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Tag Search: “public service delivery”

MNREGA's swan song: Not everyone's idea of achche din

Over the last few months, the central government announced a set of measures to restrict MNREGA. The rationale essentially revolves around corruption in the scheme and lack of economic viability. In ...

  • Perspectives

(Mis)Leading attack on MNREGA

Bhagwati and Panagariya have argued for phasing out MNREGA in favour of cash transfers. In this article, Abreu et al. contend that the argument is based on inflating the costs of the programme and de...

  • Perspectives

Slow and steady: Lessons from MNREGA

As the new government in India is considering changes to MNREGA, it is timely to reflect on its implementation trajectory so far. In this note, Adhikari and Sabhikhi discuss five aspects of programme...

  • Notes from the Field

A conversation on Bihar

I4I Guest Editor Karthik Muralidharan (Associate Professor of Economics, University of California, San Diego) speaks with Anjani Kumar Singh (Chief Secretary, Government of Bihar) during the IGC Grow...

  • Perspectives

Impact of direct benefit transfer on leakage in cooking fuel subsidy

In many developing countries, pervasive corruption and evasion often undermine the provision of public programmes. This project focusses on India where a large universal programme provides US$ 8 billi...

  • IGC Research on India

Rural infrastructure provision in India: mapping the Bharat Nirman programme

This project introduces a unique, integrated dataset on Maoist activity, three flagship programmes for rural infrastructure development (PMGSY,RGGVY, and USOF), and a dedicated programme targeted at I...

  • IGC Research on India

Saving people's livelihoods

The new government is seeking to alter the essence of MNREGA based on the premise that it is not useful in its current form. In this article, Sudha Narayanan criticises the move and argues that despi...

  • Perspectives

Is the proposed restructuring of MNREGA desirable?

The rural development ministry plans to restrict MNREGA to the 200 most backward districts, and reduce the wage component of the total expenditure of the programme. In this article, Ashwini Kulkarni ...

  • Perspectives

To decentralise or not to decentralise? The dilemma of MNREGA in Andhra Pradesh

Employment generated under MNREGA has been on the decline in recent years across India. This column analyses whether political dynamics influence the implementation of MNREGA by contrasting the imple...

  • Articles

Estimating kerosene leakages from the Public Distribution System

Kerosene – the primary fuel used by the poor in India for cooking and lighting – is made available at subsidised rates by the government through the Public Distribution System. This column seeks to e...

  • Articles

Can MNREGA buffer negative shocks in early childhood?

Exposure to negative shocks such as drought during early childhood is known to have lasting, detrimental effects on human development outcomes. This column examines whether a household’s access to MN...

  • Articles

Protectionism under the guise of food security

India has backed out of the commitment it made at the WTO negotiations in Bali in November 2013. The implicit explanation is that the government needs to accumulate food grain stocks to provide subsid...

  • Perspectives