Spontaneous Order

Plastic: The Fossil Fuel of the Anthropocene

If you walk down a street in urban India, you’ll likely see plastic. A blue tarpaulin sheet fluttering off a rooftop. A drain choked with plastic…

Oct 15 • Spontaneous Order

Economic Calculation and The Indian State

In 1920, Ludwig Von Mises, in his book “Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth,” predicted what would happen when a state uses bureaucratic…

Oct 9 • Spontaneous Order

If Sex Work Is Not a Crime, Why Criminalise the Conditions Around It?

This week, Delhi’s prisons finally ended an archaic policy: segregating incarcerated sex workers from other female inmates

Oct 1 • Spontaneous Order

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September 2026

The Hidden Costs of Protection: How Trade Barriers Hold Back India's Textile Industry

By: Amol Asthana

Sep 24 • Spontaneous Order

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Why Paper Leaks Won’t Stop Until We Fix the Real Problem in Indian Healthcare

Every year across India, about 22–23 lakh medical students sit for the NEET-UG, and only around one lakh secure seats in government medical colleges.

Sep 18 • Spontaneous Order

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The Micromanager’s State

The popular caricature of the micromanager is someone who insists on being copied on every email, rewrites work that others are perfectly capable of…

Sep 14 • Spontaneous Order

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August 2026

Girl Math: From Public Toilets to Public Policy

An everyday conversation with my girlfriends revealed how all of us employ various strategies to “hold it in” (avoiding urination) in the absence of…

Aug 20

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How Smart Are India's SMART Cities?

A newly laid road near my neighbourhood in Ayodhya was satisfying to look at. Days later, workers ripped it open again to lay a water pipeline, because…

Aug 14 • Spontaneous Order

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Who Owns Delhi's Stray Cattle? Traceability, Accountability, and Public Roads

The moment I step outside my PG to go to the library or Centre for Civil Society (CCS) office, my movement is often interrupted by cattle occupying the…

Aug 6 • Spontaneous Order

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July 2026

Cooperation in the Cracks: What Delhi's E-Rickshaw Drivers Reveal About the Limits of Competition

If you’re anything like us, you’ve probably mastered making your way through the lines of e-rickshaws outside Delhi Metro stations.

Jul 30 • Spontaneous Order

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Innovation Needs More Than Incentives: Game-Based Learning in Low-Cost Private Schools

Walk into most Indian classrooms, and you’ll find the same scene that has played out for decades: a teacher at the front, notes on the board, and…

Jul 24 • Spontaneous Order

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AI Doesn't Discriminate, Usage Does

Last week, I received an email with one line in bold: “Usage of AI is strictly discouraged as our focus is to understand your thinking and approach…

Jul 16 • Spontaneous Order

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