Examining Himachal’s urban employment guarantee
Despite proposals by economists on the need for an urban work programme in India, a national-level policy seems some time away from coming to fruition. However, some states have implemented such progr...
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Krishna Priya Choragudi
21 March, 2022
- Notes from the Field
Spatial disparities in household earnings in India
The per-capita state domestic product of Haryana (India’s richest state) was 5.6 times that of Bihar (poorest state) in 2017-18, up from 3.8 in 1996-97. Differences in urbanisation levels and inabil...
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S. Chandrasekhar
Karthikeya Naraparaju
Ajay Sharma
18 August, 2021
- Articles
Fatal 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
Did MNREGA cushion job losses during the pandemic?
The 2021-22 Budget allocation for MNREGA is 34% lower than the revised estimates for the programme in 2020-21. Analysing official MNREGA data, this article suggests that districts that have historical...
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Farzana Afridi
Kanika Mahajan
Nikita Sangwan
11 February, 2021
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How wide is the ‘sink of localism’ in India?
While spatial segregation based on caste or religion is a constitutive feature of social life in India, there have been very few systematic studies of it. This article presents central findings from t...
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Naveen Bharathi
Deepak Malghan
Andaleeb Rahman
18 January, 2021
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Declining common lands in India: Role of economic inequality
The area under common pool land resources (CPLRs), which are crucial to rural livelihoods in India, has recorded a steady decline over the last three decades. Common land is diverted either as private...
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Deepak Malghan
Arnab Mukherji
Sneha Thapliyal
14 January, 2021
- Articles
Welfare through workfare? Lessons from the early days of MNREGA
Workfare programmes are an old tool to provide necessary income support to the poorest in times of recessions, droughts, and now pandemics. Yet, these are often questioned for their effectiveness. As ...
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Stefan Klonner
Christian Oldiges
16 December, 2020
- Articles
Building resilience among ultra-poor for times of crisis
Lack of integration into the existing social protection system exacerbates the poor's vulnerabilities, leaving them without adequate support structures during a crisis. In this note, Shagun Sabarwal a...
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Maximilian Lohnert
Shagun Sabarwal
11 December, 2020
- Notes from the Field
Does workfare work? MNREGA during Covid-19
In the wake of the large-scale return of migrant workers from cities to rural areas on account of the Covid-19 lockdowns and associated job losses, it was apparent that MNREGA would need to play a cru...
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Sudha Narayanan
Christian Oldiges
Shree Saha
01 December, 2020
- Articles
What pay ratios in NIFTY50 companies tell us about income inequality in India
In the wake of the economic crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns, demands for relief from the corporate sector were as vocal as those for affected workers. However, the s...
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Reetika Khera
Meghna Yadav
20 November, 2020
- Perspectives
Balancing corruption and exclusion: Comment on the response
The role of Aadhaar in reducing corruption in the PDS has been highly controversial. In a recent I4I article, Muralidharan et al. summarised the insights of their study of Aadhaar-based biometric auth...
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Jean Drèze
Reetika Khera
Anmol Somanchi
19 November, 2020
- Perspectives
DUET: Creating a resilient ecosystem for vulnerable populations
Providing their perspective on Drèze’s DUET proposal for an urban work programme, the authors contend that its objective should not just be financial support but the creation of a wider ecosystem t...
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Ishu Gupta
Advaita Rajendra
Ankur Sarin
10 November, 2020
- Perspectives
Examining the macro effects of MNREGA
While numerous micro-founded studies examine the household-level effects of MNREGA, little is known about its aggregate macro effects and long-term benefits to output, if any. Analysing district-level...
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Justin Cook
Manisha Shah
28 October, 2020
- Articles
Balancing corruption and exclusion: A response
The role of Aadhaar in reducing corruption in PDS has been highly controversial. In a recent I4I article, Muralidharan et al. summarised the results of their study in Jharkhand, which confirmed the 'p...
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Karthik Muralidharan
Paul Niehaus
Sandip Sukhtankar
21 October, 2020
- Perspectives
DUET: Expand to include social protection for informal workers
Commenting on Jean Drèze’s DUET proposal, Rakshita Swamy and Amit Basole highlight its simple design as its strength and propose a more comprehensive approach that also includes social protection f...
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Amit Basole
Rakshita Swamy
19 October, 2020
- Perspectives
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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
Lockdown, life, and livelihood in the times of Corona
After around 36 hours of the lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in India, the Finance Minister announced a slew of welfare measures amounting to Rs. 1.7 trillion to support the vulnerable popu...
Arjun Kumar
Balwant Singh Mehta
Simi Mehta
07 April, 2020
- 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...
Nitin Kumar Bharti
28 June, 2019
- Articles