24 September, 2025Election of criminal politicians and public service delivery
Why are politicians with criminal records elected to office, despite voters having the option to weed them out? Based on the hypothesis that criminal politicians strategically deliver targeted benefit...
-
Abhinav Khemka 
18 September, 2025
- Articles
Boosting Lekhpal performance via data-driven feedback and recognition
The Lekhpals Actionable KPI System for Holistic Assessment and Management (LAKSHYAM) is an initiative to measure and enhance the work performance of Lekhpals, who are frontline functionaries of the Re...
-
Fahad Hasin Sakshi Ugale
- 18 August, 2025
- Notes from the Field
Building State capacity for accelerating development through effective governance
In a new edition of I4I conversations, Maitreesh Ghatak (London School of Economics) is joined by Karthik Muralidharan (University of California, San Diego) to discuss his new book, Accelerating India...
-
Maitreesh Ghatak Karthik Muralidharan
- 05 May, 2025
- Videos
Surrogacy bill: Boon or ban(e)?
The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016 proposes a complete ban on commercial surrogacy and restrictions on altruistic surrogacy. In this article, Maitreesh Ghatak, Professor of Economics, London School...
-
Maitreesh Ghatak
- 07 September, 2016
- Perspectives
Data openness and the Geospatial Information Regulation Bill
According to the Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016, the acquisition or use of any geospatial information will require permission from a government authority. In this note, Ghosh and Malhotr...
-
Samayita Ghosh Khusdeep Malhotra
- 05 September, 2016
- Notes from the Field
I4I Panel Discussion: Two years of Modi government
In a panel discussion organised to mark the 4th anniversary of Ideas for India, Parikshit Ghosh (Member of the I4I Editorial Board & Associate Professor, Delhi School of Economics) moderates a discus...
-
Pranab Bardhan Parikshit Ghosh Pratap Bhanu Mehta Mihir Sharma
- 29 August, 2016
- Videos
How participatory is work planning under MNREGA?
In 2014, the Ministry of Rural Development introduced the ‘Intensive Participatory Planning Exercise’ (IPPE) framework in 2,500 most backward blocks of the country, with the objective of making th...
-
Akshay Ahuja
- 26 August, 2016
- Notes from the Field
Justice delayed is development denied: The effect of slow courts on economic outcomes in India
India's formal judicial system is infamously slow, even for a developing country. What is less well established is whether this matters to economic outcomes. This column uses state-level variation in ...
-
Amrit Amirapu
- 22 August, 2016
- Articles
The tussle between RBI and Ministry of Finance: A different dimension
The popular belief about the tussle between RBI and the Ministry of Finance is that it is an issue of the trade-off between inflation and economic growth, with the former more focussed on controlling ...
-
Gurbachan Singh
- 18 August, 2016
- Perspectives
W(h)ither the State? 25 years of economic liberalisation
24 July 2016 marked 25 years of liberalisation of the Indian economy. In this article, Parikshit Ghosh, Associate Professor of Economics at Delhi School of Economics, contends that liberalisation did ...
-
Parikshit Ghosh
- 26 July, 2016
- Articles
Does good governance reduce foodgrain diversion in PDS?
In 2011-12, various states undertook measures to curb leakages of foodgrains from the Public Distribution System. Some of the pioneer states also implemented the National Food Security Act - a rights-...
-
Sohini Paul
- 24 July, 2016
- Articles
When does politics work for development?
Political interference in the bureaucracy is generally viewed with suspicion. Yet, in a democracy, should we not expect politicians to push bureaucrats to work for the best interests of citizens? This...
-
Saad Gulzar Ben Pasquale
- 15 July, 2016
- Articles
Does choice of procurement contract matter for cost and quality of infrastructure?
Central as well as state governments in India lack financial resources and expertise needed to provide adequate infrastructure and maintain it. To augment their capacity and effectiveness, government ...
-
Ram Singh
- 30 June, 2016
- IGC Research on India
Food Security Act: How are India's poorest states faring?
The National Food Security Act was passed in 2013. This column reports findings from a recent survey on the status of the Act in six of India’s poorest states. Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha a...
-
Jean Drèze Prankur Gupta Reetika Khera Isabel Pimenta
- 29 June, 2016
- Articles
Missing the target: NDA's not-so-rosy report card on social policy
In this article, Parikshit Ghosh, Associate Professor of Economics, Delhi School of Economics, assesses the performance of the social sector under the NDA government at the end of two years in office...
-
Parikshit Ghosh
- 22 June, 2016
- Perspectives
Twitter feed
Tweets by Ideas4IndiaMost Popular Governance Posts
Unique Health Identification and Aadhaar: A case for mandatory linkage
As part of the Digital India initiative, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) issues a Unique Health Identification (UHID) number to each patient, which documents their entire journey in th...
- Mudit Kapoor
- 23 December, 2016
- Perspectives
Caste dominance in rural India: Cause and effect
Rural India remains a caste-based society. This column explores why caste continues to play such an important role and what the effects are. It argues that trade and agricultural productivity suffer, ...
- Siwan Anderson
- 16 August, 2012
- Articles
The digital dream: Upskilling India for the future
While the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the pace at which technology is becoming commonplace in our lives, it has also exposed a stark digital divide, leaving a large proportion of India’s popul...
- Venugopal Mothkoor Fatima Mumtaz
- 23 March, 2021
- Perspectives