India Last Week #73
A round-up of research & reportage on India across climate, energy, foreign policy, politics & more over the last week
Climate, Energy & Environment:
“India's electric vehicle (EV) market crossed a major milestone in 2025, with total EV sales reaching 2.3 million units, accounting for 8 per cent of all new vehicle registrations, according to the Annual Report: India EV Market 2025 prepared by the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) based on Vahan Portal data… India's broader automobile market recorded 28.2 million vehicle registrations in 2025, with two-wheelers remaining dominant, accounting for over 20 million units (72 per cent of total sales). Passenger four-wheelers crossed 4.4 million units, while tractors and agricultural vehicles exceeded 1.06 million units, reflecting broadly stable demand across segments. The report noted that overall vehicle sales growth remained broadly stable across Q1-Q3, followed by a festive-led acceleration in Q4, aided by GST benefits and year-end consumer demand. Electric two-wheelers continued to anchor EV adoption, with 1.28 million units sold, representing 57 per cent of total EV sales. Electric three-wheelers (L3 and L5 combined) followed with 0.8 million units, or 35 per cent share, while electric four-wheelers recorded 1.75 lakh units.” Read more: Economic Times
“Reliance Industries Ltd. has paused plans to make lithium-ion battery cells in India after failing to secure Chinese technology, said people familiar with the matter, reflecting how even the country’s most powerful businesses are struggling to build out an independent clean-energy supply chain. The Mukesh Ambani-led oil-to-telecoms conglomerate, which had aimed to begin cell manufacturing this year, had been in discussions with a Chinese lithium iron phosphate supplier Xiamen Hithium Energy Storage Technology Co. to license cell technology, according to the people who did not want to be identified as the information is not public. Those talks stalled after the Chinese company withdrew from the proposed partnership amid Beijing’s curbs on overseas technology transfers in key sectors, the people said… A Reliance spokesperson denied that there has been any change in the company’s renewable energy plans, which include a battery gigafactory it previously said would start operating in 2026… Reliance’s internal teams have concluded that proceeding without access to proven Chinese cell technology would significantly raise costs and execution risks, particularly as global markets are already grappling with excess battery capacity, said the people familiar with the discussions.” Read more: Alisha Sachdev, Bloomberg
“The government’s push towards vehicle electrification in recent years has been driven by the need to reduce emissions from the road transportation sector. Central and state governments have been offering incentives to bridge the cost differential between electric vehicles (EVs) and conventional Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles… The study finds that for the same level of incentives, an electric two-wheeled vehicle is able to avoid nearly twice as much CO2 emissions compared to an electric passenger car. This gap arises due to the higher magnitude of the electric car incentive and the limited emission advantage of an electric car over its conventional counterpart on account of the former’s below-par energy economy…. Mitigation of one tonne of CO2 through electrification of passenger cars costs the government significantly more than through clean electricity generation from residential RTS or offshore wind. However, the support per unit of CO2 abated offered to green hydrogen as a replacement of grey hydrogen is at par with electric passenger cars… It is important to consider here that the climate benefit from EV incentives is lower due to the high carbon burden of India’s grid electricity, where fossil fuels account for almost 75% of the generation.” Read more: Shyamasis Das and Tarandeep Kaur, Centre for Social and Economic Progress
“A deluge of solar power and rules binding electricity distributors to purchase it are prompting distress sales on India’s electricity exchanges, trade data showed. Discoms sitting on excess power often sell it on exchanges at a loss, as the alternative would be to receive nothing, given the weak demand during solar hours. On the country’s largest exchange, Indian Energy Exchange, prices during peak solar time recently crashed to as low as INR 0.50 per unit, while long-term contract typically lock discoms into paying between INR 2 and INR 3.50 per unit… The crisis has prompted the industry to seek solutions. Four people familiar with the matter said distributors are now calling for a slowdown in the growth of green energy and more flexibility in mandatory purchase targets. The issue gains significance since India’s short-term electricity market is now a INR 1 trillion industry, with exchanges handling 175 billion units of power annually.” Read more: Rituraj Baruah, Mint
Economy:
“India’s former chief economic adviser is skeptical of the 7.4% growth estimate for this fiscal year through March. “We should be cautious about both the level and direction in which India’s economy is headed,” Arvind Subramanian told me this morning in an interview on Bloomberg Television. “It would be very odd for capital to be fleeing a country where growth, at 7.4%, is so much greater than anywhere in the world,” he said, flagging the disconnect… Subramanian advised lowering expectations for next year’s (fiscal 2027) growth. “If at the end of the year, the growth numbers are similar to where they were this year, I think India should consider itself both lucky and a job well done”.” Read more: Menaka Doshi and Baiju Kalesh, Bloomberg
“India’s growth story in recent years has been predominantly fueled by public capital expenditure on infrastructure, which has cushioned the economy against external shocks. Government spending on roads, railways, and urban development has accelerated, with the FY26 Union Budget allocating ₹11.21 lakh crore for infrastructure—3.1% of GDP… Yet, private investment remains subdued, often described as “shy.” Gross fixed capital formation has shown green shoots but lags behind public efforts. Corporate capex, while recovering, is constrained by global uncertainties and a preference for deleveraging over expansion. Data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) indicate that private corporate investment growth slipped to 0.7% of GDP in early 2025, down from 1.3% in FY24-25. This hesitation stems from uneven demand recovery, particularly in rural areas, and external trade pressures… The RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has adopted a hawkish stance amid persistent uncertainties, and later cutting the repo rate by 25 bps to 5.25% in December 2025—the fifth reduction in 2025, totalling 125 bps. This relatively hawkish moment reflects caution over potential inflation from tariffs and supply disruptions. Though one may expect further room for policy rate cuts with CPI figures in November 2025 with only 0.71 percent, the RBI MPCprojected CPI at 2.0% for FY26.” Read more: Lekha Chakraborty, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy
“India is still reporting world-beating economic growth but no longer getting any love for it. Flows of foreign money into the country have dried up, suggesting outsiders believe that the reported GDP growth rate of over 8 per cent masks underlying weaknesses. Most strikingly, corporate revenue normally grows (or shrinks) with the economy — in any country. But last year corporate revenue growth for listed companies in India decelerated to barely half the GDP growth rate… Among the leading signs of weakness: India is losing more people and attracting a lot less money than it used to. This decade, a net total of 675,000 people emigrated each year, up from 325,000 in the 2010s. Only Pakistan, Bangladesh and Ukraine have seen a larger exodus while China is haemorrhaging people at the same pace as it did in the last decade, 300,000 a year… Employment growth continues to be weak; even at the famed Indian Institutes of Technology, 38 per cent graduated without a single job offer from a campus recruiter in 2024… Asian economies that have sustained rapid growth — such as China and Vietnam more recently — saw net foreign direct investment surge above 4 per cent of GDP during their boom phases. That figure never surpassed 1.5 per cent in India, and it is now just 0.1 per cent. Over the past decade, India dropped in the rankings for net FDI/GDP, from 12th to 19th among the 25 largest emerging countries.” Read more: Ruchir Sharma, Financial Times
“A majority of Gen Z and millennials in India believe that it will be more challenging for them to find jobs in 2026, as their ambition for a career change faces the new pressures of uncertainty and unpreparedness, LinkedIn reported on Thursday. According to data exclusively shared by the professional platform with The Hindu, as job search gets challenging, India’s younger professionals are seeking clarity and transparency to streamline career growth.. Some 80% of Gen Z and 75% of millennials say it will be more challenging to find a job this year, LinkedIn found… However, 77% of Gen Z and 71% of millennials also said it was hard to find reliable advice and guidance to help in the job-seeking process, LinkedIn said. “They [job seekers] sought clarity from recruiters on what they could’ve done better,” LinkedIn reported based on its recent research… As per another data set released by LinkedIn, some 84% of professionals feel unprepared to find a new job, although 72% said they were actively seeking a new role in 2026.” Read more: Mini Tejaswi, The Hindu
Foreign Policy & Security:
“America’s volatile foreign policy is forcing India to revisit its own priorities. Domestically, the Modi government seems intent to move faster on domestic reforms to buttress growth that is ordinarily fueled by commercial ties with the United States… Despite recurring difficulties, the United States is India’s indispensable economic partner. America is India’s largest export destination for both goods and IT services; the largest source of remittances; and, while “official” totals for inward foreign investment place the United States as the third-largest source, this is significantly distorted by Indian and third country investors taking advantage of India’s favorable tax treaties with Singapore and Mauritius… Helpfully, the “flash” of India’s engagements with American adversaries is overshadowed in “substance” with the quality of its agreements with America’s friends and allies. Some agreements pre-date President Trump’s return to office, but the pace of concluding agreements is accelerating. Look no further than comparing the outcomes of Prime Minister Modi’s late 2025 engagements with Japan and Philippines versus that of Russia.” Read more: Richard Rossow, Center for Strategic and International Studies
“Iran once again stands at the epicentre of a geopolitical storm, navigating what may be its most perilous convergence of crises since the 1979 revolution. The Islamic Republic is no longer merely managing dissent — it faces a systemic uprising fuelled by economic suffocation and the erosion of its strategic deterrence… The State’s response follows a familiar pattern of mass arrests, internet blackouts, and lethal force. Yet repression today carries higher stakes. The population is younger, less ideological, and openly sceptical of leaders who invoke foreign conspiracies while daily survival grows increasingly precarious… For India, the turmoil in Iran poses immediate and multi-layered risks despite limited direct economic exposure. The main concern is an escalation involving the US or Israel, which could disrupt maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — leading to spikes in global oil prices, increased shipping and insurance costs, and higher inflation and fiscal pressures in India… For India, sitting on the fence is no longer tenable. New Delhi must act now — shaping outcomes, not reacting to them — or risk waking up to a reordered neighbourhood where energy lifelines are severed, strategic investments lie abandoned, and instability spirals beyond control.” Read more: Ausaf Sayeed, Hindustan Times
“Sergio Gor, a close ally of President Trump, began his role as the United States ambassador to India on Monday, promising to help resolve differences that have badly strained ties between the two nations. “Real friends can disagree, but always resolve their differences in the end,” Mr. Gor said in a speech to hundreds of embassy staff members, emphasizing Mr. Trump’s “great friendship” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Such sentiments may have rung hollow to Indian officials, who in recent months have been trying to rebuild the bilateral relationship after a series of blows by Mr. Trump that has left them confused about American objectives… Mr. Gor, 39, previously served as Mr. Trump’s head of presidential personnel appointments. Before that, he helped lead a publishing venture that produced Mr. Trump’s books… His closeness to Mr. Trump could help New Delhi troubleshoot the relationship at a time when it is struggling to get its message to the president’s inner circle. But Mr. Gor also comes with complications that have made Indian officials cautious: He has an additional role as a special envoy to South and Central Asia, which includes India’s rival Pakistan.” Read more: Mujib Mashal, New York Times
“After a video of a wrecked FedEx lorry circulated on X just before Christmas, dozens of commenters quickly blamed the pile-up on the Indian heritage of the logistics company’s chief executive. “Stop the fucking Indian takeover of our great American companies,” read one post… FedEx is one of a growing number of US businesses that have faced a surge of anti-Indian racism amid the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict foreign skilled labour. The non-profit Center for the Study of Organized Hate has tracked what executive director Raqib Naik dubbed “co-ordinated campaigns” to harass Indian American entrepreneurs who received loans from the Small Business Administration, a government agency… Accusations that FedEx chief executive Raj Subramaniam has been laying off white American workers and replacing them with Indian workers — which the company denies — have been amplified by rightwing commentators, including Andrew Torba, founder of social media platform Gab… Experts tracking anti-Indian rhetoric online say vitriol surged after President Donald Trump announced revisions to the H-1B visa programme in September.” Read more: Taylor Nicole Rogers, Financial Times
“The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) faced uncomfortable questions this week as filings with the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) showed that the Indian Embassy in Washington used an American lobby firm for unconventional tasks normally done by diplomats… For the last few years, the Embassy had focused on three agencies: Republican Party-linked BGR Government Affairs, Democrat Party-linked Cornerstone Government Affairs, and the African American caucus-linked Williams Group (terminated in 2025). In 2025, after the swearing-in of U.S. President Donald Trump, the Embassy hired three more, including two closely linked to Trump associates — SHW LLC headed by former Trump spokesperson and campaign strategist Jason Miller, and Mercury Public Affairs, where White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was earlier co-chair. SHW LLC was contracted for $1.8 million (₹16 crore) or $1,50,000 a month… To a detailed questionnaire sent by The Hindu, the Indian Embassy spokesperson said that “it is a standard practice for embassies, private and business organisations in the U.S. to hire the services of lobbyists and consultants to augment outreach.” The MEA and the Embassy, however, did not explain why the tasks of diplomats to set up key meetings were outsourced, or why the calls on May 10 were made. Also unanswered is the question of how effective such firms are. India and the U.S. have conflicting narratives over Operation Sindoor.” Read more: Suhasini Haidar, The Hindu
“A six-member delegation from the International Liaison Department (ILD) of the Communist Party of China (CPC), led by Vice Minister Sun Haiyan, is currently visiting New Delhi for high-level party-to-party engagements. In the past as well, such conversations have happened, but this is the first such party-to-party conversation since what is seen as a “thaw” in India, China ties. Historical records show intermittent party-level contacts between the CPC and the BJP dating back to the late 2000s, including visits by BJP delegations to China and reciprocal meetings in India… This visit comes amid a noticeable thaw in India-China relations, which had been strained for years by border tensions, including the deadly 2020 Galwan Valley clash… 2025 was full of high-level engagements between the 2 countries. EAM Dr S Jaishankar, NSA Ajit Doval, Defence minister Rajnath Singh & PM Modi has visited China for SCO meets & Summit. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has visited India for key talks.” Read more: Siddhant Sibbal, Wion News
People & Politics:
“In the last eight months, Taher Ali, a peasant from Assam’s Nagaon district has been forced out of India and into the no man’s land abutting Bangladesh not once – but three times. Twice, he was sent back by Bangladesh border officials, Hasan Ali, a 31-year-old vegetable vendor, told Scroll. Taher Ali is a “declared foreigner”, someone who has failed to prove that he is an Indian citizen before the state’s foreigners tribunals even though he has lived his entire life in Assam. The tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies that have stripped thousands of Assam’s residents of their citizenship, many times through ex-parte orders that were passed without hearing the accused – as was the case with Taher Ali… Since November, the state government has issued orders to 22 declared foreigners to “remove themselves” from the country “within 24 hours”, leaving families with no opportunity to move court. But with Bangladesh refusing to allow them in, people like Taher Ali are trapped in a vicious cycle of “push-backs” and returns… Scroll contacted the Border Security Force spokesperson and the Union ministry of home affairs, asking if declared foreigners expelled under the 1950 law were repeatedly pushed into Bangladesh, and if their nationality had been verified before. The story will be updated if they respond.” Read more: Rokibuz Zaman, Scroll
“For three days last week, I signed up as a delivery worker, navigating Delhi’s traffic and architecture of India’s gig' economy. My experience of working for a day each across Zomato, Blinkit and Swiggy platforms laid bare a grim reality: India’s convenience economy runs on the backs of delivery workers, and the costs — financial, physical, psychological — are theirs alone to carry. The numbers were stark. Across three days, I rode 105 km on a TVS 125 cc scooter to complete more than 20 deliveries and clocked over 15 years of work. Total earnings: Rs 782. After fuel costs of Rs 250, I was left with Rs 532, or roughly Rs 34 per hour — well below minimum wage standards in most formal sectors — without accounting for vehicle maintenance, phone bills, or the physical toll of spending hours navigating Delhi’s roads, waiting for orders and lugging heavy loads up buildings… At Rs 355 at the end of six deliveries, Zomato yielded the most earnings, followed by Blinkit at Rs 313.27 (11 deliveries), while Swiggy bought in just Rs 114 (6 deliveries) — a figure diminished by the platform’s penalty system that docks Rs 30 every time a worker turns down an order.” Read more: Soumyarendra Barik, Indian Express
“A local court in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district has ordered the registration of a criminal case against more than a dozen police personnel, including senior officers, over their alleged role in a shooting incident during the November 2024 violence near the Shahi Jama Masjid. Those named include Anuj Chaudhary, the then Circle Officer of Sambhal, and Anuj Tomar, the then Station House Officer of Sambhal Kotwali… Chief Judicial Magistrate Vibhanshu Sudhir issued the order on January 9 after hearing a petition filed by Yameen, a resident of the Khaggu Sarai Anjuman area, under Section 173 (4) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The BNSS section empowers individual to seek judicial intervention when the police fail to act… In his petition, Mr. Yameen alleged that his son Alam was shot by policemen during the unrest on November 24, 2024. “Alam had stepped out to sell rusk and biscuits when he was caught in the violence and suffered three bullet injuries,” the petition said. Advocate Qamar Hussain, counsel representing Mr. Yameen, said the petitioner told the court that out of fear, he took his son to neighbouring districts for treatment, but was refused admission.” Read more: Mayank Kumar, The Hindu
“Former Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Arun Prakash, and his wife received notices from the Election Commission of India (ECI) asking them to submit additional documents to establish them as registered electors during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Goa. The Admiral, a decorated war veteran and a Vir Chakra awardee, who settled in Goa after retirement, has been marked under the “unmapped” category. “My wife and I have been asked to appear before ECI officials on two separate dates, and we shall comply with their request. The language of the notice is quite complicated and difficult to understand,” Adm Prakash told The Indian Express… In a post on X on Sunday, the Admiral said, “I neither need nor have ever asked for any special privileges since retirement 20 years ago. My wife and I had filled the SIR forms as required and were pleased to see our names figured in the Goa Draft Electoral Roll 2026 on the EC website. We will, however, comply with EC notices.” He said a booth-level officer (BLO) visited them thrice and could have sought additional information, pointing out that SIR forms should be revised if they are not “evoking” required information… Sanjay Goel, Goa’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), did not respond to requests for a comment.” Read more: Pavneet Singh Chadha, Indian Express
“If one were to read public debates in India on economic equality, one might be forgiven for associating equality with four sins. First, what matters, apparently, is poverty reduction, not inequality — inequality is dismissed as a distraction. Second, equality is portrayed as the enemy of entrepreneurship. Third, it is assumed to entail greater bureaucratic control by the state. Finally, talk of equality is cast as resentful, socialist levelling down… But what is striking about these associations is the absence of even a rudimentary understanding of why, quite apart from any intrinsic appeal, there are compelling pragmatic reasons to take equality seriously, precisely to achieve the very objectives that inequality is said to advance… First, the claim that poverty reduction and equality are rivals is a laughable piece of mystification. High inequality can directly undermine poverty reduction by weakening the growth elasticity of poverty… Second, the relationship between equality and entrepreneurship is far more complex than is usually acknowledged. Under some conditions, inequality might spur growth, but this relationship is contingent and fragile… Third, equality does not logically entail bureaucratic micromanagement. Indeed, high inequality often requires more discretionary state power, not less: Subsidies to capital, regulatory forbearance for large firms, selective tax enforcement, and ad-hoc bailouts… Finally, the charge of resentful levelling down misunderstands the direction of causality. Egalitarian policies are not about pulling the top down, but about preventing inequality from corroding the social and economic conditions necessary for sustained prosperity.” Read more: Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Indian Express
Tech:
“In October, a small electronics manufacturer in the western Indian state of Gujarat shipped its first batch of chip modules to a client in California. Kaynes Semicon, together with Japanese and Malaysian technology partners, assembled the chips in a new factory funded with incentives under Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s $10bn semiconductor push announced in 2021… The upcoming foundry in Gujarat is a collaboration between India’s Tata Group, one of the largest conglomerates in the country, and Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC), which is assisting with the plant’s construction and technology transfer… Even if delayed, the project marks a pivotal moment for India, which has seen multiple attempts to build a commercial fab stall in the past… The upcoming projects in India – both the foundry and the ATP units – will primarily focus on legacy, or mature, chips sized between 28nm and 110nm. While these chips are not at the cutting-edge of semiconductor technology, they account for the bulk of global demand, with applications across cars, industrial equipment and consumer electronics.” Read more: Aggam Walia, Al Jazeera
“NATGRID was first publicly announced on December 23, 2009, in a speech by the Home Minister. The constitutional question that arose immediately was not whether the state may ever conduct surveillance, but on whether a project of this magnitude could operate without a statutory framework and independent oversight… For years, NATGRID’s constant delays led people to believe it was ‘vaporware’. A project that existed on paper but did not actually work as a massive search engine for tracking citizens that was only announced to calm public anger after the 26/11 attacks. Well, it is now becoming a reality that can no longer be ignored… The legality of intelligence programmes that lack any clear statutory foundation or meaningful oversight has not been squarely adjudicated, despite multiple pending cases. In place of scrutiny, we have a martial public temper fanned by political rhetoric and cultural moulding, including mainstream cinema, that treats questioning the security establishment as heresy. The result is a near silence about accountability for acts of terrorism such as the New Delhi bombing of November 10, 2025, and the heartbreaking loss of 15 lives. Is it impolite to ask whether there was an “intelligence failure” even with NATGRID in place?” Read more: Apar Gupta, The Hindu
“In the run-up to the IndiaAI Impact Summit in February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a closed-door meeting with AI startups at his Lok Kalyan Marg residence, bringing together companies approved to develop foundational models under the IndiaAI Mission. The interaction, attended by IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, minister of state Jitin Prasada and MeitY secretary S Krishnan, was described by participants as informal, wide-ranging and detailed… Several said this was one of the first reviews Modi wanted to take up this year, underlining the priority being given to artificial intelligence. One message, sources said, came through repeatedly: India must think big. The Prime Minister reportedly was clear that AI will have a transformative impact globally and that India should aim to lead rather than settle for limited demonstrations… Multiple sources said Modi reportedly also spoke at length about AI safety and trust, flagging the growing challenge of verifying the source and truth of AI-generated content. Among the ideas discussed was the use of watermarking for AI-generated text, images and outputs to improve credibility and traceability.” Read more: Bhavya Dilipkumar and Aihik Sur, Moneycontrol
“The question is: where does AI add value? For which user, in which workflow, with what measurable improvement, and with what accountability when it is wrong? Shankar Maruwada, CEO and co-founder of the EkStep Foundation, argues that “adoption is proving harder than invention, especially for general-purpose technologies, as it once was for electricity. As a result, AI adoption remains on the sidelines.” A pilot operates in a controlled environment, but production does not. What appears tractable in a limited trial must, in reality, contend with a range of operational and organizational complexities, including data flows, legacy systems, workforce turnover, competing incentives, procurement requirements, and compliance constraints… The absence of shared institutional vocabulary and governance frameworks further impedes adoption. Differences in definitions of core terms such as use case, impact, or benchmark between technology builders, operators, and regulators can contribute to miscommunication, procurement delays, and unclear decision criteria… If AI adoption is a systems problem, then the right mental model is diffusion, not invention alone. Jeffrey Ding uses the phrase “diffusion capacity” and defines it as the ability “to spread and adopt innovations… across productive processes.” That is the frame most AI programs need.” Read more: Shalini Kapoor and Tanvi Lall, Carnegie India
Bonus:
“The decline of single-screen cinemas and the concentration of multiplexes in the top metros are narrowing options for India’s movie-goers and hurting box office collections of films, according to experts. Single-screen cinemas that dominated the country’s theatrical landscape a decade ago, have shrunk to about 6,500 properties in 2025 from 9,500, hit by rising real estate prices and the availability of content on streaming platforms, according to experts… According to a report by The Multiplex Association of India (MAI), prepared by EY, out of 19,000 postal zones in the country, 16,350 have no cinema screens. The number of screens has fallen from 7.6 per million population in 2018 to 6.8 in 2024. Of India’s population of 1.4 billion, less than 150 million (10%) are estimated to attend a movie in theatres in a year… Closure of single screens has essentially meant that a lot of people who earlier had access to movie theatres, don’t anymore.” Read more: Lata Jha, Mint
Watch/listen:
Ram Guha Speaks: Gadgil and His Fight for India and Western Ghats | The News Minute
Humans of the yamuna: Delhi’s divers and boatmen at Nigambodh Ghat risk their lives daily | People’s Archive of Rural India