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Human Development

Lighting the path to learning: Can electricity boost children’s test scores?

  • Articles

Reflections on how the New Education Policy plays out in the classroom

The National Education Policy, 2020 emphasises the acquisition of foundational literacy and numeracy by Standard 2. Yet, little is known about how the related initiatives have translated into changes ...

  • Notes from the Field

The wide-ranging benefits of India’s Public Distribution System

India’s Public Distribution System (PDS) is the world’s largest food transfer programme and India’s most far-reaching social safety net, accounting for 60% of the country’s social assistance b...

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Network membership and demand for health insurance

Despite being free and having liberal eligibility criteria, the adoption of public health insurance in India remains low. This article examines how informal networks influence adoption behaviour, in t...

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How socioeconomic status shapes parental beliefs about child academic achievement

This article highlights the prevalence of socioeconomic disparities in parental beliefs about their child’s performance – often outpacing actual disparities in academic performance. Analysis using...

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The role of caste and gender in determining science education in India

Studying science at the higher secondary level is essential to pursue further STEM education in India. However, based on recent research, this article documents the prevalence of gender- and caste-bas...

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Home-based learning through low-cost mobile teaching: Findings from Odisha

Evaluating the effectiveness of a low-cost Home-Based Learning programme implemented during the Covid-19 school closures in Odisha, this article finds that it improved the mathematics and language lea...

  • Articles

The ‘invisible’ disability of mental illness: Barriers to social security access

Sakshi Sharda writes about the how a lack of clarity on the assessment and diagnosis of mental health and poor implementation of social security schemes increases the vulnerability of those livings wi...

  • Perspectives

Making menstrual health a welfare priority: Insights from three states

Public policies on menstrual health have mainly focussed on distributing sanitary napkins to women and girls. However, in this note, Tanya Rana shares some insights gained from conversations with fron...

  • Notes from the Field

How Prayagraj is addressing learning poverty in its Anganwadis

Despite increasing school enrolment rates, learning levels in India remain low. In this note, Agrawal and Kheria describe the efforts being made by the district administration in Prayagraj, Uttar Prad...

  • Notes from the Field

Building resilient education systems: Evidence from five countries

With education disrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic for over a billion children worldwide, this article emphasises the need to create an education system that is resilient and maintains continuity d...

  • Articles

How does a ban on sex-selective abortions affect child health?

Widespread access to sex selection technologies has further skewed the male-biased sex ratio in India. However, this article suggests that the ban on prenatal sex determination may have adverse conseq...

  • Articles

Overcoming socio-cultural resistance towards biogas technology

Cultural taboos are often described as an insurmountable barrier to adoption of domestic toilet-linked anaerobic digesters (TLADs). This study provides a better understanding of the socio-cultural res...

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School absences as an early warning system

When children are frequently absent from school, it could be a sign that they are going through adverse personal circumstances. In this note, Anurag Kundu discusses the experience of launching a large...

  • Notes from the Field

Women empowerment in India: Does colonial history matter?

Examining whether colonial history matters for women’s contemporary economic outcomes in India, this article shows that women who live in areas that were under direct British rule are better off in ...

  • Articles

Nutritional penalty of motherhood: Can midday meals for children also improve their mothers’ health outcomes?

Midday meals provide a nutritional safety net for children and improve their learning outcomes and attendance. Nikita Sharma argues that spillover benefits might also exist for mothers of the children...

  • Perspectives

Recent Contributors

Somdeep

Somdeep Chatterjee

Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta

Shiv

Shiv Hastawala

State University of New York at Binghamton

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Jai Kamal

Indian Institute of Management Jammu

Suman

Suman Bhattacharjea

ASER Centre

Shweta

Shweta Bhutada

ASER Centre

Akanksha

Akanksha Bisht

ASER centre

Rashmi

Rashmi Barua

Jawaharlal Nehru University

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Khushboo Aggarwal

Institute of Economic Growth

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Most Popular Human Development Posts

Hindu-Muslim fertility differentials in India: District-level estimates from Census 2011

The 2011 Indian Census data show a higher growth rate of Muslim population compared to the Hindu population. This article provides an in-depth picture of Hindu-Muslim fertility differentials at the di...

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Understanding India’s mental health crisis

Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, several reports have indicated a worsening of mental health issues among individuals across age groups. In this post, Michele Mary Bernadine examines the stat...

  • Perspectives

Ten steps to transform the quality of education in India

In this article, Sridhar Rajagopalan, Managing Director of Educational Initiatives, suggests 10 initiatives that can help transform the quality of education in India.

  • Perspectives