What to Read in Indian Express Editorial( Topic and Syllabus wise)

Editorial 1 : US government shutdown and the state of its Budget

Context: A government shutdown in the United States represents one of the most visible consequences of political gridlock in the federal budgeting process. Let us explain the reasons why shutdowns occur, how the US budget system is structured, and what broader implications this process has for the functioning of government and the economy.

Government Shutdown:

• A shutdown happenswhen the US Congress fails to pass the annual federal budget or temporary funding known as continuing Resolutions (CRs) before the financial year begins on October 1.
• Without approved funding, federal departments cannot legally spend money, forcing them to either suspend operations or run with minimal staffing.
• Essential services such as national security, air traffic control, and healthcare continue, but many federal employees remain unpaid during the shutdown.
• Unlike India where the government continues to function under the Vote on Account provision, US law prevents the executivefrom spending without congressional authorization.
• Shutdowns thus arise from the constitutional separation of powers, where the legislature controls the purse.

Reasons for shutdown:

• Shutdowns result from political deadlock between the two chambers of Congress (House and Senate) or between Congress and the President.
• The political party differences, spending priorities, taxation disagreements, or policy disputes (such as immigration, defence, or social spending) often stall budget negotiations.
• The US has experienced shutdowns almost every few years since 1976.
• The longest shutdown in recent history, which lasted 35 days. These episodes reflect not only partisan rivalry but also increasing polarization within American politics.

The US Budget Process:

• The budget cycle follows a detailed timeline:
• First Monday of February: The President submits the annual budget proposal.
• Spring–Summer (April–June):Congressional committees review, modify, and frame the Budget Resolution.
• June–September: Appropriations Committees draft specific spending bills for federal agencies.
• October 1: The fiscal year begins, and all funding bills must be passed by this date.
• If Congress fails to meet the deadline, a shutdown occurs unless temporary funding (CR) is approved.
• This process is often delayed because committees struggle to reconcile competing spending priorities. Political divisions deepen during election years, further destabilizing the budgeting cycle.

Fiscal State of the US Government:

• High fiscal deficits continue across years, driven by large expenditures on social welfare, defence, and debt servicing.
• By FY 2025, the US faces rising deficits even as interest payments on public debt increase sharply.
• Federal revenueprimarily comes from individual income taxes, payroll taxes, and corporate taxes, while expenditures are dominated by social security, health programmes, defence, and interest payments.
• Rising deficits and debt levels intensify political disagreements, making it harder to pass budgets on time.

Economic and Social Impacts of Shutdowns:

• Shutdowns disrupt the functioning of government agencies and affect everyday governance:
• Delays occur in public services like passport issuance, food safety inspections, and federal loans.
• Federal employees and contractors remain unpaid, affecting household consumption.
• Tourism, national parks, and local economies experience temporary losses.
• Markets react negatively due to uncertainty over federal spending.
• Long-term shutdownsalso reduce public trust in institutions and highlight systemic weaknesses in budget governance.

Broader Implications for Governance:

• The shutdowns represent more than a budgeting failure they reveal deeper structural issues in American democracy:
• Political polarization has weakened bipartisan cooperation.
• Budget negotiations become hostage to ideological battles.
• The credibility of fiscal policymaking suffers.
• The US system’s strict separation of powers makes compromise essential. When political actors fail to reach consensus, governance itself is stalled.

Way Forward:

The US government shutdown is a product of institutional design, political rivalry, and fiscal pressures. While the Constitution gives Congress the authority to approve spending, rising polarization has turned budget-making into a conflict arena. Repeated shutdowns not only disrupt governance but also raise questions about long-term fiscal stability. The challenge for the US lies in restoring bipartisan dialogue, strengthening the budget timetable, and crafting sustainable fiscal policies that prevent governance paralysis.

 

Editorial 2 : On air pollution, mood is shifting people’s anger is in search of political voice

Context: Air pollution in India has long been recognized as a severe public-health and environmental challenge, but recent years mark a significant shift in public mood and political engagement with the problem. The toxic air, once normalized as a seasonal inconvenience, has now become an issue capable of shaping political attitudes, citizen anger and the legitimacy of governance systems.

Present state of Air Pollution:

• India’s air pollution crisis emerges from multiple structural sources: vehicular emissions, construction dust, biomass burning, coal-based power, agricultural stubble burning, and industrial activity.
• Yet, despite the scientific clarityand overwhelming evidence on its impact ranging from respiratory illnesses to developmental disorders the political system has historically responded with denial, ad-hoc measures, and blame-shifting.
• This gap between scientific understanding and political action is increasingly untenable.

Change in the perspective:

• Urban Indians, especially in the northern plains, no longer view air pollution as an unavoidable seasonal phenomenon.
• Instead, people are recognising it as a failure of governance and policy coherence.
• The anger is more visible among parents of young children, professionals, and migrant workers who face daily health impacts.
• This growing frustration signals a broader trend: environmental issues are acquiring moral and political urgency rather than remaining peripheral concerns.
• The shift is occurring because citizens now understand the preventable nature of the crisis.
• They see that many countries such as China, the US, and cities in Europereduced pollution levels dramatically through strong regulation, transparent governance, and local accountability.
• India’s inability to replicate similar results, despite institutional frameworks like the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), is fostering distrust.

Collapse of Governance and Institutional Fragmentation:

• Pollution control in India suffers from a fragmented regulatory ecosystem.
• Agencies at the central, state, and municipal levels frequently overlap, contradict, or fail to coordinate.
• Pollution control boards remain understaffed and weak, often lacking both autonomy and scientific capacity.
• Environmental activismis frequently discouraged and labelled as foreign-influenced, weakening community participation.
• Political incentives also play a critical role.
• Short-term electoral calculationsoften override long-term environmental commitments.
• Governments tend to priorities symbolic actionslike odd-even schemes, temporary construction bans or air emergency responses over sustained structural reforms such as industrial regulation, urban planning, clean energy transitions or agricultural support for alternatives to stubble burning.

Lack of channels to raise the voice:

• Despite widespread frustration, air pollution has not yet become a decisive electoral issue.
• This is partly because political parties are reluctant to accept responsibility or propose systemic reforms that may antagonize influential lobbies.
• The narrative often shifts blame between states or towards uncontrollable factors like weather patterns.
• However, as public awareness rises, the demand for accountable leadership and health-centred governance is intensifying.
• If citizens begin to organize around the issue through parents’ groups, resident associations, youth movements or health campaigns air pollution may evolve into a powerful political agenda.

The Way Forward:

Only a comprehensive approach can resolve the crisis: strengthening regulatory institutions, depoliticizing environmental science, supporting farmers with viable alternatives, investing in clean transport, and empowering local governments.  Air pollution, therefore, is not merely an environmental concern but a governance challenge that tests the responsiveness, credibility and accountability of India’s political system. As the mood shifts and public anger deepens, it may herald a new phase where environmental health becomes a core component of India’s democratic and developmental discourse.