.svg){kind=icon}
.svg){kind=icon}
%201.svg){kind=icon}
%201.svg){kind=icon}
.svg){kind=icon}
.svg)
.svg)
Ashwini K. Swain
Ashwini K Swain is a fellow at Centre for Policy Research. His research interests include political economy of electricity, interface between energy service needs and climate mitigation goals, and water-energy-food nexus, especially in Indian context. He has also worked on public participation in service delivery, and has a keen interest in political economy of India and political analysis. In addition, he has been actively engaging with civil society organisations and public agencies at national and subnational level on these issues.
He has earlier worked at Centre for Energy, Environment & Resources, CUTS Institute for Regulation & Competition, Agence Française de Développement, University of York, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.
He holds a PhD in Politics from University of York and MPhil and MA degrees in Political Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University.
.svg)
Indian agriculture: How to feed more people with fewer resources
While agriculture in India has achieved grain self-sufficiency, it has become cereal-centric, regionally-biased and resource-intensive. In this article, Swain, Price and Sharma discuss the rising resource intensity in Indian agriculture and its implications for agricultural sustainability, productivity and future food production. They explore government initiatives to address the situation and suggest a strategy to increase production with fewer resources.
Trade-offs in carbon trading: Can a carbon market yield benefits for India?
The creation of a national carbon market in India, depending on its institutional setup, policy integration, and design could offer a mechanism for reducing emissions, or it could result in serious economic costs. Srivastava and Swain put forth seven key considerations for its design – including India's growth objectives, trade balance, fiscal revenues, and the effect on its MSMEs. To ensure its success, they highlight the need to integrate it with a comprehensive policy package to quell broader political economy challenges.
Pledges, plans, and actions: An analysis of India’s Panchamrit pledges
In anticipation of India updating its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Aman Srivastava and Ashwini Swain evaluate the climate pledges made by Prime Minister Modi at COP26. In the context of historical trends and growth and development objectives, they discuss the feasibility and implications of reducing India’s emissions intensity and increasing the share of renewables in its energy mix. They use this analysis to suggest potential ways forward towards ensuring greater clarity and cohesion among these pledges.
In pursuit of low-carbon electricity
The policy debate on low-carbon energy often tends to focus solely on setting targets. This column argues that the State’s capacity to meet targets and the strategies followed to build the required capacity are equally important. Meeting the targets requires creative manoeuvres such as involving and incentivising market players to participate.
Low-carbon development in Indian agriculture: A missed opportunity?
The agricultural sector is the largest contributor of Greenhouse Gases in India. Yet, it has not received due importance in India’s climate change mitigation strategy. This column says that India must prioritise the agriculture sector for domestic climate change mitigation if it is serious about its voluntary commitment to reduce the carbon intensity of its GDP by 20-25% of the 2005 level by 2020.