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In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 600 Indian medium, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs) in the textile and garment business are churning out 4.5 lakh personal protective equipment (PPE) kits every day, according to recent reports quoting Union Minister Smriti Irani. Similarly, mask production per day is in excess of two lakh and small enterprises are now aiming at exporting the surplus. Over the past two months,...

This blog was originally published in Mint on 14 July.

A little over 100 days since the covid-19 pandemic brought India to a standstill, damaging lives, livelihoods and the economy, a glimmer of hope has finally appeared. After months of lockdown, the economy is showing some signs of recovery.

In the coming months, as we step out of the lockdown, our focus will be on rebuilding livelihoods through an economic...

Cities throughout India and the world are now in the process of recovering from a never-seen-before complete lockdown that was implemented as a safety measure against the ongoing novel coronavirus induced pandemic. This was necessary to maintain physical distance, leaving empty streets around the world as we sat indoors, wondering what we were missing out on. Cities across the globe are now working towards reimagining streets to accommodate the new normal in a post-COVID...

India witnessed a vast exodus of informal sector workers in the last few months. This has opened a can of worms questioning the role of these workers in India’s growth story. Urban India depends largely on the informal rural workforce that migrates to cities in search of livelihood and helps build these ever-expanding cities. While the informal workforce contributes significantly to creating and building our cities, there work continues to be undocumented. The situation exploded particularly badly when, in March India instituted a highly controlling lockdown and subsequently...

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated societal and economic challenges. Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in India have been particularly hit by the pandemic, subsequent lockdown and exodus of migrant workers that followed the lockdown. While the economy is slowly opening, a key concern for MSMEs is that they may not be able to operate at full capacities. On the occasion of the 2nd edition of International Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day, we must find ways to unlock their potential to achieve the...

Responding to rapid urbanization and growing congestion, several Indian cities have invested in metro rail networks to provide sustainable and affordable mass transit that can cater to large volumes of people. However, a majority of metro systems have not been able to reach their projected ridership. This shortfall has been attributed to a lack of comprehensive first-and last-mile solutions to connect homes, offices, and other activity centers with metro stations. In 2016, 70% of potential Bangalore Metro users cited poor first- and last-mile connectivity as a reason for not using it,...

The ongoing pandemic has wreaked immense and lasting damage to India’s economy, and passenger transport has been particularly affected. Its far-reaching impact on the aviation and railway industry is well-documented, along with the struggles of...

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is the defining global health crisis of our times and is proving to be one of the greatest challenges faced by humanity. It is wreaking havoc around the globe and has forced most of human work to shut down. However, these uncertain times have inadvertently helped the environment, with frequent sightings of...

Access to electricity ensures increased economic productivity, healthcare services and better educational prospects and is thus crucial for socio-economic development. While grid expansion and advances in the distributed Renewable Energy (RE) industry have made significant efforts to reach unserved and under-served populations, several livelihoods, healthcare and educational facilities still lack this vital resource.

Caught in a vicious cycle of under-development, a potent tool for the rural and remote populations to break out of cyclical poverty is access to electricity. Low...

By investing in cycling infrastructure now, the city with one of the most severe traffic congestions in the world, can recover from the lockdown more sustainably and build more resilience.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Bengaluru could have been at par with other major Indian cities, but quick and decisive actions by the government have helped stem that risk. As the city crawls back to normalcy and people look at safer mobility options, Bengaluru now faces the...