13 June, 2022Fatal oblivion: India's National Family Benefit Scheme
The National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) – which provides financial assistance to families in the event of the death of a breadwinner – has been plagued by low budget allocations, restricted cove...
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Jasmin Naur Hafiz 
03 January, 2022
- Perspectives
The implications of India’s spatial development
Mahatma Gandhi once said, “poverty is the worst form of violence”. In this piece, Ejaz Ghani highlights India’s poverty burden, its regional disparities and convergence thereof. He highlights ho...
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Ejaz Ghani
- 30 September, 2022
- Articles
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...
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Nazar Khalid
- 10 January, 2018
- Perspectives
Rags to riches? Understanding social mobility in India
To what extent is an individual’s status in society determined by the position of his or her parents? Analysing data from the Indian Human Development Survey, 2011-2012, this column finds that the p...
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Vegard Iversen Anirudh Krishna Kunal Sen
- 13 November, 2017
- Articles
Universal basic income and the Indian macroeconomy
In this article, Shiv Hastawala discusses how, given the macroeconomic framework of India, a universal basic income could potentially have a positive impact on the economy in terms of output, employme...
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Shiv Hastawala
- 06 October, 2017
- Perspectives
Draft social security code: Will it help informal workers?
Labour law reform is considered as a key requirement for creation of new jobs as well as greater formalisation of existing jobs in India. In March this year, the Ministry of Labour and Employment brou...
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Sharmila Kantha
- 21 September, 2017
- Perspectives
Unleashing the forgotten billion of India
About 1.7% of India's 400 million workforce learns skills on their own. In this article, Yuvaraj Galada, former Vice President of National Skill Development Corporation, shares experiences from his tr...
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Yuvaraj Galada
- 31 August, 2017
- Notes from the Field
Straw men in the debate on basic income versus targeting
A universal basic income as a poverty-reduction policy is often contrasted unfavourably with targeted transfers. In this article, Martin Ravallion argues that five of the common arguments employed ag...
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Martin Ravallion
- 11 August, 2017
- Perspectives
Estimating intergenerational income mobility in rural India
For developing countries, it is difficult to find income mobility studies that rely on datasets linking parents with their children. Using a panel dataset spanning 1994-2012, this column presents imp...
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Shariq Mohammed
- 03 July, 2017
- Articles
Understanding livelihood resilience in Bihar
This column develops a livelihood resilience index including three key components – bio-physical, economic, and social resources – and estimates the index for districts in the state of Bihar.
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Surya Bhushan K. V. Raju
- 16 June, 2017
- Articles
A proposal for universal basic services
In the context of the ongoing debate on the idea of a universal basic income for India, Prof. Himanshu of Jawaharlal Nehru University argues that we first need to ensure that all citizens have access...
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Himanshu .
- 21 May, 2017
- Perspectives
Price risk and poverty
There is an ongoing policy debate in India on whether grain entitlements under PDS should be converted into cash transfers. This column shows that in the face of high price variability, in-kind trans...
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Lucie Gadenne Sam Norris Monica Singhal Sandip Sukhtankar
- 15 May, 2017
- Articles
Two views on fighting world poverty
In the previous article, Lant Pritchett critiqued Chris Blattman’s proposal to compare interventions that provide chickens rather than cash, and the view that the answer is the best investment we c...
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Chris Blattman
- 05 May, 2017
- Perspectives
Inequality and economics: Tony Atkinson's enduring lessons
Sir Tony Atkinson, the doyen of inequality economics, passed away in January. This article, by a longstanding friend and co-author, outlines his contributions to the analysis and measurement of inequ...
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Andrea Brandolini
- 25 April, 2017
- Articles
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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...
- Nitin Kumar Bharti
- 28 June, 2019
- Articles
Covid-19: What can be done immediately to help vulnerable population
With over 80% of India’s workforce employed in the informal sector and one-third working as casual labour, Covid-19's spread and subsequent unplanned lockdowns, have created economic havoc in the li...
- Reetika Khera
- 25 March, 2020
- Perspectives
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...
- Devika Malhotra Sharma
- 11 September, 2019
- Perspectives