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Governance

2021 West Bengal Assembly election: Did the Covid-19 surge matter?

  • Perspectives

Regionalist party representation and tribal insecurity

Observers have long been ambivalent about regionalism as a principle underlying the organisation of politics. Analysing data from India, this article shows that when regionalist parties win elections,...

  • Articles

2021 West Bengal Assembly election: Did the Covid-19 surge matter?

In the recent Assembly elections in the state of West Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress bucked an anti-incumbency headwind to secure victory. Using electoral data from 2016, 2019, and 2021, Ghata...

  • Perspectives

When criminality begets crime: The role of elected politicians

The criminalisation of politics has become a massive threat to society. While the impact of criminally accused leaders on economic outcomes has been studied in the literature, little is known about th...

  • Perspectives
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W(h)ither the State? 25 years of economic liberalisation

24 July 2016 marked 25 years of liberalisation of the Indian economy. In this article, Parikshit Ghosh, Associate Professor of Economics at Delhi School of Economics, contends that liberalisation did ...

  • Articles

Does good governance reduce foodgrain diversion in PDS?

In 2011-12, various states undertook measures to curb leakages of foodgrains from the Public Distribution System. Some of the pioneer states also implemented the National Food Security Act - a rights-...

  • Articles

When does politics work for development?

Political interference in the bureaucracy is generally viewed with suspicion. Yet, in a democracy, should we not expect politicians to push bureaucrats to work for the best interests of citizens? This...

  • Articles

Does choice of procurement contract matter for cost and quality of infrastructure?

Central as well as state governments in India lack financial resources and expertise needed to provide adequate infrastructure and maintain it. To augment their capacity and effectiveness, government ...

  • IGC Research on India

Food Security Act: How are India's poorest states faring?

The National Food Security Act was passed in 2013. This column reports findings from a recent survey on the status of the Act in six of India’s poorest states. Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha a...

  • Articles

Missing the target: NDA's not-so-rosy report card on social policy

In this article, Parikshit Ghosh, Associate Professor of Economics, Delhi School of Economics, assesses the performance of the social sector under the NDA government at the end of two years in office...

  • Perspectives

‘I Paid A Bribe’: Using technology to fight corruption in India

‘I Paid A bribe’ (ipaidabribe.com) harnesses the collective energy of Indian citizens against corruption by enabling them to report anonymously on the nature, number, pattern, types, location, fre...

  • Notes from the Field

The alcoholic mammaries of the welfare State

Tamil Nadu is known to give away more freebies to voters than any other state and these are financed mainly by massive revenues from liquor sales. In this article, Swaminathan Aiyar, Consulting Editor...

  • Articles

Impact of Electronic Voting Machines on electoral frauds, democracy, and development

In an attempt to curb electoral malpractices, Electronic Voting Machines were introduced on a national scale by the Election Commission of India in the 1990s. Using data from state assembly elections ...

  • Articles

The first two years of Modi government

In this article, Pranab Bardhan, Professor of Graduate School at the Department of Economics, University of California, Berkeley, provides his perspective on the performance of the Modi government in ...

  • Perspectives

Aadhaar Bill: UID without excessively compromising privacy?

Can something like UID be created without compromising privacy beyond acceptable limits? If so, how should the Aadhaar Bill have been written? What are its specific and avoidable weaknesses?

  • Perspectives

Aadhaar Bill: Move towards a surveillance State?

Most advanced economies have had some version of UID for a long time, example, the Social Security number in the US, the Social Insurance Number in Canada, etc. This is recorded not only in interactio...

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Most Popular Governance Posts

Unique Health Identification and Aadhaar: A case for mandatory linkage

As part of the Digital India initiative, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) issues a Unique Health Identification (UHID) number to each patient, which documents their entire journey in th...

  • Perspectives

Caste dominance in rural India: Cause and effect

Rural India remains a caste-based society. This column explores why caste continues to play such an important role and what the effects are. It argues that trade and agricultural productivity suffer, ...

  • Articles

Rethinking cadre allocation procedures in civil services

The allocation procedure of All-India Services’ officers to states is an important aspect of personnel administration in the public sector. This article shows that a change in allocation policy in 2...

  • Articles