The growing wave of decentralisation: Comparative evidence from developing countries
Over the last few decades, decentralisation has been rapidly spreading in developing countries across the world, with around 35 countries announcing new or deepening decentralisation reforms in recent...
- Jean-Paul Faguet Lakshmi Iyer Sarmistha Pal
- 16 November, 2023
- Videos
How women in politics impact maternal mortality
In the twelfth post of I4I’s month-long campaign to mark International Women’s Day 2023, Bhalotra et al. show that mortality during and after childbirth remains high, even where the knowledge and ...
- Articles
Does being local matter? Administrative decentralisation and human development
In this post, Chaudhary and Iyer discuss the administrative decentralisation reforms brought about by the Panchayati Raj Act, and measure the effect of decentralisation on the provision of public serv...
- Latika Chaudhary Lakshmi Iyer
- 13 January, 2023
- Articles
Is the District Innovation Fund being utilised?
The 13th Finance Commission has recommended the creation of a District Innovation Fund in each district. The objective of the fund is to increase the efficiency of existing capital assets by filling v...
- Ajit Nayak
- 08 February, 2013
- Notes from the Field
Use of technology to improve public service delivery
How is technology being used to improve public service delivery at the grass root level? In this Note from the Field, the Prime Minister’s Rural Development Fellows that are working with district ad...
- Chandrasekhar Bhuyan Animesh Ghosh Kshovan Guha Dipti Paridhi Kindo Priyanka Kumari Ankush Singh Sushma Taywade Sweta Trayambak
- 06 February, 2013
- Notes from the Field
Role of Information Provision in Improving Public Service Delivery
Informal monitoring and enforcement can increase the efficiency of public service delivery. This project studies the Targeted Public Distribution System of India and finds that Scheduled Castes (SC) h...
- Sriniketh Nagavarapu Sheetal Sekhri
- 01 February, 2013
- IGC Research on India
Does political reservation for women improve programme delivery?
This column outlines results of a study that assesses the impact of women leaders on corruption and other aspects of the quality of delivery of MNREGA. It argues that administrative experience, traini...
- Farzana Afridi
- 17 January, 2013
- Articles
Economic policy agenda for India in 2013
What should the priorities be for economic policymakers in India in the coming year? This column emphasises the need for greater transparency, and improved governance and regulation for reviving econo...
- Dilip Mookherjee
- 02 January, 2013
- Articles
The impacts of linking NREGA payments to UID. A Study of Maharashtra
This project attempts to measure the impact of Universal Identification (UID)-linked wage payments on corruption in public works projects funded under MNREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act)....
- Siwan Anderson Ashok Kotwal Ashwini Kulkarni Bharat Ramaswami
- 15 December, 2012
- IGC Research on India
A Novel, Market Based Mechanism to Incentivize Efficient Groundwater/Energy use in Indian Agriculture – Setting Up a Field Experiment in Gujarat
This project documents patterns of rural-urban migration and employment shifts in a region that is facing ongoing depletion of groundwater resources in northern Gujarat in India. Given that migration ...
- Ram Fishman Meha Jain Avinash Kishore Anjal Prakash
- 01 December, 2012
- IGC Research on India
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act: is it working?
MNREGA is one of the government´s largest flagship schemes, and is the largest job creation programme of its kind in the world. Supporters believe that it is necessary to help rural workers smooth in...
- Jean Drèze Ashwini Kulkarni Neelakshi Mann Varad Pande Martin Ravallion
- 29 November, 2012
- Symposium
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...
- Pranab Bardhan Sandip Mitra Dilip Mookherjee
- 31 October, 2012
- IGC Research on India
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...
- Varad Pande
- 23 October, 2012
- Notes from the Field
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...
- Saloni Chopra Reetika Khera
- 10 October, 2012
- Articles
Violence, organisation and skills
This column seeks to understand the effect of violent conflict on a country’s subsequent political and economic development. It argues that measuring post-conflict effects is extremely challenging d...
- Steven Wilkinson
- 28 August, 2012
- Articles
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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
Why did the Indian economy stagnate under the colonial rule?
How did the Indian economy fare under the colonial rule? Is the average Indian significantly better off after Independence? This column examines trends in GDP per capita in order to determine the stan...
- Aniruddha Bagchi
- 16 September, 2013
- Articles