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Anmol Somanchi
Anmol Somanchi is a graduate student at the Paris School of Economics with research interests in labour, development, and social protection. He has previously worked as a Research Associate at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and as an Associate at IDinsight (Delhi office). He holds a bachelor's in economics from St. Stephen's College, New Delhi, and a master's in development studies from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
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Weighty evidence? Poverty estimation with missing data
Attempts have been made to estimate poverty in India with biased survey data, by adjusting household weights to remove the bias. Based on simulation exercises with artificially contaminated household surveys, Drèze and Somanchi illustrate the limitations of this method. Its ability to correct poverty estimates varies wildly, depending on the nature of the underlying bias, which may be hard to guess – there lies the rub. When the bias changes over time, estimating poverty trends becomes truly problematic.
कोविड-19 संकट और खाद्य सुरक्षा
2020 में कोविड -19 के प्रसार को रोकने के लिए भारत में लगाए गए राष्ट्रीय लॉकडाउन ने लाखों लोगों को बेरोजगार कर दिया और जो लोग रोज़गार में बने रहे उनकी कमाई में तेजी से कमी आई। बहु-राज्य सर्वेक्षणों के आंकड़ों के आधार पर, द्रेज़ और सोमंची खाद्य-सुरक्षा पर महामारी के विनाशकारी प्रभाव को उजागर करते हैं, और मजबूत राहत उपायों का पक्ष रखते हैं।
The Covid-19 crisis and food security
India’s national lockdown in 2020, imposed to contain the spread of Covid-19, threw millions of people out of work and sharply reduced earnings for those who remained employed. Based on data from multi-state surveys, Drèze and Somanchi highlight the devastating impact of the pandemic on food security, and make a case for stronger relief measures.
A review of the coverage of PDS
The coverage of the Public Distribution System (PDS) has been of wide interest due to the pandemic and lockdown. Based on government data sources, Khera and Somanchi estimate the state-wise coverage of PDS and map the categories of food support. They find that despite the expansion of PDS with the enactment of the National Food Security Act, and state ‘top-ups’ beyond central support, over 400 million people are excluded from it.
कोविड-19 राहत: क्या महिला जन धन खाते नकद हस्तांतरण के लिए सही विकल्प हैं?
भले भारत सरकार द्वारा कोविड-19 हेतु राहत पैकेज की घोषणा की गई है, जिसमें खाद्य राशन प्रदान किए जाने के साथ-साथ नकद हस्तांतरण को भी उचित स्थान दिया गया है, परंतु नकद हस्तांतरण हेतु महिला जन धन बैंक खातों की सूची का उपयोग करने के बारे में स्थिति स्पष्ट नहीं है। इस लेख में, अनमोल सोमांची यह दिखाते हैं कि कैसे आधे से कुछ कम परिवार इस नकद हस्तांतरण से वंचित रह जाएंगे, और इस व्यवस्था में क्या कमियाँ हैं।
Covid-19 relief: Are women Jan Dhan accounts the right choice for cash transfers?
While the relief package announced by the Government of India for Covid-19 rightly complements food rations with cash transfers, the case for using the list of women Jan Dhan bank accounts for the latter is not clear. In this post, Anmol Somanchi estimates the coverage of these accounts, and finds that more than half of all women, andshows that a little less than half of all households are likely be excluded from cash relief and discusses other limitations of this approach.