Opinion| Smart policing and safer streets start with better data; this is not the norm in India

In this article for the Hindustan Times, Neha Sinha, Assistant Director, Avanti Durani, and Rithika Kumar, Associates, all based at the IDFC Institute, write on the importance of data for smart policing.

“The official records on crime are insufficient to gauge the scale of the problem because of severe and widespread under-reporting.”

“The official records undercount theft because less than half of victims approach the police and only a handful of those end up filing an FIR. In Delhi, 45% of theft victims approached the police of which 16% lodged an FIR. The proportions were 32% and 19% in Mumbai, 20% and 40% in Chennai and 18% and 42% in Bengaluru, respectively. The main reasons for not approaching the police, across the four cities, were lack of evidence, fear of being caught in police or court matters, the perception that the police may not entertain their complaint as well as the perception that the crime was not of a serious nature.”

Read the full article here.

Note: This work was done by the author/s when they were a part of the IDFC Institute and is republished here with permission.

Opinion | Gold buying for investment purposes also makes it easier to reduce imports of actual bullion

India’s rising gold imports are increasingly driven by investment demand rather than traditional consumption. Niranjan Rajadhyaksha explores what this means for the rupee, foreign exchange reserves, and economic policy.

Industrial policy now has broad World Bank approval but the case for universal adoption remains unclear

The World Bank has endorsed the idea of industrial policy with some conditions, reversing its stance of the early 1990s. What its new paper doesn’t address, though, is what happens if every country goes for it.

Opinion | India’s widening current account deficit amid global uncertainty: At what point do alarm bells ring?

India’s current account deficit may touch slightly above $84 billion this year, raising concerns amid global uncertainty. But does it signal trouble yet—or just a phase of manageable external imbalance?