Modi's first Budget for India: Disappointing but retrievable
In this article, Arvind Subramanian contends that while Modi’s first Budget was good on vision, it fell short in terms of fiscal adjustment, budgetary transparency and credibility, and specificity and timelines on important policy actions. In his view, these shortcomings are remediable over time ...
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Arvind Subramanian 
15 July, 2014
- Perspectives
Content Type: Perspectives
Topic: Macroeconomics
Year: 2014
Improving children's learning: Challenges and priorities for the new government
Over the last 15 years, continued effort to universalise access to elementary education in India has resulted in high enrolment rates in schools. Now that most children are in school, policy and planning efforts are beginning to focus on improving their learning levels. This note contends that it i...
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Rukmini Banerji
- 14 July, 2014
- Notes from the Field
Content Type: Notes from the Field
Topic: Human Development
Year: 2014
Two views on the Budget
The Modi government’s first Budget has received a mixed response. Eswar Prasad and Bharat Ramaswami present two distinct views on the Budget. While Prasad is of the opinion that the Budget hits the right notes and emphasises some key policy priorities, Ramaswami believes that a coherent policy an...
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Bharat Ramaswami Eswar Prasad
- 12 July, 2014
- Perspectives
Content Type: Perspectives
Topic: Macroeconomics
Year: 2014
Keys to successful reform in India
The new Indian government’s first budget - due to be unveiled this week – will be an important indicator of how forcefully the new PM intends to translate his mandate of putting India’s economy back on track into effective actions. This article contends that both strategy and specifics will b...
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Eswar Prasad
- 09 July, 2014
- Perspectives
Content Type: Perspectives
Topic: Macroeconomics
Year: 2014
Andhra Pradesh's youth training and employment scheme: Did it work?
To promote youth employment, the state government of Andhra Pradesh launched an innovative public-private partnership programme for skill development, training and job placement for the youth. This note traces the beneficiaries of the programme and finds high drop-out rates among candidates placed ...
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Rajendra Kondepati
- 07 July, 2014
- Notes from the Field
Content Type: Notes from the Field
Topic: Governance
Year: 2017
Financial inclusion of women: Myth or reality?
Research indicates that initiatives targeted at financial inclusion of women have had limited success. This column contends that limited formal ownership of material assets by women and a lack of understanding of their socio-economic and cultural constraints are key explanations. It recommends inno...
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Deepti KC Mudita Tiwari
- 04 July, 2014
- Articles
Content Type: Articles
Topic: Money & Finance
Year: 2014
Putting undernutrition higher on the political agenda in India
In his previous article, Lawrence Haddad contented that globally, we are in the midst of a ‘perfect storm’ for ending undernutrition, and maximum effort is required to take advantage of this transformative opportunity. In this part, he discusses how the new government generates a new opportunit...
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Lawrence Haddad
- 02 July, 2014
- Perspectives
Content Type: Perspectives
Topic: Human Development
Year: 2014
Ending undernutrition: In clear sight?
The World Health Assembly is targeting a decline of 100 million in the number of stunted under-five children by 2025; a 10% decline in stunting rates in India by 2014 can close a fifth of the gap. This article contents that we are in the midst of a ‘perfect storm’ for ending undernutrition, and...
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Lawrence Haddad
- 30 June, 2014
- Perspectives
Content Type: Perspectives
Topic: Human Development
Year: 2014
Impact of Community Health Workers on childhood immunisation: Evidence from India's ASHAs
A key component of the National Rural Health Mission launched by the Indian government in 2005 was the introduction of a cadre of village-level Community Health Workers known as ASHAs. This column analyses the impact of the ASHA programme on childhood immunisation, and finds that ASHAs have had a p...
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Tanvi Rao
- 27 June, 2014
- Articles
Content Type: Articles
Topic: Human Development
Year: 2014
Political clientelism in MNREGA: Evidence from West Bengal
The problem of political clientelism becomes imminent in decentralised systems where certain individuals or groups associated with the political party locally in power, get preferential access to scarce public resources. This column investigates the link between political affiliation and/ or activi...
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Upasak Das
- 25 June, 2014
- Articles
Content Type: Articles
Topic: Governance
Year: 2014
The Jaitley Budget: Planning for crisis
El Nino can potentially derail the best-laid plans of the new government in India. The article contends that the finance minister would do well to plan his first Budget by attaching a reasonable probability to a food crisis this year. The Budget will need to be as much about creating a basis for su...
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Arvind Subramanian
- 23 June, 2014
- Perspectives
Content Type: Perspectives
Topic: Macroeconomics
Year: 2014
Growing through cities in India
Do cities grow through specialisation or diversity? This column measures specialisation and diversity for the manufacturing and services sectors in India. It finds that Indian districts with a broader set of industries exhibit greater employment growth. This is particularly true for low population ...
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Ejaz Ghani Ishani Tewari William Kerr
- 20 June, 2014
- Articles
Content Type: Articles
Topic: Urbanisation
Year: 2014