Lok Sabha mandate "one-sided", casts aspersions on poll process: Sandeep Pandey, others

By A Representative
A group of social activists led by senior academic Sandeep Pandey, supporting Mayawati’s demand to re-conduct polls using ballot papers, have said that :the manner in which recently conducted Lok Sabha elections have given an unprecedented one-sided mandate favouring Bhartiya Janta Party "casts aspersions on electoral process.”
Organized under the Lok Rajniti Manch, they said in a statement, “It appears as if BJP had managed a grip to control all institutions in democracy to get its desired results. We demand that to ensure citizens of India continue to believe in democracy, 100% VVPAT and EVMs data be tallied.”
The statement adds, “If irregularity to large extent is found then as demanded by national leader of Bahujan Samaj Party’s Mayawati, entire election be conducted using ballot paper.” The statement has been also signed by Rajeev Yadav, Gaurav Singh (Lucknow), Yugal Kishore Shastri (Ayodhya), Faisal Khan (Delhi), Lubna Sarwath (Hyderabad), Gurumurti M (Bengaluru), and Mahendra Yadav (Patna).
It says, “To improve election process better, full transparency needs to be brought in electoral bond related process, by which political parties are receiving donations; receiving donations from foreign companies be stopped; and cap on maximum donation to a political party by a company at 7.5% of its last 3 years profit be restored.”
It adds, “Just like maximum election spending is fixed for a candidate, likewise a maximum election spending limit be ascertained for political parties and expenses be accounted for entire five years, not just 15 days before polling. Maximum election spending limit be fixed keeping in mind an ordinary citizen and not big political parties.”

The making of a self-made woman: How eighty sheep changed everything for Kalawati Ninama

By Vikas Meshram* About forty-two kilometres from Rajasthan's Banswara district, in the tribal heartland of Ghatol block, lies the small village of Ubapana. This is where Kalawati Ninama, her husband Dhulji, and their four children make their home. Their days unfold much like those of their neighbours—bustling mornings, long hours of farm labour through the afternoon, and evenings spent tending livestock. For this family, farming and livestock were once simply a means of putting food on the table. Today, they have become the sturdy foundation of something far greater: genuine self-sufficiency.

Ahmedabad world’s least climate resilient major city: AlphaGeo study

By Rajiv Shah A new study has ranked Ahmedabad as the least climate-resilient major city in the world , highlighting a dangerous gap between the city’s extreme physical vulnerability to climate hazards and its capacity to adapt. Cited by The New York Times , the analysis, conducted by geospatial artificial intelligence firm AlphaGeo , places the Indian city at the top of a list of global urban centres most exposed to climate risk.

India has spent billions on skilling. Where are the jobs?

By Vikas Gupta India loves the photograph of a certificate ceremony. A minister on a stage. A banner bearing the word “skill.” Young people holding folders that promise a future. It is a reassuring image because it tells us the problem has a manageable answer: train the young, make them job-ready, and work will follow.

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