November 11, 2023

Good morning. Every Saturday, we publish the results of polls from feature stories that were published the past week. We also give a brief overview of the topics that were discussed.

Note: On account of the Diwali festival, we are taking an extended break this weekend. We will be back with the next edition on Wednesday. Happy Diwali!

🗳️ POLL RESULTS – Week 150

🗓️ THE WEEK THAT WAS

Does India need to change its approach to stray dogs?

Daily | 6 November 2023

As publicity around dog attacks increases, society’s intolerance against them rises too. It leads us to question whether our existing animal protection laws have failed to protect humans instead. Do we need to become more radical in our approach, perhaps like the state of Bihar which earlier this year flew in teams of snipers to eliminate over 30 “man-eating” dogs? Read more on this here.

Can India have state/publicly-funded elections?

Daily | 7 November 2023

Funding elections in the world’s largest democracy ought to be complicated. There are a plethora of parties vying for attention and electoral significance. They need money to function. But who’s paying? Who should and shouldn’t pay? These are important questions that need to be answered. We discuss it here.

Should film reviews be regulated?

Daily | 8 November 2023

An appellant in front of the Kerala High Court (Kerala HC) has asked for a ban on film reviews for the first seven days after a film’s release. Granted by the court, YouTubers have already been arrested in the state for ”review bombing” films. But does such a ban protect the film fraternity economically or should ‘free speech’ take precedence? We unpack this here.

Can fixed-term employment be the economy’s panacea?

Daily | 9 November 2023

How can a country ensure people are continuously gainfully employed? Perhaps fixed-term employment is the solution. Companies can now hire fixed-term workers for seasonal jobs, giving them more flexibility. With the recognition by the Labour Codes, can this be the economy’s silver bullet? Find the debate here.

Is continuing the free food grain scheme a good idea?

Daily | 10 November 2023

The Union government recently announced that its free ration food scheme, aka the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), will be extended for another five years. That’s good news for millions who depend on the scheme for sustenance. However, questions remain on whether this is the right approach. What’s the financial burden going to be? More on this story here.