339. An Unequal Citizen?
BIC TALKS
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338. Unpacking Economic Freedom in the Constitution
BIC TALKS
This discussion will explore how the Constitution of India frames the concept of economic freedom. We often think of the constitutional guarantee of freedom in terms of the freedom of speech and expression. This discussion moves beyond this framing to examine the oft-ignored aspect of economic freedom for individuals and organisations. The panellists will discuss the balance between state intervention and individual economic rights, exploring issues like onerous licensing and compliance requirements for businesses, property rights and the right to trade occupation, profession and...
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337. Urban Legends
BIC TALKS
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336. We Are Like This Only
BIC TALKS
In this session, Kunal Shah, Founder of CRED, and Archana Rai, Senior Editor at The Economic Times, will explore the exciting journey of India’s startup ecosystem. They will discuss how consumer practices in India have evolved, from e-commerce to the rapid growth of quick commerce, and how startups are adapting to meet these changing demands. The conversation will also highlight the importance of digital public infrastructure and its role in empowering entrepreneurs and businesses to innovate and scale. Kunal will share his personal journey of building CRED, offering insights into the...
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335. Road Not Taken
BIC TALKS
A discussion based on the book Poles Apart: The Military and Democracy in India and Pakistan. This session delves into the starkly different roles played by the military in the political landscapes of India and Pakistan, and how these choices have shaped the democratic trajectories of both nations. While Pakistan’s history is marked by frequent military interventions that have hindered its democratic development, India’s military has remained notably apolitical, even in moments of crisis such as the 1962 Sino-Indian War, the Emergency, and Operation Blue Star. Explore the critical moments...
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334. Story of an Unknown Indian
BIC TALKS
What does the life of an ordinary working-class Indian look and feel like? Join us for a panel discussion discussing this and more with the author of The Many Lives of Syeda X Neha Dixit and commentator and editor Priya Ramani. In her book The Many Lives of Syeda X journalist Neha Dixit traces the story of one such faceless Indian woman, Syeda X, from the early 1990s to the present day. What emerges is a picture of a life lived under constant corrosive tension. Researched for close to a decade, in this book, we meet an unforgettable cast of characters for...
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333. Demystifying Climate Change
BIC TALKS
Every day we hear something unusual. A fire here, a flood there, a storm surge, a cloudburst. These events affect all of us, our well-being, our health, our family, our work. Their frequency and intensity are increasing. Fortunately, however, we no longer lack explanations for these events. We know fossil fuels and the destruction of Nature by us humans are the primary reasons for the alarming acceleration in global warming. Awareness is the first step towards change, and Rajan Mehta’s Backstage Climate is an attempt to make you aware of global warming and climate change in a...
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332. Not Just a Laughing Matter!
BIC TALKS
Abu Abraham’s career as a cartoonist, columnist and artist spanned over 50 years, from the late 1940s to the early 2000s, during which his work appeared in a range of newspapers and magazines in India and the UK. Throughout this period of significant political change and upheaval, he critically responded to the political landscape, producing a rich and complex oeuvre that reflects these shifts. The centenary exhibition, “,” brought together, for the first time, the breadth of Abu Abraham’s work as a cartoonist and journalist across six decades. Through Abu’s political cartoons,...
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331. Deeper Vulnerabilities of India’s Democracy
BIC TALKS
Democracy, representing the will of the people, is the least imperfect form of government in the present day world. Yet even this will of the people can’t remain unfettered, for without constitutional limits, democracy is often distorted. What then are the challenges to India’s constitutional democracy? In this episode of BIC Talks, Rajeev Bhargava, Founder-Director, Parekh Institute of Indian Thought, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, will speak of the multiple obstacles to Constitutional Democracy but will focus on deep rooted, long standing mental...
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330. Confronting Capitalism
BIC TALKS
What went wrong with capitalism? Ruchir Sharma’s account is not like any you will have heard before. He says progressives are right, in part, when they mock modern capitalism as “socialism for the rich.” For a century, governments have expanded in just about every measurable dimension, from spending to regulation and the scale of financial rescues when the economy wobbles. The result is expensive state guarantees for everyone—bailouts for the rich, entitlements for the middle class, welfare for the poor. Taking you back to the 19th century, Sharma shows how completely the reflexes of...
info_outlineIn the early 1970s, India was experiencing severe poverty and hunger due to the great droughts of the previous decade. Although the Green Revolution was starting, agriculture and rural issues were largely ignored by urban residents and the media. Reports on monsoons, crops, and prices were seldom highlighted, lacking the appeal for widespread attention. Significant studies like those by V M Dandekar and Nilkanth Rath on poverty were published in specialised journals and went unnoticed by the general public. As a result, rural despair, evident then as now, remained hidden from mainstream discussion.
Fast forward to the third decade of the twenty-first century, and rural India, or Bharat, significantly lags behind urban areas in terms of income, infrastructure, governance, education, and healthcare. This gap has widened, especially since India’s economic growth accelerated over the last thirty years. Numerous initiatives over the past seven decades by the government, private sector, and civil organisations aimed at rural development have had mixed results, often falling short of expectations. While there have been significant achievements, they are isolated instances rather than widespread improvements. Additionally, resource scarcity, particularly water, has become a critical issue, yet remains largely ignored.
The pressing challenge is to connect these isolated successes, despite the difficult conditions, to create a more prosperous rural landscape.
In this episode of BIC Talks, Prof. Shreekant Sambrani, delves deeper into these issues to explore potential solutions. This is an excerpt from a conversation that took place in the BIC premises in July 2024.
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