24 November, 2025Balancing fertiliser use for higher yields and sustainable agriculture
A growing body of evidence shows that Indian farmers use chemical fertilisers in an unbalanced manner, partly driven by differential subsidies across fertiliser types. Based on analysis of agricultura...
Julian Arteaga Klaus Deininger 
06 November, 2025
- Articles
The paradox of plenty: Stable inefficiency in Indian banking
How are returns in the financial sector distributed across the stakeholder groups of customers, employees, shareholders and the government? Based on analysis of data from the Reserve Bank of India ove...
- Amrita Agarwal Harsh Vardhan
- 14 November, 2025
- Perspectives
From 4 to 54: Hits and misses in India’s waste reforms
The segregation of waste at the household level is a crucial step in efficient management of solid waste in cities, involving a shift in behaviours and norms. In this post, Oliver Harman examines what...
- Oliver Harman
- 17 November, 2025
- Perspectives
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
Enhancing the State's implementation capacity: Lessons from Delhi schools
In a new edition of I4I conversations, Yamini Aiyar is joined by Shrayana Bhattacharya to discuss her new book, Lessons in State Capacity from Delhi Schools.
- Yamini Aiyar Shrayana Bhattacharya
- 24 September, 2025
- Videos
Managing India’s demographic transition
India’s population is expected to peak at about 1.7 billion in 2064, and while the current median age is only 28, the share of Indians aged 65 and above will go from 7% to 20% in the next 40 years o...
- Farzana Afridi Sonalde Desai
- 03 July, 2024
- Videos
Latest
When richer families pay more for worse care: Evidence from childbirth
In rural Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, newborn mortality is 60% higher in private health facilities than public facilities, even though families with superior socioeconomic characteristics use private care...
- Nathan Franz
- 24 November, 2025
- Articles
R&D tax credit policy, product development, and welfare gains
Over the past two decades or so, India has had a targeted R&D tax credit policy to incentivise innovation within firms in strategic sectors. This article shows that small and medium firms responded to...
- Pavel Chakraborty Sankalp Mathur Sujaya Sircar Rubina Verma
- 20 November, 2025
- Articles
From 4 to 54: Hits and misses in India’s waste reforms
The segregation of waste at the household level is a crucial step in efficient management of solid waste in cities, involving a shift in behaviours and norms. In this post, Oliver Harman examines what...
- Oliver Harman
- 17 November, 2025
- Perspectives
The paradox of plenty: Stable inefficiency in Indian banking
How are returns in the financial sector distributed across the stakeholder groups of customers, employees, shareholders and the government? Based on analysis of data from the Reserve Bank of India ove...
- Amrita Agarwal Harsh Vardhan
- 14 November, 2025
- Perspectives
Is Language a bridge or barrier? Linguistic distance and the health of women and children
India is a linguistically diverse country with a large flow of internal migrants. This article demonstrates that the greater the “linguistic distance” between a woman’s native language and the d...
- Advaith Jayakumar Anisha Sharma
- 10 November, 2025
- Articles
Most Popular
Hindu-Muslim fertility differentials in India: An update
Building on past research, Saswata Ghosh and Pallabi Das estimate the state- and district-level fertility differentials between Hindus and Muslims using data from the latest round of the NFHS. They sh...
- Pallabi Das Saswata Ghosh
- 18 April, 2023
- Articles
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
Land in India: Market price vs. fundamental value
The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2015, is focused on protecting the few home buyers who can afford to buy homes but does not address the issue of high land prices, which is a very se...
- Gurbachan Singh
- 29 February, 2016
- Articles
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...
- Saswata Ghosh
- 27 March, 2019
- Articles
Land records and titles in India
Land ownership is broadly determined by access to a land title, which protects the rights of the title-holder, and impacts livelihoods, and industrial, economic, and social growth. However, land title...
- Prachee Mishra Roopal Suhag
- 20 November, 2017
- Perspectives
Symposia
International Women’s Day 2025: Towards equality and empowerment
Throughout this week, I4I has been sharing some of the latest evidence and ideas around women’s empowerment to mark International Women’s Day 2025. Discover the five-part series, and more about I4...
- I4I Team
- 08 March, 2025
Introduction to e-Symposium: Tiger conservation in India
Despite a recent upward trend in tiger populations in India, the tiger remains on the endangered species list. Saving the tiger, therefore, is not a fait accompli but a continuous struggle that must b...
- Parikshit Ghosh
- 31 July, 2024
Ideas@IPF2024 series: Research from NCAER’s India Policy Forum
Every year, National Council of Applied Economic Research hosts the India Policy Forum, a platform where economists and policymakers dissect research ideas for their relevance to public policy. Follo...
- Pradip Kumar Bagchi
- 10 July, 2024
Browse By Topic
-
Agriculture Show this topicHide this topic
Balancing fertiliser use for higher yields and sustainable agriculture
A growing body of evidence shows that Indian farmers use chemical fertilisers in an unbalanced manner, partly driven by differential subsidies across fertiliser types. Based on analysis of agricultura...
- Julian Arteaga Klaus Deininger
- 06 November, 2025
- Articles
Protecting agricultural biodiversity to ensure sustainable food systems
- Tulsi Lingareddy A. Amarender Reddy
- 21 August, 2025
- Perspectives
Why India's plan to sell rice for ethanol undermines food and water security
- Akanksha Jain
- 30 June, 2025
- Perspectives
-
Macroeconomics Show this topicHide this topic
How does monetary policy transmission happen in India?
Central banks leverage monetary policy instruments to control the supply of money in the economy, which in turn influences economic outcomes through various channels. Analysing Indian data from 2001-2...
- Santosh Kumar Dash Joyal P. Joseph
- 27 October, 2025
- Articles
India at work: Challenges and the road ahead
- Nalini Gulati Kanika Mahajan Anisha Sharma
- 15 September, 2025
- Perspectives
Do rural roads promote inclusive entrepreneurship?
- Ananyo Brahma Vidhya Soundararajan
- 22 July, 2025
- Articles
-
Human Development Show this topicHide this topic
When richer families pay more for worse care: Evidence from childbirth
In rural Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, newborn mortality is 60% higher in private health facilities than public facilities, even though families with superior socioeconomic characteristics use private care...
- Nathan Franz
- 24 November, 2025
- Articles
Teacher development and school performance: Seven lessons from schools that do well
- Amarjeet Sinha
- 04 September, 2025
- Notes from the Field
Kerala’s silent crisis: Educated youth, but locked out of work
- Isha Gupta
- 28 August, 2025
- Notes from the Field
When fathers migrate: Does It benefit or disrupt left-behind children’s education?
- Pintu Paul
- 04 August, 2025
- Articles
-
Social Identity Show this topicHide this topic
Is Language a bridge or barrier? Linguistic distance and the health of women and children
India is a linguistically diverse country with a large flow of internal migrants. This article demonstrates that the greater the “linguistic distance” between a woman’s native language and the d...
- Advaith Jayakumar Anisha Sharma
- 10 November, 2025
- Articles
Markets, marriage, and norms: Understanding female labour force participation in India
- Farzana Afridi
- 03 November, 2025
- Perspectives
How dowry shapes migration decisions in modern India
- Natalie Bau Gaurav Khanna Alessandra Voena
- 23 October, 2025
- Articles
-
Governance Show this topicHide this topic
Enhancing the State's implementation capacity: Lessons from Delhi schools
In a new edition of I4I conversations, Yamini Aiyar is joined by Shrayana Bhattacharya to discuss her new book, Lessons in State Capacity from Delhi Schools.
- Yamini Aiyar Shrayana Bhattacharya
- 25 September, 2025
- Podcasts
Enhancing the State's implementation capacity: Lessons from Delhi schools
- Yamini Aiyar Shrayana Bhattacharya
- 24 September, 2025
- Videos
Election of criminal politicians and public service delivery
- Abhinav Khemka
- 18 September, 2025
- Articles
Boosting Lekhpal performance via data-driven feedback and recognition
- Fahad Hasin Sakshi Ugale
- 18 August, 2025
- Notes from the Field
-
Poverty & Inequality Show this topicHide this topic
Declining PDS leakages: A look at the numbers
Estimates have shown that leakages of foodgrain from the Public Distribution System declined from 42% in 2011-12 to 22-28% in 2022-23. Analysing new data from the Household Consumption and Expenditure...
- Prabhu Pingali Raghav Puri
- 11 August, 2025
- Perspectives
What broad lessons have we learned from 115 studies on unconditional cash transfers?
- Tommaso Crosta Dean Karlan Finley Ong Julius Ruschenpohler Christopher Udry
- 20 June, 2025
- Articles
Food deprivation: A thali index reveals what poverty estimates do not
- Pulapre Balakrishnan Aman Raj
- 06 June, 2025
- Perspectives
-
Environment Show this topicHide this topic
Fire in the fields, crime in the air
While the health and productivity costs of exposure to air pollution are well-known, the resulting impairment of cognitive function and increase in physiological stress can also elevate aggression in ...
- Hardeep Singh Amale Digvijay S. Negi
- 17 October, 2025
- Articles
How extreme heat determines diets in rural India
- Alan Barreca Manisha Shah Paul Stainier
- 09 October, 2025
- Articles
-
Money & Finance Show this topicHide this topic
The paradox of plenty: Stable inefficiency in Indian banking
How are returns in the financial sector distributed across the stakeholder groups of customers, employees, shareholders and the government? Based on analysis of data from the Reserve Bank of India ove...
- Amrita Agarwal Harsh Vardhan
- 14 November, 2025
- Perspectives
Balancing caution and opportunity: RBI's new stance on FDI in commercial banking
- Sunil Mani
- 21 October, 2025
- Perspectives
-
Productivity & Innovation Show this topicHide this topic
R&D tax credit policy, product development, and welfare gains
Over the past two decades or so, India has had a targeted R&D tax credit policy to incentivise innovation within firms in strategic sectors. This article shows that small and medium firms responded to...
- Pavel Chakraborty Sankalp Mathur Sujaya Sircar Rubina Verma
- 20 November, 2025
- Articles
Night shift bans and female employment in Indian manufacturing
- Bhanu Gupta Kanika Mahajan Anisha Sharma Daksh Walia
- 08 September, 2025
- Articles
-
Urbanisation Show this topicHide this topic
From 4 to 54: Hits and misses in India’s waste reforms
The segregation of waste at the household level is a crucial step in efficient management of solid waste in cities, involving a shift in behaviours and norms. In this post, Oliver Harman examines what...
- Oliver Harman
- 17 November, 2025
- Perspectives
Street vending: Understanding emotional markups and market interactions
- Ronak Jain
- 28 October, 2024
- Articles
What are the effects of India’s rapid urbanisation on women’s empowerment?
- Gaurav Dhamija Punarjit Roychowdhury Binay Shankar
- 28 March, 2024
- Articles
Why is land expensive in India, and what can be done about it?
- Gurbachan Singh
- 29 February, 2024
- Perspectives
-
Trade Show this topicHide this topic
Rethinking India’s export strategy
The recently imposed US tariffs on India are being viewed by some analysts as an opportunity for India to undertake holistic economic reforms. In this post, Sharmila Kantha contends that such reforms ...
- Sharmila Kantha
- 22 September, 2025
- Perspectives
Trump’s tariffs and India’s strategic response
- Ashok Gulati Sulakshana Rao Tanay Suntwal
- 25 August, 2025
- Perspectives
-
Miscellany Show this topicHide this topic
Policy Roundup: Bad air, Econ Nobel, FDI in banks
This post presents our monthly curation of developments in the Indian policy landscape – highlighting I4I content pertaining to the effectiveness of the ban on crop residue burning in certain North ...
- Nalini Gulati
- 31 October, 2025
- Perspectives
Policy Roundup: Domestic reform push amidst global turmoil
- Nalini Gulati
- 01 October, 2025
- Perspectives
Policy Roundup: Trump tariffs, India’s energy security, broader export strategy
- Nalini Gulati
- 01 September, 2025
- Perspectives
Policy Roundup: Critical minerals, Yamuna cleanup, school consolidation
- Nalini Gulati
- 04 August, 2025
- Perspectives
