Grassroots and governance: the voices of people

The government has replaced MNREGA with VB-G RAM G. On the surface, it definitely looks like some upgrade, but in reality, it's something so bad and more capitalistic in nature. This, instead of solving the problem of unemployment, will only amplify it and burden the states more than the central government, which can use it to fund billionaires and their own purses instead of the people. At the rate it's going, it's becoming more evident that the words "secular" and "socialism" will disappear by the end of this term, and soon enough, democracy itself in the name of reforms. MNREGA remains one of the most incredible reforms ever passed, especially in a capitalistic environment, to curb unemployment and support the true proletariat. It was not simply a welfare scheme but rather something essential to curb unemployment in the country. This is a milestone to be appreciated since it worked brilliantly. Nearly 15 crore people have benefited via this act. In ...

For the past couple of years, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been arguing that Ethiopia, the world's most populous landlocked country, needs better port access and that he's willing to go to war for it. Having tried and failed to secure better access to the Kenyan port of Lamu and then the Somaliland port of Berbera, Abiy has now turned his attention to the Eritrean port of Assab, with both Abiy and other senior Ethiopian officials talking up the prospect of annexation in recent months. The story really kicked off in early September when Abiy essentially floated the idea of invading Eritrea, warning in a public speech that Ethiopia's "mistake" of losing access to the Red Sea as a result of Eritrean secession would be "corrected." For context, Eritrea was a federal part of Ethiopia until 1993, when it peacefully seceded following a UN-supervised referendum. Relations between Ethiopia and the newly formed Eritrea were originally pretty friend...