Holding lenders accountable
for development finance

Session 1 — CoP & Institutional Governance Mechanisms: History & Evolution Course led by: Soumya Dutta on 26th October, 2026 (Monday). Objective: Mapping the institutional and political architecture of global climate governance — the history and evolution of the CoP process, the role of ...

The 18th BRICS Summit hosted under the presidency of India on September 12 & 13 is happening at a time when the world is passing through geo political instability. In their responses to Trump’s tariff regime, genocide in Palestine or the attacks by Israel and US on Iran – a member of the blo...

As the New Development Bank expands its role as the ‘BRICS Bank’, there are questions whether it can offer a model of development and climate finance that serves the Global South’s interests. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal ...

It would have been different if India had taken firm positions when it mattered, stood up to bullying by powerful countries and supported its traditional allies when they needed it the most. Police personnel stand near a BRICS Summit billboard amid preparations ahead of the summit, in the Dhau...

Southern solidarity remains real, but its bearers are not the states assembling in New Delhi. A worker installs CCTV cameras near Bharat Mandapam as part of the preparation ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit, scheduled to be held on Sept. 12th to 13th, in New Delhi, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. Photo...

As the streets of Delhi are decked up with BRICS hoardings, and as we are (presumably) gearing up to hide our own gross inequities with green screens, it is imperative that we point at this silence on addressing inequality.   A NDMC worker carries out beautification work near Bharat Mandapam...

Internal asymmetries between BRICS countries have increased in the last decade. NDMC workers mark zebra crossings at India Gate circle ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit, scheduled to be held on Sept. 12th to 13th, in New Delhi, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. Photo: PTI. BRICS+ meet in New Delhi ...

The report, Beyond the Promises: A Decade of Environmental and Social Commitments at the New Development Bank, examines the gap between the NDB’s stated commitments to sustainable development and the safeguards, transparency and accountability mechanisms available in practice. A central concern...

A Decade On, the New Development Bank (BRICS Bank) Still Leaves Affected Communities Without Redress No independent accountability mechanism, a disclosure policy still labeled “interim” after nearly ten years, and case studies from India and other BRICS countries show the cost of those g...

Image: AI-generated representative image Salary is paid to employees for their work. Work is the performance. If they are working more, they should be paid better salary, which will add to their retirement benefits, but the Finance Ministry is forcing performance-linked incentives to a selected few ...

The study stated that the WTE plants outrank coal power plants and copper smelters and therefore must not be categorised under ‘Blue’ ‘Essential Environmental Services.’ BENGALURU: Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA), an analysis agency, has claimed that the Bidadi Waste-to-Energy (WTE...

These plants flag emission of heavy metals, cancer-causing chemicals. Bengaluru: The much-touted waste-to-energy (WtE) plants are a disaster for the environment and the ‘Blue’ category classification of such industries belies the ‘extreme levels’ of pollution generated by...

Breathing poison? The 100/100 pollution score the CPCB doesn’t want you to see A bombshell study by the Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has revealed that Delhi’s four Waste-to-Energy (WTE) incineration plants score a staggering 100 out of 100 on the Central Pollution Con...

‘PCB may have no say on proposed WTE plant in Siddapur’ Hyderabad: In a report that places a major question mark on the functioning of waste-to-energy (WTE) plants such as the ones at the Jawaharnagar dump yard here, the Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has said that WTE incine...

Four waste-to-energy plants score maximum on pollution index even as they’re given easier regulatory treatment Four waste-to-energy plants meant to help Delhi deal with its mountains of garbage have themselves been found to have the maximum possible pollution score — an irony that has raise...

‘India will require at least 228 billion dollars to achieve the target 100 GWe nuclear energy capacity’ Private players also suggested that nuclear power projects be accorded infrastructure status (File Photo/Representational) Private players are seeking green energy status for nuclear pow...

In Hyderabad, two WTE plants operated by Re-Sustainability Ltd. at Jawaharnagar have a combined incineration capacity of 48 MW Synopsis: Waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration plants are the highest-polluting industrial sector in India, with a maximum cumulative PI of 100, a new Centre for Fina...

“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” Those are the famous words from the 1995 thriller ‘Usual Suspects’. That’s a line that one recalls looking at the 7.8% GDP growth figure for the first quarter that the government is boasting about. F...

Close look at Nabard’s latest sentiment survey reveals falling incomes, shrinking savings, and rising debt, exposing grim reality behind India’s rural claims The government should remember that the problem of excessive borrowing is concentrated largely among younger borrowers, who have...

100/100 POLLUTION SCORE:WHY WASTE-TO-ENERGY PLANTS DON’T BELONG IN THE “BLUE” CATEGORY The report “100/100 POLLUTION SCORE: WHY WASTE-TO-ENERGY PLANTS DON’T BELONG IN THE “BLUE” CATEGORY” challenges the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) 2025 reclassification of Waste-to-Energy...

Nepal’s response to the catastrophic Lhende Khola-Bhotekoshi-Trishuli disaster in August 2026 marks an important shift in how climate disasters are understood. Rather than presenting the Himalayan catastrophe simply as a humanitarian disaster requiring charity, Kathmandu has emphasised its...

On the 28th August 2026, Nepali officials roughly doubled their tally of missing people to over 1,900, saying hydropower producers had only recently shared a count of unaccounted-for workers at projects in the devastated river valleys. It is feared that over 900 people are missing from hydropower pr...

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh The 7.8% growth rate of India’s gross domestic product in the April-June quarter presents a “greatly distorted picture” of the economy, claimed the Congress on Monday. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation had published the GDP numbers earlier ...

The report, Beyond the Promises: A Decade of Environmental and Social Commitments at the New Development Bank, examines the gap between the NDB’s stated commitments to sustainable development and the safeguards, transparency and accountability mechanisms available in practice. A central concern...

100/100 POLLUTION SCORE:WHY WASTE-TO-ENERGY PLANTS DON’T BELONG IN THE “BLUE” CATEGORY The report “100/100 POLLUTION SCORE: WHY WASTE-TO-ENERGY PLANTS DON’T BELONG IN THE “BLUE” CATEGORY” challenges the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) 2025 reclassification of Waste-to-Energy...

TAX THE TOP. CLOSE THE GAP. From opulent weddings to brazen political clout, from near complete control over media narrative to mind-numbing net worth figures – what we are witnessing today is truly unprecedented in free India. Today India is witnessing inequality at levels that are comparable...

The Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar – Muft Bijli Yojana (PM-SGMBY- Free Electricity Scheme) was launched with the stated objective of reducing electricity costs for domestic consumers by connecting them to solar energy, and was specifically claimed to benefit the poor and middle class. However, ...

A new fact finding report on the 50 ton incinerator in Kodungaiyur, Chennai reveals that over 90% of the incinerator emission parameters stipulated under Solid waste Management rules, 2016 have not even been once since the commissioning of the plant in 2021. Only three parameters were monito...

An Analysis of the Union Budget 2026-27 Listening to the Finance Minister’s speech right after reading the Economic Survey felt as if the sound and fury of the Survey signified nothing. The Survey, sans several of the unqualified praise for the state of the economy, had rightly underlined the exigen...

Just Energy Transition (JET) has gained significant prominence as the global climate crisis intensifies, emphasising the urgent need to move away from fossil fuels to mitigate climate impacts. India, as the third-largest primary energy consumer globally, presents a complex case for JET due to its he...

आज दुनिया भर में जलवायु संकट बढ़ रहा है और इसी वजह से जस्ट एनर्जी ट्रांजिशन (JET) की चर्चा तेज हो गई है। इसका सीधा मतलब है कि हमें धीरे-धीरे जीवाश्म ईंधनों (जैसे कोयला और तेल) से हटकर स्वच्छ ऊर्जा की ओर बढ़ना होगा। भारत इस बदलाव में एक कठिन उदाहरण है, क्योंकि यह दुनिया का तीसरा सबसे बड़ा ऊर्जा उपभोक...

The Telangana State Energy Finance Conference held on 25th September 2025 at the Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS), Hyderabad was co-organised by CESS, the People’s Monitoring Group on Electricity Regulation (PMGER), Rural Reconstruction and Development Society (RRDS), Federatio...

India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM), launched with the ambition of making the country a global hub and exporter, is promoted as a cornerstone of its climate strategy. This article argues that, far from being a genuine solution, the mission constitutes a dangerous mirage that sacrific...

This edition of the State of Finance in India report has India’s digital economy and its impact as its special theme. The term ‘infrastructure’ conjures up images of large projects made of steel and concrete, to provide services varying from those offered by dams and power plants to those offer...

Dispatches from A World Growing Apart. Issue 1 | 18 October 2025   Issue 2 | 10 Novemeber 2025 Issue 3 | 25 November 2025 Issue 4 | December 17, 2025 Issue 5 | January 11, 2026 ...

World Bank on Trial! | On the 80th Anniversary of World Bank/IMF The Independent People’s Tribunal (IPT) on the World Bank @ 80, convened in Kolkata in December 2024, critically examined the World Bank’s pervasive role in shaping India’s economic, social, and environmental landscape. Organised by th...

This report traces India’s evolving political and economic relations with Israel against the backdrop of the ongoing genocide in Gaza. It analyses India’s shift from a cautious and pro-Palestinian stance to a more overtly pro-Israel orientation, particularly under the Narendra Modi-led g...

India has announced plans to reach Net Zero emissions by 2070 and has pledged to decarbonise its economy, including the power generation sector which is right now overwhelmingly dependent on coal. In spite of this ambitious intent and commendable on-ground progress, coal and coal-based power generat...

The fifth webinar in the Political Economy of the Trump Era series examined the historical exclusions and contemporary fractures of the multilateral system through the lens of the Global South. Titled “Standing Up to the Empire: Reclaiming Southern Multilateralism”, the session interrogated the stru...

Excerpts from the Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 by Francesca Albanese. The report titled From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide is a powerful indictment of the complicity, and connivance of big business...

As the Reserve Bank of India celebrates the “resilience” of India’s financial system in its latest Financial Stability Report (June 2025), this briefing cuts through the celebratory tone to examine the deeper, often concealed, vulnerabilities. From surging household debt and stagnating wages to risi...

In the context of an accelerating ecological crisis, the fourth webinar in the Political Economy of the Trump Era series, examined how climate collapse is being politically manufactured, seen most visibly through the return of Trump and his anti-climate policies. The webinar discussed that far from ...

As one grappled with the madness to get to the method, the questions around the fate of the financial institutions like IMF, World Bank etc has many curious. Amid the intensifying crises of debt, inequality, and climate collapse, the third webinar in the series The Political Economy of the Trump Era...

Musk & Trump From the bonhomie to the fallout & beyond In the context of growing authoritarianism and deepening corporate capture, the second webinar in the series The Political Economy of the Trump Era, titled ‘Time of Monsters: Fascism and the Fusion of the State and the Corporation’, look...

Waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration and urban heat in Delhi. Heatwaves, which are a period of unusually high temperatures as compared to what is normally expected over a region, are increasingly posing a serious threat to health, especially in the Indian subcontinent. It progresses gradually and caus...

Amidst rapidly shifting geopolitical shifts, the first webinar in the series The Political Economy of the Trump Era, titled ‘The Tariff Wars: India and the Global South in a Fragmenting System of World Trade’ attempted to understand the deeper currents shaping today’s tariff war and its implications...

The Government of India’s Ministry of Finance released the draft framework for India’s Climate Finance Taxonomy on 7 May 2025. The draft framework discusses the country’s climate goals and commitments, including Nationally Determined Contributions and the Net Zero target by 2070, a...

Documenting grounded pathways of transition from communities, landscapes, and lived realities An initiative by Samata and Centre for Financial Accountability The JUST Fellowship is a four-month, field-based fellowship that seeks to document and engage with the realities of ecologi...

Curious about the forces shaping economies, public policy, and people’s lives? Join CFA’s Marjorie Fernandes Internship Program and work on issues that matter. At the Centre for Financial Accountability, interns become part of ongoing efforts to examine the intersection of finance, development, clim...

TAX THE TOP. CLOSE THE GAP. From opulent weddings to brazen political clout, from near complete control over media narrative to mind-numbing net worth figures – what we are witnessing today is truly unprecedented in free India. Today India is witnessing inequality at levels that are comparable...

An Analysis of the Union Budget 2026-27 Listening to the Finance Minister’s speech right after reading the Economic Survey felt as if the sound and fury of the Survey signified nothing. The Survey, sans several of the unqualified praise for the state of the economy, had rightly underlined the exigen...

This edition of the State of Finance in India report has India’s digital economy and its impact as its special theme. The term ‘infrastructure’ conjures up images of large projects made of steel and concrete, to provide services varying from those offered by dams and power plants to those offer...

A reading of the budget and the Economic Survey is a crucial exercise to understand the direction that the economy is taking. It gives a sense of how responsive is a government to the actual challenges in the economy and the real needs of the people. The current budget as such was crucial as it come...

The recently concluded COP29 left many people disappointed due to a lack of progress on critical issues. The Western world offered insufficient climate finance, while major polluters sought to undermine the fossil fuel phaseout commitments made at COP28 in Dubai. The science on the devastating i...

India assumed the G20 presidency end of 2022 and the Leaders’ Summit was held in early September 2023. During this time the Government used it to seek political and electoral mileage, conducting over 200 meetings in 60 towns and cities, making a spectacle out of it. The picture that was presented an...

An article series published in Deccan Herald, curated in collaboration with the Centre for Financial Accountability. Around 21,000 luxury cars were sold in India in the first six months of 2023. This represents a 16% growth over all of 2022 and is 7% more than the peak sales for the same period in 2...

At COP26, India announced its objectives to reach net zero by 2070. In addition, the country aims to install 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030, 450 GW of which would come from renewable energy sources. India has set an ambitious renewable energy capacity target. By the end of the decade, India a...

This booklet is a result of webinars under the World Without World Bank campaign that brings together activists, academicians and other civil society groups to protest, respond to the World Bank’s neoliberal reforms. In 2020, the Working Group on International Financial Institutions started this cam...

In a historic 7-1 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court decided today in Jam v. International Finance Corporation (IFC) that international organizations like the World Bank Group can be sued in U.S. courts. The Court’s decision marks a defining moment for the IFC – the arm of the World Bank Group that le...

📽️WATCH: Post-BUDGET Wrap 2026 💼 Who Is(n’t) the Indian Government Spending for 🪙 It has been 10 days now since finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2026-27 in parliament. Over the last few weeks, we’ve also seen the government celebrating international trade d...

🪙 As the World Bank marks 80 years, Justice S. Muralidhar delivers a critical address examining the institution’s growing influence over India’s economic and social policies. With rising external debt, he explains how international financial institutions increasingly shape decisions affecting milli...

🪙 As India approaches another Union Budget, questions around privatisation and the future of public institutions have regained importance. The names of Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani have come up a lot during elections particularly as opposition parties have alleged that increasing wealth concentra...

📽️ WATCH: BUDGET2026 👷‍♀️Whose Job Is It To Worry About Jobs? And What Can The Budget Achieve? 💼 In about ten days, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be presenting the Union Budget 2026-27. This Budget comes at a time when jobs – their availability and quality – have become a serious c...

🎙️ On Second Thought | New Episode 📽️Interview with Harsh Mander on World Inequality Report 2026 In this episode, writer and researcher Anirban Bhattacharya speaks with Harsh Mander on rising inequality and the politics behind it. A long-time advocate of just taxation, Harsh Mander reflec...

Chennai, once celebrated for its cleaner environment compared to hotspots such as Delhi, is experiencing worsening air quality. Reports have shown the “less polluted” city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) crossing 160 on most days, while December 2025 is the most polluted month in the last six years. En...

Unmasking 80 years of power, profit, and people’s resistance.For 80 years, the World Bank and IMF have fueled displacement, inequality, fossil dependence, and authoritarian regimes—while claiming to fight poverty. The Balance Sheet exposes their legacy and sinister designs, and celebrates global ...

The World Bank’s Empire: Exploitation and the Fightback Prafulla Samantara, founder of the Lok Shakti Abhiyan and Goldman Environmental Prize Laureate (2017), speaks at the Independent People’s Tribunal: World Bank on Trial on “The World Bank’s Empire: Exploitation and the Fightback.” The trib...

Exposing the World Bank: Colonial Contracts, Capitalist Profits, and the Fight from Below Medha Patkar, founder of the Narmada Bachao Andolan and leader of the National Alliance of People’s Movements, spoke on “Exposing the World Bank: Colonial Contracts, Capitalist Profits, and the Fight from...

As the Himalayan region is caught in the swirl of climate chaos related disasters – floods, cloudbursts, landslides, heavy rains – made worse by big infrastructures like expressways and hydro projects, it is important to recognise and listen to community voices, knowledge and wisdom t...

‘ With the onset of monsoons, our mountains begin to shed tears’ Environmental Activist and Founder of Climate Front India, Anmol Ohri, points out how the Himalayan region, especially in Jammu & Kashmir, is caught in the swirl of disasters made worse by big infrastructures like ex...

As Himalayan states witness another swirl of unprecedented rains, floods and landslides, Ravi Chopra, conservationist, researcher and Director of Peoples’ Science Institute, explains how the tragic cycle of disasters unfolding in the mountains has become an annual affair. A nexus of climate...

On World Environment Day, Guman Singh, National Coordinator of Himalaya Niti Abhiyan, sounds a dire warning: the Himalayas are collapsing. From Ramban’s flash floods to deadly landslides in the Northeast, disasters strike faster each monsoon. But these aren’t “natural” — reckless blasting f...

At a Press Conference held in Delhi, organised by Delhi Solidarity Group, fisherfolk from Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka shared how they the massive port construction spree under the Sagarmala push threatens their fishing grounds, and may prove ‘genocidal’ for their livelihoods ...

More than a year after the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) wiped out Teesta III, the government wants to rebuild the dam. Mayalmit Lepcha asks the tough questions: Why are we rebuilding the dam in the face of escalating climate risks such as expanding glacial lakes? Why are financial instituti...

More than two years after Joshimath started to ‘sink’, the pilgrimage town continues to experience cracks, sinkholes, submergence – putting at risk life and property of citizens, even as government seems to have learnt no lessons.🎙️ Atul Sati, peoples’ rights activist ...

Budget 2025: What’s at Stake?, a series co-produced by The Wire and Centre for Financial Accountability Episode 1The Economic Rights Every Indian Should Have | Prabhat Patnaik (Senior Economist) Episode 2Budget 2025 Needs to Focus on the Unorganised Sector | Arun Kumar (Senior Economist...

Delhi’s toxic air is often in the news, but few talk about a major source of this pollution located in the heart of the city. The waste-to-energy plant in South Delhi’s Okhla was meant to solve two problems: reduce mounting waste and generate power for the capital. But it’s been at the heart ...

One year from the Teesta stage 3 dam collapse at Chungthang village in north Sikkim, seasoned journalist Snigdhendu Bhattacharya surveys the steep social, environmental and financial cost of hydropower development in the north eastern region of India, in this conversation with Centre for Financia...

The third attempt at a plastic treaty bombed. Held in Nairobi and attempted by reps from all nations couldn’t reach a consensus, thanks to the petrochem companies. They flew in umpteen lobbyists and even got their people included in official delegations of various countries. Swathi Seshadri, w...

It is payback time. Project after project in the Himalayan ranges is facing setbacks. Now it is the Chardham Project’s tunnel. Last month it was the dam project in Sikkim. The sensitivity of the area, the risk of huge constructions and the possibility of engineering disasters were flagged ...

An RTI enquiry has revealed that the bad loans of banks are spiking like never before. The answer from RBI reveals that compared to FY 2004 to FY 2014, the last 9 years were the worst. Bad loans have multiplied at least 8 times. On the political front, this is a comparison between the UPA and ND...

The devastation of the flood in Sikkim was multiplied several fold by the dams in Teesta river. This disaster was warned well in advance. Scientists provided studies. People protested. Nature gave warnings. But the government and financial institutions went ahead with the plan. One should be naive t...

The Money Trail As the date of the #G20 Summit is drawing nearer, the Union Government is becoming more and more intolerant. Its clampdown on the We20 Peoples’ Summit is the latest. When the freedom of speech and assembly is threatened, how can a country boast of being the ‘Mother of Dem...

You, Me and the Economy In this episode,  Pius Fozan calls us to rethink democracy. He reflects on the dangers of nostalgic histories, the construction of alternative realities that glorify the past while ignoring today’s challenges. 💡 What does it mean to neutralize diversity ...

You, Me and the Economy In this episode, Anuradha Chenoy unpacks the current phase of imperialism, where U.S. hegemony is being reasserted through military alliances, NATO expansion, and active support of genocidal violence. She explains how fascism is not an accident but a political project of capi...

New Episode Out Now!You, Me and the Economy | Podcast Why is the growing gap between the rich and the poor Toxic for the World? 💰 The super-rich have a feast of delicacies, while the rest of the country struggles to get two square meals a day. Listen to economists and social activists Jean...

You, Me & the Economy Standing Up To The Empire: Reclaiming Southern Multilateralism I In conversation with Shalmali Guttal In this episode, Senior Analyst Shalmali Guttal addresses the fundamental question: Is the global economy a colonial project? She argues that it is, tracing the ideological...

You, Me & the Economy Standing Up To The Empire: Reclaiming Southern Multilateralism I In conversation with Biswajit Dhar In this episode, economist Biswajit Dhar examines how the concept of multilateralism has never truly served the interests of developing countries. He discusses how institut...

You, Me & the Economy The Great Extinction: Trump & the Threat of Climate Collapse I In conversation with Soumya Dutta In this episode, climate scientist and activist Soumya Dutta examines the current political moment as a potential “full throttle return to fossil capitalism” und...

You, Me & the Economy The Great Extinction: Trump & the Threat of Climate Collapse I In conversation with Harjeet Singh In this episode, climate justice advocate Harjeet Singh examines the current political moment as a “full throttle return to fossil capitalism.” He discusses h...

You, Me & the Economy The Great Extinction: Trump & the Threat of Climate Collapse I In conversation with Disha Ravi In this episode, youth climate justice activist Disha Ravi examines how climate change is not just a scientific issue but a political one. She unpacks how the Global NorthR...

You, Me & the Economy International Financial Institutions Under Trump: Perspectives from India & the Global South I In conversation with Joe Athialy In this episode, Joe Athialy examines the World Bank’s recent reforms under President Ajay Banga. He discusses the institution’s increas...

You, Me & the Economy International Financial Institutions Under Trump: Perspectives from India & the Global South I In conversation with Demba Moussa Dembele In this episode, Demba Moussa Dembele examines the influence of the US on institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank. He discuss...

You, Me & the Economy International Financial Institutions Under Trump: Perspectives from India & the Global South I In conversation with CP Chandrasekhar In this episode, CP Chandrasekhar examines the two major issues with the international financial architecture. He explores how the US inf...

You, Me & the Economy Time Of Monsters:Fascism and the Fusion of the State and the Corporation | In conversation with Aditya Nigam In this episode, Aditya Nigam traces how India’s political economy has been shaped by a deep intertwining of state and capital  from colonial legacies to neol...

In this episode, Ladan Mehranvar examines how global financial architecture entrenches inequality between the Global North and South. She unpacks how debt dependency, austerity measures, and the dominance of private creditors undermine development and democratic decision making in the South. Mehran...

In this episode, veteran journalist Pranjoy Guha Thakurta dives deep into the Adani Group’s meteoric rise and the complex web of debt, state policy, and global finance that fuels it. From offshore tax havens to regulatory capture, he unpacks how corporate, political nexuses shape India’s economy and...

In this episode, Ranja Sengupta (Third World Network) unpacks how trade rules from GATT to the WTO to today’s bilateral agreements have been designed to favour the powerful. She exposes how negotiations are rigged, tariffs are undermined, and new trade agendas threaten development policy in the Glob...

𝐘𝐨𝐮, 𝐌𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲 | In conversation with Andrés Arauz In this episode, Andrés Arauz unpacks how US trade policy—across Trump, Biden, and beyond—isn’t madness, but a calculated revival of imperialism. From neo-Monroeism to corporate-led trade regimes, he critiques the system’s deep inequalitie...

 𝐘𝐨𝐮, 𝐌𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲 | In conversation with Prabhat Patnaik In this episode, renowned economist Prabhat Patnaik unpacks the long history of how global trade, finance, and the very idea of “development” have been systematically rigged against the Global South. From colonial legacies to the tariff...

As the New Development Bank expands its role as the ‘BRICS Bank’, there are questions whether it can offer a model of development and climate finance that serves the Global South’s interests. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal ...

Southern solidarity remains real, but its bearers are not the states assembling in New Delhi. A worker installs CCTV cameras near Bharat Mandapam as part of the preparation ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit, scheduled to be held on Sept. 12th to 13th, in New Delhi, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. Photo...

As the streets of Delhi are decked up with BRICS hoardings, and as we are (presumably) gearing up to hide our own gross inequities with green screens, it is imperative that we point at this silence on addressing inequality.   A NDMC worker carries out beautification work near Bharat Mandapam...

Internal asymmetries between BRICS countries have increased in the last decade. NDMC workers mark zebra crossings at India Gate circle ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit, scheduled to be held on Sept. 12th to 13th, in New Delhi, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. Photo: PTI. BRICS+ meet in New Delhi ...

The study stated that the WTE plants outrank coal power plants and copper smelters and therefore must not be categorised under ‘Blue’ ‘Essential Environmental Services.’ BENGALURU: Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA), an analysis agency, has claimed that the Bidadi Waste-to-Energy (WTE...

These plants flag emission of heavy metals, cancer-causing chemicals. Bengaluru: The much-touted waste-to-energy (WtE) plants are a disaster for the environment and the ‘Blue’ category classification of such industries belies the ‘extreme levels’ of pollution generated by...

Breathing poison? The 100/100 pollution score the CPCB doesn’t want you to see A bombshell study by the Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has revealed that Delhi’s four Waste-to-Energy (WTE) incineration plants score a staggering 100 out of 100 on the Central Pollution Con...

‘PCB may have no say on proposed WTE plant in Siddapur’ Hyderabad: In a report that places a major question mark on the functioning of waste-to-energy (WTE) plants such as the ones at the Jawaharnagar dump yard here, the Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has said that WTE incine...

Four waste-to-energy plants score maximum on pollution index even as they’re given easier regulatory treatment Four waste-to-energy plants meant to help Delhi deal with its mountains of garbage have themselves been found to have the maximum possible pollution score — an irony that has raise...

‘India will require at least 228 billion dollars to achieve the target 100 GWe nuclear energy capacity’ Private players also suggested that nuclear power projects be accorded infrastructure status (File Photo/Representational) Private players are seeking green energy status for nuclear pow...

In Hyderabad, two WTE plants operated by Re-Sustainability Ltd. at Jawaharnagar have a combined incineration capacity of 48 MW Synopsis: Waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration plants are the highest-polluting industrial sector in India, with a maximum cumulative PI of 100, a new Centre for Fina...

Close look at Nabard’s latest sentiment survey reveals falling incomes, shrinking savings, and rising debt, exposing grim reality behind India’s rural claims The government should remember that the problem of excessive borrowing is concentrated largely among younger borrowers, who have...

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh The 7.8% growth rate of India’s gross domestic product in the April-June quarter presents a “greatly distorted picture” of the economy, claimed the Congress on Monday. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation had published the GDP numbers earlier ...

New Delhi: The People’s BRICS Summit has called upon BRICS member countries to move beyond declarations and rhetoric and adopt concrete, measurable and time-bound action on issues affecting working people, farmers, women, workers, Dalits, Adivasis, minorities and marginalised communities across the ...

Over 200 delegates from people’s movements, trade unions, farmers’ organisations, political parties, student movements and civil society organisations gathered in New Delhi on 21–22 August for the People’s BRICS Summit, formally titled the Public Dialogue Forum: Global South Cooperation & Al...

In January 2026, Lakhan Patel, a rural labourer from Raki village in Korba District of Chhattisgarh, was walking along the Hardi Bazaar–Raki road when a stone fragment from blasting inside the Dipka mine struck him on the head. He did not survive. Two months later, heavy blasting at the s...

ओडिशा में बॉक्साइट खदान की प्रस्तावित परियोजना के कारण ओडिशा के रायगढ़ा और कालाहांडी ज़िलों में फैली सिजीमाली पहाड़ियां अपने अस्तित्व को बचाने की एक अहम लड़ाई लड़ रही हैं. खनिज निकालने की इस होड़ में एक तरफ आर्थिक विकास के दावे हैं, तो दूसरी तरफ स्थानीय समुदायों की अपने जंगलों, पानी के स्रोतों, रोजी -रो...

As India prides itself over its ‘gig economy’ and ’10-minute delivery,’ gig workers have constantly faced worsening odds each year for the past decade, with no support from the state or employers. Gig and Platform Service Workers Union members hold a protest, at Freedom Pa...

The incinerators have high capital costs and usually receive financial support from international institutions and subsidies in India. A waste collector looks for usable material as smoke rises from a garbage dump at the Bhalswa landfill site in New Delhi in October 2018. | AFP’ When Rajpa...

Civil society groups and activists from across India have issued a joint appeal to more than 30 Indian banks and financial institutions, urging them to exercise stronger environmental, social and cultural diligence before financing the Sijimali bauxite mining project in Odisha. The appeal, addre...

It is educative and encouraging to see that this agitation and its participants – young and restless – have not only been able to dispel the veil of fear in publicly speaking up against the might of this regime, but have also been willing to question the leadership of the present movement too. Ill...

As COP31 approaches, global forum in Türkiye reframes zero waste as a climate, resource and production strategy, challenging India’s petrochemical expansion and recycling-centric policies Summary At the Road to Antalya: Zero Waste as Climate Action forum in Türkiye, zero waste was fram...

Decades of hydropower and new ‘green’ projects like Sharavathi Pumped Storage project in Karnataka’s Western Ghats are eroding protected habitats, disrupting rivers and intensifying conflicts over land and livelihoods. The Gerusoppa Dam on the Sharavathi River in Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada di...

An excerpt from ‘India Out of Work: Rethinking India’s Growth Story’  India Out of Work explores the growing crisis in India’s labour market. Over the past few years, non-farm jobs, which are crucial for diversifying the economy and providing stability, are not growing as they should. The formal job...