April 27, 2024

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.

🗳️ POLL RESULTS – Week 172

🗓️ THE WEEK THAT WAS

Can a congestion tax help alleviate India’s traffic problems?

Daily | 22 April 2024

What can be done about India’s traffic problems? It’s a type of problem that doesn’t have a consensus solution. A lot of money is invested in transport infrastructure, but that hasn’t helped much. What about a congestion tax? It’s one proposal that’s gotten some people interested. You pay more to the government if you use your vehicle during peak hours at specific locations. Is this a good idea? Read more on this here.

Is India’s foreign exchange derivatives market in danger?

Daily | 23 April 2024

As the derivatives market was booming, the RBI reaffirmed a rule that permitted the use of rupee forex derivatives only for hedging. The RBI has deferred the implementation of the rule till next month at the request of some participants. Some of the RBI’s previous circulars on the matter have caused enough confusion that there’s concern that this thriving market could soon be obliterated. Would this happen? We discuss it here.

Should social media sites have age limits?

Daily | 24 April 2024

As social media has become part and parcel of people’s lives, there has been an increasing concern for kids on these platforms. Many now have phones or tablets of their own, and so have relatively easy access to social media. But how young is too young? There’s a lot of bad stuff on the internet and social media. Should there be an age limit for access? Would that even help? We unpack this here.

Does the West have a Hinduphobia problem?

Daily | 25 April 2024

There has seemingly been an increase in people talking about Hinduphobia and how Hindus are being targeted for their faith. While many believe this to be true, others say all this talk of Hinduphobia is just smoke and mirrors used to justify Hindu nationalism and propagate Hindutva. Who’s got it right? Find the debate here.

Are Indian cities climate-resilient?

Daily | 26 April 2024

Every year, there are discussions about how vulnerable Indian cities are to extreme weather events thanks to global warming and climate change. Cities are the bloodline of the country and economy in many ways. But how effective are they in being sustainable? Are they resilient enough to mitigate the effects of climate change? Are we doing enough? More on this story here.