RajivSpeak

In a  sharp rejoinder over the proposed Kalpasar reservoir project in the Gulf of Khambhat, with former Government of India Secretary Babubhai Navalawala has dismissed the alternatives floated by veteran sociologist Prof. Vidyut Joshi as mere “supplements” rather than substitutes for the mega project. In the rejoinder to Prof. Joshi’s recent column Samudra Manthan  in Gujarati daily  Sandesh  (see news item here ), Navalawala has argued that the scientific options suggested by the sociologist cannot replace Kalpasar. 

A high-stakes controversy has erupted in the Indian Himalayan Region following the abrupt publication and immediate withdrawal of a major infrastructure tender. The National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) issued a public tender notice for the proposed "Chenab-Beas Link Tunnel Project (Link 3)" only to cancel it abruptly just three days later.

As Bangladesh approves a vast new barrage, experts caution that unilateral river engineering is outpacing diplomacy, with potentially severe ecological and geopolitical consequences. In a development that has raised alarm among water security experts, Bangladesh has given the green light to one of the largest river engineering projects in its history: the Padma Barrage . The massive structure, designed to restore water to the country’s drought-prone southwest, comes at a moment when upstream neighbours China and India are also accelerating their own dam-building programmes.

Prof. Vidyut Joshi, a prominent sociologist and one of the leading protagonists of the mega Narmada dam project, has raised critical questions regarding the viability of Gujarat’s ambitious Kalpasar project. Writing in the Gujarati daily Sandesh under the headline "Let us consider alternatives scientifically for the Kalpasar project," Joshi argues that rather than remaining trapped in a "civil engineering mindset" focused solely on constructing massive dams, the state must pivot to modern, sustainable, and technologically viable alternatives to quench the thirst of the arid Saurashtra region.

India’s economic growth prospects continue to lead the global stage, but escalating geopolitical tensions are mounting severe inflationary and currency pressures on the nation, according to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Chief Economists’ Outlook published in May 2026.  

A landmark scientific paper published in Frontiers in Science warns that humanity is actively destabilizing the Earth system upon which all life depends, and issues an urgent call for a coordinated global "Nature Positive" (NP) strategy to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.

  India's residential real estate market recorded near-flat growth in the January–March quarter of 2026, with sales volumes dipping slightly year-on-year even as property prices hit a historic milestone — crossing ₹10,000 per square foot for the first time.

A major new policy research report published by the World Bank Group has raised pointed questions about India's current industrial strategy, warning that the country's flagship Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme may be working against its own economic strengths — and that deeper structural reforms are urgently needed.

By Rajiv Shah   The Ahmedabad unit of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has released a detailed field research report titled "Are we not Indians? The Development Politics of Uprooting Citizens and Shattering Lives at  Chandola Lake ," documenting the mass demolitions in the city's periphery that took place between April 27 and May 2, 2025.

  A joint submission by environmental research platform Mapping Malnad and climate coalition SAPACC has raised serious objections to the Karnataka government’s draft climate adaptation and mitigation strategy for the water sector, alleging that several major water infrastructure projects are being “mislabelled” as climate adaptation measures despite worsening ecological and hydrological stress across the state.  The  17-page response , submitted on May 11 to the Government of Karnataka, critiques the State Specific Action Plan on Climate Change (SSAPCC) prepared under the National Water Mission framework and calls for a complete overhaul of the state’s water governance approach.

A comprehensive new study examining 1.5 million urban and rural neighborhoods across India has uncovered deep patterns of residential segregation and systematic inequality in access to public services, with findings that researchers say rival the scale of racial segregation in the United States.

A new World Bank flagship report reveals that  human capital accumulation  in India is being critically undermined by severe deficits in child health, home-based care, and educational quality, with stark disparities linked to gender, birth order, and  environmental pollution . The report,  Building Human Capital Where It Matters: Homes, Neighborhoods, and Workplaces , argues that without urgent policy action targeting the home, neighborhood, and workplace, India risks perpetuating a cycle of low productivity and stagnating economic growth.

  A comprehensive review of the  after the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana (PM-SGMBY)  by the advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has found that the scheme is structurally unsuitable for  low-income families  and has largely benefited relatively affluent households instead.

India's ambitious  National Perspective Plan  to interlink 37 rivers — at a cost exceeding Rs 10 lakh crore — has attracted fierce opposition from scientists, environmentalists, and affected communities. Ever since Prime Minister  Narendra Modi  laid the foundation stone for the first major project under this plan, the Ken-Betwa River Link Project (KBRLP), on December 25, 2024, that opposition has only grown louder. 

  South Asia is at a critical crossroads as it faces a massive surge in waste generation that is set to nearly double by 2050, according to the  World Bank ’s latest " What a Waste 3.0 " report. The region, which currently produces 346 million tonnes of  municipal solid waste  annually, is projected to see a 99% growth in volume over the next quarter-century, fueled by rapid population growth and accelerating urbanization. 

In its April 2026 South Asia Economic Update , the World Bank identifies India as the primary engine of regional growth, with the economy estimated to have accelerated to 7.6% in fiscal year 2025/26.  This macroeconomic surge, however, exists alongside a highly fragmented labor market where the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deep-seated inter-state wage disparities—specifically between states like Kerala, Gujarat, and Chhattisgarh—create a complex landscape for the workforce.

Marking  International Workers’ Memorial Day , fresh data from  Gujarat  has highlighted a troubling pattern of fatalities and injuries in the construction sector, with activists pointing to weak enforcement of safety norms and rising  climate-related risks .

 A new report,  Toxic Finance , has sought to expose the critical role of the global financial sector in driving a massive and controversial expansion of the  petrochemical industry  across the United States. The analysis, compiled by a coalition of environmental and human rights organizations including the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and  Break Free From Plastic , claims that banks and investors have provided the vast sums of capital necessary to build over 100 new facilities or expansions, despite significant risks to human health, the climate, and the financial system itself.

  Civil society organisations and stakeholders from across India have presented stark evidence before the  Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj , alleging systemic violations of the  Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013 , particularly in  Scheduled Areas  and tribal regions.

  India’s residential real estate market witnessed a continued slowdown in the first quarter of 2026, with housing sales across the top nine cities falling below the one lakh unit mark for the first time in over four years, according to data released by P.E. Analytics Ltd (PropEquity).