:: Ideas for India ::

Ashok Kotwal

I4I turns 1!
Posted on: 06 Aug 2013

It has been a year since the voice of ‘Ideas for India’ was first heard. Our mission was t ... read on »

For the New Year
Posted on: 21 Dec 2012

Five months ago we launched this portal to start new conversations on issues of vital impo ... read on »

On ideology
Posted on: 12 Sep 2012

Ideology plays a big role in the way we judge policies, politicians and even the people we ... read on »

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How backward are ‘Other Backward Classes’ in India?
Ashwini Deshpande , Rajesh Ramachandran
Posted on: 04 Dec 2013

Topics: Caste , Poverty & Inequality

Tags: affirmative action

Since reservations were provided in government bodies for lower castes in the early 90s, ‘Other Backward Classes’ have been an important force in Indian politics at all levels. Has there been a corresponding change in traditional economic hierarchies? This column finds significant gaps in the standard of living between OBCs and higher castes. However, there is evidence of catch-up among younger people.
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A suggestion for WTO negotiations
Ashok Kotwal , Milind Murugkar , Bharat Ramaswami
Posted on: 02 Dec 2013

Topics: Poverty & Inequality , Trade , Agriculture

Tags: right to food , PDS

India’s new food security law is likely to breach WTO’s limit on farmer support. India is keen to ask for a temporary exemption from the rule so that the law can be implemented unhindered. But, in return, it may have to agree on trade facilitation. This article argues that while our food procurement policies do need reform, there is no link between the food security law and free trade.
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The Reserve Bank's mission impossible?
Arvind Subramanian
Posted on: 29 Nov 2013

Topics: Macroeconomic Policy

Tags: inflation , RBI , monetary policy

India’s current inflation is unprecedentedly high – not in absolute terms but relative to the rest of the world. This article discusses the role of inflation in the recent currency crisis, and argues that taming inflation may prove difficult because the social consensus in favour of moderate inflation appears to have eroded.
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An evidence-based proposal to achieve universal quality primary education in India
Karthik Muralidharan
Posted on: 25 Nov 2013

Topics: Education

Tags: schooling

It is well established that learning levels in Indian primary schools are unacceptably low. This column proposes a strategy for achieving universal functional literacy and numeracy for all primary school children in India during the 12th Five-Year Plan that is fiscally sustainable, politically feasible, implementable at scale, and based on interventions proven to be effective by rigorous research on education in India.
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Do the poor need genetically modified crops?
Milind Murugkar
Posted on: 22 Nov 2013

Topics: Productivity & Innovation , Agriculture

Tags: environmental regulation

Field trials of a few genetically modified crops were recently put on hold by the Environment Ministry. This article asserts that the decision reflects an ideological resistance to and suspicion about the technology, which is at odds with the government’s stated policy of using GM crops for the benefit of rural poor. It argues that GM crops can go a long way in helping farmers by improving crop yields.
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Estimating the nutritional impact of the Food Security Bill
Tara Kaul
Posted on: 18 Nov 2013

Topics: Poverty & Inequality

Tags: right to food , PDS

The provisions of the new National Food Security Bill seek to expand the value and reach of food subsidies provided through the Public Distribution System. This column analyses the nutritional impact of the PDS, and provides an estimate of the impact of the Bill on the caloric intake of current beneficiaries of the programme.
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Connecting India’s youth with development in red bastions
Varad Pande
Posted on: 13 Nov 2013

Topics: Poverty & Inequality

Tags: naxalism , public service delivery

The Prime Minister’s Rural Development Fellowship is an initiative of the Ministry of Rural Development that recruits young professionals to work with local governments for grassroots development in left-wing extremism affected areas. In this article, Varad Pande talks about the objectives, challenges and successes of the programme.
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Doing a number on the Food Security Bill
Ashok Kotwal , Milind Murugkar , Bharat Ramaswami
Posted on: 11 Nov 2013

Topics: Poverty & Inequality

Tags: right to food

In a recent article, Kotwal, Murugkar and Ramaswami pointed out errors in estimation by Surjit Bhalla that led him to assert that the Food Security Bill will increase cost of food subsidy by 336%, and presented correct costs of the Bill. Bhalla then defended his methodology and calculations and criticised the authors’ arguments. This article responds to Bhalla’s defence, and says that the astronomical estimates of the Bill are irrelevant.
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What is mitigating a financial crisis in India?
Gurbachan Singh
Posted on: 08 Nov 2013

Topics: Finance , Macroeconomic Policy

Tags: current account deficit , fiscal deficit , inflation

The recent turmoil in the currency market and the general slowdown in growth in India are disturbing. However, India has by and large performed better in terms of macro-financial stability as compared to many parts of the world. This column discusses the problems confronting policymakers, and current policy responses and associated costs, and suggests alternative policies.
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What saved the rupee?
Arvind Subramanian
Posted on: 06 Nov 2013

Topics: Macroeconomic Policy

Tags: exchange rates , RBI , monetary policy

This article analyses the dramatic fall of the rupee between May and August this year, and its recovery thereafter. It asserts that it was primarily external factors and an unconventional intervention by the Reserve Bank of India that influenced the evolution of the rupee during the period.
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This website is managed by the International Growth Centre, funded by UKaid from the Department for International Development. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect official policy, and use of the website is under the terms of use for the website of the London School of Economics and Political Science.

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