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Tag Search: “public service delivery”

Election of criminal politicians and public service delivery

Why are politicians with criminal records elected to office, despite voters having the option to weed them out? Based on the hypothesis that criminal politicians strategically deliver targeted benefit...

  • Articles

Boosting Lekhpal performance via data-driven feedback and recognition

The Lekhpals Actionable KPI System for Holistic Assessment and Management (LAKSHYAM) is an initiative to measure and enhance the work performance of Lekhpals, who are frontline functionaries of the Re...

  • Notes from the Field

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...

  • Perspectives

How MNREGA reduced women’s labour force participation

By guaranteeing 100 workdays annually per household in rural India, MNREGA seeks to enhance economic security and alleviate poverty. This article shows that while the programme has successfully achiev...

  • Articles

How Atal Pension Yojana is helping Indians save for retirement

Government of India’s contributory pension scheme, Atal Pension Yojana, encourages citizens to save for retirement. This study finds that APY not only provides a basic pension, but also promotes broad...

  • Articles

The wide-ranging benefits of India’s Public Distribution System

India’s Public Distribution System (PDS) is the world’s largest food transfer programme and India’s most far-reaching social safety net, accounting for 60% of the country’s social assistance budget at...

  • Articles

Decentralisation and spatial (mis)allocation of irrigation water

Canal water – an important source of irrigation in India – often tends to be unequally distributed among farmers within a geographical area. Based on a survey in the state of Odisha, following the dec...

  • Articles

In-kind transfers: Deadweight losses or gains?

Do in-kind transfers for social assistance lead to ‘deadweight losses’ by restricting consumer choice? This article presents findings from an experiment in Maharashtra, which involved offering low-inc...

  • Articles

Impact of the Food Security Act on Public Distribution System

‘Leakages’ from the Public Distribution System – that is, grain released by the Food Corporation of India that fails to reach consumers – stood at around 42% in 2011-12 at an all-India level. Passed i...

  • Perspectives

Is it better to be governed by an elected leader or appointed bureaucrat?

The division of governance functions and responsibilities between politicians and bureaucrats varies, both across and within political regimes. Based on an experiment in Karnataka, this article examin...

  • Articles

Why political competition matters when inequality is high

In a high-inequality setting, local politicians with secure positions may favour the rich by diverting resources towards them, at the cost of the poor. To test this hypothesis, this article analyses d...

  • Articles

Why are canteens important when 800 million people get free grains?

Over the past decade, canteens have been established in various parts of India to provide subsidised meals and enhance food security. Based on a survey of canteens conducted across three states, Reeti...

  • Notes from the Field