect economic prudence and democracy.
Click to View MoreA Supreme Court-mandated committee said domestic workers do not need a separate law, citing coverage under new Labour Codes. Rights groups disagree, arguing these codes target formal establishments and ignore private households, leaving millions of women workers without social security, maternity benefits, or protection from exploitation.
Click to View MoreThe proposed VB-G RAM G Bill seeks to replace MGNREGA, raising workdays to 125 but shifting from a rights-based, demand-driven scheme to a budget-capped model. Greater central control, higher state cost sharing and work-pause provisions risk centralisation and dilution of the rural poor’s right to work.
Click to View MoreSurveillance apps are backfiring in welfare delivery. Tools like NMMS, Aadhaar authentication, and Poshan Tracker exclude beneficiaries, burden frontline workers, and threaten privacy. Effective governance needs stronger social audits, human oversight, and a culture of responsibility instead of techno-solutionism.
Click to View MoreViolence against women in India persists, despite strong laws like 'Mission Shakti.' High crime rates and normalized abuse, shown by NCRB/NFHS-5 data, highlight mixed success. Implementation gaps, low conviction rates, and patriarchy hinder progress, necessitating a multi-pronged approach encompassing policy, legal reform, and attitudinal change for real impact.
Click to View MoreThe government removed 2.25 crore ineligible beneficiaries using Aadhaar-seeding and data analytics to curb leakage and improve targeting. The move supports fiscal prudence and Shanta Kumar Committee reforms but risks excluding deserving people, making strong grievance systems and an updated coverage cap essential to protect the right to food.
Click to View MoreAyushman Bharat PM-JAY is the world's largest government-funded health assurance scheme. It provides a health cover of ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization to over 12 crore poor and vulnerable families, offering cashless treatment at empaneled hospitals across India.
Click to View MoreIndia must reform outdated land-use planning to make cities true economic growth hubs. Achieving the $30 trillion goal and Net Zero target needs cities with job-linked visions, regional planning, Natural Resource Budgeting, and Climate Action Plans that ensure sustainable, resilient, and holistic urban growth.
Click to View MoreNITI Aayog's Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) launched the 'WE Rise Initiative,' marking a powerful push for women's economic empowerment. Designed around the 'Three Ps'—Patronage, Partnership, and Practice—this digital platform provides customized mentorship and financial linkage to high-potential women-led enterprises.
Click to View MoreChhattisgarh’s Surajpur district, with UNICEF support, has declared 75 panchayats “Child Marriage-Free” by mobilizing Anganwadi workers and communities. The successful two-year campaign, now adopted as the ‘Surajpur Model,’ drives the state’s mission for a “Child Marriage-Free State.”
Click to View MorePublic Distribution System delivers subsidised food to more than 80 crore beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act 2013. The government identifies critical challenges, including leakages, inclusion/exclusion errors, and storage issues. Recent reforms implement End-to-End Computerisation, One Nation One Ration Card, and Aadhaar seeding to boost transparency and accessibility.
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