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Ideal Money – Ideal or a Far Cry from the Idea?

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By Deepthi Mary Mathew* The world has witnessed two major economic crises over the last decade – Sub-prime and Euro zone crises. These periods witnessed a string of discussions and debates aimed at lifting the ailing economies out of the crises. Keynesian economics that lost its glory during the 1970s returned to the centre stage. The central banks in the crisis-hit countries resorted to unconventional measures and started pumping money into the economies. From ‘Quantitative Easing’ to ‘Helicopter Money’, we were introduced to different concepts, while capital was flooded to financial institutions. The result was a sudden movement of capital between the countries in search of maximum returns. Consequently, there was huge instability in the currency markets that witnessed sudden depreciation/appreciation of major currencies. Now, the central banks in these economies are in a major dilemma, as the withdrawal of measures meant to combat the crises could possibly lead to another

RIGHTS OF THE INVISIBLE WORKERS

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By Ginu Sunny* Domestic workers comprise a significant part of the unorganised sector and contribute to the national income. Yet, they remain invisible, unregistered in any book and excluded from the labour legislations of our country. The domestic workforce is often considered the grey area of work force that works behind closed doors of private households and is often hard to reach by any conventional policy tools.For instance, this is how the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) in its survey in 2009–10 described the Indian scenario of employment and workforce. “The total employment in the country was 46.5 crore comprising around 2.8 crore in the organised and the remaining 43.7 crore workers in the unorganised sector. Out of these workers in the unorganised sector, there are 24.6 crore workers employed in agricultural sector, about 4.4 crore in construction work and remaining in manufacturing and service.”(C-DAC, 2016) Being a highly feminised sector, the natu

How Liberal is Kerala’s Latest Liquor Policy?

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Rahul V Kumar* The hardline liquor prohibition policy of the previous United Democratic Front (UDF) Government in Kerala was debated more as a political issue than for its economic rationale. The outcome of this policy indicated that popular political whims could have serious unintended consequences. While there is an absence of systematic data indicating a decline in the use of alcohol, there are sufficient data indicating that drug abuse became prevalent following restrictions in the sale of liquor. This was enough evidence for the incumbent Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government to roll back the policy of prohibition. The LDF government’s new liquor policy is more a political statement that challenges the existing policy intended to phase out liquor sales in Kerala. Several bars with three and four-star status that were closed following the ban are proposed to be opened under the new policy. There are conflicting data on the exact number of bars that will start functioning

Animal Market Regulations: Some Immediate Concerns

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D Dhanuraj and Rahul V Kumar* India is predominantly an agrarian economy with a large section of its population depending on the sector for their livelihood. Cattle form a vital part of agriculture and allied activities. Various estimates suggest that India has a large bovine population with approximately 303 million cattle and water buffaloes alone. More than 60 million small and marginal farmers own a major part of these animals, which directly aid agriculture and form an essential part of the dairy and meat industry. The meat producing industry depends mostly on the unorganised sector for sourcing the products. This unorganised sector includes animal markets as well as slaughter houses. Estimates put the number of slaughter houses in the unorganised sector in India at 25000. The meat industry in India is estimated at approximately $15000 million. Various departments under the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Commerce regulate the functioning of these markets. It i