Kerala Finance Minister imposed tax on junk food but avoided colas. This was  amusing as colas are found to be worse than pizzas, burgers or other junk  foods. These taxes are not new at all. Known as soda tax or sugar tax , Mexico was one of the first to implement this at a large scale. Mexico is where we have the largest per capita  consumption of colas - nearly half a litre a day.  In the backdrop of Mr. Alejandro Calvillo's fight  against cola giants , Mexico imposed taxes on colas/sodas. Countries like Unite Kingdom  replicated this citing that such measures will reduce consumption  of unhealthy foods. Kerala is the latest in this list, but made a  half-hearted attempt, avoiding colas/sodas. For people who chased-off Coca  Cola from Plachimada, this was surprising. I would say our most popular street food "kappa & erachi" & "porotta" are  junk foods. Or the "parippu vada". Try imposing tax on them! Instead we  chose to impose t

Prisons are supposed to reform the inmates, for them to be later brought back to the mainstream. There is an attempt to impart some skills to prisoners for them to earn their livelihood once they are outside. Across India, success of prisons are debatable. Whether the inmates get reformed or not, running prisons are a costly affair for government. Yes, law abiding citizens bear the cost to support others. Putting these prisoners to work and contribute to economy is one option. World over, such initiatives had varied success rate. Kerala made few initiatives like outlets serving some basic food, stitching clothes, farming, etc. Some had been extremely successful. With better focus and direction, more such ventures can be initiated for the benefit of everyone. Like, - body building and workshop for KSRTC buses - digitization of government documents - kitchen for trains and flights - vegetable farming - processing and packaging foods under contract - call centre