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Towards Public Policy, Delhi (2026)

01/09/2026

11 HUNGER STRIKES. 3 YEARS. ONE DEMAND THAT CONTINUES TO SHAPE MAHARASHTRA POLITICS.

The Maratha reservation issue in Maharashtra has entered another critical phase.

Manoj Jarange Patil has begun his latest hunger strike at Antarwali Sarati in Jalna, renewing the demand for Kunbi caste certificates for eligible Marathas, recognition of historical Kunbi records, and action on rejected applications.

But what exactly is behind the Maratha quota movement?

The answer goes back decades.

From the Maratha reservation agitation in Maharashtra, to the 16% Maratha reservation passed in 2018, the Supreme Court's 2021 judgment, the 10% SEBC reservation passed in 2024, and the current demand for Kunbi certificates and access to the existing OBC reservation framework, the issue has evolved through multiple legal and political battles.

At the heart of the current debate are 58 lakh identified Kunbi records, historical documents, caste verification, genealogy and the question of whether eligible Maratha families can establish a Kunbi connection and access the 27% OBC quota.

The Maharashtra government and Manoj Jarange Patil continue to differ over the pace and extent of the certification process.

And the issue extends far beyond Jalna and Antarwali Sarati.

The Maratha reservation movement has implications across Marathwada, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Pune, Mumbai, Nashik, Nagpur, Satara, Kolhapur, Sangli, Nanded, Latur, Beed, Parbhani, Dharashiv, Ahmednagar and across Maharashtra.

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01/09/2026

58,821 displaced. Census on hold. What happens when a population count becomes a political question?

Manipur’s Census 2027 exercise has been deferred amid a demand from civil society organisations for the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to be updated before the Census.

But this is not simply a story about a delayed Census.

It sits at the intersection of citizenship, migration, demographic change, ethnic conflict, political representation and delimitation.

In this 5-part breakdown, we look at:

→ Why the Census was deferred just before house-listing was scheduled to begin
→ The NRC-first demand from 14 Meitei and Naga civil society organisations
→ The NRC resolutions passed by the Manipur Assembly in 2022 and reaffirmed in 2024
→ The contested 731 → 1,624 village-count claim cited in the demographic debate
→ Why Kuki civil society organisations reject the NRC push and raise concerns about being branded illegal migrants

The key question is not simply who is right.

It is: What do the available facts actually establish — and what remains contested?

At Towards Public Policy, we believe complex political and policy questions require more than headlines.

Verified data. Attributed sourcing. Context before conclusions.

Save this carousel for the full breakdown and follow Towards Public Policy for evidence-led analysis on Indian politics, public policy, elections, governance and political data.

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31/08/2026

INDIA JUST REJECTED A HAGUE RULING ON THE INDUS WATERS TREATY.

On August 31, 2026, the Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that the Indus Waters Treaty remains in force and that India’s 2025 decision to place the treaty in abeyance did not legally suspend its obligations.

India rejected the ruling within hours, calling the Court of Arbitration “illegally constituted” and maintaining that it has no jurisdiction over India.

Pakistan, meanwhile, welcomed the ruling and called it a vindication of its position.

The Indus Waters Treaty and what the 1960 agreement actually does
What the Hague Court of Arbitration ruled today
Why India rejected the ruling
Why Pakistan welcomed it
What the Ratle hydro project has to do with the dispute
Why the Indus system is critical to Pakistan’s water and agricultural security
What this means for India–Pakistan relations, international law and regional geopolitics
The dispute is bigger than one court ruling.

It sits at the intersection of water security, sovereignty, treaty law, hydroelectric projects, national security and India–Pakistan geopolitics.

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31/08/2026

Uttarakhand SIR 2026: What the draft voter roll tells us

Uttarakhand’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has brought a major change to the state’s electoral rolls.

The draft electoral roll published on 14 July 2026 recorded 71,33,785 voters, against a pre-SIR base of 79,60,762. That means 8,26,977 names were not carried into the draft roll, a decline of 10.39%.

But the statewide number tells only part of the story.

Dehradun, Udham Singh Nagar and Haridwar together account for 59.7% of the draft-stage deletions, while the ten hill districts account for the remaining 40.3%.

The reasons recorded at the enumeration stage also show a significant concentration around voters reported as permanently shifted or absent. At the same time, 19,04,380 voters on the draft roll were flagged for discrepancies in their enumeration forms and were being issued notices.

The process has also become politically contested, with allegations around Form 7 objections and bulk submissions. These remain reported allegations and claims, not established findings, and the final outcome of the objections is still pending.

The final electoral roll is scheduled for 15 September 2026.

For voters across Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar, Nainital, Almora, Pauri Garhwal, Tehri Garhwal, Pithoragarh, Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Champawat, Bageshwar and Rudraprayag, the final roll will matter directly.

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Dehradun Haridwar Haldwani Nainital Rishikesh UdhamSinghNagar Almora PauriGarhwal TehriGarhwal Pithoragarh Chamoli Uttarkashi Champawat Bageshwar Rudraprayag Kumaon Garhwal Devbho

31/08/2026

Delhi’s SIR draft electoral roll is out. And the numbers deserve a closer look.

Around 47.7 lakh electors are not in the draft roll, out of Delhi’s roughly 1.45 crore electors. The draft contains around 97.5 lakh names, while the claims and objections window is now open from 31 August to 30 September 2026. Eligible electors whose names are missing can seek inclusion through Form 6 with supporting documents.

But one number does not tell the whole story.

This carousel looks at the Delhi SIR draft roll constituency by constituency: how exclusion varies across all 70 Assembly constituencies, which areas recorded the highest and lowest digitisation, how turnout correlates with the pattern, how different neighbourhood types compare, and how Delhi compares with other states.

From Rohini to Tughlakabad, Okhla to Chandni Chowk, RK Puram to Greater Kailash, Seelampur to Matia Mahal, New Delhi to Karawal Nagar, the pattern is not uniform.

📌 Delhi voters: check your name.
📌 If your name is missing, understand the claims process and the documents required.
📌 30 September 2026 is the claims and objections deadline.

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31/08/2026

India's gig economy is growing fast. But what does gig work actually pay?

India's gig workforce reached 12 million in FY25, up 55% from FY21, and is projected to reach 23.5 million by 2029–30.

But the bigger policy question isn't just how many people are working through platforms.

It is what kind of livelihood the platform economy is creating.

Our latest research breakdown looks at:

• Gig-worker growth and the scale of India's platform economy
• Earnings across different gig-worker datasets
• Gross income versus income after fuel, maintenance and other work costs
• Full-time platform work versus comparable occupations
• Working hours and unpaid time outside platform records
• Migration, vehicle ownership and worker debt
• Women's participation in delivery work
• Financial resilience and emergency borrowing
• The Code on Social Security and emerging social protection
• Fairwork's assessment of pay, conditions and worker representation

One dataset can make gig work look highly attractive. Another shows how costs, working hours and worker selection can change the picture.

India's gig economy is becoming too large to treat as a temporary labour-market phenomenon. The Economic Survey 2025–26 itself highlights the need to examine income security, social protection and the evolving nature of platform work.

Swipe through the carousel for the numbers.

Save this for your next labour-market, public-policy or gig-economy discussion.

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30/08/2026

A 25-paise coin does not poll 80,000 votes. So what did the numbers actually say?

Akhilesh Yadav’s recent “chavanni” remark has brought the RLD-SP relationship back into the spotlight — and with the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election approaching, the political significance of that exchange goes beyond the rhetoric.

So we went back to the numbers.

In the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, the RLD contested 277 seats and won 1, giving it a seat-conversion rate of just 0.36%.

In 2022, the RLD contested only 33 seats, as part of its alliance with the Samajwadi Party, and won 8 seats.

That pushed its seat-conversion rate to 24.24% — roughly a 67-fold improvement.

But here is where the story gets more interesting.

The RLD's 2022 performance cannot be understood through statewide vote share alone. The party contested only 33 of Uttar Pradesh's 403 Assembly constituencies, meaning its electoral footprint was highly concentrated.

Across those 33 constituencies, the RLD's votes work out to an average of roughly 80,000 votes per seat contested.

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30/08/2026

KARNATAKA SIR 2026: 1.08 CRORE NAMES. ONE DRAFT ROLL.

Karnataka’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls has produced a number that every voter, political researcher, election analyst and campaign professional should be looking at.

The June 16 electoral roll had around 5.54 crore electors. The August 24 draft roll has around 4.47 crore a reduction of about 1.08 crore names at the draft stage.

And Bengaluru stands out.

Across the Greater Bengaluru Authority area, 46.88 lakh electors are in the ASDDO category, equal to 45.13% of the city’s June roll.

But a draft roll is not the final roll.

For election analysts, psephologists, political consultants, data analysts, journalists and governance researchers, Karnataka SIR is an important case study in how electoral administration, urbanisation, migration and voter data intersect.

From Bengaluru Urban and Bengaluru Rural to Mysuru, Mandya, Tumakuru, Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Ramanagara, Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, Shivamogga, Davanagere, Chitradurga, Ballari, Vijayanagara, Koppal, Raichur, Yadgir, Kalaburagi, Bidar, Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Belagavi, Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Uttara Kannada, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada Karnataka’s electoral roll matters to every constituency and every voter.

In Bengaluru, the conversation extends across Whitefield, Electronic City, Koramangala, Indiranagar, Jayanagar, BTM Layout, Bommanahalli, Vijayanagar, Yelahanka, Hebbal, HSR Layout, Rajajinagar, Malleshwaram, Banashankari, KR Puram and the wider Greater Bengaluru region.

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29/08/2026

India’s heat problem is no longer just about temperature. It is an economic problem.

In 2024, heat exposure wiped out 247 billion potential labour hours across India, with agriculture and construction bearing much of the loss. Nearly 380 million workers are employed in heat-exposed work, putting productivity, incomes and economic growth at increasing risk.

And the question is no longer whether India needs to adapt to extreme heat. It is how quickly policy, finance, infrastructure and workplaces can adapt.

Cool roofs. Urban forestry. Solar-powered cold storage. Heat-triggered worker payouts. Cooler working hours. Climate-resilient MSME finance.

The solutions already point towards a different way of planning for heat: not just responding to heatwaves after they happen, but building resilience into the economy before the losses occur.

This carousel breaks down the numbers, the sectors most exposed and the policy interventions that could help India prepare for a hotter economy.

Save this for your next discussion on climate policy, labour productivity, economic resilience or public policy.

Follow Towards Public Policy for research-led explainers on policy, governance and the forces shaping India.

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29/08/2026

When disaster strikes, policy cannot afford to move slowly.

The Nepal flash floods have become a humanitarian, diplomatic and disaster-response crisis, with hundreds dead, thousands still unaccounted for, and Indian nationals among those affected.

From rescue operations and forensic identification to cross-border coordination and humanitarian assistance, every hour matters.

Towards Public Policy tracks the policy response behind the headlines.

Follow Towards Public Policy for evidence-led policy analysis.

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