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Poverty & Inequality

Covid-19: Health and economic impacts in Indian slums

  • Notes from the Field

The Covid-19 crisis and food security

India’s national lockdown in 2020, imposed to contain the spread of Covid-19, threw millions of people out of work and sharply reduced earnings for those who remained employed. Based on data from mu...

  • Perspectives

Covid-19: Impact on income inequality in India

Even as global inequality was falling, income inequality in India increased during 1990-2019. With the occurrence of Covid-19, the trend of increasing income inequality in the country is expected to n...

  • Articles

PDS, National Food Security Act, and Covid-19

Introduced in 2013, the National Food Security Act (NFSA) brought about fundamental reforms in the public distribution system (PDS) and most importantly, declared a legal ‘right to food’. Based on...

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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...

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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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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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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 ...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Perspectives

Introduction to e-Symposium: Decoding Congress’ NYAY

A major announcement in the Congress manifesto, in the ongoing parliamentary election, is the minimum income guarantee proposal – Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY). In this symposium, Bharat Ramaswami (Asho...

  • Symposium

NYAY e-Symposium: Four concerns around cash transfer policies

Bharat Ramswami (Professor of Economics, Ashoka University) discusses four sets of caveats in implementing NYAY as an add-on cash transfer. He contends that the emergence of cash transfers as a sustai...

  • Perspectives

NYAY e-Symposium: Doing justice to NYAY

Jean Drèze (Visiting Professor, Ranchi University) discusses the role of NYAY in the larger context of social security in India, and proposes some tentative principles for the scheme

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NYAY e-Symposium: The case for a universal basic income supplement

Pranab Bardhan (Professor of Economics, University of California, Berkeley) argues in favour of an income supplement, albeit one that is universal.

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Most Popular Poverty & Inequality Posts

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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

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