A quarterly newsletter offering our readers insights and updates on a diverse range of topics; find news on consumer protection, electricity governance, environment and climate action, solid waste management, and sustainable transport, among others.
Citizen consumer and civic Action Group (CAG), for the last 37 years, has been offering a free and voluntary consumer protection service. Consumers can write in or call with their grievances, which could be against services or goods bought by them.…
In May 2021, the Tamil Nadu government launched a scheme that made public city and town buses (with certain caveats) free for women. While the rides are completely free (with no restrictions on the number of trips per day or month), the scheme is…
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) on June 9th of 2022 issued guidelines aiming to further protect consumers from claims and promises from advertisements that are misleading, baseless, unjustified, unrealistic, false, etc. This was…
One of the first things impressed upon me when I landed in the U.S as a fresh off the boat student, was never to jaywalk. Completely unfamiliar with the concept, it took a while to sink in that I could be fined for crossing the road unless at…
We need to embrace ourselves for what our world is turning out to be. Of all the challenges faced by mankind, climate change remains the most threatening issue of all time with the survival of our very planet at stake. The world around us is reeling…
Growth of solar in TN:
The adoption of solar PV technologies in the world has witnessed rapid growth in recent years. As per a Mercom report, in India, over 3 GW of solar has been added in the first quarter of 2022 when compared to the previous year…
Is it safe to store your valuables in a bank locker? This is a question that many of us have when thinking about renting bank lockers. People could spend an annual sum of anywhere between INR 1,000 to 16,000 (depending on the size of the locker) to…
A cycle and a loudspeaker accompany Ladoo as he makes his way around Chennai’s neighborhoods, gathering old clothes. He turns off his loudspeaker around certain homes. ‘They don’t like the noise’, he explains to me, as I stop him for a chat. Laddo…
Urbanization in India was at a high of 31.16% between 2001 and 2011 (Census of India, 2011). This rapid urbanization is reflected at the local level - Tamil Nadu is one of the most urbanized states with 44% of people living in cities like Chennai (…
“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.”
- Chief Seattle
Climate change is leaving its stamp on every nook and corner of the world. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) First Working…