07 February, 2019Can Rahul Gandhi’s minimum income guarantee proposal work?
Congress president Rahul Gandhi has promised a minimum income guarantee scheme for the poor if the party is voted to power in the upcoming elections. Discussing the proposal and associated concerns, P...
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Maitreesh Ghatak 
07 February, 2019
- Perspectives
What do poor people think about direct cash transfers?
Based on a survey conducted over November-December 2018 with 3,800 respondents in rural Bihar, Khemani, Habyarimana, and Nooruddin present descriptive evidence on what the poor citizens of India think...
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James Habyarimana Stuti Khemani Irfan Nooruddin
- 06 June, 2019
- Perspectives
Wealth inequality, class, and caste in India: 1961-2012
The level of wealth inequality in India is close to that of some highly unequal countries in the world. This article assesses the long-term evolution of wealth inequality in the country for the period...
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Nitin Kumar Bharti
- 28 June, 2019
- Articles
Economic mobility in India: Estimation using ‘noisy’ data
There has been a dramatic rise in inequality in India post-liberalisation. This article finds economic mobility to be markedly low, with at least seven out of 10 poor households remaining poor or at-r...
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Hao Li Daniel L. Millimet Punarjit Roychowdhury
- 18 September, 2019
- Articles
EWS reservation in higher education: Affirmative action or vote bank politics?
The Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act, 2019, provides for 10% reservation for the economically weaker sections (EWS) in higher educational institutions within the general category. In this post, Devi...
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Devika Malhotra Sharma
- 11 September, 2019
- Perspectives
Household-level effects of affordable housing: Evidence from Mumbai
Programmes involving sale of subsidised houses to lower-middle class households have been spearheaded in all major Indian cities. This article studies the effects of one such programme implemented thr...
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Tanu Kumar
- 04 September, 2019
- Articles
Challenges in decentralised implementation of centrally mandated anti-poverty programmes
Even when the central government is committed to a jobs guarantee, rationing of work opportunities can arise under decentralised implementation in poor places. This article examines India’s efforts ...
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Martin Ravallion
- 09 August, 2019
- Articles
Wealth inequality, class, and caste in India: 1961-2012
The level of wealth inequality in India is close to that of some highly unequal countries in the world. This article assesses the long-term evolution of wealth inequality in the country for the period...
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Nitin Kumar Bharti
- 28 June, 2019
- Articles
What do poor people think about direct cash transfers?
Based on a survey conducted over November-December 2018 with 3,800 respondents in rural Bihar, Khemani, Habyarimana, and Nooruddin present descriptive evidence on what the poor citizens of India think...
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James Habyarimana Stuti Khemani Irfan Nooruddin
- 06 June, 2019
- Perspectives
NYAY e-symposium: Tool for addressing multidimensional poverty
Ashwini Kulkarni (Director, Pragati Abhiyan) puts forth the view that an unconditional income transfer programme like NYAY can help address multidimensional poverty and enable the most vulnerable amon...
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Ashwini Kulkarni
- 03 May, 2019
- Perspectives
NYAY e-Symposium: Prioritise expansion of National Social Assistance Programme
Dr Pronab Sen (Country Director, IGC India) argues that the first priority should be to expand existing social security, which covers the elderly, the handicapped, and widows – given the fact that m...
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Pronab Sen
- 03 May, 2019
- Perspectives
NYAY e-Symposium: Crucial to look into taxes for financing
Prof. S. Subramanian (National Fellow, Indian Council of Social Science Research) emphasises the importance of dealing directly with the question of enhanced taxation and some estimate of the likely o...
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S. Subramanian
- 03 May, 2019
- Articles
NYAY e-Symposium: The potential macroeconomic impact of NYAY
Niranjan Rajadhyaksha (Research Director and Senior Fellow at IDFC Institute) contends that the estimated cost of NYAY is substantial and there is ample reason to worry about the fiscal burden of the ...
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Niranjan Rajadhyaksha
- 02 May, 2019
- Perspectives
NYAY e-Symposium: Getting targeting right
Karthik Muralidharan (Tata Chancellor's Professor of Economics, University of California, San Diego) recommends targeting the 20% of poorest blocks in the country under NYAY, and making the cash trans...
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Karthik Muralidharan
- 02 May, 2019
- Perspectives
NYAY e-Symposium: Not long-term solution to poverty but useful ‘first-aid’
Maitreesh Ghatak (Professor of Economics, London School of Economics) contends that a cash transfer, as envisaged by NYAY, will provide some relief and a safety net to the poor living on the margins o...
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Maitreesh Ghatak
- 02 May, 2019
- Perspectives
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Tweets by Ideas4IndiaMost Popular Poverty & Inequality Posts
Aadhaar, biometrics, and the PDS in Jharkhand
Aadhaar-based biometric authentication was made mandatory for obtaining rations under the Public Distribution System in Ranchi district in Jharkhand in August 2016. In this article, Nazar Khalid demon...
- Nazar Khalid
- 10 January, 2018
- Perspectives
Financial literacy: When, what and how
The need for financial literacy and its importance for financial inclusion have been widely recognised. Based on various research studies on financial literacy initiatives, this column outlines finan...
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- Articles
A universal basic income to step up economic reform
In this article, Nimai Mehta, Academic Director of the Global Economics and Business Program at the American University, highlights the political challenge of introducing the wider set of reforms nee...
- Nimai Mehta
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- Perspectives