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Himayat - A silent skills revolution in the making

In this Note from the Field, Varad Pande of the Ministry of Rural Development discusses the Himayat programme in Jammu and Kashmir which offers skills-training and a job to unemployed young people in ...

  • Notes from the Field

Political Clientelism and Government Accountability in West Bengal: Theory and Evidence

This project provide a theory of political clientelism, which explains sources and determinants of political clientelism, the relationship between clientelism and elite capture, and their respective c...

  • IGC Research on India

The root of poverty: Ruinous healthcare costs

While natural disasters and political turmoil rightly grab our attention, this column shows that it is everyday events that drag most people into poverty. For many, the first of these is illness and t...

  • Articles

The fight against left-wing extremism

In this Note From the Field, Varad Pande of the Ministry of Rural Development argues that left-wing extremism and violence is a major challenge for India. He says that while this is definitely a secur...

  • Notes from the Field

Multi-dimensional deprivation in India: Comparisons with China and Vietnam

While several studies have compared India with China on economic measures such as GDP per capita, this column looks at a measure of people’s deprivation across a wide range of indicators. It finds Ind...

  • Articles

Microfinance and predatory lending: The same old story?

Once hailed as a near-miraculous way of lending money to the poor, microfinance is now often seen as exploitation – and governments are stepping in. This column looks at another point in India’s histo...

  • Articles

The political economies of land acquisition

India is in the process of reforming the way that land is bought and sold – a source of heated debate as many blame the current laws for unfairly forcing millions from their homes and livelihoods. Thi...

  • Articles

Why some poverty-fighting programmes show no net impact

An increasingly popular way to tackle acute poverty is ‘targeting the ultra-poor’. The scheme provides not only money but also training and support and has been hailed a huge success in its origin cou...

  • Articles

Child malnutrition in India and what can be done about it

While many things are getting better in India, the disturbing levels of child malnutrition are hardly changing. This column explores why and asks what can be done. It calls for more conditional cash t...

  • Articles

Why Indian education needs to get back to reality

What is the best advice to give an Indian education department official? This column argues that the best thing officials can do is drop the assumptions and stick to reality – otherwise many children ...

  • Articles

Cutting delays in MNREGA wages

Officials in charge of paying MNREGA wages in the state of Andhra Pradesh can now expect to receive fines if there are delays. This column shows how this move was made possible by a simple automated s...

  • Articles

Child malnutrition: Why wealth isn't the only problem

Why does child malnutrition persist in India? This column argues that the reason is not limited to poverty or inadequate access to food; but that a lack of knowledge about healthy nutrition plays a vi...

  • Articles