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Sexism's toll on Journalism

The report shows that the two-fold danger to which many women journalists are subjected is far too common, not only in traditional reporting fields as well as new digital areas and the Internet, but a...

by | On 08 Mar 2021

Prakriti Karyshala: Case Studies Ecomanagement: Mapping and Securing Commons

Prakriti Karyashala, launched in 2012 through the Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), to respond to the rising needs of rural communities to respond to ecological change. It trains a cadre of f...

by Anjali P Iyer | On 20 Nov 2020

The Poet in the Republic

India seems to have turned Platonic anxiety on its head, making the utterance of truth a difficult endeavour in this country.

by | On 01 Aug 2020

Why Centre is left with little fiscal cushion to deal with Covid pandemic

When emerging from this crisis, the govt must consider a fresh approach to reviving growth, revisiting the Centre-state fiscal balance, and devising a re-imagined GST 2.0.

by T.N. Ninan | On 07 Jun 2020

The COVID-19, Migration and Livelihood in India

Sudden eruption of migration crisis resulting from the out-break of COVID-19 again reminds us the urgency of the matter. This policy paper presents how our understanding of migration and livelihood...

by R. B. Bhagat | On 08 May 2020

Inter-Governmental Fiscal Transfers in the Presence of Revenue Uncertainty: The Case of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India

A comprehensive multistage Value Added Tax (VAT) system, viz., Goods and Services Tax (GST), is introduced in India since 1 July 2017. GST encompasses various taxes from Union and State indirect tax b...

by Sacchidananda Mukherjee | On 02 Apr 2019

India's Universal Basic Income: Bedeviled by the Details

The idea of a Universal Basic Income (UBI)-—periodic and uncon- ditional cash payments to all citizens—has gained renewed attention amid growing concerns about technological unemployment in advanced e...

by | On 28 Mar 2019

Guidance Note of the Secretary-General : The United Nations and Land and Conflict

Over the coming decades, competition and conflict over land is likely to intensify with the growing pressures of climate change, population growth, increased food insecurity, migration and urbanizatio...

by Secretary-General United Nations | On 21 Mar 2019

Free To Be Mobile

What do we talk about when we talk about technology-enabled violence? We mostly talk about online violence, or violence on the internet. Verbal abuse. Rape threats. Images spreading without consent. S...

by Point of View . | On 12 Mar 2019

The Anomaly of Women’s Work and Education in India

This paper utilizes a large cross-section of data sets such as the ILOSTAT, NSSO Quinquennial Employment and Unemployment Survey, Labour Bureau Annual Employment and Unemployment Survey, National Fami...

by Surbhi Ghai | On 03 Feb 2019

Changing Structure of Employment in Indian States

The study attempts a comparative assessment of the changing employment situation in major Indian states, measured in terms of worker-population ratios and the distribution of workers into status group...

by A.V. Jose | On 01 Feb 2019

Multi- Product Firms, Tariff Liberalization and Product Churning in Vietnamese Manufacturing

This study documents the frequency and characteristics of multi-product firms in Vietnamese manufacturing. The major findings are as follows. First, multi-product firms are larger, more capital-intens...

by Ha Thi Thanh Doan | On 29 Jan 2019

The Development of Education and Health Services in Asia and the Role of the State

This paper analyses the dramatic spread of education and healthcare in Asia and also the large variations in that spread across and within countries over fifty years. Apart from differences in initial...

by Sudipto Mundle | On 14 Jan 2019

UDAY Power Debt in Retrospect and Prospects: Analyzing the Efficiency Parameters

The Government of India launched the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY), in November 2015, with an objective of “Power for All”. Under the UDAY scheme, selected States agreed to convert 75 per cent...

by Amandeep Kaur | On 11 Jan 2019

The Impact of Trade Conflict on Developing Asia

This paper analyzes the effects of the current trade conflict on developing Asia using the Asian Development Bank’s Multiregional Input–Output Table (MRIOT), allowing us to calculate the impact on ind...

by Abdul Abiad | On 21 Dec 2018

How Do We Prevent a Food Crisis in the Midst of Climate Change?

The current global warming trends are extremely likely to be the result of human social and economic activity since the middle of the 20th century (NASA 2018). Evidence of rapid climate change varies...

by Kunmin Kim | On 21 Nov 2018

Aging and Implications for Elderly Care Services in the People’s Republic of China

Aging can be harmful to an economy over the long run, as an increase in the share of the elderly population reduces both the labor force and output per adult, and increases the social security burden....

by Hiroko Uchimura-Shiroshi | On 10 Sep 2018

Strengthening India’s External Intelligence Infrastructure: An Assessment .

This paper outlines a number of points, which would help to develop a more superior external intelligence infrastructure. In absence of a national security strategy (NSS), the task of intelligence age...

by Shantanu K. Bansal | On 04 Sep 2018

Investing in Health Security for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific: Managing Health Threats Through Regional and Intersectoral Cooperation

Asia is a hot spot for emerging and reemerging infectious diseases, including those with pandemic potential. At the same time, the region is grappling with growing antimicrobial resistance and the hea...

by Megan Counahan | On 24 Aug 2018

Building Food Security in Asia through International Agreements on Rice Reserves

The policy brief aims to mitigate the impact of natural disasters on food security, ASEAN established a rice reserve on 4 October 1979. The rice reserve was developed to alleviate poverty and to eradi...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 10 Aug 2018

Book Review: Identity, Belonging and Family Formation

Review of 'Beyond Chrismukkah: The Christian-Jewish Inter-Faith Family in the United States' By Samira K. Mehta, The University of North Carolina Press. Chapel Hill, N.C; 2018; 274 pp; USD 27.94...

by Namita Manohar | On 01 Aug 2018

Enabling Smart Urban Redevelopment in India through Floor Area Ratio Incentives

This working paper assesses the potential of incentive FAR approaches in two Indian cities, Mumbai and Ahmedabad, for leveraging the economic value of urban land. A thorough analysis of Mumbai’s clust...

by Apoorva Shenvi | On 25 Jul 2018

Assessing Public Expenditure Efficiency at Indian States

This paper attempts to understand what drives the public expenditure efficiency among the States. For this, it looks at the role of economic growth as well as quality of governance. The results of inp...

by Ranjan Kumar Mohanty | On 20 Jun 2018

Examining the state level heterogeneity of public health expenditure in Indi a: an empirical evidence from panel data

This study explores the relationship over an extended period of time between an increase in per capita public health expenditure and per capita state’s domestic product (per capita inc...

by Deepak Kumar Behera | On 16 May 2018

The impact of macroeconomic policies on the growth of public health expenditure: An empirical assessment from the Indian states

The impact assessment of macroeconomic policies on public health expenditure is very relevant in Indian economy because of tax reform, fiscal consoli- dation, and expenditure policy reform. These h...

by | On 11 May 2018

Labour Regulations in India: Improving the Social Security Framework

An important segment of labour regulations concerns the protection aspects of social security. These regulations provide safety nets or fall back mechanisms to enable workers to cope with crises that...

by Anwarul Hoda | On 30 Apr 2018

Global Food Policy Report 2018

The 2018 Global Food Policy Report reviews major food policy developments and events from the past year. Leading researchers, policy makers, and practitioners examine what happened in food polic...

by IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute | On 24 Apr 2018

Book Review: Can India Pull It Off?

Review of Ascending India and Its State Capacity: Extraction, Violence, and Legitimacy by Sumit Ganguly, William R. Thompson. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2016. 352 pp. $40.00 (cloth), ISBN...

by | On 18 Apr 2018

From Prior to Post: Legalising Environmental Violations

Between March 15 2017 and June 15 2017, 207 projects that violated the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification applied for an environmental clearance. These applications have come as a result...

by Krithika Dinesh | On 13 Apr 2018

Book Review: War, Violence, and the State

Review of Political Violence in Ancient India by Upinder Singh, Harvard University Press, Cambridge,Massachusetts; 2017, pp. xvii, pp. 598.

by Aloka Parasher Sen | On 12 Apr 2018

Draft National Forest Policy, 2018

The overall objective and goal of the present policy is to safeguard the ecological and livelihood security of people, of the present and future generations, based on sustainable management of the fo...

by Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Chang GOI | On 11 Apr 2018

The Impact Of The EU IUU Regulation On Seafood Trade flows: Identification of Intra-EU Shifts in Import Trends Related to the Catch Certification Scheme and Third Country Carding Process

Previous studies have shown how analyses of publicly available fisheries trade datasets – whether the analysis of a single dataset or comparative analysis between two or more datasets – can support th...

by Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) | On 10 Apr 2018

Agricultural Productivity Shocks, Labor Reallocation, and Rural-Urban Migration in China

This paper analyses the way households in rural China use rural-urban migration and off-farm work as a response to negative productivity shocks in agriculture. I employ various waves of a longitudin...

by Luigi Minale | On 04 Apr 2018

The Water Gap – The State of the World’s Water 2018

In a startling reminder that our world’s most precious resource is becoming increasingly scarce for too much of the population, reminding us of the need for better and fairer management of Earth’s...

by Water Aid NGO | On 22 Mar 2018

Regional Cooperation to Combat Climate Change: The Way Forward

This paper is based on the presentation given by the author at the Fifth WIEF roundtable on climate change held in Dhaka, organized by the WIEF secretariat on 20 March 2012. The paper will introduce t...

by | On 21 Mar 2018

Would UDAY Brighten Up Rajasthan Finances?

Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) required number of State governments to take over debt of power distribution companies in their books of accounts. Though this one time intervention made both debt...

by Pinaki Chakraborty | On 19 Mar 2018

Strategies to Make Last-mile Energy More Inclusive: Examples from India

Sustainable access to energy has the power to catalyze social and economic development and promote better educated, healthier, more productive and resilient communities. Yet many families across th...

by | On 16 Mar 2018

State of Child Workers in India: Mapping Trends

The present report begins with a background on child labour, with a discussion on different terms associated with ‘child labour’, followed by child labour policies and legislation implemented by the g...

by Ellina Samantroy | On 12 Mar 2018

Measuring the Equilibrium Impacts of Credit: Evidence from the Indian Microfinance Crisis

In October 2010, the state government of Andhra Pradesh, India issued an emergency ordinance, bringing microfinance activities in the state to a complete halt and causing a nation-wide shock to the li...

by Emily Breza | On 10 Mar 2018

Women and Land in the Muslim World: Pathways to Increase Access to Land for the Realization of Development, Peace and Human Rights

This report looks at global normative work, regional frameworks, and good country level practices, it provides an analysis of the most important aspects to be taken into consideration to successfully...

by Ombretta Tempra | On 09 Mar 2018

Prenatal Exposure to Shocks and Early-Life Health: Impact of Terrorism and Flood on Birth Outcomes in Pakistan

The current paper tries to fill this gap by investigating the impact of floods on pregnancy and birth outcomes across conflict-affected and unaffected districts in Pakistan.

by Baishali Goswami | On 08 Mar 2018

SAARC Food Bank (SFB) Institutional Architecture and Issues of Operationalisation

In view of the need for an appropriate institutional architecture to address the food security concerns in South Asia, issues of proper operationalisation of the SAARC Food Bank (SFB) have assumed cr...

by | On 06 Mar 2018

Report Summary Women’s Healthcare: Policy Options

The paper says that the Committee noted that synergy between the central and state policies will bring changes in women's healthcare.

by Nivedita Rao | On 06 Mar 2018

Sticky Expectations and Consumption Dynamics

Macroeconomic models often invoke consumption “habits” to explain the substantial persistence of aggregate consumption growth. But a large literature has found no evidence of habits in microeconomic d...

by Christopher D. Carroll | On 05 Mar 2018

Trade with Correlation

The paper develops a trade model in which productivity—the result of a country’s ability to adopt global technologies—presents an arbitrary pattern of spatial correlation. The model generates the full...

by Nelson Lind | On 05 Mar 2018

Kerala’s Development Experience: Its Implications for Finance Commissions

This paper examines critically the awards of the recent Finance Commissions (FCs) in the specific context of the ongoing work of the Thirteenth Finance Commission (13FC).

by K.K. George | On 28 Feb 2018

Regaining the Constitutional Identity of the Finance Commission: A Daunting Task for the Thirteenth Commission

The paper argues that the Thirteenth Finance Commission has got to find its own track if it does not want to remain as a pale shadow of its constitutional self. It should ignore those terms of referen...

by K.K. George | On 28 Feb 2018

Labour Dynamics and Social Security in Leather-based Enterprises in Mumbai and ShanghaiA Preliminary Background Study

The advent of Globalization has led to profound transformation in the global economy in terms of policy paradigms, growth trajectories and developmental strategies of governance, in the advanced eco...

by | On 26 Feb 2018

Women Rights in Conflict Zones: A Focus on India

Through these studies it has been shown how often the plight of women and the impact of war on their lives had been ignored.

by Sona Drahonovská | On 22 Feb 2018

Focus: Women, Gender and Armed Conflict

The end of the Cold War in 1989 did not, as had been expected, bring about a reduction in armed conflicts. More than two thirds of the poorest countries in the world are in conflict regions. The natur...

by Austrian Development Agency (ADA) | On 21 Feb 2018

War on the Female Body: Rape and Sexual Violence during Conflict

This article focuses on rape as a weapon of war, the sociological impacts of which can be widespread and long-lasting. This is especially due to the ensuing terror and disruption to livelihoods, relat...

by AMSA Global Health | On 21 Feb 2018

Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict: Understanding the Motivations

The paper talks about the unequal power relations, discrimination and misogyny in patriarchal societies are exacerbated by the promotion of aggression and violence during war.

by E.J. Wood | On 21 Feb 2018

Sexual Violence in the “People’s War” – The Impact of Armed Conflict on Women and Girls in Nepal

The report described the level and cases of gender based sexual violence during the armed conflict and proved that both the warring parties were involved in such heinous acts. It also showed the letha...

by Institute of Human Rights Communication, Nepal (IHRICON | On 21 Feb 2018

Militarisation and Armed Conflict

India's claim that all human rights violations are redressed stands sharply refuted by the report of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) which in its report to UPR2 stated that AFSPA remains i...

by Working Group on Human Rights (WGHR) | On 21 Feb 2018

Conflict-Related Sexual Violence: A Cross-National Comparison of Circumstances Related to State Forces’ Use of Sexual Violence in Armed Conflicts

This study aims to explore and identify circumstances related to the use of sexual violence by armed groups, and by state forces in particular. The overall purpose is to contribute to an understandi...

by Matilda Carlsson | On 20 Feb 2018

What Evidence Exists for Initiatives to Reduce Risk and Incidence of Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict and Other Humanitarian Crises? A Systematic Review

This systematic paper aimed to canvas the extent and impact of initiatives to reduce incidence, risk and harm from sexual violence in conflict, post-conflict and other humanitarian crises, in low and...

by Jo Spangaro | On 20 Feb 2018

Casualties of War Women’s Bodies, Women’s Lives

The paper says that the term “violence against women” means any act of gender-based violence that leads to physical, sexual or psychological harm to women and girls

by Amnesty International AI, | On 20 Feb 2018

Sexual Violence and The Culture of Impunity in Nagaland

The paper says that perpetrators of sexual violence escape justice, while their victims are trapped between exhortations by women's advocacy groups not to ‘suffer quietly' and the social stigma attach...

by Dolly Kikon | On 20 Feb 2018

Healthy States, Progressive India: Report on the Ranks of States and Union Territories

The exercise, which is the first of its kind attempted by the Union Government was conducted over a period of eighteen months. In addition to the technical expertise of the World Bank, experts in pub...

by Niti Aayog GOI | On 09 Feb 2018

Maritime Terrorism and Piracy: Security Challenges in South East Asia

The paper says that the region is plagued with piracy and has also witnessed maritime terrorism related activities, drug smuggling, gun running and illegal migration.

by Vijay Sakhuja | On 09 Feb 2018

Budget 2018: Highlights of the Draft FY2018 Japan Budget

FY2018 budget, the budget for final year of the intensive reform period set in the Fiscal Consolidation Plan, continues to pursue both economic revitalization and fiscal consolidation.

by | On 09 Feb 2018

State of State Finances 2018

Several states such as Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka raise a majority of their revenue from their own taxes. On the other hand, Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, and Bihar rai...

by Mandira Kala | On 01 Feb 2018

Economic Survey 2017: Volume II, Chapter 2: Review of Fiscal Developments

Sound public financial management has been one of the pillars of India’s macro-economic stability in the last three years. Based on this firm footing, the Government, in partnership with the States,...

by Arun Jaitley | On 31 Jan 2018

Social Infrastructure: Way Forward

The tenth chapter of Economic Survey 2018 has sown that investments in social infrastructure and human development has paid off well. The policies and schemes have also been mentioned in detail. The g...

by Lakshmi Priya | On 31 Jan 2018

A New, Exciting Bird’s-Eye View of the Indian Economy Through the GST

Data on the international exports of states (the first in India’s history) suggests a strong correlation between export performance and states’ standard of living. India’s exports are unusual in tha...

by Arun Jaitley | On 30 Jan 2018

Budget Speech Jharkhand 2018

The Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Shri Raghubar Das presented the Budget for the financial year 2018-19 on 23 January, 2018. Total expenditure for the year is expected to be Rs. 80,200 crore.

by Raghubar Das | On 25 Jan 2018

Livelihoods, Conservation and Forest Rights Act in a National Park: An Oxymoron ?

National Parks in India are highly vulnerable due to excessive pressure on their ecosystems as a result of growing population and high dependency of forest dwellers on these resources. This has led...

by Syed Ajmal Pasha | On 24 Jan 2018

Conflict and Education in Manipur: A Comparative Analysis

Conflict, violence and social upheaval have been the greatest threats to mankind since the dawn of civilisation. Poorest communities, children and education sector are among the most severely affect...

by Komol Singha | On 24 Jan 2018

Mitigating Threats to Girls's Education in Conflict Affected Contexts: Current Practice

Conflict amplifies existing power dynamics and inequalities in families and societies because of the insecurity and fear caused by the upheaval of support structures. Conflicts generally result in the...

by | On 22 Jan 2018

The Politics of Institutional Reform and Post-Conflict Violence in Nepal

How does the reform of state institutions shape prospects for peace after war? Existing re- search on the institutional causes of peace focuses on how institutional designs, as the out- comes of ref...

by Julia Strasheim | On 17 Jan 2018

Northeast India: The Emerging Scenarios

The paper narrates that in today’s age of globalization and trans-border connectivity, the Northeast is fast emerging as the potential gateway for India to Southeast and East Asia through Myanmar.

by Namrata Goswami | On 17 Jan 2018

Indigenisation of Lithium ion Battery Manufacturing A Techno-economic Feasibility Assessment

The paper talks about the growing demand in the clean energy industry is expected to increase LCE production to about 410,000 tonne by 2025.

by Tanmay Sarkar | On 12 Jan 2018

Contesting Ideas on Peace : A Report & Some Reflections

Inter-state conflicts dominated the world for the better part of the twentieth century with the rivalry of two superpower blocs threatening nuclear doomsday in its second half. By contrast, the post-C...

by | On 02 Jan 2018

Reviewing the Status of Education in Tribal Areas in Maharashtra

One of the biggest challenges faced by the Indian education system in the last several decades since Independence has been expansion without a simultaneous assurance of equity in educational opportuni...

by Centre for Budget and Policy Studies CBPS | On 01 Jan 2018

Prioritizing Agricultural Research and Extension

India’s agricultural research and extension system has grown tremendously to meet the country’s rapid change in research and development (R&D) needs over the past half century. Major activities in thi...

by | On 27 Dec 2017

Effective Public Investments to Improve Food Security

This paper focuses on public investments to improve food security can be placed into five broad categories.

by Livia Bizikova | On 18 Dec 2017

Consumption Pattern in West Bengal - A Study of Per Capita Expenditure Elasticity by Income Group

The understanding of consumption patterns of the households of different income groups is essential for the development of successful food security policies. In recent years the studies on consumption...

by | On 08 Dec 2017

Inclusive Urban Planning for the Working Poor: Planning Education Trends and Potential Shifts

The report outlines and critically assesses trends in urban planning education across the globe, specifically in countries of the global South, and the extent to which curricula address issues of incl...

by Vanessa Watson | On 07 Dec 2017

Globalisation, Democratic Decentralisation and Social Secutiy in India

This paper examines the role of democratic decentralisation in promoting inclusive governance (responsive, efficient equitable) and social security in the context of globalisation. Firstly, the paper...

by | On 07 Dec 2017

Sustainable Energy for All in South Asia Potential, Challenges, and Solutions

This paper narrates about the challenge of meeting energy demand is likely to get more complex, as it is growing to keep pace with the population growth and expanding economy.

by Muhammad Iftikhar | On 01 Dec 2017

Spillovers in Education Choice

This paper examines how skills are shaped by social interactions in families. The paper shows that older siblings causally affect younger sibling’s education choices and early career earnings. The pap...

by Juanna Schrøter Joensen | On 01 Dec 2017

Labour Regulations in India: Improving the Social Security Framework

An important segment of labour regulations concerns the protection aspects of social security. These regulations provide safety nets or fall back mechanisms to enable workers to cope with crises that...

by | On 30 Nov 2017

Digital Challenges for the Welfare State

Digitalization is the buzzword under which profound changes of the labor market can be summarized. Next to automation, i.e., the increasing use of robots, “intelligent” machines and more comprehensive...

by Werner Eichhorst | On 23 Nov 2017

Freedom of Expression in Pakistan: A myth or a reality

The study adopts a qualitative approach to understand the power dynamics and draws out conclusions from a wide variety of stakeholders regarding the issues at hand.

by Sadaf Liaquat | On 23 Nov 2017

Inequality, Good Governance and Endemic Corruption

Can a society suffering contests between rich and poor achieve good governance in the face of endemic corruption? The paper examines a stylized poor state with weak institutions in which a “culture of...

by Gil S. Epstein | On 21 Nov 2017

So That a Nuclear Weapon Free World can Come to Be: Putting Nuclear Weapons to Politico-Diplomatic Use

Existing initiatives and proposals for nuclear disarmament, both inter-Governmental and unofficial ones, are appraised vis-a-vis the Indian approach, with a view to identifying possibilities of synerg...

by | On 09 Nov 2017

Governance Interventions in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Countries

The paper reviews an emerging body of literature on the design and evaluation of current or recent governance interventions in countries with ongoing violent conflict, recovering from conflict or at s...

by Patricia Justino | On 31 Oct 2017

New Issues Puzzle: Experience from Karachi Stock Exchange

Study finds that both groups of IPOs outperforms on first trading day, as average initial market adjusted returns of SOE and non-SOE IPOs are 27.65 percent and 22.53 percent respectively.

by Henna Malik | On 30 Oct 2017

Reduction of GHG Emissions and Attainment of Energy Security through Sustainable Production of Biofuels: Is it a Viable Option ?

This study is a part of Indo-US bilateral JCERDC project for Development of Sustainable Advanced Ligno-cellulosic Biofuels Systems (SALBS). We profusely thank our Director, Prof. S. Galab for his cons...

by M. Gopinath Reddy | On 27 Oct 2017

Manual And Codebook Of The WageIndicator Labour Law Database - Version 1 - October 2017.

The report narrates that the COBRA is the web-based system for the WageIndicator Labour Law database.

by Kea Tijdens | On 23 Oct 2017

Undersea Pipedreams and Indian Energy Security

Iran’s game-changing nuclear deal with the West and imminent ending of the US-led sanctions open a window of opportunity for deeper Indo-Iranian relations. On the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Ufa...

by Research and Information System for Developing Countries | On 17 Oct 2017

Migration, Agriculture And Rural Development: Addressing the root causes of migration and harnessing its potential for development

The report says that conflicts, violence and natural disasters are among the root causes of migration and forced displacement.

by Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] | On 16 Oct 2017

The Curious Case of Crèches: Whose Responsibility is it?

At the core of the argument for crèches, lie the notion of a child’s vulnerability and the shared responsibility of the parents and the State to ensure his/her protection. But how far have we managed...

by Nimish Sany | On 16 Oct 2017

Estimating Public Spending on Health by Levels of Care for National Health Accounts: An Illustration of Use of Data on Withdrawals by Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs) in India

This paper illustrates the use of information on withdrawals by Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs) for improving estimates of public spending for National Health Accounts (NHAs) in India. Using in...

by Mita Choudhury | On 07 Oct 2017

Bolder Disinvestment or Better Performance Contracts? Which Way Forward for India’s State-Owned Enterprises

This paper analyses the performance of India’s Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) using measures of labour and overall efficiency and productivity indicators as opposed to financial returns. Using meth...

by Ajay Chhibber | On 03 Oct 2017

Women in Politics and the Subject of Reservations

This paper, however, demonstrates that the effective history of thinking about political representation in the form of reservations for women is as old as the women’s movement itself. Feminist enga...

by Mary E. John | On 28 Sep 2017

The Impact of State Medical Marijuana Laws on Social Security Disability Insurance and Workers' Compensation Benefit Claiming

The authors study the effect of state medical marijuana laws (MMLs) on Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Workers' Compensation (WC) claiming. The paper uses data on benefit claiming draw...

by Johanna Catherine Maclean | On 25 Sep 2017

Contributory Pension Schemes for the Poor: Issues and Ways Forward

The issue of old-age income security in India assumes significance in view of the expected rise in the elderly population in the years to come, problems of poverty and vulnerability among them and the...

by D Rajasekhar | On 14 Sep 2017

Federalism and the Formation of States in India

In recent days, the process of federalization within the Indian Union has become more debatable due to the unequal federal development at various levels. In this context, the issues of state formation...

by Susant Kumar Naik | On 14 Sep 2017

The Political Historiography of Modern Gujarat

The focus of this paper is on the political history of modern Gujarat, which has been an intriguing one. The paper identifies and discusses in the broad landscape of Gujarat’s politics three notable d...

by Tannen Neil Lincoln | On 14 Sep 2017

State Intervention: A Gift or Threat to India’s Sugarcane Sector?

This paper examines the nature, changes and factors responsible for issues and problems faced by the sugarcane growers and sugar mills in India. This paper is based on the latest available secondary d...

by Abnave Vikas B. | On 12 Sep 2017

Electricity Consumption and Economic Growth in Karnataka

The paper aims to study the trend and pattern of electricity consumption in Karnataka, to investigate the direction of causality between electricity consumption and economic growth, and to forecast th...

by Laxmi Rajkumari | On 11 Sep 2017

Livelihoods, Conservation and Forest Rights Act in a National Park: An Oxymoron?

The paper suggests certain measures to reduce the conflicts across conservation, livelihoods and forest rights. National Parks in India are highly vulnerable due to excessive pressure on their ecosyst...

by Subhashree Banerjee | On 07 Sep 2017

Tamil Nadu Migration Survey 2015

Tamil Nadu is the eleventh largest state by area and the sixth most populous state in India with 75 million as per the 2011 census. The state was ranked sixth among the states in India according to th...

by S.Irudaya Rajan | On 06 Sep 2017

Culture and Food Security

This paper reviews available cross-disciplinary evidence on how culture affects food security. We discuss the impact of culture on all four dimensions (availability, access and choice, utilization, a...

by Elena Briones Alonso | On 31 Aug 2017

Indian Defence Budget 2016-17: A Curtain Raiser

The report narrates about, should India’s national defence budget be discussed and deliberated in public domain?

by Deba Mohanty | On 28 Aug 2017

Strengthening India’s External Intelligence Infrastructure: An Assessment

This paper attempts to outline a number of points, which would help to develop a more superior external intelligence infrastructure.

by Shantanu Bansal | On 28 Aug 2017

Price Distortions in Indian Agriculture

The study is about estimating the extent to which domestic prices of major Indian agriculture commodities deviate from their corresponding free trade reference prices. The free trade reference prices...

by Shweta Saini | On 23 Aug 2017

Indian Food and Welfare Schemes: Scope for Digitization Towards Cash Transfers

The paper presents a case for a phased rolling out of direct benefits transfer (DBT) for Food in India. By studying all states and Union Territories on three broad parameters: demographics, performanc...

by Shweta Saini | On 21 Aug 2017

Developments in Iran’s Agriculture Sector and Prospects for U.S. Trade

With one of the Middle East’s largest economies, a growing population, and rising incomes, Iran contributes significantly to the region’s agricultural commodity consumption. Iran’s rising food demand...

by Mesbah Motamed | On 18 Aug 2017

U.S. Immigration Reform and the Dynamics of Mexican Migration

The 1986 US Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) was directed at tackling the problem of growing unauthorized migration through legalization of unauthorized immigrants, increasing border security...

by Jan van Ours | On 17 Aug 2017

Settling for Academia? H-1B Visas and the Career Choices of International Students in the United States

The yearly cap on H-1B visas became binding for the first time in 2004, making it harder for college-educated foreigners to work in the United States. However, academic institutions are exempt from th...

by Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes | On 17 Aug 2017

Human Development Report 2016 - Human Development for Everyone

The Report explores who has been left out in the progress in human development and why.

by Selim Jahan | On 16 Aug 2017

Can Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) be Part Solution to the Indian Debt Problem?

This paper details the approaches of other countries when their banking sectors were burdened with unsustainable levels of impaired assets. The paper examines the bad debt situation in India, the circ...

by Jaimini Bhagwati | On 11 Aug 2017

Making Rapid Strides Agriculture in Madhya Pradesh: Sources, Drivers, and Policy Lessons

This paper study the composition, sources and drivers of agricultural growth in Madhya Pradesh to identify the factors that have contributed to robust agricultural growth in the state and discuss the...

by Ashok Gulati | On 11 Aug 2017

India, Climate Change and Security in South Asia

South Asia faces a wide array of social, political, and economic issues that already threaten security in the region. The region has a history of border disputes, sectarian violence, and government co...

by David Antos | On 09 Aug 2017

Positive Peace Report 2016

This report introduces new thinking and evidence about Positive Peace.

by Institute for Economics and Peace | On 04 Aug 2017

The Importance of Being Siliguri, or the Lack Thereof Border-Effect and the “Untimely” City in North Bengal

Debashis Chakraborty visited Siliguri for the first time in 1952. After the final examinations of Class IV, this was his first trip to Siliguri to visit the part of his family that had relocated to th...

by Atig Ghosh | On 04 Aug 2017

Making Women Count for Peace: Gender, Empowerment and Conflict in South Asia

With a focus on Northeast Indian experiences and a comparative look at Nepal, this project addresses the role of women in local governance and politics, particularly within the context of peace and se...

by Calcutta Group | On 04 Aug 2017

SG 50 and Beyond: Protecting the Public Space in the New Era of Singaporean Pluralism

Over the last ten years or so it have begun to see public lobbying over moral and cultural issues such as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) rights, Sanctity of Life issues including aborti...

by Johannis Bin Abdul Aziz | On 02 Aug 2017

Tracking Change Islamabad in Livelihoods, Service Delivery and Governance: Evidence from a 2012-2015 Panel Survey in Pakistan

The subject of this study is the relationship between the delivery of services, social protection and livelihoods assistance, and state legitimacy (measured here using perceptions of government perfor...

by Babar Shahbaz | On 01 Aug 2017

The NCAER State Investment Potential Index (N-SIPI 2017)

The NCAER State Investment Potential Index 2017 (N-SIPI 2017) is the second edition in the annual series of rankings of states on their growth and investment potential. It is a systematic and evidence...

by Research National Council of Applied Economic | On 31 Jul 2017

Concepts and Realities of Family Farming in Asia and the Pacific

The Asia and the Pacific region has the largest number of family farms in the world. It is home to 60 per cent of the world’s population and to 74 per cent of the world’s family farmers, with China al...

by Jingzhong Ye | On 30 Jul 2017

Fuel Blending in India: Learnings and Way Forward

The expert paper further estimates significant potential for an overall improvement in balance of trade with increased blending in the context of an expected recovery in global crude oil prices.

by Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy CSTEP | On 27 Jul 2017

Taking an Ecosystems Approach: Support for Advocacy Training Initiatives’ (SATHI) Public Health Work in India

Delivering accessible, inclusive and high-quality health services in India is both technically challenging and politically complex. India’s public health services have been highly decentralized for mo...

by Brendan Halloran | On 26 Jul 2017

Trade Facilitation for a More Inclusive and Connected Asia and Pacific Region: Progress and Way Forward

This study also describes trade facilitation projects that promote development through deepening regional cooperation and integration.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 14 Jul 2017

Financial Soundness Indicators for Financial Sector Stability in Georgia

The results of this study can be used to strengthen the institutional and statistical capacities of Georgia to routinely collect, compile, analyze, and disseminate internationally comparable financial...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 07 Jul 2017

Climate Change, Food Security, and Socioeconomic Livelihood in Pacific Islands

The results of the study indicate that climate change will likely have significant negative impacts on agricultural output in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands.

by M.W. Rosegrant | On 05 Jul 2017

Police Reforms in India

This report provides an overview of police organisation in India, and highlights key issues that affect their functioning. Note that the Standing Committee on Home Affairs is also examining two subje...

by Anviti Chaturvedi | On 04 Jul 2017

Timor-Leste: Development Effectiveness Brief

The report narrates that the related technical assistance has focused on infrastructure management, financial and private sector development, preparations for regional economic integration, and region...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 23 Jun 2017

Asia Bond Monitor - June 2017

This issue of the Asia Bond Monitor includes two special discussion boxes. Box 1 discusses the risks to emerging Asia’s financial stability under tightening global liquidity conditions. Box 2 discusse...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 23 Jun 2017

Fiji: Creating Quality Jobs - Employment Diagnostic Study

This report, a joint effort of the Asian Development Bank and the International Labour Organization, seeks to foster a deeper understanding of the context, constraints, and opportunities for increasin...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 21 Jun 2017

Statement on the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict

The report says Mother Earth cleanses us from violent pollution and her waters renew us as we recover from violent penetration. The ancestors strengthen us and elders give insights on strategies for...

by Documentation and Information Sustainability (DINIPS) | On 20 Jun 2017

Thailand: Industrialization and Economic Catch-Up

This report identifies some of Thailand’s critical development constraints and discusses policy measures and economic reforms needed to accelerate economic transformation toward a more modern and serv...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 20 Jun 2017

Sri Lanka: Development Effectiveness Brief

The paper says that Sri Lanka has emerged in recent years as one of the most dynamic countries in South Asia. With a rich cultural heritage, an increasingly sophisticated work force, and a strategic l...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 19 Jun 2017

Digital Financial Services in the Pacific: Experiences and Regulatory Issues

This report examines the current use of DFS in the Pacific, analyzes the issues that need to be addressed, and provides recommendations for increasing financial inclusion in the region.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 14 Jun 2017

Impact of the Draft Central Labour Codes 2017 on CHWs in India

Ashas, the lowest rung of contracted full-time community health workers, face irregular pay and lack social security. Will the draft Central Code on Labour enable their regularization and a fixed wa...

by Kavita Bhatia | On 14 Jun 2017

Myanmar Transport Sector Policy Note: How to Reform Transport Institutions

Myanmar's transport sector institutions are currently ill adapted to the new situation. Although government reform attempts have been in the right direction, more is needed to shape a strong basis for...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 02 Jun 2017

Myanmar Transport Sector Policy Note: Trunk Roads

This report reviews how the road sector in Myanmar can make the greatest contribution to the country’s national ambitions as possible. It seeks to identify bottlenecks and attempts to formulate possi...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 01 Jun 2017

Myanmar Transport Sector Policy Note: Rural Roads and Access

Rural roads and rural transport services are fundamental to reducing rural poverty and enabling social and economic development. Evidence from Myanmar, and from around the world, makes it clear that a...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 01 Jun 2017

Changing Tax Capacity and Tax Effort of Indian States in the Era of High Economic Growth, 2001-2014

Growing demand for public expenditures, limitations in expanding fiscal space and limited scope to deviate from common harmonized tax system under the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime may...

by Sacchidananda Mukherjee | On 25 May 2017

Draft Labour Code on Social Security & Welfare

In line with the recommendations of the 2nd National Commission on Labour, Ministry of Labour & Employment has taken steps for simplification, amalgamation and rationalization of Central Labour Laws a...

by | On 23 May 2017

Finding Balance 2016: Benchmarking the Performance of State-Owned Enterprises in Island Countries

This study of state-owned enterprises performance in the Pacific emphasizes political commitment to reform as a key driver for commercial results.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 23 May 2017

Mapping Fragile and Conflict-Affected Situations in Asia and the Pacific: The ADB Experience

ADB recognizes four types of fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCAS)—conflict-affected, fragile,transitional, and subnational—and each situation has its own unique set of characteristics, and...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 12 May 2017

Accelerating Financial Inclusion in South-East Asia with Digital Finance

The research focuses on financial exclusion in three segments: base of pyramid (BoP); women; and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). From our research, we estimate that addressing this oppor...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 09 May 2017

Asian Water Development Outlook 2016: Description of Methodology and Data

This paper provides background information on the applied methodology and the underlying data of the Asian Water Development Outlook 2016 (AWDO 2016). The purpose is to document the methodology and th...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 09 May 2017

Reinventing Mutual Recognition Arrangements: Lessons from International Experiences and Insights for the ASEAN Region

This report aims to support ASEAN policymakers and regulatory bodies by examining MRAs signed in other regions to see how well they have functioned on the ground. It focuses on the following issues: D...

by Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza | On 08 May 2017

Compliance in Letter and Compliance in Spirit? - Evidence from Board and Audit Committee Meetings in India

This paper analyzes two notions of compliance, 'compliance in letter' and 'compliance in spirit', using data on Board and Audit Committee meetings from India under its Clause 49 corporate governance ...

by Subrata Sarkar | On 03 May 2017

Household Expenditure on Higher Education in India: What do we know & What do recent data have to say?

The paper analyse data from two recent NSSO surveys to provide estimates of expenditure on higher education and loans availed for higher education. The average share of expenditure on higher educatio...

by S. Chandrasekhar | On 02 May 2017

Towards a Better Future for Women and Work: Voices of Women and Men

Decent work, the core mandate of the ILO, is defined as productive work for women and men in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity.Decent work involves opportunities for work that:...

by International Labour Organization [ILO] | On 17 Apr 2017

Security Cooperation in South Asia

South Asia continues to be one of the most important crisis regions in the 21st century. It is characterized by an interlocking web of old and new security risks. There are unresolved territorial disp...

by | On 17 Apr 2017

Space India 2.0 Commerce, Policy, Security and Governance Perspectives

This book addresses many of these prevalent policy issues and suggests measures to address them from the varied perspectives of space commerce, space policy, space security, global governance, and in...

by | On 14 Apr 2017

State of the World’s Forests 2016

This report explores the challenges and opportunities represented by the complex interrelationship between forests, agriculture and sustainable development. It demonstrates that the sustainable mana...

by Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] | On 21 Mar 2017

Opportunities for Women: Challenging Harmful Social Norms and Gender Stereotypes to Unlock Women’s Potential

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, shaped by both public and private sectors and the voices of civil society, was adopted by world leaders two years ago as a blueprint for making our world m...

by | On 16 Mar 2017

The Cooperative Pathway of Enhancing Rural Livelihood and Nutrition Security

a major challenge before Indian agriculture is the standardization of methods of providing the power and economy of scale to small producers. A serious problem confronting our agriculture is the di...

by M. S. Swaminathan | On 14 Mar 2017

Haryana Budget : 2017-18

Haryana Budget presented by Hon'ble Minister Capt. Abhimanyu.

by Haryana Government | On 07 Mar 2017

Kerala Budget 2017-18

Kerala budget presented by Hon.Finance Minister Thomas Issac.

by T.M. Thomas Issac | On 06 Mar 2017

Indian Roots, American Soil: A survey of Indian companies' state-by-state operations in the United States

Every year, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) undertakes a survey of Indian companies operating in the United States to discern their growing presence. Previous studies over the last three ye...

by | On 21 Feb 2017

Is Domestic Violence a Lesser Crime? Countering the Backlash against Section 498A, IPC

The situation today is that domestic violence is treated as a `social crime’ when compared with violence by strangers, even though it is much more severe in nature. Why is wife beating considered as a...

by Shalu Nigam | On 21 Feb 2017

The Case Against Weaponising Water

With growing water scarcity across many parts of the world, competition over access to this vital resource has been known to spark conflict. Following the September 2016 Uri attack in India, the gover...

by | On 14 Feb 2017

The Cyber Command: Upgrading India's National Security Architecture

India is increasingly vulnerable to cyber attacks that range from intrusions that affect the integrity of data to large-scale attacks aimed at bringing down critical infrastructure. This vulnerability...

by | On 03 Feb 2017

‘GOING DARK’ in India: The Legal and Security Dimensions of Encryption

Encrypting communications enhances privacy and the security of information services. This, in turn, incentivises innovation in the ICT sector and contributes significantly to the growth of the interne...

by | On 02 Feb 2017

Games Pakistanis Play

This paper presents a typology for three groups of intra-state actors in Pakistan. ese three groups termed complicit, culpable, and collateral have their own, dierent stakes in promoting transnational...

by | On 02 Feb 2017

Debating the World in the Asian Century

As Asia finds itself in the limelight, whether in terms of major power relations, rising insecurity and potential for conflict, or economic governance, it is worth asking, even before broaching the re...

by | On 02 Feb 2017

Swachh Bharat Mission - Gramin (SBM-G): GOI, 2016-17

Using government data, this brief reports on trends for SBM-G along the following parameters: • Allocations and expenditures • Physical progress of toilets built • Expenditures incurred under ...

by Avani Kapur | On 27 Jan 2017

Improving Farmers’ Income and Employment through Budget 2017

The 2017 Budget would be special in two ways – first, it would be presented by Finance Minister on 1st February, 2017. Usually, it was presented in the last week of February each year. It will give...

by Amarnath Tripathi | On 25 Jan 2017

The Influence of Gender Budgeting in Indian States on Gender Inequality and Fiscal Spending

This study investigates the effect of gender budgeting in India on gender inequality and fiscal spending. Gender budgeting is an approach to budgeting in which governments use fiscal policies and ad...

by Janet G Stotsky | On 23 Jan 2017

Dealing with GST in the Union Budget 2017

Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a harmonized tax regime and it can curb black money through practicing clean "invoices" to redeem input credit. In the Union Budget 2017, central government may announc...

by Lekha Chakraborty | On 23 Jan 2017

How have States Designed their School Education Budgets?

After the implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE) in 2010, states have brought about some improvement in school education in terms of infrastructure, enro...

by Child Rights and You CRY | On 18 Jan 2017

Performance on Health Outcomes: A Reference Guide Book

It is anticipated that this health index will assist in State level monitoring of performance, serve as an input for providing performance based incentives and improvement in health outcomes, thereby...

by Niti Aayog GOI | On 18 Jan 2017

Strategic Review of Food Security and Nutrition in Bangladesh

The battle against the challenges with food security and nutrition will have to be fought on many fronts at the same time. In general, anything that promotes broad-based or inclusive growth, thereby r...

by | On 18 Jan 2017

Jammu and Kashmir Budget Analysis 2017-18

The Finance Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mr. Haseeb A. Drabu, presented the Budget for Jammu and Kashmir for financial year 2017-18 on January 11, 2017.

by Arvind Gayam | On 17 Jan 2017

Going Cashless: Is India Ready for Digital?

Cash, alas, is not free; its use comes at a significant cost. I have studied the cost of cash in over 70 countries, in research outlined in a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, titled ‘The...

by | On 04 Jan 2017

Role of Foreign Direct Investment in India: An Analytical Study

International Economic Integration plays a vital role in Economic Development of any country. Foreign Direct Investment is one and only major instrument of attracting International Economic Integratio...

by | On 04 Jan 2017

The Costs of Climate Change Impacts for India: A Preliminary Analysis

Climate change mitigation is a global challenge, however its impact will be varied across regions and temperature zones. Small island states will be hit the hardest with sea level rise. In bigger coun...

by | On 28 Dec 2016

Problems and Challenges of Urbanization in India: A Sociological Evaluation

The urbanization is a process which urban social and urban civilization forming gradually. On the way of urbanization, we develop the economy first and improve the quality of people’s life later. Alth...

by | On 14 Dec 2016

Strengthening State Legislatures: Background Note for the Conference on Effective Legislatures

State legislatures are responsible for making laws on key subjects like land, police and health. They are also tasked with approving the expenditure of money for their respective states every year. T...

by Prianka Rao | On 30 Nov 2016

Stranded Migrants: Giving Structure to a Multifaceted Notion

This paper represents a holistic study of the multifaceted notion of stranded migrants, which gained renewed attention by international actors in the past decade, and especially in relation to the 201...

by | On 28 Nov 2016

Challenging Discrimination in Employment: A Summary of Research and a Typology of Measures

The scope of this project was defined by the mandate of the ILO. It therefore focused on the employment relationship as it relates specifically to migrant and ethnic minority workers. The normative ba...

by | On 28 Nov 2016

State of State Finances

Finances of states have been changing due to (i) increased devolution of central taxes, (ii) rationalisation of the Centrally Sponsored Schemes, (iii) the introduction of the UDAY scheme, and (iv) the...

by Arvind Gayam | On 09 Nov 2016

A Stagnant Agriculture in Kerala: The Role of the State

The paper shows that disincentives generated by the successive governments in Kerala through imposing artificial barriers on the freedom of farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs resulted in the coll...

by Lekshmi R Nair | On 08 Nov 2016

Mapping the South-Asian Political Landscape in the Context of Migration

Review on , Partha S. Ghosh’s book, ‘Migrants, Refugees and the Stateless in South-Asia’ ; Sage Publications India, 384 pages

by Aashish Khakha | On 03 Nov 2016

Building BRICS in Goa

Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa form the bloc of emerging economies, but is it still relevant? For several years now, the most talked-about trend in the global economy has been the rise...

by Al Jazeera . | On 25 Oct 2016

Rehabilitating Children in Conflict with the Law: Opportunities and Challenges

While discussing about the problems and issues faced by children in India, we have overlooked a category of children that are almost always overlooked are the ‘Children in Conflict with the Law’. Man...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 24 Oct 2016

India-Africa Partnership for Food Security: Issues, Initiatives and Policy Directions

The paper argues that there is strong rationale for India-Africa collaboration on food security, given their common challenge of hunger, undernutrition, and low productivity. This paper offers specifi...

by | On 24 Oct 2016

Problem of Food Security: A Brief Analysis of Tribal Area in India

The right to food is about freedom from hunger. The narrow meaning at hunger may be understood as the right to have two square meals a day, while in its broader meaning would include under nutrition....

by Johani Xaxa | On 17 Oct 2016

Climate Change Impact, Adaptation and Mitigation in Agriculture: Methodology for Assessment and Application

Climatic changes and increasing climatic variability are likely to aggravate the problem of future food security by exerting pressure on agriculture. However, there are lot of uncertainties about the...

by | On 17 Oct 2016

The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016

To provide for protection of rights of transgender persons and their welfare and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto. [Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment unde...

by Parliamentary Research Service PRS | On 13 Oct 2016

Concerns of Food Security, Role of Gender, and Intrahousehold Dynamics in Pakistan

The available literature in Pakistan is generally lacking in a critical examination of the issues related to intrahousehold resource allocation. This black box is due largely to the lack of individua...

by Hina Nazli | On 10 Oct 2016

Book Review: ‘Native places’ and Journeys Beyond

Review of Almost Home: Finding a Place in the World from Kashmir to New York by Githa Hariharan; Restless Books (Originally published by Fourth Estate, 2014), New York; 2016, 304 pages, $16.99.

by Dhanwanti Nayak | On 07 Oct 2016

Poor Women in Urban India: Issues and Strategies

It is generally recognised that poverty is experienced differently according to their gender, age, caste, class and ethnicity and within households. Income levels, food security and indeed life choice...

by | On 05 Oct 2016

Recent Changes in the Fiscal Architecture in India and Implications for Financing Climate Change Interventions

The recent changes in the institutional and fiscal architecture of the country following the constitution of NITI Aayog and release of report of the Fourteenth Finance Commission, have implications...

by Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability CBGA | On 04 Oct 2016

Campaign for Release of Political Prisoners

A large number of people are being imprisoned largely under ordinary laws, just because they happen to live in regions where conflict/movement is going on. People are randomly picked up and booked und...

by Coordination for Democratic Rights Organisations CDRO | On 03 Oct 2016

Comparing Apples to Apples: A New Indicator of Research and Development Investment Intensity in Agriculture

It is conventional wisdom in the economic development literature that there is a significant underinvestment in agricultural R&D in developing countries. Evidence supporting this belief is provided,...

by Alejandro Nin Pratt | On 30 Sep 2016

Stories of Harassment, Violence and Discrimination: Migrant Experiences between India, Nepal and Bangladesh

This Project Briefing explores the experiences of these people as they migrate, drawing on findings from a baseline study on their vulnerabilities, particularly to HIV and AIDS, as they move between t...

by | On 29 Sep 2016

Political Feminism in India: An Analysis of Actors, Debates and Strategies

the last 50 years of feminist activism in India has managed to challenge the 5,000 years of patriarchal order. the main achievements were the deconstruction of violence against women, questioning of m...

by Vibhuti Patel | On 22 Sep 2016

Inter State River Water Disputes in India: A Geographical Analysis

Rivers are life line of the human being. Indian rivers are worshiped as a mother, because she cares the humanity and makes the ways easy for the people and living organism. Without the water no one ca...

by | On 20 Sep 2016

Water and Identity: An Analysis of the Cauvery River Water Dispute

This paper focuses on the dispute over river Cauvery in Southern India. Among the causes of river water disputes are contested property rights, difficulty in enforcing such rights, conflict of uses an...

by | On 20 Sep 2016

Life and Death at AIIMS: A Report on Construction Accidents and the Course of Justice

On 9th March 2016, the media reported an accident at a construction site of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi in which two workers were killed and three were injured. In less than...

by People's Union for Democratic Rights PUDR | On 20 Sep 2016

Agricultural Prices and Food Policy

Supply-demand imbalance at a given time is the main problem in India. Not much can be done with demand, as increase and shifting patterns in demand are normal with economic growth and urbanisation. St...

by C S C Sekhar | On 20 Sep 2016

The Power of Sport Values

The social and physical roles of sport are especially relevant today, in a global context deeply challenged by discrimination, insecurity and violence. We believe in the unique potential of physica...

by UNESCO UNESCO | On 20 Sep 2016

Harvesting Solar Power in India!

This is particularly so when the current solar power capacity in the country has just touched 8000 MW by July end, 2016, and no country in the world has such an ambitious target as India has set out...

by Ashok Gulati | On 16 Sep 2016

Water Distress: Cauvery's Muddied Waters

Cauvery has been a source of dispute from two centuries back itself. The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) was constituted by the government of India in 1990 to adjudicate the inter-state river w...

by Aakriti Singh | On 15 Sep 2016

Water for Food: Innovative Water Management Technologies for Food Security and Poverty Alleviation

This paper sets out the water and food security challenges in Least Development Countries (LDCs) and developing countries. The document explores the rainfed-irrigation nexus in different regions of th...

by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD | On 12 Sep 2016

Multi-Sectoral Approaches to Nutrition: The Case for Investment by Agriculture

Globally, 165 million children under the age of 5 suffer from chronic malnutrition, or stunting, and more than half (85 million) of these children live in Asia. Increasing access to nutritious diets b...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 12 Sep 2016

Toward SDG 2: Food Security and Urbanization in the Global South

In light of the United Nations’ SDGs1 and their global hunger directive, in particular Goal 2 to “end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition,” it is clear that food security will be a m...

by | On 09 Sep 2016

Does Government Spending on Social Sector Impacts Growth? An Analysis Across Indian States for the Last Two Decades

This paper attempts to examine the impact of government expenditure in social sector on economic growth at the state level for 15 major states. The study reveals that the share of social sector expend...

by | On 07 Sep 2016

Smallholder Agriculture’s Contribution to Better Nutrition

Food insecurity and under-nutrition remain pressing problems in the developing world. Despite their direct contribution to food production, small-scale farmers and their households are disproportionat...

by Steve Wiggins | On 06 Sep 2016

The MDG Hunger Target and the Contested Visions of Food Security

This paper explores the normative and empirical consequences of the MDG hunger target (1C), to halve the proportion of people who are undernourished, measured by the proportion of children under 5 who...

by | On 06 Sep 2016

Undernutrition in Infants and Young Children in India: A Leadership Agenda for Action

In India, child undernutrition happens very early in life; 30 per cent of Indian infants younger than six months old are underweight and 58 per cent of children in the age group 18–23 months old are s...

by M. S. Swaminathan | On 05 Sep 2016

How Can India Help Prevent Food Price Volatility?

This article is about India's role in reducing food price volatility in the world. India has come a long way from a ‘ship to mouth existence’ to a country that is ready to confer legal right to food t...

by M. S. Swaminathan | On 02 Sep 2016

ICT in Agriculture: Connecting Smallholders to Knowledge, Networks, and Institutions

Enhancing the ability of smallholders to connect with the knowledge, networks, and institutions necessary to improve their productivity, food security, and employment opportunities is a fundamental de...

by World Bank [WB] | On 01 Sep 2016

Challenges to Food Security in South Asia

The high levels of under-nutrition and persisting hunger in the region not only calls for an assessment of the situation of food production and consumption but also issues like access to food by the p...

by Arindam Banerjee | On 31 Aug 2016

Call to Action: Hunger, Under-Nutrition and Food Security in India

This policy brief presents to parliamentarians and other policy makers, to examine the hunger, undernutrition and food security situation prevailing in India. It advances the need to undertake effecti...

by N.C. Saxena | On 31 Aug 2016

Gender Bias in Education during Conflict: Evidence from Assam

Using a large-scale novel panel dataset (2005–14) on schools from the Indian state of Assam, we test for the impact of violent conflict on female students’ enrollment rates. We find that a doubling of...

by | On 30 Aug 2016

State of Siege: Report on Encounters and Cases of Sexual Violence in Bijapur and Sukma Districts of Chhattisgarh

This report continues documenting the narrative of violence and displacement in Chhattisgarh in the name of development, by reporting on the findings of the encounter killings and sexual violence in...

by PUDR Peoples Union for Democratic Rights | On 30 Aug 2016

Microcredit Program Participation and Household Food Security in Rural Bangladesh

We use a relatively new and unique panel dataset collected from rural households in Bangladesh to examine the effect of microcredit program participation on household food security. The main distingui...

by | On 25 Aug 2016

Education for Rural Development: Towards New Policy Responses

The big challenge of the new century is the reduction of poverty. Virtually all countries and donors agree on the importance of reducing poverty and its attendant problems of inequity, lack of respect...

by Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] | On 24 Aug 2016

Food Security and Agricultural Development in Times of High Commodity Prices

Efforts to promote food security must distinguish between short-term and medium-term measures, but also between countries with agricultural potential and without such potential, argues this paper. Fur...

by | On 24 Aug 2016

The Externalities of Civil Strife: Refugees as a Source of International Conflict

Domestic strife and civil war frequently produce large population dislocations and refugee flows across national boundaries. Mass refugee flows often entail negative consequences for receiving states,...

by | On 23 Aug 2016

Migration and Refugee Issue Between India and Bangladesh

In the era of globalisation, where opening of borders is being advocated all over the world, there is one issue over which no nation-state is ready to compromise with its territorial borders. The issu...

by | On 22 Aug 2016

The History of Humanitarian Action in East and Southeast Asia: Asian Perspectives

ASEAN assumed different roles in responding to humanitarian crises in Cambodia (in the 1970s) and Myanmar (Cyclone Nargis in 2008). For the Cambodia situation, ASEAN was playing the role of ‘antagonis...

by | On 19 Aug 2016

Seeds of Adaptation: Climate Change, Crop Diversification, and the Role of Women Farmers

Women farmers around the world are taking the lead in putting crop and varietal conservation and diversification strategies into practice as a way to strengthen local climate change adaptation capacit...

by | On 17 Aug 2016

Revisiting RP's Hybrid Rice Program

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2004 the International Year of the Rice (IYR). The IYR is a venue to promote improved production and development of sustainable rice-based systems that wil...

by Philippine Institute for Development Studies | On 16 Aug 2016

The State of Food and Agriculture: Social Protection and Agriculture: Breaking the Cycle of Rural Poverty

This edition of The State of Food and Agriculture 2015 reviews the effectiveness of social protection interventions in reducing poverty, raising food consumption, relieving household food insecurity a...

by Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] | On 16 Aug 2016

An Introduction to the Basic Concepts of Food Security

Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healt...

by Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] | On 16 Aug 2016

The Effects of Pre-Trial Detention on Conviction, Future Crime, and Employment: Evidence from Randomly Assigned Judges

Over 20 percent of prison and jail inmates in the United States are currently awaiting trial, but little is known about the impact of pre-trial detention on defendants. This paper uses the detention t...

by Will Dobbie | On 16 Aug 2016

Productivity of Agricultural Credit in India: Assessing the Recent Role of Institutional Credit to Agriculture in India using State Level Data

the study has been able to highlight the increasing role that agriculture credit is playing in supporting agriculture production in recent times- credit accounted for 16% of the total value of paid...

by Sudha Narayanan | On 10 Aug 2016

Wage Flexibility and Employment Fluctuations: Evidence from the Housing Sector

This paper compares three occupations in the housing sector with very different wage setting institutions, real estate agents, architects, and construction workers. It studies the wage and employment...

by Jörn Pischke | On 10 Aug 2016

Food Security, Inclusive Growth, Sustainability, and the Post-2015 Development Agenda

Over the next several decades, the world faces an historic challenge and opportunity at the nexus of food security, economic development, and the environment. The world needs to be food secure. The wo...

by Craig Hanson | On 10 Aug 2016

Gender and Food Security

Persistent hunger and malnutrition is a problem affecting millions of people globally, the majority of whom are women and girls. Food and nutrition insecurity is a political, economic and environmenta...

by Bridge Cutting Edge Programme | On 09 Aug 2016

Social Development of SIDS, Health and NCDs, Youth and Women

SIDS underscore social development as one of the three dimensions of sustainable development key to ensuring results are achieved for most vulnerable and disadvantaged. Small island developing states...

by UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs UNDESA | On 09 Aug 2016

Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry, Marine and Maritime and Inland Water Research and the Bioeconomy

This Work Programme will leverage research and innovation to address major societal challenges. Ensuring food and nutritional security, together with resource efficiency, and facing climate change. Ac...

by European union | On 09 Aug 2016

GST in India: Chasing a Mirage or Reality?

India is moving towards introducing a Goods and Services Tax (GST). The GST would be a multistage comprehensive value added tax (VAT) encompassing both goods and services. Given the federal structur...

by Sacchidananda Mukherjee | On 09 Aug 2016

Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security in LDCs

70% of the population engaged in agriculture. The vast majority of the poor and food insecure are in rural areas. Therefore poverty alleviation and food security must start in these areas. The most cr...

by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD | On 09 Aug 2016

Market Integration and Price Transmission in Tajikistan’s Wheat Markets: Rising Like Rockets but Falling Like Feathers?

The extent of market integration and transmission of food price shocks is a major determinant of price stability and overall food security, particularly in developing countries. Few studies have exam...

by Jarilkasin Ilyasov | On 08 Aug 2016

First Discussion Paper on Goods and Services Tax in India

If the Value Added Tax (VAT) is considered to be a major improvement over the pre-existing Central excise duty at the national level and the sales tax system at the State level, then the Goods and Ser...

by Government of India | On 05 Aug 2016

Does “Ban the Box” Help or Hurt Low-Skilled Workers? Statistical Discrimination and Employment Outcomes when Criminal Histories are Hidden

Jurisdictions across the United States have adopted "ban the box" (BTB) policies preventing employers from conducting criminal background checks until late in the job application process. Their goal i...

by Jennifer Doleac | On 05 Aug 2016

Food Scurity and Nutrition: The Drivers of Change

This section looks at a range of factors that enable progress towards food security and nutrition goals. The list of factors – economic growth, agricultural productivity growth, markets (including int...

by Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] | On 03 Aug 2016

Universal PDS: Efficiency and Equity Dimensions

India being home to the largest number of poor and malnourished population in the world, the tabling of National Food Security Bill has renewed the public pressure for universalization of PDS in Ind...

by Sowmya Dhanraj | On 03 Aug 2016

Problems of Internal Migrants in India

Migration from one place to other place is common in India. Migration generally take place from developing state to developed state for education or in the search of employment but it also take place...

by | On 01 Aug 2016

International Evidence on Long Run Money Demand

This paper explores the long-run demand for M1 based on a dataset comprising 31 countries since 1851. In many cases, co integration tests identify a long-run equilibrium relationship between either ve...

by Luca Benati | On 01 Aug 2016

Distributional Effects of Means Testing Social Security: Income Versus Wealth

This paper compares Social Security means tests that would reduce benefits for recipients who fall in the top quarter of the income distribution with means tests aimed at those in the top quarter of t...

by Alan Gustman | On 20 Jul 2016

Resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016-2025)

he United Nations General Assembly agreed a resolution proclaiming the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition from 2016 to 2025. The resolution aims to trigger intensified action to end hunger and eradicate...

by United Nations (UN) | On 20 Jul 2016

State and the IT Industry in India: A Policy Critique

By adopting a historical comparative perspective,this paper assesses the role of state (both national and subnational) in industrialisation through the growth and policy experience of an ‘achieving’ s...

by Keshab Das | On 20 Jul 2016

A More Sustainable Energy Strategy for India

This paper analyses what is possible as a low carbon scenario for India using India Energy Security Scenarios-2047 tool developed by the erstwhile Planning Commission and later refined by its successo...

by Montek Ahluwalia | On 19 Jul 2016

Food Security and the Millennium Development Goal on Hunger in Asia

The MDG on hunger requires that the proportion of people suffering from hunger be halved between 1990 and 2015. Behind this apparently simple statement lies much complexity: the food intake required t...

by | On 19 Jul 2016

Rising China Confronts Maritime Southeast Asia

China’s rejection of the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling on its expansive claim to the South China Sea has set itself up for confrontation with maritime states in Southeast Asia. It will also he...

by | On 18 Jul 2016

Parliament Session Alert Monsoon Session : July 18 – August 1 2 , 201 6

Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will meet for the Monsoon Session between July 18 and August 12, 2016. There will be a total of 20 sittings. The agenda for legislation includes nine Bills for consideration...

by Kusum Malik | On 18 Jul 2016

Trajectories of China’s Integration with the World Economy through SEZs: A Study on Shenzhen SEZ

By exploring the role of SEZs in China’s integration with the world economy, we also investigate the underlining challenges faced by the economy. The analysis brings forth the indisputable fact that S...

by | On 14 Jul 2016

Odisha State Agriculture Policy 2013

A wholesome policy framework for the benefit of the farmers of the State is in place since 2008 with a focus more on the economic well-being of the farmers, rather than just on production and growth....

by Government of Odisha | On 11 Jul 2016

Rural Livelihood Diversification and its Measurement Issues: Focus India

The rural structural distinctiveness in terms of resource endowments and factors of production often has bearings on livelihood and well-being of their people, constraining improvement in the economic...

by Rajiv Mehta | On 11 Jul 2016

The Case for Cyber and Cyber-Physical Weapons: India’s Grand Strategy and Diplomatic Goals

This briefing document articulates a grand strategy for India to pursue the development of cyber and cyber-physical weapons, with a view to manage conflicts and the future balance of power in Asia.Ind...

by | On 07 Jul 2016

Vital Stats: Overview of Central Government Employees

The central government periodically constitutes a Pay Commission, to evaluate and recommend revisions of salaries and pensions, for its employees. Recently, the Seventh Central Pay Commission has mad...

by Vatsal Khullar | On 07 Jul 2016

Energy Security for India: Petroleum Demand Estimations and Projections

Crude oil and other petroleum products play an important role in India’s energy security and in sustaining its high growth rate. Against that background, this document empirically analyses petroleum d...

by Pradeep Agrawal | On 07 Jul 2016

Irrigation Water Management for Food Security in India: The Forgotten Realities

India’s water crisis is often perceived to have been perpetuated by the widening gap between the utilizable water resources and the aggregate demand for water in agriculture and other sectors in certa...

by | On 04 Jul 2016

Feasibility of Incentive Based Environmental Instruments in State and Central Taxation Regimes

Taxation policies in India have historically not been environmentally oriented. A tax system is needed whic is environmentally more rational. It is argued in this study that India is currently going...

by D K Srivastava | On 01 Jul 2016

Opportunities to Enhance Non-Carbon Dioxide Greenhouse Gas Emission Mitigation in China

In recent years, China has developed and implemented a range of policies to address climate change, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and transition toward a low-carbon and climate-resilient s...

by Katherine Ross | On 30 Jun 2016

Cyclicality of Social Sector Expenditures: Evidence from Indian States

This paper attempts to study the cyclical behaviour of social sector spending including that on education and health for the 17 non-special category states covering the period 2000-01 to 2012-13. It f...

by | On 30 Jun 2016

Beautiful Minds: The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics

This is that time of the year when the economics fraternity is abuzz with the news of potential winners of the prestigious prize in economics, the Nobel Memorial Prize. This will be the 45th year of a...

by Saibal Ghosh | On 30 Jun 2016

Farm Women Friendly Hand Book

This Handbook contains special provisions and package of assistance which women farmers can claim under various on-going Missions/ Submissions/ Schemes of DAC & FW, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer...

by Ministry of Agriculture GOI | On 29 Jun 2016

Peace, Terrorism, or Civil Conflict? Understanding the Decision of an Opposition Group

This paper models an opposition group’s choice between peace, terrorism, and open conflict. Terrorism emerges if executive constraints are intermediate and rents are sizeable. Open conflict is predict...

by Michael Jetter | On 27 Jun 2016

Malnutrition: Unanswered Questions from Attapadi

India claims to have achieved financial growth of 7% but despite this high growth rate, poverty and inequality has also grown exponentially and social security, standard of life, security of labor ha...

by Child Rights and You CRY | On 27 Jun 2016

Can War Foster Cooperation?

In the past decade, nearly 20 studies have found a strong, persistent pattern in surveys and behavioral experiments from over 40 countries: individual exposure to war violence tends to increase social...

by Michal Bauer | On 24 Jun 2016

Water Scarcity and Food Security

The water crisis already looming large will therefore quite probably trigger significant shortfalls in cereal production and, as a result, a massive global food crisis. But before that the dearth of p...

by | On 24 Jun 2016

Climate Risk and Food Security in Nepal: Analysis of Climate Impacts on Food Security and Livelihoods

Food security is a priority issue in Nepal. In spite of recent progress, Nepal is amongst the most at-risk countries in the world in terms of prevalence of stunting and wasting: 42 per cent of childre...

by World Food Programme WFP | On 24 Jun 2016

Right to Food in India: Mitigating amidst Challenges

What are the policies that Indian government has implemented to alleviate poverty and hunger? Can we say that these are implemented in the right way? What lies in future?

by Aarti Salve | On 24 Jun 2016

Food Security Challenges in Asia

The problems of food security and agriculture should be viewed within the context of the broader structural transformation as Asia becomes increasingly urban and nonagricultural. This paper aims to re...

by Asian Bank | On 23 Jun 2016

Innovative Water Management Technologies for Food Security and Poverty Alleviation

Agriculture is central to food security and economic growth in developing countries and provides the main source of livelihood for three out of four of the world’s poor. But food production requires s...

by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD | On 20 Jun 2016

Nutrition and Agriculture

Agriculture and nutrition are linked in many ways. People have long recognized the most obvious connection—food security is one of the three pillars of good nutrition, along with good care and good he...

by Lawrence Haddad | On 17 Jun 2016

Hurting the Host: The Dynamics of Refugee-Related Violence in South Asia

This paper assesses the proclivity towards refugee-related violence in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, using an original dataset. I show that the host’s attitude towards refugees depend on local fact...

by | On 17 Jun 2016

Prosumers in Bengaluru: Lessons for Scaling Rooftop Solar PV

The City of Bengaluru in the Indian state of Karnataka is making progress on rooftop solar PV installations, mainly through its utility implemented net-metering program. Yet, much more needs to be don...

by Sarah Martin | On 17 Jun 2016

Desertification and Land Degradation: Atlas of India

Land degradation and desertification pose an ever - increasing global environmental threat. Human activities such as over cultivation, overgrazing, deforestation and poor irrigation practices, along...

by Indian Space Research Organisation ISRO | On 17 Jun 2016

Employment Growth in West Bengal : An Assessment

West Bengal witnessed the highest growth in non-agricultural employment between 2004-05 and 2009-10 amongst all the states in India. The state also witnessed the highest growth in manufacturing emp...

by Subhanil Chowdhury | On 16 Jun 2016

A Report on Elder Abuse and Crime in India

As a result of the current ageing scenario, there is growing need for care of the older persons in terms of social, economic, health and shelter. Together with these issues, security of older persons...

by Helpage India | On 15 Jun 2016

Engaging with the Criminal Justice System: A Guide for Survivors of Sexual Violence

In order to encourage prosecution of sexual offences, mandatory reporting was introduced by the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (“POCSO Act”), and in 2013 the Criminal Law was am...

by | On 15 Jun 2016

Internal Displacement : Global Overview of Trends and Developments in 2008

Internal displacement continued in many countries to result from failures by parties to armed conflicts to respect the rights of civilian populations, including by taking necessary steps to prevent di...

by United Nations Development Programme [UNDP] | On 14 Jun 2016

The Revival of the Silk Roads (Land Connectivity) in Asia

This paper argues that contrary to popular belief, in the bygone era, there was not one but two Silk Roads in Asia – the Northern and the less well-known South-western Silk Road (SSR). The SSR connect...

by | On 10 Jun 2016

From Uniformity to Diversity: A Paradigm Shift from Industrial Agriculture to Diversified Agroecological Systems

Today’s food and farming systems have succeeded in supplying large volumes of foods to global markets, but are generating negative outcomes on multiple fronts: widespread degradation of land, water an...

by | On 10 Jun 2016

Children's Voices, Children's Rights: One Year After the Nepal Earthquake

The consultations highlight the high rate of penetration of the Nepal earthquakes response (97.5 per cent of consulted children acknowledged to have benefitted from relief assistance), likely due to...

by Virgil Fievet | On 09 Jun 2016

Inter-Regional Comparisons of Humanitarian Action

Throughout the conference it became clear that there are two emerging trends in humanitarian action across the Asia–Pacific. The first is the increasing activity of selected Asia-Pacific states engage...

by | On 09 Jun 2016

Building the Foundations for Sustainable Nutrient Management

The report details how rising CO2 emissions are altering the chemical balance of our oceans and outlines the wide-ranging consequences of this emerging issue on marine food chains and ecosystems as we...

by United Nations Environment Programme UNEP | On 07 Jun 2016

Global Action on Climate Change in Agriculture: Linkages to Food Security, Markets and Trade Policies in Developing Countries

The objective of this report is to catalyse thinking about the ways in which agriculture – which has a vital role in global food security, development and natural resources use – can and must be fully...

by Aziz Elbehri | On 06 Jun 2016

Nutrition: The First Two Years are Forever

This report reads from UNICEF’s policy, programme and communication experience globally and in India, both at national and state levels, and builds on the work by the National Coalition for Sustainabl...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 03 Jun 2016

Nutrition Moves: States Create Promising Change in India

This publication gathers a collection of twenty case studies that illustrate how Indian states are creating promising change to ensure the delivery of essential nutrition information, counselling, sup...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 03 Jun 2016

An Economy for The 1%: How Privilege and Power in the Economy Drive Extreme Inequality and How This Can Be Stopped

Credit Suisse recently revealed that the richest 1% have now accumulated more wealth than the rest of the world put together. Meanwhile, the wealth owned by the bottom half of humanity has fallen by a...

by | On 02 Jun 2016

How Forced Displacements Caused by a Violent Conflict Affect Wages in Colombia

In this paper, we analyze how forced displacements caused by violent conflicts affect the wages of displaced workers in Colombia, a country characterized by a long historical prevalence of violent con...

by | On 02 Jun 2016

Addressing the Role of Natural Resources in Conflict and Peacebuilding: A Summary of Progress

This report highlights both the progress and results that the ECP programme has achieved in the field of environmental peacebuilding from 2008 to 2015. The report also shares some of the key lessons l...

by United Nations Environment Programme UNEP | On 02 Jun 2016

Long-term Care of Older Persons in Japan

The ageing of Japan’s population occurred quickly. In 1970, the ageing rate exceeded 7 per cent, the threshold which used to be considered as the onset of population ageing. It took only 26 years befo...

by United Nations Economic and Social Commission (UNESCAP) | On 02 Jun 2016

Health Sector Financing by Centre and States/UTs in India: [2013-14 to 2015]

Public expenditure data has been sourced from the State budget documents, detailed demand for grants of MoHFW and other Central Ministries/Departments. This document gives in totality classification...

by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare MoH&FW | On 02 Jun 2016

Identifying Stakeholders in the Land Use Management Process and Related Critical Factors in ASEAN

With growing populations and demand for food, farmers in ASEAN member states (except Singapore) are required to produce more and more food from land that continues to decline due to population growth,...

by | On 31 May 2016

Draft Report on the Implementation of Status of Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014

This report is an outcome of the continuous interaction of YUVA Urban and National Hawkers Federation (NHF) with the street vendors across different states. They have been a part of the struggle of...

by Sadaf Zafar | On 31 May 2016

Surveillance of Chronic Diseases: Challenges and Strategies for India

This paper describes the status, challenges and scope for strengthening surveillance of chronic disease risk factors, morbidities and mortality in India. Surveillance experience of four selected Stat...

by Udaya S. Mishra | On 30 May 2016

Golden Wheat Becomes More Golden Extending SRI to Wheat

People’s Science Institute carried out the first trials of the System of Wheat Intensification (SWI) during rabi 2006- 07. Starting with systematic research trials on farmers’ fields, SWI practice...

by Ravi Chopra | On 27 May 2016

Aid and Conflict in Afghanistan

This report examines the international community’s assistance to Afghanistan, with particular focus on U.S. efforts. It assesses the impact of the U.S.-devised counter-insurgency strategy on Afghans’...

by International Crisis Group | On 26 May 2016

Women and Conflict in Afghanistan

This report assesses the status of women in present-day Afghanistan, including the gains achieved with international support after the U.S.-led intervention in 2001. It examines gaps and challenges to...

by International Crisis Group | On 26 May 2016

Afghanistan’s Political Transition

This report reviews Afghanistan’s 2014 presidential election and the related political contests. Drawing on interviews in Kabul and the work of researchers in several provinces, this study does not se...

by International Crisis Group | On 26 May 2016

Women, Land and Law in Vietnam

The study collected information about farmers’ ability to access land, and their attitudes and knowledge of land law, particularly women’s land rights and farmers’ ability to solve land-related confli...

by Gina Alvarado | On 24 May 2016

Search for Resources in a High Income State: A Study of State Finances of Sikkim

The paper examines the public financial management (PFM) of Sikkim focusing mainly on resources generation effort and budget management practices. We note that any deviation from the Central transfers...

by Pratap R Jena | On 23 May 2016

Institutionalising Civilian Control of the Military in New Democracies: Theory and Evidence from South Korea

This paper aims to answer the question of how and under what circumstances civilian control can be established in newly democratised nations. To do this, the paper proposes a new theoretical argument...

by | On 23 May 2016

India State Hunger Index: Comparisons of Hunger across States

The results of the India State Hunger Index 2008 highlight the continued overall severity of the hunger situation in India, while revealing the variation in hunger across states within India. It is in...

by Purnima Menon | On 20 May 2016

Report by the Fact Finding Team on Violence in Bastar Division between State Forces and Maoist Insurgents

A delegation comprising of Sanjay Parate, Secretary State CPI-M, Vineet Tiwari, Joshi-Adhikari Institute, New Delhi, Archana Prasad, Jawaharlal Nehru University and CC member AIDWA, and Nandini Sundar...

by | On 19 May 2016

Rainwater Harvesting: A Lifeline for Human Well-Being

This publication highlights the link between rainwater harvesting, ecosystems and human wellbeing and draws the attention of readers to both the negative and positive aspects of using this technology...

by | On 18 May 2016

Does Size Matter? The Productivity of Government Expenditures and the Size of States: Evidence from India

Some politicians argue for the splitting and combining of states to increase government productivity, but there is a dearth of empirical evidence on the optimal size of a state. Using data from Indian...

by Cornelis Haasnoot | On 18 May 2016

Biodiversity for Sustainable Development: Delivering Results for Asia and the Pacific

The aim is to develop capacity at the individual, institutional and systemic levels to identify and implement new options for effective democratic governance for biodiversity and ecosystem management...

by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) | On 18 May 2016

For Whom Does the Phone (not) Ring? Discrimination in the Rental Housing Market in Delhi, India

Using an audit experiment carried out on of India’s largest real estate websites, this study documents striking variations between landlords’ treatment of upper-caste Hindus, Other Backward Castes, Sc...

by Saugato Datta | On 18 May 2016

Game Theoretical Approach to Regulate the Public-Owned River Water Utilities: A Case Study of Cauvery River

Management of regulated water systems has become increasingly complex due to rapid socio-economic growth and environmental changes in river basins over recent decades. This paper focusses on the publ...

by Zareena Begum Irfan | On 17 May 2016

Politics, While Young

Attempts to reconstruct a young voters' bloc have been crucial to campaigns around the globe. But caste and class fissures run wide and deep among that demographic, and India's youth might converge mo...

by Anish Nair | On 13 May 2016

Water Rights in India and Water Sector Reforms in Andhra Pradesh

Water rights in India in a formal, legal manner are still under formulation. Rights based on centuries old customs and conventions currently prevail. In recent years, reforms have sought to introduce...

by | On 12 May 2016

High and Dry : Climate Change, Water, and the Economy

The impacts of climate change will be channeled primarily through the water cycle, with consequences that could be large and uneven across the globe. Water-related climate risks cascade through food,...

by World Bank [WB] | On 11 May 2016

Advancing the Interests of Bangladesh’s Migrant Workers: Issues of Financial Inclusion and Social Protection

The study is expected to contribute to stimulating debate around the broader issues of safeguarding the interests of migrant workers through financial mainstreaming of their income, raising efficacy o...

by | On 11 May 2016

Evaluation Study of Targeted Public Distribution System in Selected States

The Ministry of Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs has entrusted a study to the NCAER to assess whether, and to what extent, the weaknesses noted by past evaluation studies on the TPDS ha...

by Sohini Paul | On 09 May 2016

Bill for Compulsory Voting

An analysis of electoral data in local elections shows that rural local bodies have had higher turnouts than their urban counterparts in almost all states of India. Data from 2009-13 of city corporati...

by Bhanu Joshi | On 09 May 2016

Understanding the Election in Assam (Part 1)

The mainstream narrative on Assam is defined by an excessive focus on linguistic, ethnic, and religious strife, but many of the voters speak of development and economic growth, not social conflict, as...

by | On 05 May 2016

The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation Amendment Bill, 2015)

A bill further to amend the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.

by Lok Sabha Secretariat | On 03 May 2016

Measures, Spatial Profile and Determinants of Dietary Diversity: Evidence from India

Food security policies in developing countries generally focus on calorie intake, which is not sufficient to tackle the triple burden of malnutrition: undernourishment, micronutrient deficiencies and...

by Mousumi Das | On 02 May 2016

The Indian Insolvency Regime in Practice-An Analysis of Insolvency and Debt Recovery Proceedings

This paper analyses 45 cases of insolvency and bankruptcy resolution in order to measure the efficiency and problems of the present laws for firm bankruptcy in India.

by | On 02 May 2016

Sustainable Energy Security for India: An Assessment of Energy Demand Sub-System

This paper presents a quantitative assessment of Sustainable Energy Security (SES) of the energy demand sub-system for India by calculating a SES index. The demand sub-system has been evaluated for fo...

by | On 02 May 2016

Measuring and Evaluating Energy Security and Sustainability: A Case Study of India

Using an indicator-based approach, the present study develops a framework for sustainable energy security of India. First, it presents the energy supply and demand situation in the country under diff...

by | On 02 May 2016

Tamil Nadu: State Income Report

This government report provides information about the state income of Tamil Nadu

by Tamil Nadu Government | On 29 Apr 2016

Locating the Processes of Policy Change in the Context of Anti-Rape and Domestic Worker Mobilisations in India

The report argues that state responses to women’s claims making provide a complex and variegated picture of a non-linear, slow, sporadic and contingent process of policy change, with iterations and re...

by Shraddha Chigateri | On 29 Apr 2016

Employment Structure and Rural-Urban Migration in a Tamil Nadu Village: Focusing on Differences by Economic Class

Since the mid-1990s, migration of workforces from rural to urban areas has accelerated in south India accompanied by remarkable urban-based economic development. To investigate the nature of such rura...

by Keiko Sato | On 29 Apr 2016

The Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005

A Patent Act is a country's legislation that controls the use of patents. A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or assignee for a limited period of time in...

by Ministry of Law, Justice and Company Affairs GOI | On 27 Apr 2016

The Patents (Amendment) Act, 2002

A Patent Act is a country's legislation that controls the use of patents. A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or assignee for a limited period of time in...

by Ministry of Law, Justice and Company Affairs GOI | On 27 Apr 2016

Elderly in India

Population ageing has profound social, economic and political implications for a country. The increasing number of older persons put a strain on health care and social care systems in the country. O...

by Ministry of Statistics and Prog Implementation (MOSPI) | On 25 Apr 2016

Global Nutrition Policy Review: What Does it Take to Scale up Nutrition Action?

This Global Nutrition Policy Review is based on a questionnaire survey conducted during 2009–2010, in which 119 WHO Member States and 4 territories participated. Selected case studies illustrate the...

by World Health Organisation (WHO) | On 22 Apr 2016

Coping with Water Scarcity: An Action Framework for Agriculture and Food Security

This report develops around the conceptual framework to address food security under conditions of water scarcity is part of this programme. The purpose of this report is to assess the options and scop...

by Pasquale Steduto | On 13 Apr 2016

International Food Security Assessment, 2015-2025

Food security in the 76 low- and middle-income countries included in this report is expected to improve between 2014 and 2015. These countries are low- and middle-income countries as classified by the...

by Anthony Murray | On 12 Apr 2016

Human Security & Food Security

As the international community transitions from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the challenges ahead of Member States is to build on the substanti...

by Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] | On 12 Apr 2016

Distortions in Land Markets and their Implications to Credit Generation in India

Land and buildings are a preferred collateral for lenders in India due to its ease of valuation and disposal in the event of default. Yet several distortions afflict Indian land markets that make thi...

by K.P. Krishnan | On 12 Apr 2016

State Finances: A Study of Budgets of 2015-16

Empirical findings across a swathe of countries, advanced and emerging, confirm that the composition of government expenditure can have perceptible growth implications.

by Reserve Bank of India RBI | On 12 Apr 2016

New Expression Meets Old Repression: Ending the Cycle of Political Arrests and Imprisonment in Myanmar

Despite five decades of agonizing slog, from an authoritarian military rule towards a more open political system, activists continue to face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment for their peaceful act...

by Amnesty International AI, | On 11 Apr 2016

The Redistributive Effects of Political Reservation for Minorities: Evidence from India

We examine the impact of political reservation for disadvantaged minority groups on poverty. To address the concern that political reservation is endogenous in the relationship between poverty and res...

by Nishith Prakash | On 11 Apr 2016

Role of National Food Security Mission (NFSM) in Improving Agricultural Productivity in Selected Districts

A study was undertaken by the Council for Social Development with the sponsorship of Planning Commission, Government of India with the following specific objectives to analyse the impact of NFSM initi...

by Ankita Goyal | On 05 Apr 2016

Bangladesh National Food Policy Plan of Action (2008-2015)

The NEP Plan of Action (PoA) 2008 translates the provisions of the National Food Policy, 2006 towards achieving its three core objectives into 26 strategic areas of intervention, priority actions to b...

by Food Planning and Monitoring Unit (FPMU) | On 04 Apr 2016

Global Food Policy Report 2016

IFPRI’s Flagship Report puts into perspective the major food policy issues, developments, and decisions of 2015 and highlights challenges and opportunities for 2016. This year’s report takes an in-dep...

by International Food Policy Research Institute | On 04 Apr 2016

Human Development in Telangana State: District Profiles

Telangana emerged as the 29th state of the Indian Union from undivided Andhra Pradesh after a prolonged struggle for statehood for nearly six decades. The social structure in Telangana is uniquely sk...

by Center for Economic and Social Studies CESS | On 31 Mar 2016

Budget Speech Meghalaya: 2016-17

Speech by Donkupar Roy, Finance Minister of Meghalaya.

by Donkupar Roy | On 31 Mar 2016

Agriculture-Nutrition Linkages and Child Health in the Presence of Conflict in Nepal

This paper focuses on this agriculture-nutrition link in Nepal in the context of the country’s decade-long civil conflict. Using panel household data from the Nepal Living Standards Survey (NLSS), co...

by Elizabeth Bageant | On 30 Mar 2016

Budget Speech Delhi: 2016-17

Budget speech by Finance Minister Manish Sisodia.

by Manish Sisodia | On 29 Mar 2016

Youth, Work and Skills: An Analysis of the 2011 Census

This piece looks at the trends in the youth work force participation rates over the past 30 years of Census data and questions whether the emphasis on youth skills for sustainable development can actu...

by | On 28 Mar 2016

How the Collapse of ‘Chimerica’ Will Affect South Asia

India and Pakistan, the two large countries in South Asia, must work for the region’s collective good rather than moving closer to the United States and China, respectively, and promoting the interest...

by Shahid Javed Burki | On 28 Mar 2016

Towards Drinking Water Security in India: Lessons from the Field

With the help of Water and Sanitation Program (WSP), the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation has collected some models of good practices from different parts of the country. Care has been ta...

by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation MDWS | On 22 Mar 2016

Global Energy Architecture Performance Index Report 2016

The Global Energy Architecture Performance Index Report 2016 ranks 126 countries on their ability to deliver secure, affordable and sustainable energy. The results of the global Energy Architecture Pe...

by World Economic Forum [WEF] | On 22 Mar 2016

Elections in Four Indian States: A Test for the BJP and Modi

Elections will be held in four States and one Union Territory in April and May 2016. The polls will be a crucial test for the governing Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre and a gauge of the populari...

by Ronojoy Sen | On 22 Mar 2016

Budget Speech Odisha Part II: 2016-17

Part II of the Budget speech of the finance minister.

by Pradip Kumar Amat | On 21 Mar 2016

The Conceit of Reason the Cunning of History versus - Modernity and Caste in India

This paper addresses the central question as to how and why caste still survives under conditions of democracy and modernity and what do we make of it. I try to explain this phenomenon by viewing it i...

by Sanjeeb Mukherjee | On 21 Mar 2016

A Case for China’s Security Role in South Asia

The paper focuses on the constructive role that China can play in enhancing security in South Asia. The potential contribution that China can make to enhancing non-traditional security in the region i...

by Ramandeep Kaur | On 21 Mar 2016

Impact of Property Rights Reform to Support China’s Rural-Urban Integration

As part of a national experiment, in 2008 Chengdu prefecture implemented ambitious property rights reforms, including complete registration of all land together with measures to ease transferability a...

by Songqing Jin | On 20 Mar 2016

Cybersecurity, Internet Governance and India’s Foreign Policy: Historical Antecedents

India’s stances in global Internet governance debates have often been noted, and criticised, for their strong preference for multilateral models of engagement, as different from the multistakeholder a...

by Saikat Datta | On 17 Mar 2016

Maldives Overcoming the Challenges of a Small Island State Country Diagnostic Study

This report identifies four critical constraints to inclusive growth in the Maldives: (1) inadequate and poor quality maritime infrastructure that constrains connectivity, limits provision of basic go...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 17 Mar 2016

Price Control on Bt Cotton Seeds in India: Impact on Seed Providers

This paper attempts to examine the impact of such price controls on the revenue and profitability of the seed providers in India. Using a panel data for 9 cotton growing states in India over 2002- 200...

by Anchal Arora | On 16 Mar 2016

Do Foreign Banks in India Indulge in Cream Skimming?

Foreign banks in developing countries are often found to indulge in cream skimming, a lending strategy that targets only wealthy segments of the credit market and exclude small and marginal borrowers...

by Mandira Sarma | On 16 Mar 2016

The South China Sea: Resetting the Chessboard

The U.S.’ re-engagement in the Asia-Pacific marks a significant recalibration of its foreign policy and a turning point in the power politics of the region. The impetus for this re-engagement is borne...

by | On 14 Mar 2016

Israel-Palestine: New Leadership Needed

With rumors of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on the verge of restarting, a closer examination of the Israeli political situation and the intentions and calculations of teh current government shows...

by | On 14 Mar 2016

Deciphering the Security Community Debate

Several attempts have been made in recent years to revive a process towards developing more trust and reconciliation in the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian space. But much of this debate has not been very...

by | On 14 Mar 2016

Porous Borders The Study of Illegal Markets from a Sociological Perspective

State concerns about crime and security issues have strongly affected conceptions of economic action outside the law, a traditional field of research in sociology. This increasing encroachment by poli...

by Matías Dewey | On 14 Mar 2016

Implications of MGNREGS on Labour Market, Wages and Consumption Expenditure in Kerala

This paper makes an attempt to evaluate the implications of MGNREGS in labour short economy of Kerala. The analysis of NSSO unit level data revealed inter-state differences in implementation of the sc...

by V. Dhanya | On 14 Mar 2016

Debt Dynamics, Fiscal Deficit, and Stability in Government Borrowing in India: A Dynamic Panel Analysis

Despite the initiatives of the Finance Commission of India, fiscal performance has been deteriorating and increasingly diverging across Indian states. Given that the state governments are endowed with...

by Panchanan Das | On 14 Mar 2016

Dependence of States on Central Transfers: Aggregate and State-wise Analysis

This paper examines the dependence of states on central fiscal transfers. It particularly focuses on the role of transfers through tax devolution under the recommendation of the Finance Commissions. T...

by D K Srivastava | On 13 Mar 2016

Threats of Nuclear Terrorism: A Case Study of India

In the post-9/11 world, India’s nuclear establishment is threatened by nuclear terrorism. Some analysts suggest that India may be home to up to 36 active terrorist organizations. It is thus crucial th...

by | On 12 Mar 2016

Carving up the Skies: China's New Air Defense Zone

China’s establishment of a new Air Defense Identification Zone has heightened tensions in Northeast Asia, with Japan, South Korea, and the United States having been swift to react to Beijing’s announc...

by Sangsoo Lee | On 12 Mar 2016

Rape and Reform: India's Changing Attitudes

It has been just over a year since the Delhi rape case in which a female student was raped and died from her injuries. In its wake, massive protests and a media campaign ensured the perpetrators were...

by | On 12 Mar 2016

Pakistan's Nuclear Security: Separating Fact from Fear

For more than a decade fears have been voiced by the international community at the prospect of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists or other non-state actors. The author ar...

by | On 12 Mar 2016

Rethinking National Security: China's New Security Commission

The newly established Central National Security Commission (CNSC) of China held its first meeting on April 15. The inaugural meeting of this body marks a significant milestone in the reorganization of...

by | On 12 Mar 2016

Eurasian Union versus Silk Road Economic Belt?

While Russia and China are heralding a new “strategic partnership,” this policy brief explores how competition between the two countries may increasingly emerge in regard to Central Asia—a region wher...

by | On 11 Mar 2016

People's or Party's Army in Vietnam?

While the Vietnam Communist Party’s grip over the army remains strong, Zachary Abuza examines the growing calls challenging the Vietnam People’s Army’s duty to defend the ruling party over national in...

by | On 11 Mar 2016

Empowering Tamil Women: Recovery in Post-conflict Sri Lanka

More than five years after the Sri Lankan government’s victory over the LTTE insurgency, billions of dollars have been invested in infrastructure development projects in war-ravaged northern Sri Lanka...

by | On 11 Mar 2016

China's Myanmar Policy: Dilemma or Strategic Ambiguity?

Enmeshed directly and indirectly in Myanmar’s ethnic conflicts, Beijing is facing a dilemma in how to deal with ethnic Chinese irredentist groups amidst ongoing fighting in northern Shan State. Failur...

by | On 11 Mar 2016

‘China 2030: Building a Modern, Harmonious, and Creative Society’

China is unique among developing countries in achieving sustained economic and social success. So, policymakers in South Asia will do well to factor a robust Chinese economic future into their thinkin...

by Shahid Javed Burki | On 11 Mar 2016

Myanmar and the Case for UN Resolution 1325

From sexual violence to socio-economic hardships, women have borne a disproportionate share of the burden in Myanmar’s decades-long civil war. As the country undergoes a protracted peace process, more...

by | On 10 Mar 2016

Towards a Comprehensive Welfare State in South Korea: Institutional Features, A New Socio-Economic and Political Pressures, and the Possibility of the Welfare State

The paper analyse the institutional designs for welfare system in Korea and their possible effects on the establishment of a welfare state. The paper also discusses some possible effects of the recent...

by Yeon-Myung KIM | On 09 Mar 2016

Producing a Rationale for Dowry? Gender in the Negotiation of Exchange at Marriage in Kerala, South India

The allocation of scarce budgetary resources away from ‘alternative’ channels of social security underscores interlocking concerns: a) the financial drain that marriages of girls pose to families and...

by Praveena Kodoth | On 09 Mar 2016

Energy Security in Northeast Asia: Putin, Progress and Problems

This article intends to bring to light the energy security concept in the region, while analyzing how this multilateral cooperative energy scheme can contribute to building a new regional economic sec...

by Se Hyun Ahn | On 09 Mar 2016

On History and Policy: Time in the Age of Neoliberalism

It is often said that history matters, but these words are often little more than a hollow statement. In the aftermath of the Great Recession, the view that the economy is a mechanical toy that can be...

by | On 08 Mar 2016

Porous Borders: The Study of Illegal Markets from a Sociological Perspective

State concerns about crime and security issues have strongly affected conceptions of economic action outside the law, a traditional field of research in sociology. This increasing encroachment by poli...

by | On 08 Mar 2016

Nuclear-Public Relations Management In Southeast Asia

Due to the pragmatic need for ensuring energy security, governments of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have to date emphasised the potential economic and technological benefits of n...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 06 Mar 2016

The Nuclear Gravy Train: An Update on Southeast Asia

Notwithstanding the global financial crisis, energy security remains one of the top priorities for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The need to reduce reliance on fossil fuels in th...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 05 Mar 2016

Water Woes and Food Security

This NTS-Alert examines the nexus between water management and food security in Asia and how climate change exacerbates the adverse impacts that result from poor water management. It then highlights t...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 05 Mar 2016

Putting Food on the International Table

Based on the recent Group of Eight (G8) Summit held in Italy, this issue of the Alert will examine international deliberations on food security with a focus on the efforts and challenges facing the G8...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 05 Mar 2016

‘Push’ And ‘Pull’: The Determinants Of Piracy Off The Horn Of Africa

Much attention has been given to the phenomenon of piracy off the Horn of Africa since 2008. The overwhelming response thus far has been the deployment of naval forces by some of the world’s major mar...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 05 Mar 2016

Maritime Predations in Southeast Asia: Three Case Studies

While piracy in Southeast Asia has been addressed better over time, maritime predations continue to occur in the region. These predations, on small traders and maritime communities, afflict these grou...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 05 Mar 2016

Security in Cyberspace: The Return of the State

The recent cyber attacks on South Korea and the United States, as well as those on Georgia in 2008 and Estonia in 2007 have awakened a certain consciousness in the minds of the international community...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 05 Mar 2016

The Final Frontier: Non¬Traditional Approaches to Cyber Security

The discourse on Cyber Security, a relatively new field in non-traditional security studies, has been dominated by the need to protect information infrastructure from both state and non-state actors....

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 05 Mar 2016

‘Land Grabbing’: The Global Search For Food Security In Southeast Asia

By the end of the last decade, the total area of farmland globally that was acquired by government-backed foreign investors amounted to nearly half the size of Europe. In addition to Latin America, Af...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 05 Mar 2016

Transnational Organised Crime In Southeast Asia: Threat Assessment

Transnational organised crime is considered one of the major threats to human security, impeding the social, economic, political and cultural development of societies. Much attention has been given...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 04 Mar 2016

An Agenda for Peace: Curbing the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons

Although weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) are considered to pose the gravest threat to international peace and security, in practice, small arms and light weapons (SALWs) kill more people than WMDs....

by Pau Hangzo | On 04 Mar 2016

Thai- Cambodian Border Clashes Resume

Fighting resumed along the disputed Thai-Cambodian border, covering Thailand’s Si SaKet province and Cambodia’s PreahVihear province, following the start of gunfire and artillery duels on 4 February 2...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 03 Mar 2016

Food and Health in the Asia-Pacific: The Economics of Access and its Implications for Health

This is the first of a two-part NTS Alert series that will explore the intersection between food security and health issues in the Asia-Pacific. This NTS Alert focuses on health problems stemming from...

by J. Ewing | On 03 Mar 2016

Bihar Budget Analysis 2016-17

The Finance Minister of Bihar, Mr. Abdul Bari Siddiqui, presented the Budget for Bihar for the financial year 2016-17.

by Arvind Gayam | On 03 Mar 2016

The Implications of the US Anti-human Trafficking Strategy for National Policies: The Case of Malaysia

This NTS Alert discusses the protection gaps in national anti-human trafficking policies perpetuated by the dominant influence of the US Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Reports. Using Malaysia as a case...

by Manpavan Kaur | On 02 Mar 2016

Examining ASEAN Capacity in the Context of the Thai- ¬Cambodian Border Dispute

Amidst heightened expectations regarding ASEAN’s contribution to international order, particularly in the context of a trend towards multilevel security governance, ASEAN is attempting to transform it...

by Holly Haywood | On 02 Mar 2016

New Institutional Developments In ASEAN: Towards A More Effective (Genuine) Security Architecture?

The recent establishment of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) as an integral part of the ADMM, a forum created in 2006 as a means of fostering defence and security dialogue and coo...

by | On 02 Mar 2016

Peacebuilding Governance – Negotiating the Khmer Rouge Trials

The domestic policies of the Khmer Rouge regime resulted in widespread human insecurity. The pursuit of justice against past atrocity crimes through the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodi...

by Lina Gong | On 02 Mar 2016

Connecting the Dots: An Analysis of Union Budget 2016-17

It presents a comprehensive analysis of the priorities and proposals in Union Budget 2016-17, focusing on social sectors (such as education, health, drinking water and sanitation, food security etc.)...

by Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability CBGA | On 02 Mar 2016

Report on "Strategy of Coalition for Food and Nutrition Security"

The Coalition serves as a platform for the members to collaborate and achieve a common vision: "To achieve sustainable food and nutrition security for all" The Coalition aims to raise awareness, foste...

by Coalition for Food & Nutrition Security India | On 02 Mar 2016

Madhya Pradesh Budget Analysis 2016-17

The Madhya Pradesh Finance Minister, Mr. Jayant Mallayya, presented the Budget for Madhya Pradesh for the financial year 2016-17 on February 26, 2016.

by Arvind Gayam | On 01 Mar 2016

Ontological Security and India-China Relations: From Border War to “News War”

This paper joins the growing scholarship on the ontological security needs of states in international relations (IR) literature and explores its relevance to India-China relations. Ontological securit...

by | On 01 Mar 2016

Cultivated Land Conversion in China and the Potential for Food Security and Sustainability

With over a billion people in China, the issue of cultivated land conversion is extremely important both in terms of food security and environmental sustainability. This paper investigates the relatio...

by Shunji Cui | On 01 Mar 2016

Climate-Induced Migration: Indian Experience

Climate-induced migration is not a new phenomenon but is slowly becoming the new found focus as researchers have begun taking up a range of studies. A lot of literature has already been out there as a...

by Sarabjit Kaur | On 01 Mar 2016

Food Security and the Targeted Public Distribution System in India

Annual food production is enough to feed the 6.9 billion people in the world today. However, access and distribution of food in order that people do not have to die due to hunger continues to remain e...

by Ruth Kattumuri | On 01 Mar 2016

Should China Revisit the 1994 Fiscal Reforms?

The 1994 Fiscal Reforms in China were spectacularly successful in meeting the immediate challenges that the economy faced at that time—a sharply dropping tax/GDP ratio, and limited ability of the cent...

by Ehtisham Ahmad | On 01 Mar 2016

Challenges and Developments in the Financial Systems of the Southeast Asian Economies

This paper discusses the economies and financial systems of Southeast Asia (SEA) and focuses on challenges and developments in the region. Despite the diversity of SEA economies and some important exc...

by Toshiyuki Shimada | On 29 Feb 2016

Pakistan, the United States and the IMF: Great game or a curious case of Dutch Disease without the oil?

A history of Pakistan’s relations with the IMF (and the Bretton Woods Institutions in general) 2 cannot be told without reference to the complex and changing role played by the United States, es...

by Ehtisham Ahmad | On 29 Feb 2016

Making Agroecology Viable For Small Farmers: Experiences From The Fields

Agroecological farming weaves in the essentials so that there is profit for each-soil, seeds, traditional knowledge of communities, food security and food sovereignty.

by | On 29 Feb 2016

Impact of the ASEAN Economic Community on ASEAN Production Networks

Empirical evidence suggests that the emergence of international production networks in East Asia results from market-driven forces such as vertical specialization and higher production costs in the ho...

by Kornkarun Cheewatrakoolpong | On 29 Feb 2016

Assessing the Impact of Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission's Open Access Order for Solar Power Generators in Karnataka

WRI is keen to track its on-ground impact to serve as a feedback mechanism to Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) and as a learning for other state regulators who may be looking for sol...

by Deepak Sriram Krishnan | On 29 Feb 2016

Highlights of the Draft Budget of Japan for FY2016

Highlights of the budget of Japan for the year 2016.

by Ministry of Finance, Japan MOF, Japan | On 29 Feb 2016

Porous borders in a changing world: What does this mean for security in Southeast Asia?

The issue of borders, their porosity and the security challenges they create amid a rapidly changing regional and global strategic environment is indeed a serious one for Southeast Asia. The criticali...

by | On 27 Feb 2016

In conversation with Ibrahim Gambari: The practice of peacemaking

On 18 June 2013, Dr J. Jackson Ewing sat down with Professor Ibrahim Gambari to discuss his views on resolving conflicts and building sustainable peace in the 21st century. Professor Gambari’s famil...

by Lina Gong | On 27 Feb 2016

'Stock’ solution to regional food security: Which way forward?

Consumption patterns in Southeast Asia are changing rapidly. As the region becomes more affluent, demand for protein and wheat is expected to increase. Such shifts may leave countries with no choice...

by Belinda Chng | On 27 Feb 2016

Planning for Asian food security towards 2025

Higher investment in the agricultural and food sectors, food price stability and regulatory barriers are among the key issues for Asia, according to experts at a recent meeting to discuss the region...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 27 Feb 2016

Human Security 20 Years On: The evolution of human security

The latter part of the 21st century witnessed a shift in the understanding of international security. As tensions between countries eased with the end of the Cold War, new and significant security c...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 27 Feb 2016

20 Years of Human Security: A special focus on food security

This year is the 20th anniversary of the release of the 1994 United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Human Development Report, which defined the concept of human security and brought it to int...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 27 Feb 2016

20 Years of Human Security: A Special Focus on Environmental Security

This year is the 20th anniversary of the release of the 1994 United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Human Development Report, which defined the concept of human security and brought it to int...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 27 Feb 2016

20 Years of Human Security: A Special Focus on Community Security

This year is the 20th anniversary of the release of the 1994 United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Human Development Report, which defined the concept of human security and brought it to int...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 27 Feb 2016

20 Years of Human Security: A Special Focus on Health Security

This year is the 20th anniversary of the release of the 1994 United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Human Development Report, which defined the concept of human security and brought it to int...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 27 Feb 2016

20 Years of Human Security: A Special Focus on Political Security

Security used to be defined in military terms with the state as the referent of security. From this state-centric lens, political security means the stability of the state’s political regime and socia...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 27 Feb 2016

New Issues in Human Security: Energy-Climate-Water-Food Nexus

Today, millions of people experience insecurity as a result of new and complex issues threatening human welfare and dignity, such as climate change and the contested or inefficient use of energy and w...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 27 Feb 2016

Energy Security in the 21st Century: A Human Security Perspective

Energy security is no longer just about the security of supply; it is multifaceted and inextricably linked to public health and environmental issues. Amidst political instability in oil-producing regi...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 27 Feb 2016

Protection of Civilians (POC): A Human Security Perspective

Armed conflicts always have disproportionate consequences on civilian populations. Civilians accounted for 74 per cent of the fatalities in Israel’s bombing of Gaza in the summer of 2014. The high civ...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 27 Feb 2016

2015: A Year for Reflection

2015 is a critical year for global and regional institutions, and for the international community as a whole, as it represents a milestone in the big push for achieving global goals of peace, human se...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 27 Feb 2016

Reinforcing Health Security in ASEAN

With the recent rise of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, Ebola, multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, it is important to further reinforce ASEAN’s pr...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 27 Feb 2016

Adapting to Emerging Challenges of Food Insecurity Post-2015

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) defines food security as a “situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to suf...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 27 Feb 2016

Water Security in Southeast Asia: Moving beyond Basic Access

Water security is a cross-cutting and multidimensional developmental issue which was nestled within Goal 7 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on environmental sustainability. Target 7c of Goal...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 27 Feb 2016

Networks of Experts and Non-Traditional Security in Asia

From the ‘migrant crisis’ to transboundary haze pollution and the Avian Influenza virus, Asian countries continue to face multiple new security threats which require international cooperation. These n...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 27 Feb 2016

Rising Milk Price – A Cause for Concern on Food Security

Continuous rise in food prices has been posing a serious policy challenge in India. Milk is a major contributor to the food price rise due to its high growth in demand in the domestic and internationa...

by S. Rajeshwaran | On 27 Feb 2016

Social Security Schemes: A Case for Universalisation

Prime minister’s recent introduction of new social security schemes to ensure insurance and pension for all remains a laudable step. These schemes were launched on May 9, 2015 and are expected to enha...

by Charan Singh | On 27 Feb 2016

Securitization of Illegal Migration of Bangladeshis to India

Over 10 million illegal migrants from Bangladesh live in India, according to both official and unofficial estimates. This paper examines the securitization of the issue by various actors through a cen...

by | On 26 Feb 2016

Building a Regional Disaster Response Mechanism for a Secure ASEAN Community

A series of recent humanitarian crises in Southeast Asia have signalled a new impetus to re- think the nature of security cooperation in the region. The outbreak of pandemics, the devastating impact o...

by Melly Caballero-Anthony | On 26 Feb 2016

Recalibrating the ASEAN Security Community

Against the recent conflicts and crises facing the region, the spotlight is once again directed at ASEAN’s plans for an ASEAN Security Community (ASC). What is significant in this slew of crises that...

by Mely Caballero-Anthony | On 26 Feb 2016

Is Nuclear Energy a Viable Option for All?

The prospect of nuclear energy as an alternative to traditional fossil fuels has increased sharply due to soaring oil prices. This has been further boosted by the challenge of global climate change. D...

by | On 26 Feb 2016

Energy, Climate Change and Sustainable Development: Are Regional Security Frameworks Prepared?

Amid the mixed emotions threatening to dampen the celebratory mood of the 40th Anniversary of ASEAN and its series of related summits, there are important questions about their respective agendas. The...

by Mely Caballero-Anthony | On 26 Feb 2016

Rohingya Muslims:Myanmar’s Forgotten People

The stateless Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar have been discriminated and excluded by consecutive governments since the 1960s, causing an exodus to Bangladesh, Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia and other count...

by | On 26 Feb 2016

Repositioning US Engagement in Southeast Asia: A Case for Non-traditional Security

Southeast Asian officials and analysts have complained about the waning US interest in the region due to the US preference for a bilateral approach to Southeast Asia. This US approach is out of sync w...

by Mely Caballero-Anthony | On 26 Feb 2016

Climate, Food, and the New North-South Divide

Global efforts to tackle climate change and food security are hampered by North-South differences over cost sharing. But rising interdependence and the South’s new pragmatism and bargaining power are...

by | On 26 Feb 2016

Workshop Report on “Energy and Non-Traditional Security”

From the Subregional Workshop on Energy Security and Non-Traditional Security Singapore 27 – 29 August 2008, Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel. The workshop on Energy and Non-Traditional Security (NTS)...

by | On 26 Feb 2016

Energy Security in Singapore: Challenges and Opportunities

The pursuit of energy security traditionally revolves around securing supply sources. Is there more to it than just supply issues? The effectiveness of energy security also depends on whether energy c...

by | On 25 Feb 2016

Weighing Issues: Human Security in ASEAN’s Fight for Food

Recent global food price shocks have demonstrated the urgent need to effectively address food insecurity in Southeast Asia – both at the national and regional level. This think-piece goes beyond issue...

by | On 25 Feb 2016

Energy and Non-Traditional Security: A Tripartite Approach

Energy supply and price volatility are no longer the only concerns that constitute contemporary energy security problems, which now comprise environmental and socioeconomic issues. Mitigating these no...

by Collin Koh | On 25 Feb 2016

ASEAN Petroleum Security Agreement: Sealed or Leaking?

The ASEAN Petroleum Security Agreement signed recently in Thailand marks a milestone for ensuring regional energy security by including a provision for voluntary oil stockpiles. However, mandatory, as...

by | On 25 Feb 2016

Resolving Internal Conflict in Myanmar: A Human Security Approach

National security in Myanmar has always been equated with state security by the ruling military junta. However, the drive to protect the state has led to insecurities for its people. This paper argues...

by | On 25 Feb 2016

The Economic Crisis and Labour Migrants: A Test for Human Security?

As the current global economic crisis deepens, labour migrants have begun to experience the consequences of both political and economic insecurity. How effective are legal frameworks in protecting the...

by | On 25 Feb 2016

Responding to Non-Traditional Security Challenges in Asia

Emerging security challenges in Asia are compelling the international community to take a hard look at their causes and implications on state and human security. Given the growing complexity of these...

by Mely Caballero-Anthony | On 25 Feb 2016

Health and Human Security: From Establishment to Operationalisation

The international community is now faced with an influenza pandemic and the rhetoric of global health security has become more urgent. Whilst our preparedness for such an emerging infectious disease i...

by | On 25 Feb 2016

Government Debt

The present Status Paper for 2015-16 is fifth in this series and reinforces the Government’s commitment to keep the level of public debt within sustainable limits and follow prudent debt management pr...

by Ministry of Finance GOI | On 25 Feb 2016

Massive Open Online Courses: A Primer for Philippine State Universities and Colleges

Massive Open Online Courses and their advent and rising popularity have had a profound impact on the sphere of education in Philippines. Does this new model present an opportunity to re-envision how t...

by Philippine Institute for Development Studies | On 25 Feb 2016

Power and Piety: Religion, State and Society in Muslim Countries

There is the logical possibility of the creation of a Muslim society that is characterised by high levels of trust in and esteem for the State, and in which there is also a high level of trust in reli...

by Riaz Hassan | On 25 Feb 2016

Assessment of Sources and Utilization of Funding of State Universities and Colleges

The implementation of the "Higher Education Modernization Act of 1997", CHED Memorandum Order No. 20, and "Public Higher Education Reform Framework" granted state universities and colleges (SUCs) the...

by Rosario G. Manasan | On 25 Feb 2016

Lifting the Lid Off Xinjiang’s Insecurities

The recent riots and attacks in China’s western province of Xinjiang have brought to the forefront the long simmering tensions between the Han Chinese and Uyghur communities. What have often been capt...

by | On 24 Feb 2016

Human Security: A Response to the Climate Security Debates

Debates about climate change as a threat to international peace have focused on conflict, civil unrest, and the consequences for states. Human security offers an alternative, people-centred approach t...

by Lorraine Elliot | On 24 Feb 2016

Oiling the Wheels of Foreign Policy? Energy Security and China’s International Relations

This paper offers a review of a broad set of issues that are recurrent in international discussions about interconnectedness of energy and security in China’s international relations. The primary purp...

by Zha Daojiong | On 24 Feb 2016

Human Securitising’ the Climate Security Debate

Efforts to understand the connection between climate change and national, regional and international security have fuelled something of a climate security industry, evidenced in a range of reports fro...

by Lorraine Elliot | On 24 Feb 2016

Social Protection in Apec in Pursuit of Inclusive Growth

The paper seeks to take stock of some of the key APEC documents/reports relevant to social protection and safety net programs, and also of the experience of APEC member-economies, with special focus o...

by Janet S. Cuenca | On 24 Feb 2016

Towards Transparency and Good Governance

Transparency has been put in processes, changed many rules for protection of environment and we have started taking decisions that are based on policies. The cases that fall within the policy framewor...

by Ministry of Environment and Forests | On 24 Feb 2016

Enhancing Energy Security, Underpinning Development: The Future of Nuclear Energy in ASEAN

If ASEAN intends to meaningfully enhance its energy security, take greater steps to protect itself from instabilities in the international energy market, and effectively underpin its continued develop...

by | On 23 Feb 2016

Report on “Dealing with Energy Vulnerabilities: Case Studies of Cooperation and Collaboration in East Asia”

Much literature on East Asia’s energy security has focused on the dynamics of competition over resources and how potential conflicts could arise from this. While this analytical perspective identifies...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 23 Feb 2016

Powering Growth: The Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Perspective on the Energy Security Policies in Singapore

The Singapore government treats energy security as a means towards achieving sustainable economic growth. It is on that note that the Economic Strategies Committee (ESC) and National Energy Policy (NE...

by | On 23 Feb 2016

Food (In)Security in Urban Populations

The food crisis at the end of the last decade and the resulting food riots that occurred in cities all over the world exposed the vulnerability and fragility of the current global food system and high...

by | On 23 Feb 2016

Rising Food Prices and Food Security: Impact of the 2008 Food Crisis on Asia

The trend of rising food prices has made this basic human need inaccessible to an increasing number of people. The impact on vulnerable groups, especially the poor, is immense. Food price rise has imp...

by | On 23 Feb 2016

Non-Traditional Security Challenges, Regional Governance, and the ASEAN Political-Security Community

Much of the attention on institutional development within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has focused on the progress in establishing the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC)....

by | On 23 Feb 2016

Pakistan’s Flood Disaster: An Unprecedented Humanitarian Crisis

The recent monsoon-related floods have wreaked havoc in Pakistan. Decades of development outcomes have been wiped out and critical human security challenges have been precipitated. It is critical to b...

by | On 23 Feb 2016

Aquino’s Challenge: Energy Security in the Philippines

The next President of the Philippines faces many challenges to his incoming administration. A crucial one is ensuring the country’s energy security. Addressing this will strengthen the Philippine econ...

by | On 23 Feb 2016

Securing Food Futures in the Asia-Pacific: Human Securitising Regional Frameworks

The global food crisis of 2007 to 2008 drew attention to the importance of food security as a regional challenge for the Asia-Pacific. Regional strategies to achieve food security have recognised the...

by Lorraine Elliot | On 22 Feb 2016

Crafting Energy Security Cooperation in East Asia

Existing work on energy security tends to over-emphasise the prospect of competition and conflict over resources while under-exploring the promise of cooperation. This policy brief provides a framewor...

by | On 22 Feb 2016

Security Sector Governance and Conflict Management in Southeast Asia

Security sector governance (SSG) poses a huge challenge to states transitioning to democracy, particularly in cases where the military and other components of the security sector had been very influen...

by | On 22 Feb 2016

Securitising Food Futures in the Asia-Pacific: Human Securitising Regional Frameworks

The global food crisis of 2007 to 2008 – which was characterised by both volatility in food prices and shortages of food – and the uneven but almost certainly largely negative impacts of climate chang...

by Lorraine Elliot | On 22 Feb 2016

Report on “Climate Change, Migration and Human Security in Southeast Asia”

The Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies in the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), organised a study-group meeting to address the topic of ‘Climate Change, Migration an...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 22 Feb 2016

Report on “Inter-State Water Conflicts in Southern Asia”

Water conflicts are a subject of intense debate and discussion in Southern Asia, which comprises India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and China. Factors such as the history of partiti...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 22 Feb 2016

International Monetary Reform: A Critical Appraisal of Some Proposals

This paper reviews some of the current debates on the reform of the international monetary system. Despite its deficiencies, the United States (US) dollar will remain the dominant currency and Special...

by Yung Chul Park | On 22 Feb 2016

Asia’s Food Security Conundrum: More Apparent than Real?

There is enough food in the world to feed everyone, yet one billion people are hungry. Biotech approaches to food production will not enhance food security in Asia unless severe distortions in existin...

by | On 22 Feb 2016

Redefining Food Security in the Face of Foreign Land Investors: The Philippine Case

The Philippines is a country targeted by foreign investors seeking agricultural land. It is promoting itself to them in the hope of securing their business. These investors frequently use food securit...

by Ben Shepherd | On 22 Feb 2016

Changing Population In Japan And A Life-Long Active Society To Cope With It

Japan's ageing population also has a sort of depth. By “depth,” I mean that within the older population itself the proportion of very old people aged 75 years old and over is increasing particularly r...

by Atsushi Seike | On 21 Feb 2016

Early Lessons from the Process to Enhance Understanding of Loss and Damage in Bangladesh

This document is the culmination of a process that unfolded over two years in Bangladesh, which benefitted from contributions from individuals and organisations too numerous to mention by name here. H...

by Erin Roberts | On 21 Feb 2016

ASEAN Response to Asian Food Security Concerns

As global food security rises to the top of the policymaking agenda, new approaches are being explored. Within ASEAN, Singapore’s position as a food importer is changing to become an active contributo...

by | On 20 Feb 2016

Singapore’s Growing Role in Asian Food Security

In seeking to ensure its own food security Singapore, may be transforming itself from a passive food importer to an active contributor to the regional and global food system – through research and dev...

by | On 20 Feb 2016

Pakistan, India and Kashmir: Will Nature force an Aceh Effect?

A recent seismic study has raised questions about the possibility of a “big earthquake” in the Kashmir region, “anytime”. Should one occur with the magnitude that caused the massive Indian Ocean tsuna...

by | On 20 Feb 2016

Thailand’s Floods: Political and Security Impact

The devastating floods in Thailand add another dimension to the range of security threats to the country. What are the political and security implications of the floods on Thailand?

by | On 20 Feb 2016

The 19th ASEAN Summit: Tackling Floods, Food and Stability

This week’s ASEAN Summit will take place against an increasingly unpredictable environment, as seen in the widespread floods in the region. The series of ASEAN-related meetings will have to address th...

by | On 20 Feb 2016

Feeding Southeast Asia in the 21st Century

Southeast Asia’s food security challenges are multifaceted and complex, with an estimated 14 per cent of the population suffering undernourishment. The recent International Conference on Asian Food Se...

by Sally Trethewie | On 20 Feb 2016

Climate Change and Migration in Southeast Asia: Responding to a New Security Challenge

Migration and displacement are among the range of pressures on people and their communities likely to arise from the economic, social and environmental consequences of climate change. Despite fragment...

by Lorraine Elliot | On 20 Feb 2016

In Search of Food Security: Addressing Opacity and Price Volatility in ASEAN’s Rice Sector

The availability of rice has long been considered a key indicator of food security in Southeast Asia. However, for largely strategic reasons, there is a paucity of information in the public domain on...

by Sally Trethewie | On 20 Feb 2016

Would a Southeast Asian Rice Futures Market Be Feasible, and What of Food Security?

In 2010, it was proposed that Singapore consider hosting an international rice futures market, with cited benefits being enhanced price discovery and price stabilisation. The RSIS Centre for Non-Tradi...

by Sally Trethewie | On 20 Feb 2016

The Military along the Security-Development Frontier: Implications for Non-traditional Security in the Philippines and Thailand

The militaries of developing countries have often gone beyond the mission of external defence, to perform unconventional roles ranging from disaster relief and economic management to law enforcement a...

by | On 20 Feb 2016

Role of Experts in Policy Advice: Lessons of Experience

The policymaking in modern states is highly complex and requires a high degree of expertise and knowledge, which was not the case even 10, let alone 25 years ago. Partly in view of limited capacity in...

by Nurul Islam | On 20 Feb 2016

Climate Change, Migration and Human Security in Southeast Asia

The proposition that migration as a result of climate change has consequences for regional and global security has become prominent in public discourse over the last few years. Yet much of that debate...

by | On 19 Feb 2016

Report on “Policy Roundtable on Asian Non-Traditional Security”

This report presents the proceedings of a Policy Roundtable on Asian Non-Traditional Security held in Beijing on 30-31 July 2012. Attended by academics and policymakers from across the region, the Rou...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 19 Feb 2016

The ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR): Cooperation, commitment and contradictions

This NTS Working Paper examines the prospects for the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) launched in July 2012. It looks at whether the APTERR can overcome the limitations of past rice r...

by | On 19 Feb 2016

The Goods & Services Tax Debate in India: Concepts and Issues

The chequered but ongoing political efforts to introduce a uniform Goods & Services Tax (GST) throughout India should actually be seen through a larger economic prism. The current sense of urgency, re...

by | On 19 Feb 2016

Addressing Global Land Challenges

This lecture is based on the realization that the current global approach to land systems cannot meet the needs of the majority of people in developing countries in regard to security of tenure and it...

by | On 19 Feb 2016

China’s Outbound Investment: The US Experience

U.S. policy expressly welcomes Chinese investment, and since 2000 Chinese companies have invested nearly $50 billion in the United States. Notwithstanding those facts, the U.S. regulatory environment...

by Mark Feldman | On 19 Feb 2016

China’s Sovereign Investment Funds In International Perspective: The Exceptionalism Of Cic And Safe

China is the only country in the world with two sovereign investment vehicles dedicated to managing excess foreign reserves for return, not just safety and liquidity. As the investment profile and beh...

by Angela Cummine | On 19 Feb 2016

China’s Rising Outbound Investment: Trends And Issues

This paper aims to facilitate China’s globalisation process and to enable destination countries to benefit from Chinese ODI potential by having a clear understanding of the institutional background ag...

by Mei Wang | On 19 Feb 2016

Where Have China’s State Monopolies Gone?

If China’s economy is an example of ‘state-capitalism’, then its large, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) could be expected to monopolise key sectors. But previous estimates of industrial concentration u...

by Paul Hubbard | On 19 Feb 2016

Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Passive Composting of Manure and Digestate With Crop Residues and Biochar on Small-Scale Livestock Farms in Vietnam

This study investigated the effects of different mixing ratios of crop residues and biochar with liquid digestate from anaerobically treated pig manure on CH4, CO2, and N2O emissions over 84 days in a...

by Vu Quynh | On 18 Feb 2016

ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2015: Opportunities and Challenges for Food Security

This NTS Policy Brief is based on the proceedings of the Expert Group Meeting on the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2015: Opportunities and Challenges for Food Security held in June 2013. A key messag...

by | On 17 Feb 2016

Food Security: What It Means for a Food-Importing Country

Most countries depend on three “food taps” – imports, self-production, reserve stocks – to make food available. All countries import some amount of food to meet their increasingly diverse dietary dema...

by | On 17 Feb 2016

Food Security Post-Calamity: A Chronic Dilemma

Many Asian countries are highly susceptible to climate hazards, resulting in food insecurity. The magnitude of the devastation of typhoon Haiyan should serve as a clarion call for regional action to i...

by | On 17 Feb 2016

Food Security Robustness: A Driver of Enhanced Regional Cooperation?

Food security encompasses multiple, inter-connected dimensions, from production-related concerns, to market and price dynamics, environmental trends and policy approaches. Given this, ‘robustness’, th...

by | On 17 Feb 2016

Demographic Dividend or Demographic Threat in Pakistan

This paper looks into the demographic dividend available to Pakistan and its implications for the country, mainly through three mechanisms: labour supply, savings, and human capital. For economic bene...

by Durr-e- Nayab | On 17 Feb 2016

Power, Violence, Citizenship and Agency: A Review of the Literature

This Working Paper comprises a literature review that was carried out to inform the formulation of a research project on power, violence, citizenship and agency, which addresses how social actors reac...

by | On 17 Feb 2016

State Of Climate Information Products And Services For Agriculture And Food Security In Myanmar

The increasing variability of seasonal climate and increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events that are expected to accompany climate change will impact agricultural production and fo...

by Ruby Policarpio | On 17 Feb 2016

Methods for Identifying Low Emissions Development Options for Agriculture

Low emissions development strategies (LEDS) are national economic and social development plans that promote sustainable development while reducing GHG emissions. While LEDS programs have helped to mai...

by Sonja Vermeulen | On 17 Feb 2016

ASEAN’s Haze Shroud: Grave Threat to Human Security

Transboundary haze pollution is posing significant multiple risks to the well-being and security of people in ASEAN. Beyond looking at it as an environmental issue, it is a severe threat to human secu...

by | On 16 Feb 2016

UN Development Goals: Sustaining the Southeast Asian Fisherman

The UN Sustainable Development Goals highlight the need to protect the oceans, coastlines and small-scale fishermen. However, this may be in conflict with ASEAN’s bid to reach the targets set out in t...

by | On 16 Feb 2016

Strengthening Energy Security: Key to Sustainable Development in Asia

With the growing urgency of energy security in an era of climate change, the option to increase the share of renewables and nuclear energy in the energy mix will increasingly become attractive in Asia...

by | On 16 Feb 2016

Women, Peace and Security: Impact of UNSCR 1325 on Indo-Pacific

On the 15th anniversary of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, how far have countries in the Indo-Pacific region come to implement its peace and security agenda?

by | On 16 Feb 2016

Gender Differences in Climate Change Perception and Adaptation Strategies: The Case of Three Provinces in Vietnam’s Mekong River Delta

This report, which forms part of the PIRCCA project outputs, focuses on the results of the survey conducted in the first half of 2015 on climate change perception and adaptation strategies of male and...

by Michael Sheinkman | On 16 Feb 2016

Citizen-Led Accountability and Inclusivity in Pakistan

This ‘theory in practice’ paper examines the experiences of citizens groups seeking to hold Pakistan’s elected representatives and governance institutions accountable. A sustained period of democracy,...

by | On 16 Feb 2016

State and Region Public Finances in Myanmar

This paper focuses on understanding the role of state and region governments in relation to Myanmar's public finances. This has been done to take stock of existing research, better understand the comp...

by The Asia Foundation | On 16 Feb 2016

From Global Factory to Global Mall: East Asia’s Changing Trade Composition

This paper studies how East Asia’s trade composition and orientation have changed over the past decade and analyzes the implications for the region and beyond. Over the last 2 decades we have witnesse...

by Matthias Helble | On 16 Feb 2016

The Taylor Rule and the Macroeconomic Performance in Pakistan

A widely agreed proposition in modern economics is that policy rules have greater advantage over discretion in improving economic performance. Simple monetary policy instrument rules are feasible opti...

by Wasim Shahid Malik | On 15 Feb 2016

Mainstreaming Children in the Union Budget 2016-17: The ‘Mantra’ of Inclusive Development

in order to ensure the inclusion and social security of children, the Central government must pay attention to the concerns raised by Sates and the upcoming Union Budget must include some of the point...

by Kumar Shailabh | On 15 Feb 2016

Corruption and (In)Security

For security policies to be effective states must recognise and respond to how corruption ignites and magnifies these dangers. In some countries and regions corruption is the facilitator of insecurity...

by Transparency International TI | On 14 Feb 2016

Pension and Social Security Schemes in Pakistan: Some Policy Options

An examination of the public pension and social security schemes in Pakistan reveals that the provision of regular pensions is limited to formal sector employees only. A number of social security sche...

by Naushin Mahmood | On 14 Feb 2016

Toward Reconciliation in Afghanistan

How can we make sense of where the United States is in Afghanistan today? A poor country, wracked by 30 years of civil war, finds itself at the mercy of insurgents, terrorists, and narco-traffickers....

by Michael O'Hanlon | On 14 Feb 2016

Pakistan Seeks Control of Its Afghanistan Endgame

Encouraging Taliban attacks on NATO, leaders of the Pakistan military and its intelligence service are impatient for the US to abandon the war in Afghanistan. The Pakistani goal is to prevent a pro-In...

by Bruce Riedel | On 14 Feb 2016

War and Drugs in Afghanistan

The cultivation of opium poppy in Afghanistan is nothing new. Although the drug economy diversified and became more vertically integrated after the fall of the Taliban, it had already emerged and deep...

by Vanda Felbab-Brown | On 14 Feb 2016

Maximizing Chances for Success in Afghanistan and Pakistan

The following is a Campaign 2012 policy brief by Bruce Riedel and Michael O’Hanlon proposing ideas for the next president on America’s foreign policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan. Vanda Felbab-Brow...

by Bruce Riedel | On 14 Feb 2016

The Afghanistan–Pakistan Challenge: Meeting Humanitarian Needs

For Campaign 2012, Bruce Riedel and Michael O’Hanlon wrote a policy brief proposing ideas for the next president on America’s foreign policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan. The following paper is a r...

by Elizabeth Ferris | On 14 Feb 2016

Fragile States: A Donor-Serving Concept? Issues with Interpretations of Fragile Statehood in Afghanistan

Current conceptions and models of fragile statehood in conflict-affected contexts can serve the purposes of international donor governments over and above reconstruction and statebuilding. First, desp...

by Sultan Barakat | On 14 Feb 2016

Crime-War Battlefields

In her new article, “Crime-War Battlefields,” published in the June-July issue of Survival, Vanda Felbab-Brown discusses the evolution of war since the end of the Cold War and the eventual rise of pol...

by Vanda Felbab-Brown | On 14 Feb 2016

The Political Games in the Taliban Negotiations

That the Taliban has agreed to negotiations is not surprising. It has much to gain from participating in negotiations – yet almost no incentives to agree to any sort of a deal before 2015. Nor should...

by Vanda Felbab-Brown | On 14 Feb 2016

A Deadly Triangle: Afghanistan, Pakistan and India

The hostility between India and Pakistan lies at the heart of the current war in Afghanistan. Most observers in the West view the Afghanistan conflict as a battle between the U.S. and the NATO-led Int...

by William Dalrymple | On 14 Feb 2016

Afghanistan After ISAF

Summer 2013 brought one of the most violent fighting seasons in Afghanistan since the US military and state-building effort began in 2001. On the cusp of the momentous 2014 presidential elections and...

by Vanda Felbab-Brown | On 14 Feb 2016

Afghanistan’s Deep Challenges and Transition Opportunities

The continued withdrawal of ISAF forces and the handover of responsibilities to Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) along with a strong Taliban military push dominated the security realm. The ANSF...

by Vanda Felbab-Brown | On 14 Feb 2016

Security and Political Developments in Afghanistan in 2014 and After : Endgame or New

The excerpt below introduces a book chapter written by Vanda Felbab-Brown for the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior anthology, Afghanistan 2014, published in March 2014. In this chapter, Dr. F...

by Vanda Felbab-Brown | On 14 Feb 2016

Afghanistan’s Displaced People: 2014 and Beyond

Afghanistan is the largest refugee repatriation operation in the world. More than 5.7 million people have returned in the last ten years, representing nearly a quarter of the current population of 28...

by Aidan O'Leary | On 14 Feb 2016

Calibrating Law Enforcement and Its Purpose

In “Calibrating Law Enforcement and Its Purpose,” published by Addiction on November 10, 2014, Vanda Felbab-Brown comments on Harold Pollack and Peter Reuter’s article “Does tougher enforcement make d...

by Vanda Felbab-Brown | On 14 Feb 2016

Pakistan's Relations with Afghanistan and Implications for Regional Politics

This essay, published originally by the National Bureau of Asian Research, discusses the long-term and current relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the intertwined militancy in the two count...

by Vanda Felbab-Brown | On 14 Feb 2016

Blood and Hope in Afghanistan : A June 2015 Update

As the United States tries to wind down its military participation in Afghanistan’s counterinsurgency after more than a decade of struggles against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, Afghanistan’s future remai...

by Vanda Felbab-Brown | On 14 Feb 2016

Let Them Fly - A Multi-Agency Response to Child Marriages in Haryana

The Prohibition of Child Marriages Act (PCMA), 2006 came into effect on 1 November, 2007 replacing the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929. PCMA is a social re-engineering mechanism which mandates St...

by Trupti Jhaveri Panchal | On 14 Feb 2016

Horizontal and Vertical Inequalities in India

Indian income inequality reflects the high values typical of most low and middle income economies, well above those observed for the high income LIS countries. There is also substantial variation in i...

by Reeve Vanneman | On 14 Feb 2016

Living Arrangement: How does it relate to the Health of the Elderly in India?

India has the second largest population of elderly people after China. The living arrangement of the elderly is seen as a parameter of great importance in understanding their plight in developing coun...

by Mitali Sen | On 14 Feb 2016

The Government Budget : A Critical Appraisal with Reference to Transparency and Accountability

Budget is the major economic policy document of the government for a particular year and perhaps beyond. Therefore, it is imperative to study the processes, institutional mechanisms, and decision-maki...

by Muttukrishna Sarvananthan | On 13 Feb 2016

Dietary Diversity in the Everyday Lives of Children in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, India

This paper investigates young people’s and their caregivers’ experiences of food insecurity, diet and eating practices in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It also provides original child-focused evidence...

by Elisabetta Aurino | On 13 Feb 2016

After the Conflict: Nation-Building and Corruption

Globally, there are 26 ongoing armed conflicts and nearly one sixth of the world’s population lives in so-called ‘weak governance’ zones.1 In 2009 alone, the United Nations estimated that 42 million p...

by Transparency International TI | On 12 Feb 2016

Regulating the Revolving Door

The increased interaction between business and government – as result of privatisations, lobbying and public contracting - has meant increased opportunities for corruption. Conflicts of interest, and...

by Transparency International TI | On 12 Feb 2016

The Global Energy Architecture Performance Index Report 2014

This report looks at what a new energy architecture might look like and how best-in-class enabling environments have already helped some high-ranking countries begin their transitions to more efficien...

by World Economic Forum [WEF] | On 11 Feb 2016

New Perspectives on Ethnic Segregation over Time and Space: A Domains Approach

The term segregation has a strong connotation with residential neighbourhoods, and most studies investigating ethnic segregation focus on the urban mosaic of ethnic concentrations in residential neigh...

by | On 11 Feb 2016

Women’s Frequently Asked Labour Rights Questions

From 2012 to 2016, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the WageIndicator Foundation and the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) are running the Labour Rights for Wom...

by | On 10 Feb 2016

Mongolian Futures: Scenarios for a Landlocked State

During the decades of the USSR, the Mongolian People’s Republic was a somnolent client of Moscow with only token relations with the West. After the break with the Soviet Union in 1990, and democratiza...

by | On 09 Feb 2016

To Manage Conflict in South Asia: China’s Stakes, Perceptions and Inputs

For Chinese researchers of international relations, to see a security challenge through the lens of conflict prevention and management represents a relatively fresh exploration that has begun to recei...

by | On 09 Feb 2016

Addressing Health Inequities through Community-led Advocacy in Bangalore: Experiences, Successes and Challenges

Like other cities, Bangalore suffers from fragmentation of government health services, with institutions and outreach services run by BBMP, the State Health Department, the State Medical Education d...

by Sudha Nagavarapu | On 09 Feb 2016

Urban Health Programme in Chhattisgarh State: Evolution, Progress and Challenges

A Baseline Study was conducted in 11 cities in early 2012 by the State Health Resource Centre. The survey focused on understanding utilization of maternal and child health services by urban slum popul...

by Priyanka Sahu | On 09 Feb 2016

Trade and Sustainable Land Management in Drylands

This publication aims to provide a wide range of perspectives from various stakeholders on how trade policies and processes could contribute to advancing the objectives of sustainable land management...

by International Centre and Sustainable Development | On 08 Feb 2016

Planning Communication for Agricultural Disaster Risk Management: a Field Guide

Reducing risk and increasing resilience to natural disasters and climate change requires access to knowledge, information and the active participation of vulnerable population. Planning Communication...

by Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] | On 08 Feb 2016

Progress of the World's Women 2000

Launched in June of 2000, "Progress of the World's Women" is UNIFEM's biennial investigation of progress made towards a world where women live free from violence, poverty and inequality. The first iss...

by UN Women | On 08 Feb 2016

Low Paid Employment in Britain: Estimating State-Dependence and Stepping Stone Effects

Using 18 waves of the British Household Panel Study, this paper examines state dependence and stepping stone effects of low pay. A distinguishing feature is that five types of transition- not in the l...

by Lixin Cai | On 07 Feb 2016

Pakistan’s Trade Policy, 1999–2008: An Assessment

Employing the Annual Trade Policy issued each year by the Ministry of Commerce as a simplified case study, this paper examines the reasons for the ineffectiveness of this policy instrument and the inh...

by Mirza Qamar Baig | On 07 Feb 2016

Building Integrity And Countering Corruption In Defence & Security

This is the second edition of the TI Defence and Security Programme's Handbook, Building Integrity and Reducing Corruption in Defence and Security: 20 Practical Reforms. This Handbook has a simple pur...

by Transparency International TI | On 06 Feb 2016

Algebraic Representation of Social Capital Matrix

This paper proposes a mathematical model based on a Boolean algebra involving a 4×4 social capital matrix [Shah (2008)], that emerges through interaction within and across individuals, communities, in...

by Tariq Shah | On 06 Feb 2016

Working to Improve Price Indices Development in Pakistan

Given the importance of Consumer Price Index (CPI), there has been long debate on its measurement issues. It is the best and most well-known indicator of inflation, which is further used for evaluatin...

by Mahmood Khalid | On 06 Feb 2016

An Empirical Investigation of the Relationship between Food Insecurity, Landlessness, and Violent Conflict in Pakistan

This study is an attempt to examine empirically the association between socio-economic measures of deprivation—such as food insecurity, landlessness, unemployment, and human under-development—and the...

by Sadia Mariam Malik | On 06 Feb 2016

Non-State Provision of Skills Development in South Asia

Development practitioners increasingly see skills development as a way to improve the employment and incomes of the poor. However, findings on the effectiveness of such trainings are typically mixed....

by Emilie Combaz | On 05 Feb 2016

Global Innovation Networks and their Implications for the Multilateral Trading System

This think piece examines the emergence of global innovations networks and their implications for multilateral trade rules. After pointing out, that the WTO agreements were reached with little direct...

by | On 05 Feb 2016

How to Successfully Manage Conflicts and Prevent Dispute Adjudication in International Trade

The growing body of WTO jurisprudence can help facilitate rules-based negotiations as a way of avoiding formal litigation more than ever before, and developing countries are now in a position to reap...

by | On 05 Feb 2016

Preventing Corruption in Humanitarian Operations

Transparency International has long held that the most directly damaging impact of corruption is the diversion of basic resources from poor people. Corruption in humanitarian aid is most egregious for...

by Transparency International TI | On 05 Feb 2016

ASEAN Integrity Community: A Vision for Transparent and Accountable Integration

Each ASEAN member state has taken some steps to addressing corruption at the national level, such as ratifying the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), but much more is urgently neede...

by Transparency International TI | On 05 Feb 2016

The Golden Rule: A Remedy for Decadence in Global Health

Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) conducted compared cervical screening to no screening whatsoever. All three RCTs included scientifically pointless unscreened control groups. All three RCTs incorpo...

by Eric Suba | On 04 Feb 2016

The Process of National Security Decision-Making in Israel and the Influence of the Military Establishment

This study researches the decision-making process in national security matters in Israel; and examines the influence and role of the military establishment in this process. To achieve this purpose, th...

by | On 03 Feb 2016

Iraq, From Security to Political Management

This study begins with an assessment of the years of US occupation in Iraq, focusing on its repercussions, explicating its outcomes, and exploring the horizons of political evolution in this country a...

by | On 03 Feb 2016

The European Union’s position toward the Palestinian cause: 1993-2009

The study discusses the European position toward the peace process since the Oslo Accords in 1993, up to the Israeli onslaught against the Gaza Strip in 2009. The aim is to elucidate the European role...

by | On 03 Feb 2016

Institutional Quality, Conflict and Aid Dependency

This study attempts to explore the impact of foreign aid on the quality of governance and how conflicts, whether internal or external affect the overall situation. Conflicts affect governance directly...

by Unbreen Qayyum | On 03 Feb 2016

Food Security Post-2015: What Countries Need to Do So That Regional Collaboration Can Be Effective

Attempts to explain why ending hunger has been so hard, so here the focus is on four main themes: the complex role of markets, the importance of government policies, the historical process of structur...

by C. Peter Timmer | On 03 Feb 2016

Islam Versus Economics

The paper shows that fundamental Islamic principles regarding organisation of economic affairs are directly and strongly in conflict with teachings of conventional economic theories.

by Asad Zaman | On 03 Feb 2016

An Analysis of Accrual Anomaly in Case of Karachi Stock Exchange

This study investigates the existence of accrual anomaly by using a sample of 340 non-financial firms listed at Karachi Stock Exchange. The objective of the study is to examine the persistence of th...

by Jawad Mohammad | On 03 Feb 2016

The EU And Asia In The United Nations Security Council

This contribution addresses the political and legal aspects of European and Asian membership and practice in the UNSC. First, it highlights the difficulties of the European Union (EU) becoming a fully...

by Jan Wouters | On 03 Feb 2016

Pakistan: The Impact of Economic Liberalisation on Poverty

The reform program that Pakistan gradually implemented during the 1980s and the early 1990s dismantled many of the components of the ISI strategy.1 The extent of dependence on quantitative import cont...

by Zafar Mahmood | On 02 Feb 2016

The Copts of Egypt: "State Discrimination and Exclusion"

This paper looks the factors which gave birth to a common Coptic identity in opposition to the state. Have the Copts been compelled to adopt this common identification to resist the state's policies t...

by | On 02 Feb 2016

The 2014 Arab Opinion Index

The 2014 Arab Opinion Index is the third annual survey of Arab public opinion carried out by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies. In 2011, the survey was carried out in 12 Arab countries,...

by Arab Center for Policy Studies | On 02 Feb 2016

The Bush II Years In the Middle East (2000-2008):Morals and Interests

Based on the results of a research covering the eight years of the Bush administration (2000-2008), we may from the outset assert that whenever the materialistic interests engaged in fierce conflict w...

by | On 02 Feb 2016

Children Affected by Armed Conflict in South Asia: A Review of Trends and Issues Identified Through Secondary Research

‘Armed conflict’ is defined in this report as the use of armed violence to resolve local, national and/or international disputes between individuals and groups that have a political, economic, cultura...

by | On 02 Feb 2016

Disciplining Investment Incentives: A Lost Cause?

Investment incentives rank among the most important policy instruments governments employ to influence the locational decisions of multinational firms. In the wake of the recent increase in locational...

by International Centre for Sustainable Trade and Development | On 02 Feb 2016

Pushing the Debate on Public Health

In honour of Krishna Raj, the legendary editor of Economic and Political Weekly, the Anusandhan Trust established the Krishna Raj Memorial Lecture series on Health and Social Sciences. This year’s lec...

by Padma Prakash | On 02 Feb 2016

Rural Transport, Safety and Security

By 2020, road accidents are expected to be the third highest cause of death and disability globally. Transport safety concerns in poor countries have focused mainly on roads and motorised traffic, but...

by International Forum for Rural Transport and Develo IFRTD | On 01 Feb 2016

Sudan and Iran: The Journey of Rapprochement in light of the Current Arab Landscape

This study examines Sudan's relationship with Iran in light of the numerous Israeli air raids being launched against it, and explores whether the Sudanese regime has a preference for Iranian or Arab a...

by | On 01 Feb 2016

Developing Technologies for Sustainable Fisheries in Asia

Governments in Asia must prioritise technologies that improve fishery productivity to meet the growing local and international demand for fish. This increased productivity must be sustainable, however...

by The WorldFish Center TWC | On 01 Feb 2016

Strong Public-Private Sector Partnerships Can Help to Reduce Undernutrition

Global progress towards reducing undernutrition has been made through enlightened public policies, targeted development assistance, private sector actions and commitments from civil society. Yet every...

by Nicholas Alipui | On 01 Feb 2016

Global Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Women A Human Rights Perspective

A gender analysis of the human rights situation is therefore necessary in order to understand the impact of the crisis on women and their livelihoods. In South Asia, there is an urgent need for engagi...

by Programme on Women’s Economic, Social and Cultural PWESCR | On 31 Jan 2016

Massive, Globally Coordinated Fiscal Stimulus is Needed: Going From the Drawing Board to Swift Action

In just over a year, the mid-2007 sub-prime housing debacle in the United States has escalated into a global financial crisis and pushed the world economy into recession arguably the deepest since Wor...

by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs | On 31 Jan 2016

A Global Green New Deal for Sustainable Development

Seventy-six years ago, in the midst of the Great Depression, the United States government introduced the New Deal. The New Deal effectively harnessed the fiscal stimulus for environmental as well as d...

by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs | On 31 Jan 2016

Off-shoring, Insecurity and the Protectionist Threat

The financial crash of 2008 threatens economic insecurity in industrialized countries to an extent not experienced since the Great Depression. But as discussed in the World Economic and Social Survey...

by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs | On 31 Jan 2016

Can we Avert the Next Dollar Crisis?

Are we heading towards a hard landing of the United States dollar? In recent months, the value of the dollar approached another historic low vis-à-vis other major currencies. This contrasts with the i...

by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs | On 31 Jan 2016

Increasing Public Spending in Agricultural R&D to Ensure Food Security in Developing Countries

Arguably, ensuring food and nutrition security for all people in the coming decades is the major challenge for the global community. Food demand is increasing in aggregate and per capita values, in pa...

by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs | On 31 Jan 2016

State Capacity and Inclusive Development: New Challenges and Directions.

This paper takes stock of recent advancements in the literature on state capacity and connects them tothe study of inclusive development. Specifically, four particular lines of argument are presented....

by Matthias Hau | On 30 Jan 2016

Climate-Smart Agriculture in Sri Lanka

The climate-smart agriculture (CSA) concept reflects the ambition to improve the integration of agriculture development and climate responsiveness. CSA aims to achieve food security and broader develo...

by World Bank [WB] | On 30 Jan 2016

Trade Policy and Food Security: Farm Policies of Developed Countries: What Kind of Trade Policy Framework is needed to Support Food Security Goals?

Farm Policies in developed countries have been widely blamed for creating problems for food security in developing countries. These problems have included high barriers to developing country exports,...

by | On 30 Jan 2016

Food Security, Price Volatility and Trade: Some Reflections for Developing Countries

Eugenio Diaz Bonilla and Juan Francisco Ron work up from the household level to connect international trade rules to the national strategies needed to achieve food security. Their paper surveys the po...

by | On 30 Jan 2016

Trade Policy Responses to Food Price Volatility in Poor Net Food-Importing Countries

In recent years, high and volatile prices have contributed to acute shortages of basic foodstuffs in poor, net food-importing countries. This paper examines the new challenges these countries face, an...

by | On 30 Jan 2016

Agricultural Domestic Support and Sustainable Development in China

China's fast-growing farm subsidies have generated new interest in whether these programmes can help achieve public policy goals, without distorting trade and production. This study, by NI Hongxing, f...

by | On 30 Jan 2016

Trade and Food Security

The evolving food security agenda offers governments a chance to address some urgent concerns and strengthen the multilateral trade system. The Doha Agenda has been overtaken by time and events. Many...

by | On 30 Jan 2016

Agricultural Trade and Food Security: Some Thoughts about a Continuous Debate Food Reserves in Developing Countries: Trade Policy Options for Improved Food Security

Previous agricultural trade negotiations were conducted when global prices were lower. They focused on policies that artificially expanded supply in some countries, or reduced demand in other countrie...

by | On 30 Jan 2016

The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index

The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) is a new survey-based index designed to measure the empowerment, agency, and inclusion of women in the agricultural sector. The WEAI was initially d...

by Sabina Alkire | On 30 Jan 2016

Israel and the Fencing Policy: A Barrier on Every Seam Line

This article tries to analyze the multiple aspects of separation barriers built by Israel since its inception in 1948, and evaluate their effectiveness in order to show whether such a policy makes Isr...

by | On 29 Jan 2016

Hamas: Between Efforts to Politicize the Court and Demands of Justice

For the two contending sides in any conflict, the give-and-take of pain-inducing blows is somewhat a given. Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement, has suffered a good many such blows over the course...

by | On 29 Jan 2016

Tracing Qatar’s Foreign Policy and its Impact on Regional Security

Drawing strongly upon recent International Relations literature on the foreign affairs of small states, this paper elaborates several arguments on the trajectory of Qatar’s foreign policy: (1) An “act...

by | On 29 Jan 2016

Russian Intervention in Syria: Geostrategy is Paramount

Russia’s military intervention in Syria is the only direct military intervention there by a state from outside the region. Iran was there first, but its intervention took different forms. No state, be...

by | On 29 Jan 2016

Effect of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) on Malnutrition of Infants in Rajasthan, India: A Mixed Methods Study

The paper tries to analyse the effect of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), a wage-for-employment policy of the Indian Government, on infant malnutrition and delinea...

by | On 29 Jan 2016

Food Security and WTO Domestic Support Disciplines Post-Bali

Trade ministers in Bali agreed an interim solution to the problem of food security and WTO domestic support disciplines, but also committed to begin discussions on a "permanent solution" once the mini...

by Alan Matthews | On 28 Jan 2016

Establishing an International Advisory Centre on Investment Disputes?

In the light of growing globalization and the significant increase in the number of investor-state disputes that has taken place over recent years, this paper proposes that it is time to establish an...

by | On 28 Jan 2016

Services Trade Agreement in South Asia Contours and Modalities

Available literature on regional trade integration in South Asia points to a variety of economic and non-economic factors that have slowed the integration process. The major non-economic factors inclu...

by South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics & Environment SAWTEE | On 28 Jan 2016

Evidence from the Frontlines of Climate Change: Loss and Damage to Communities Despite Coping and Adaptation

New thinking and practical approaches are needed to address the threats to human security that climate change combined with social vulnerability pose for current and future patterns of loss and damage...

by Koko Warner | On 28 Jan 2016

Air Pollution Reduction and Control in South Asia

In order to understand the importance of reducing air pollution and its likely trans-boundary effects, it is important to first review the socioeconomic situation of the South Asian member states. Sou...

by Mahmood Khwaja | On 28 Jan 2016

Competition and Response in Small Firm Clusters: Two Cases from Western India

This paper addresses the different firm level strategies adopted to face up to the pressures of competition by two industrial clusters in the highly industrialised state of Gujarat. The overwhelming p...

by Keshab Das | On 28 Jan 2016

Micro Determinants of Human Fertility: Study of Selected Physiological and Behavioural Variables in SC and ST Population

This paper is an attempt to study plausible causal relationship of women’s physiology and behaviour components with fertility in more or less non-industrial rural populations in Orissa, an Eastern Ind...

by Satyajeet Nanda | On 28 Jan 2016

Infrastructure and Growth in a Regional Context: Indian States since the 1980s

The central focus of this paper is to underscore emerging patterns and issues in the availability of and access to physical infrastructure in major Indian states during the two decades since the 1980s...

by Keshab Das | On 28 Jan 2016

Switched On: Youth at the Heart of Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific

Asia and the Pacific is home to 60 per cent of the global population aged 15 to 24 years. Across this geographically, politically, socially, culturally and economically expansive region, youth are a v...

by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific | On 28 Jan 2016

Report of the National Consultation on "Children and Governance: In the Context of Federalism and Devolution"

Economists and experts have been batting for bringing the fiscal federalism, the activist fora has been criticizing the newly brought in fiscal arrangements between Centre and States. This contradict...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 28 Jan 2016

Agriculture and Food Security: New Challenges and Options for International Policy

New challenges are facing the global food and agriculture trading system in the 21st century. The present paper identifies options for how policies and international trade rules can respond to this ne...

by | On 27 Jan 2016

Social Safety Nets for Food and Nutritional Security in India

This paper brings together existing literature on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNRGEA) and the Public Distribution System (PDS) in India, offering a narrative review of...

by | On 27 Jan 2016

Does War Empower Women? Evidence from Timor Leste

Conflicts may change the material conditions and the incentives individuals face through death, displacement and other consequences of violence. Being a victim of a war can also profoundly change indi...

by | On 26 Jan 2016

Nutritional Deprivation Among Indian Pre-school Children: Does Rural-Urban Disparity Matter?

This paper focuses on a particular aspect of such rural-urban difference, namely nutritional status of children. Over the years it is found that under nutrition among children in India; have declining...

by Rudra Narayan Mishra | On 26 Jan 2016

Overcoming the Challenges of Urban Food and Nutrition Security

Despite the high contribution of urban areas to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), urban poverty and nutrition security in India remains a challenge. Poor infrastructure, high unemployment, poor state...

by M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation | On 26 Jan 2016

The Telangana Turmoil: Apprehensions and Hope

The paper addresses the apprehensions relating to state bifurcation among people of different regions in the state and the country. The paper argues that a new state can not be a threat either to the...

by Madhusudan Bandi | On 26 Jan 2016

The Future of Electricity in Fast-Growing Economies

Electricity markets in fast-growing economies face different challenges than those in more mature markets. Mature markets with stable demand for electricity are transitioning to a more sustainable mix...

by World Economic Forum [WEF] | On 25 Jan 2016

Internet Fragmentation: An Overview

A thriving and open Internet provides the foundation for the fourth industrial revolution. There has been growing concern that the Internet may be in danger of splintering into a series of bordered cy...

by World Economic Forum [WEF] | On 25 Jan 2016

Skills, Informality, and Development

This paper makes an attempt to estimate the index of informal sector employment which can be attributed to the supply-push phenomenon. Factors which explain the inter-state variations include the indu...

by Arup Mitra | On 24 Jan 2016

Estimating Inflation Rates of Import-Concentrated Commodities

This note provides estimates of inflation rate of import-concentrated commodities and their contribution to overall inflation in Bangladesh. The results suggest that the Bangladesh economy has been ex...

by M. G. Mortaza | On 23 Jan 2016

The SLR as a Monetary Policy Instrument in Bangladesh

The statutory liquidity requirement (SLR), as a monetary policy instrument, has experienced infrequent changes in Bangladesh. Past evidence shows that reduction in SLR produced positive impact on bank...

by Sayera Younus | On 23 Jan 2016

New Trade Links: A Step towards Asian Economic Integration?

This paper states that the sheaf of trade- and investment-agreements that India and Bangladesh have now signed will open up opportunities for New Delhi to look at, and beyond, its near-East neighbour...

by | On 23 Jan 2016

Opportunities and Challenges in Rice Seeds Trade Between India and Bangladesh

Rice, a major staple crop for India and Bangladesh is important not only for ensuring food security, but also the livelihood security of large number of small and marginal farmers engaged in rice cult...

by Neha Jain | On 23 Jan 2016

Climate Change, Food Security and Trade Linkages in South Asia

This Briefing Paper examines the linkages between climate change, food security and trade in South Asia. Studies suggest that in Asia the heat stress due to climate change will reduce crop yields in t...

by Ram Jha | On 23 Jan 2016

Impact of Climate Change on Least Developed Countries: Are The SDGs Possible?

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will define the priorities of the UN’s development agendabeyond 2015. But the reality of climate change impacts will render these aspirational goals almost imp...

by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC | On 23 Jan 2016

PDS ‘To Go’? ‘Portability’ of Rights through Real-time Monitoring: the Centralised Online Real-time Electronic PDS in Chhattisgarh, India

Information and communications technology (ICT)-based reforms are increasingly being used to improve the delivery of public services. The main question which the research reported here addressed is th...

by Anuradha Joshi | On 23 Jan 2016

Do Government Transfers Reduce Conflict?

Social conflicts have been solved through fiscal policy and the provision of public goods and services over the centuries. Data from India, too, show government expenditure on social services has had...

by Institute of Development Studies IDS | On 23 Jan 2016

East Asia in 2015

The future political landscape of Asia-Pacific would largely be decided, arguably, by happenings in the East Asian region. It is so because in East Asia, the interests of three important players of wo...

by Sandip Kumar Mishra | On 23 Jan 2016

Dynamics of Pharmaceutical Quality Systems for the Export of Pharmaceuticals from India to Africa

India’s pharmaceutical industry of more than 10,000 manufacturing sites is estimated to generate US$ 22 billion in revenue , half of which is exported to more than 150 countries across the globe. Expo...

by Empower School of Health ESH | On 22 Jan 2016

Community Based Women Empowerment Initiatives in India

Over the years, India has designed and implemented a number of targeted interventions for the poor including putting in place specific reservations for the disadvantaged to ensure equitable access to...

by Global IPE | On 22 Jan 2016

Advancing Sustainable Innovations for a Food Secure Future in India: Major Impacts of the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia

The paper focuses to reduce hunger and increase food and income security of resource poor farm families in South Asia through the development and inclusive adoption of new cereal varieties, sustainabl...

by | On 22 Jan 2016

The E15 Initiative: Strengthening the Global Trade and Investment System in the 21st Century

World trade has experienced a significant slowdown since the 2008 financial crisis. Over this period, the global ratio of trade expansion to income growth has halved. An effective global trade and inv...

by World Economic Forum [WEF] | On 22 Jan 2016

Emerging Powers in a Changing World

This is the second collective effort from the Center for Euro-Atlantic Studies to address global issues that are largely unfamiliar to the Greek international affairs community. Last year we dealt wit...

by Stamatis Zachariadis | On 21 Jan 2016

China’s Dams & Regional Security Implications An Indian Perspective

This brief provides a historical-cum-ongoing account as well as an assessment of the future of China’s dam-building exercise, its rationale and consequences at all levels – geographically, environment...

by Dhanasree Jayaram | On 21 Jan 2016

Assessment of the Reliability and Relevance of the Food Data Collected in National Household Consumption and Expenditure Surveys

Food consumption data are collected in most countries through a variety of household surveys. The primary objective of these surveys is usually to measure poverty, to derive consumption patterns neede...

by Lisa C. Smith | On 21 Jan 2016

The European Union's Proposed Carbon Equalisation System: Some Implications for India's Exports

In 2009, the European Union (EU) proposed to use border carbon measures, which could take the form of a direct or indirect “carbon tax”, against imports from its partner countries that were not follow...

by Biswajit Dhar | On 21 Jan 2016

Debates on Food Technologies in India: R&D Priorities, Production Trends and Growing Expectations

This discussion paper examines the use of three different technological options in the Indian agriculture. It shows that support to organic farming is increasing but at this stage innovation related i...

by Sachin Chaturvedi | On 21 Jan 2016

On Migration and the Policy Process

Accepting that virtually any policy can have some impact on the movement of people, one can also recognize that a series of policies exist that have been developed specifically to deal with migration...

by | On 20 Jan 2016

Climate Change and Food Systems: Global Assessments and Implications for Food Security and Trade

This book collects the findings of a group of scientists and economists who have taken stock of climate change impacts on food and agriculture at global and regional levels over the past two decades....

by Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] | On 20 Jan 2016

Impact of Climate Related Shocks and Stresses on Nutrition and Food Security in Selected Areas of Rural Bangladesh

This study attempts to break down ‘climate change’ into ‘climate related shocks and stresses in the course of time’ and conceptualizes the food security and nutrition outcomes as combination of the ad...

by Chris Béné | On 19 Jan 2016

Climate Impacts on Food Security and Nutrition

Among the most significant impacts of climate change is the potential increase of food insecurity and malnutrition. The aim of this primer is to summarise the current state of knowledge on the impacts...

by Richard Choularton | On 19 Jan 2016

Determinants of Child Undernutrition in Bangladesh Literature Review

This literature review identifies and summarises existing evidence on the determinants of undernutrition in children under the age of two years in Bangladesh. The review gathers evidence on the immedi...

by Stuart Gillespie | On 19 Jan 2016

“If we eat well, we can study” Dietary Diversity in the Everyday Lives of Children in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, India

This paper investigates young people’s and their caregivers’ experiences of food insecurity, diet and eating practices in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It also provides original child-focused evidence...

by Elisabetta Aurino | On 19 Jan 2016

Illegal Bangladeshi Migration: Evaluating India-Bangladesh Approaches

The issue of Bangladeshi migration in India has become a major concern for policy makers in recent years. Indeed, India’s eastern border is facing major illegal activities viz. the influx of illegal...

by | On 19 Jan 2016

Colonial Origins of Maoist Insurgency in India: Long Term Effects of Indirect Rule

This dissertation tries to answer the puzzle of why the Maoist insurgency in India, which is considered to be the most important internal security threat to the world’s largest democracy, occurs in ce...

by Shivaji Mukherjee | On 19 Jan 2016

Crucial Collaborators or Petty Players? The Globalization of R&D and the Rise of China and India

In recent decades, research and development has become a key new arena of globalization. Whereas multinational corporations once conducted R&D primarily in their home countries, it is now often disper...

by Andrew Kennedy | On 18 Jan 2016

Group Violence, Ethnic Diversity, and Citizen Participation: Evidence from Indonesia

This paper addresses the impact of violent conflict on social capital, as measured by citizen participation in community groups defined for four activity types: governance, social service, infrastruct...

by | On 18 Jan 2016

Reappraising the Greed and Grievance Explanations for Violent Internal Conflict

Two phenomena have been recently utilised to explain conflict onset among rational choice analysts: greed and grievance. The former reflects elite competition over valuable natural resource rents. The...

by | On 18 Jan 2016

The Utility of Mixed Methods in the Study of Violence

This paper examines how qualitative and quantitative research methods may best be integrated in the study of violence, providing and critiquing examples from previous work on different forms of violen...

by | On 18 Jan 2016

Health Service Inequities as Challenge to Health Security

The paper provides an overview of the inequities in health outcomes and their variation across regional, social, and economic groups. It seeks to explain these variations by focusing on health service...

by | On 18 Jan 2016

From Congress-System to Non-hegemonic Multi-party Competition: Politics in Maharashtra

The paper reviews the changing nature of politics in the state of Maharashtra – an important subnational state in India. Politics in the state underwent a shift in 1978 and later again in 1990s. The p...

by | On 18 Jan 2016

The Global Risks Report 2016

The Global Risks Report 2016 features perspectives from nearly 750 experts on the perceived impact and likelihood of 29 prevalent global risks over a 10-year timeframe. The risks are divided into five...

by World Economic Forum [WEF] | On 18 Jan 2016

Public Infrastructure, Location of Private Schools and Primary School Attainment in an Emerging Economy

The paper argues that access to public infrastructure plays a crucial role on the presence of private schools in a community, as it could not only minimise the cost of production, but also ensure a hi...

by Sarmistha Pal | On 15 Jan 2016

Globalization, Brain Drain and Development

This paper reviews four decades of economics research on the brain drain, with a focus on recent contributions and on development issues. We first assess the magnitude, intensity and determinants of t...

by Frédéric Docquier | On 14 Jan 2016

Looking Within The Household: A Study On Gender, Food Security, And Resilience In Cocoa-Growing Communities

This study, relying primarily on qualitative data from Côte d’Ivoire, examines how income allocation and intra-household dynamics affect household resilience during the lean season. Its findings indic...

by Elizabeth Kiewisch | On 14 Jan 2016

Measuring Subnational Budget Transparency, Participation, and Accountability: India

India has highly populated states and a highly devolved budget; in fact, over half of all India’s public expenditures are through state budgets, including a large share of development expenditures on...

by International Budget Partnership IBP | On 13 Jan 2016

Should Global Goal Setting Continue, and how, in the Post-2015 Era?

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were introduced to monitor implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration which set out a vision for inclusive and sustainable globalization based...

by Sakiko Fukuda-Parr | On 13 Jan 2016

Why Human Rights Fail to Protect Undocumented Migrants

In this article, I depart from the factual difficulties of undocumented migrants to access a state’s protection mechanisms for avowedly universal human rights. I relate this aporia to two competing co...

by | On 11 Jan 2016

Trade and Environment Review 2013

Developing and developed countries alike need a paradigm shift in agricultural development: from a "green revolution" to a "truly ecological intensification" approach. This implies a rapid and signifi...

by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD | On 09 Jan 2016

State of Injustice: The Indian State and Poverty

The paper throws light on the view that the Indian state has been one that has been perpetrated by injustice irrespective of a series of ground-breaking legislative acts that enshrine a number of soci...

by John Harriss | On 09 Jan 2016

Is India Making Waves in South China Sea?

The South China Sea (SCS) disputes are regarded as one of the most difficult regional conflicts in the Asia-Pacific, in an ‘arena of escalating contention. This paper looks at India’s interests and st...

by Rajeev Ranjan Chaturvedy | On 09 Jan 2016

The Afghanistan Conflict in its Historical Context

Afghanistan has long been used as a battleground for strategic wars by larger external powers. This is in part due to its geographic position between the Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia. Acco...

by Riaz Hassan | On 09 Jan 2016

A Tortured History : Federalism and Democracy in Pakistan

The Pakistan Army’s ideological hegemony, especially in the country’s Punjabi-speaking heartland, the continuing focus on the state’s narrative of a religion-based unitary identity which is under a co...

by Aasim Akhtar | On 08 Jan 2016

Temporal and Spatial Changes in the Incidence of Agricultural Labourers

The attempt of the present thesis has been to examine the incidence of agricultural labourers in the state of Maharashtra. It primarily aimed at analysing changes in the size of the labour force in ag...

by Awanish Kumar | On 08 Jan 2016

Patterns and Politics of Migration in South Asia

Migration is an important social and historical reality in South Asia. In the past decade, migration from one country to another and internal migration (i.e. migration within a particular country) hav...

by Sanjay Barbora | On 08 Jan 2016

Impact of Participatory Forest Management on Financial Assets of Rural Communities in Northwest Pakistan

The system of participatory (or joint) forest management was commenced in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan in 1996 through Asian Development Bank's funded project. These forest refo...

by Tanvir Ali | On 08 Jan 2016

Food Insecurity, Conflict and Livelihood Threats in Nepal

This chapter examines the food security situation in Nepal and the impact of the recent armed conflict on the food security situation. It argues that food security is understood in different ways and...

by Bishnu Upreti | On 07 Jan 2016

Conflict through a Gender Lens

This brief suggests that those seeking an in-depth understanding of the social and political world need to apply a feminist curiosity – that is, a curiosity about the roles gender plays at all levels...

by | On 07 Jan 2016

Household Decision-Making Under Threat of Violence: A Micro Level Study in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh

The rural household livelihood and children’s educational investment decisions are analyzed in a post-conflict setting located in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region of Bangladesh. The study represents...

by | On 07 Jan 2016

Remittances and Labor Supply in Post-Conflict Tajikistan

This paper analyzes the impact of remittances on the labor supply of men and women in post-conflict Tajikistan. It is found that on average men and women from remittance-receiving households are less...

by Olga Shemyakina | On 07 Jan 2016

Socio-Economic Uncertainty and Violent Conflicts

This paper, with reference to the literature on research on violent conflicts, discusses socio-economic uncertainty and characteristics of coping with it in the context of violent mass conflicts. Rese...

by Gyöngyvér Demény | On 07 Jan 2016

Development Trajectories, Emission Profile, and Policy Actions:Singapore

Singapore is the most industrialized and urbanized country in Southeast Asia and is totally dependent on oil and natural gas imports to satisfy its energy needs. Its national energy policy framework s...

by Tilak Doshi | On 07 Jan 2016

Negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: Evaluation and Implications for East Asian Regionalism

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement seems to have reached a crossroads: it could either be a building block toward achieving economic integration in Asia and the Pacific, or trigger the form...

by Inkyo Cheong | On 07 Jan 2016

Japan’s Lost Decade: Lessons for Other Economies

Japan has suffered from sluggish economic growth and recession since the 1990s, a phenomenon dubbed “Japan’s Lost Decade.” The People’s Republic of China, many countries in the eurozone, and the Unite...

by Naoyuki Yoshino | On 06 Jan 2016

Habitat III Issue Papers : 22 – Informal Settlements

Although some governments acknowledge the existence of slums and informal settlements, many do not. This lack of recognition and subsequent response directly undermines city-wide sustainable developme...

by | On 05 Jan 2016

Land Laws, Administration and Forced Displacement in Andhra Pradesh, India

The present study was taken up in this context with the objective of examining the land laws and administration in AP and see how the existing laws are implemented, forced acquisition of lands is ta...

by Ramachandraiah C | On 05 Jan 2016

Plan vs. Performance: Winter Session 2015

This note compares the legislative business planned by Parliament and compares it with the actual performance, during the Winter Session 2015.

by Kusum Malik | On 05 Jan 2016

Indonesia Local Economic Governance Index, 2007

This year's Indonesia Local Economic Governance Survey provides a fascinating look into the dynamics of local governance and business development in Indonesia nearly a decade after regional autonomy....

by The Asia Foundation | On 02 Jan 2016

Afghanistan in 2009: A Survey of the Afghan People

The findings from The Asia Foundation's fifth public opinion poll in Afghanistan, Afghanistan in 2009: A Survey of the Afghan People, which covers all 34 of Afghanistan's provinces.

by The Asia Foundation | On 02 Jan 2016

State Building, Political Progress, and Human Security in Afghanistan

Based on the Asia Foundation’s , "Afghanistan in 2006: A Survey of the Afghan People." , the papers in this volume analyze survey data on the opinions and perceptions of Afghans towards government, pu...

by | On 02 Jan 2016

Summary of Indonesia's Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Environment Sector Assessment

Indonesia is a net importer of grains, horticulture and livestock produce. The instability of food prices since 2008 has led to a renewed emphasis on food security. Despite increasing food crop produc...

by Victor Pontines | On 01 Jan 2016

Social Protection Brief: Social Security Reform and Economic Modeling Capacity Building in Indonesia

While official poverty in Indonesia is relatively low at 12%, an additional 27% of the population live just above the poverty line and small shocks can drive them back into poverty. Poor and vulnerabl...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 01 Jan 2016

Differential effects of graduating during a recession across gender and race

This study examines the differential effects of the unemployment rate at labor market entry,defined as the time of leaving school, on subsequent wages across gender and race using the National Longitu...

by Ayako Kondo | On 01 Jan 2016

Poverty and Violent Conflict: A Micro Level Perspective on the Causes and Duration of Warfare

This paper discusses how endogenous mechanisms linking processes of violent conflict and the economic well-being of individuals and households in combat areas provide valuable micro foundations to the...

by Patricia Justino | On 30 Dec 2015

Carrot or Stick? Redistributive Transfers Versus Policing in Contexts of Civil Unrest

Recurrent episodes of civil unrest significantly reduce the potential for economic growth and poverty reduction. Yet the economics literature offers little understanding of what triggers civil unrest...

by Patricia Justino | On 30 Dec 2015

On the Links between Violent Conflict and Household Poverty: How Much Do We Really Know?

This paper assesses the usefulness of a new emerging body of work on the micro-level analysis of conflict and violence in advancing our current understanding of the relationship between violent confli...

by Patricia Justino | On 30 Dec 2015

Working of Forest Rights Act 2006 and Its Impact on Livelihoods: A Comparative Study of Odisha and Jharkhand

Clearly, the monograph addresses a set of critical issues related to the forest rights and livelihood and makes a sincere effort to draw attention to the plight of forest dependent communities. Policy...

by Tapas Kumar Sarangi | On 30 Dec 2015

Civil Society Meets the State: A Model of Associational Democracy

This paper takes issue with simplistic views of inefficient state and efficient civil society as well as undifferentiated accounts of civil society that do not distinguish among particular association...

by | On 29 Dec 2015

Migration and Development: Toward Sustainable Solutions

This paper reviews the two-way relationship between migration and development. The author emphasizes that migration can be a tool for development and that development can affect migration patterns. He...

by | On 29 Dec 2015

Can Social Security Boost Domestic Consumption in the People’s Republic of China?

This paper reviews the development of the social security system and trends in the urban labor market in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Despite its remarkable economic achievement, the PRC face...

by Wang Dewen | On 29 Dec 2015

ASEAN 2030: Challenges of Building a Mature Political and Security Community

The paper examines ASEAN’s political and security challenges and prospects in the coming two decades. The challenges facing ASEAN could be classified into six broad categories: (1) the shifting balanc...

by Amitav Acharya | On 29 Dec 2015

Women 2000 and Beyond: The Role of Men and Boys in Achieving Gender Equality

Gender equality is not a women's issue; it concerns men and boys as well as women and girls. Garnering sufficient support for the profound social changes required by the gender equality agenda cannot...

by UN Women | On 29 Dec 2015

Public and Private Control and Contestation of Public Space amid Violent Conflict in Karachi

Few cities in South Asia have been affected by violence more than Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and economic centre. This working paper examines the impacts of the city’s declining security situati...

by Noman Ahmed | On 29 Dec 2015

A Connectivity-Driven Development Strategy for Nepal: From a Landlocked to a Land-Linked State

Nepal's lackluster economic performance during the post-conflict period (that is, after November 2006) has been driven by remittances from the export of labor services and the improved performance of...

by Pradumna Rana | On 29 Dec 2015

Afghanistan in 2015: A Survey of the Afghan People

The Asia Foundation's Survey of the Afghan People is Afghanistan’s broadest and longest-running public opinion poll. After the first full year of Afghanistan’s National Unity Government, 9,586 Afghans...

by Zachary Warren | On 26 Dec 2015

Migration from North-East to Urban Centres: A Study of Delhi Region

It is only very recently that out-migration of natives of the North East Region to other localities in India became a problem of apprehension. Though the natives of the North East Region are tradition...

by Babu Remesh | On 26 Dec 2015

Land Reform: A Revised Agenda for the 21st Century

This report explores how best to implement effective land reform, based on past experience in less-developed and transitional economies. The authors discuss the potential benefits of land reform, fact...

by | On 23 Dec 2015

State Capacity for Pro-Poor Delivery: Constructing Ownership, Forging Accountability

Severe chronic poverty persists in India, partly because of the poor capacity of the state in India to provide for its poor. An action research project, underway in five poorest districts in the count...

by Sajjad Hassan | On 23 Dec 2015

The Political Economy of Transitions: Governance Assessments and Measurements

This discussion paper examines existing methods for measuring aspects of political transitions. The paper canvasses and examines existing measurement tools that focus on some, but not all, relevant di...

by United Nations Development Programme [UNDP] | On 23 Dec 2015

Enhancing Youth Political Participation throughout the Electoral Cycle

This guide identifies key entry points for the inclusion of young people in political and electoral processes and compiles good practice examples of mechanisms for youth political empowerment around t...

by United Nations Development Programme [UNDP] | On 23 Dec 2015

Indo-French Defence Cooperation - Friends in Need or Friends Indeed?

This paper aims at understanding the reasons behind the institutionalization of Indo-French defence cooperation after 1998, and at assessing the future prospects for this collaboration. By retracing i...

by | On 22 Dec 2015

The Iran-Pakistan-India Pipeline - The Intersection of Energy Politics

This paper seeks to identify the strategic and economic variables involved in India’s decision about whether or not to pursue a proposed natural gas pipeline from Iran. There is a lot of misinformatio...

by | On 22 Dec 2015

Cricket and Indian National Consciousness

It is recognized that there are close links between sport and politics, and in particular between sport and national consciousness. The Olympic Games and the football, rugby and cricket World Cups hav...

by | On 22 Dec 2015

The Sikh Diaspora and the Quest for Khalistan: A Search for Statehood or for Self-preservation?

This paper will reexamine the role of the Sikh Diaspora in the Sikh separatist movement, commencing in the 1980s, that loomed over the political, security, social, and humanitarian makeup of the Indi...

by | On 22 Dec 2015

Tension in the Rolling Hills: Burmese Population and Border Trade in Mizoram

This paper first describes Mizoram’s Burmese population and its integration in Mizo society. It then examines border trade and its implications, with a particular focus on Aizawl’s central market, Bar...

by Julien Levesque | On 22 Dec 2015

Lull in the Rice Fields: The Asian Experience

The strengthening of El Niño weather phenomenon has led to lower than average rainfall for India’s monsoon season, thereby raising concerns for paddy crops production.

by Aritra Chakrabarty | On 21 Dec 2015

The Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011: Origin, Need, and Analysis

Tabled by V. Narayanasamy, Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, in Lok Sabha in December 2011, The Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redre...

by Amit Chandra | On 21 Dec 2015

Naxalite Movements of India: A Profile

In order to understand the current phase of Naxalism, there is a need to understand different aspects of organizational transformation that have occurred within the Naxal movement, since the genesis a...

by Rajat Kumar Kujur | On 18 Dec 2015

India's Sri Lanka Policy: Towards Economic Engagement

India's Sri Lanka policy has built upon economic engagement to cooperate on initiatives of strategic importance. The lesson one can learn from this is the potential of economic linkages to overcome a...

by | On 18 Dec 2015

Swat A Critical Analysis

While the government continues to press for an unconditional surrender of arms and men as a precondition to a dialogue and settlement; the other side is also adamant on its demands including the withd...

by | On 18 Dec 2015

Nepal: A Failing State or a State in Transition?

The modest intention of this paper is to question the above assertion that Nepal is a failing state. To this end, it shall firstly outline the broad definition of failing states. Secondly, it will off...

by Oliver Housden | On 17 Dec 2015

In a Weak State: Status and Reintegration of Children Associated with Armed forces and Armed Groups (CAAFAG) in Nepal

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed on 21 November 2006, made an unprecedented commitment to those children who had been involved in Nepal’s decade long civil war. It stipulated that those ...

by | On 17 Dec 2015

Pakistan: Politics, Religion & Extremism

The study attempts to investigate whether it is relative deprivation as Ted Gurr suggests or the element of fear that pushed the Muslim majority Pakistan into a cycle of religious violence due to the...

by | On 17 Dec 2015

Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding in Post-Conflict Environments: A Critical Analysis of the UN Approach in Timor-Leste, Liberia and Nepal

This paper looks at possible alternatives to UN peacekeeping and peacebuilding missions with a view to establishing if there are organizations or other interested parties, which may be more effective...

by | On 17 Dec 2015

Contemporary Naxal Movement in India: New Trends, State Responses and Recommendations

This paper makes an attempt to map the Maoist conflict in its present state of affairs and while describing its present manifestations, the past links have always been revisited. The paper also attemp...

by | On 17 Dec 2015

Strategic Framework 2013–2017 Global Programme Food Security

Food security and nutrition is a major global challenge. SDC’s Global Programme Food Security(GPFS) represents an innovative initiative of Switzerland in addressing food security and nutrition challen...

by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC | On 17 Dec 2015

The Design and Implementation of Public Pension Systems in Developing Countries: Issues and Options

Developing countries are increasingly aware of the need to design and implement improvements in public systems for providing pensions to the elderly. Such systems may aim to smooth consumption and thu...

by David Bloom | On 17 Dec 2015

Globalisation and the Future of the Welfare State

This paper reconsiders the link between welfare state provision, globalisation and competitiveness empirically. We challenge the conventional wisdom that welfare states, large-scale public provision o...

by Yu-Fu Chen | On 16 Dec 2015

Tax Revenue Mobilistation In Developing Countries: Issues and Challenges

In recent years, domestic revenue mobilisation in developing countries gained increasing prominence in the policy debate. Several factors explain this, including the potential benefits of taxation for...

by Mick Moore | On 16 Dec 2015

Equate and Conflate: Political Commitment to Hunger and Undernutrition Reduction in Five High-Burden Countries

As political commitment is an essential ingredient for elevating food and nutrition security onto policy agendas, commitment metrics have proliferated. Many conflate government commitment to fight hun...

by Rajith Lakshman | On 16 Dec 2015

MQSUN Determinants of Child Undernutrition in Bangladesh Literature Review

The DFID Programme to Accelerate Improved Nutrition for the Extreme Poor in Bangladesh aims to improve nutrition outcomes for children, mothers and adolescent girls by integrating the delivery of a nu...

by Ahmed F. | On 16 Dec 2015

Commercialisation of Surrogacy in the Indian Context

This article talks about some of the important concerns regarding commercialisation in surrogacy arrangements and issues that are left unaddressed in the guidelines on ART issued by government.

by Ashok Vaidya | On 16 Dec 2015

National Experiences in Building Social Protection Floors: India’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

This study highlights three central themes of the MGNREGA: first, the innovative policy framework of the Act, which brings together rights-based entitlements, demand-driven employment, and citizen-cen...

by Ellen Ehmke | On 16 Dec 2015

Per - child Funding Model for Financing School Education in India

The paper examines the current state of funding of school education in India and identifies the inefficiencies and arbitrary nature of allocation of the system and suggests an alternative per-child fu...

by Centre for Civil Society CCS | On 15 Dec 2015

Education Reforms, Bureaucracy and the Puzzles of Implementation: A Case Study from Bihar

It is a widely accepted truth that the Indian state suffers from a serious crisis of implementation capability. Despite widespread recognition of this crisis, there is remarkably little analytical wor...

by | On 15 Dec 2015

Enhancing Early Warning Capabilities and Capacities for Food Safety

Worldwide, food safety incidents can have a significant impact on public health, economies, agrifood trade, food security, and public confidence in the food supply. The prevention, mitigation, and man...

by | On 15 Dec 2015

Overview of Central Government Employees

The central government periodically constitutes a Pay Commission, to evaluate and recommend revisions of salaries and pensions, for its employees. Recently, the Seventh Central Pay Commission has mad...

by Vatsal Khullar | On 10 Dec 2015

Empowering the Poor through Human Rights Litigation

The purpose of this manual is to collaborate with grass-roots organizations, in particular with NGOs, in defining the content of economic, social and cultural rights (ESC rights) and to empower the ac...

by Maritza Formisano Prada | On 10 Dec 2015

Understanding the Drought Impact of El Niño on the Global Agricultural Areas

During El Niño episodes the normal patterns of tropical precipitation and atmospheric circulation become disrupted triggering extreme climate events around the globe: droughts, floods and affecting th...

by | On 09 Dec 2015

Climate-Smart Agriculture: Smallholder Adoption and Implications for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation

There are a wide range of agriculture-based practices and technologies that have the potential to increase food production and the adaptive capacity of the food production system, as well as reduce em...

by | On 09 Dec 2015

Notes on Land, Long Run Food Security and the Agrarian Crisis in India

These Notes are mainly about three interconnected themes; the international and Indian ‘take’ on control over land (and water); the distinction between an agricultural crisis and an agrarian crisis;...

by Sheila Bhalla | On 09 Dec 2015

Comparing Emissions Mitigation Efforts across Countries

A framework for comparing mitigation effort is drawn, drawing from a set of principles for designing and implementing informative metrics. A template for organizing metrics on mitigation effort is pr...

by William Pizer | On 09 Dec 2015

Water in the Post-2015 Development Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals

The objective of this discussion paper was to provide background for discussions of the UNESCO-IHP Side-Event on "Water in the Post-2015 Development Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals" during th...

by | On 08 Dec 2015

Budget for Children in Meghalaya 2015-16

Budgets are the most solid expression of a government’s priorities, performances, decisions and intentions both at the national as well as the level of the states. This budget for children (BfC) in Me...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 08 Dec 2015

Progress of the World’s Women 2008/2009: Who Answers to Women?

The “Progress of the World's Women 2008/2009: Who Answers to Women?” demonstrates that one of the most powerful constraints on realizing women's rights and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (...

by | On 07 Dec 2015

The Sun Gets Bigger

The government should encourage the use of solar energy.

by T.N. Ninan | On 04 Dec 2015

Climate Change, Water and Food Security

This report summarizes current knowledge of the anticipated impacts of climate change on water availability for agriculture. The implications for local and national food security are examined; and the...

by | On 04 Dec 2015

Government Intervention in Grain Markets in India: Rethinking the Procurement Policy

This paper reviews the rice procurement operations of the Government of India from the standpoints of cost of procurement as well as effectiveness in supporting farmers’ incomes. The two channels used...

by Neha Gupta | On 02 Dec 2015

The Socio-Economic Impact of HIV at the Household Level in Asia: A Regional Analysis of the Impact on Women and Girls

An important element of the socio-economic impact of HIV is how it disproportionately affects women and girls, in terms of their vulnerability to infection, constrained access to services and the a...

by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) | On 01 Dec 2015

Youth Vulnerabilities in Life Course Transitions

This paper examines youth vulnerabilities, with a particular emphasis on low- and middle-income countries. It touches on the challenges confronted by young people exposed to extreme, life threatening...

by | On 26 Nov 2015

Challenges to Human Security in the Arab Countries

In Arab countries, a widespread lack of human security undermines human development, according to the Arab Human Development Report 2009: Challenges to Human Security in the Arab Countries. This repor...

by | On 26 Nov 2015

The Indian Insolvency Regime in Practice – An Analysis of Insolvency and Debt

This paper analyses 45 cases of insolvency and bankruptcy resolution in order to measure the efficiency and problems of the present laws for firm bankruptcy in India. These cases have been selected t...

by Aparna Ravi | On 25 Nov 2015

Sustainable Nutrition Security: Restoring the Bridge Between Agriculture and Health

Malnutrition remains the world’s most serious health problem and the single biggest contributor to child deaths. It is time to restore the bridge between agriculture and health. FAO’s Member Countries...

by Graeme Thomas | On 24 Nov 2015

Countering Terrorism: Role of Intelligence and Investigative Agencies

Intelligence agencies provide the most sensitive protective security shield for a country. They mostly operate in shadows, develop sources and penetrate the enemy to prise out information that could b...

by Radha Vinod Raju | On 24 Nov 2015

Safe Havens: The Emerging Terror Hubs in South Asia

This issue brief reflects on the prevalence of terror networks in South Asia as Al Qaeda is attempting to expand into new territories in South Asia, “suitable” for safe housing themselves and their il...

by Reshmi Kazi | On 23 Nov 2015

From Paper State to Caliphate: The Ideology of the Islamic State

This paper sets forth the main lines of the ideology of the Islamic State and carefully follows its historical trajectory. Part I, Doctrines, takes up the group’s fundamental religious and political b...

by Cole Bunzel | On 22 Nov 2015

Terrorism and Security in Asia: Redefining Regional Order?

While a good deal has been written and said about the threat posed by terrorism in Southeast Asia, there has been little work analyzing the impact of terrorism and the war on terror on Asian regional...

by Amitav Acharya | On 22 Nov 2015

How Much is Enough?

Post-7th Pay Commission recommendations, the pay being offered now should not be a disincentive for public-spirited people with ability. Can the government afford this hike?

by T.N. Ninan | On 21 Nov 2015

Regional Trade Openness Index, Income Disparity and Poverty - An Experiment with Indian Data

This study aims to examine how ‘open’ Indian states are with respect to international trade and uses the index of regional openness thus constructed to reflect on several aspects that affect the level...

by | On 19 Nov 2015

Requiring Indian Utilities to Report: Harnessing Disclosure Legislation to Improve Water and Sanitation Services

The paper argues for a regular public reporting of key performance indicators by the WatSan utilities in India. It elaborates on how the policy behind these reforms could be operationalized.

by Premila Nazareth Satyanand | On 18 Nov 2015

Sanitation in India: Progress, Differentials, Correlates, and Challenges

Communicable diseases constitute a significant portion of the overall disease burden in India. Improving access to sanitation in India will, similarly, reduce the communicable disease burden and chil...

by Sekhar Bonu | On 18 Nov 2015

State and District Boundary Changes in India: 1961-2001

For a large variety of data recorded by the Census of India, such as those on language, age structure, religion, and on individual Scheduled Castes and Tribes, the district is the lowest level of ag...

by Hemanshu Kumar | On 17 Nov 2015

Are Juveniles Really Responsible fo Making Delhi the Rape Capital?

Statistics have been the most important criteria for the Central Government in changing the juvenile justice law and introducing treatment of 16-18 year old juveniles committing such offences as adult...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 13 Nov 2015

Convergence of Social Security Schemes for Elimination of Child Labour

Child labour is a complex problem rooted in poverty, illiteracy and social inequality. The National Child Labour Policy has identified ‘focusing of general development programmes for benefiting child...

by Helen Sekar | On 10 Nov 2015

The Operational Plan for Agriculture and Natural Resources: Promoting Sustainable Food Security in Asia and the Pacific in 2015–2020

Agriculture and food security should be viewed in the context of the broader economic transformation in Asia and the Pacific. In particular, the adoption of food security policies that address both im...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 10 Nov 2015

Assessing Farmer's Willingness to Participate in the On-farm Conservation of Minor Millet using Direct Compensation Payment

This study attempts to examine the role of farmer incentive mechanisms to conserve minor millets in Kolli Hills. The millet varieties were classified either as most preferred varieties (MPVs) or leas...

by | On 06 Nov 2015

Gender and Land Tenure Security: Challenges and Barriers to Women’s Entitlement to Land in India

Given the importance of securing women’s rights to land as India grows and develops and recognizing the dearth of available data to guide the design of gender-sensitive interventions, this study provi...

by | On 04 Nov 2015

Highlights of Recent IFPRI Food Policy Research in India: Reducing Poverty and Hunger through Food Policy Research

IFPRI and India’s partnership played a particularly important role following the Green Revolution when that partnership analyzed the necessary policies to both promote domestic food production and to...

by International Food Policy Research Institute | On 03 Nov 2015

Migration for Hard Work: A Reluctant Livelihood Strategy for Poor Households in West Bengal, India

This paper reports some initial findings of a study of how migrants in India and Bangladesh and the household members that stay behind reduce the insecurities they face (including hunger, debt, ill-he...

by | On 02 Nov 2015

Ending Malnutrition: From Commitment to Action

Ending Malnutrition offers key insights from the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) to catalyze follow-up actions across the world. It reviews current evidence on the prevalence of ma...

by Vikas Rawal | On 23 Oct 2015

Progress of the World’s Women 2015-2016: Transforming Economies, Realizing Rights

This Report focuses on the economic and social dimensions of gender equality, including the right of all women to a good job, with fair pay and safe working conditions, to an adequate pension in older...

by UN Women | On 23 Oct 2015

Social Work in the Making: The State and Social Work Development in China

The instrumental role of government in the development of social work in China has led to questions about its political function. So far, little has been reported on how the government has “made” soci...

by | On 20 Oct 2015

State Food Provisioning as Social Protection: Debating India’s National Food Security Law

This report provides an overview on the main issues debated during the development and passage of the India’s National Food Security Act (2013), which legally binds national and state governments to e...

by Harsh Mander | On 20 Oct 2015

The Gender Dimensions of Pension Systems: Policies and Constraints for the Protection of Older Women

This paper documents the pervasiveness of women’s lack of income security in old age across a large number of countries, but also points to a number of important policy measures that can be taken to a...

by | On 20 Oct 2015

Post Conflict Face of Poverty and Society: Understanding a Gandhian Initiative against Pauperization and Violence in Mushahari (Muzaffarpur, Bihar)

This is an analytical narrative about post-conflict dynamics of poverty in a block of villages in north Bihar known as ‘the Mushahari Project’. It is related with the socio-economic and political cons...

by Anand Kumar | On 20 Oct 2015

Child Adoption Policies in India- A Review

Adoption provides a very important function in Indian society. India has long tradition of child adoption. In olden days, it was restricted within the family and was covered by social and religious pr...

by A.S. Shenoy | On 20 Oct 2015

The Economic Cost of Out-of-School Children in Southeast Asia

This publication is the result of UNESCO Bangkok’s project in cooperation with Educate A Child (EAC) which seeks to eradicate obstacles, both in policy and practice, that would prevent children in Sou...

by Save Children | On 15 Oct 2015

Social Protection for Children: Key Policy Trends and Statistics

This policy paper: (i) provides a global overview of the organization of child and family benefits in 183 countries; (ii) presents the negative impacts of fiscal consolidation and adjustment measures...

by | On 15 Oct 2015

India’s FTA with East Asia: Impact of India-Malaysia CECA on the Edible Oil Value Chain

This paper formulates an analytical framework to assess the impacts of India's Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) on commodity value chains. This paper views such methodology as reductionist, and instead of...

by | On 15 Oct 2015

India’s Food Grain Policies and the Public Distribution System: The Case of Rice. Who Wins, Who Loses, and by How Much?

Indian governments follow highly interventionist policies on food grains, especially rice and wheat. These policies include import and export controls which insulate the domestic market from world mar...

by Garry Pursell | On 14 Oct 2015

Book Review: Creating a New Medina: State Power, Islam, and the Quest for Pakistan in Late Colonial North India

Review of Creating a New Medina: State Power, Islam, and the Quest for Pakistan in Late Colonial North India New York: Cambridge University Press, 2015. 554 pp. Rs 940 (Hardcover) ISBN 978-1-107-05212...

by Gail Minault | On 14 Oct 2015

Labour, Globalization and Inequality: Are Trade Unions Still Redistributive?

Based on a newly-developed data set combining information on industrial relations and labour law, various dimensions of globalization, and controls for demand and supply of skilled labour, this paper...

by | On 12 Oct 2015

Bihar Ten Years of Election Watch: Comprehensive Reports on Elections, Crime and Money

Ten years of election watch in Bihar.

by Association for Democratic Reforms ADR | On 12 Oct 2015

Urban Poverty in Asia

This paper on Urban Poverty in Asia looks at the different dimensions of poverty in Asia, both income and nonincome, its two main regions, including a brief account of who and what class of people are...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 09 Oct 2015

The State of Food Insecurity in the World Meeting the 2015 International Hunger Targets: Taking Stock of Uneven Progress

This year’s annual State of Food Insecurity in the World report takes stock of progress made towards achieving the internationally established hunger targets and reflects on what needs to be done, as...

by Food and Agriculture Organization | On 07 Oct 2015

The Global Competitiveness Report 2015–2016

The Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016 presents the rankings of the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI). The GCI is based on 12 pillars that provide a comprehensive picture of the competitiveness...

by | On 30 Sep 2015

Maternal Mortality in India: A Review of Trends and Patterns

This paper discusses the trends and patterns in reduction in maternal mortality in India, and focuses on highlighting inter- and intra-state disparities. We find that the trends in the maternal mortal...

by William Joe | On 29 Sep 2015

Food Security, Productivity, and Gender Inequality

This paper examines the relationship between gender inequality and food security, with a particular focus on women as food producers, consumers, and family food managers. The discussion is set against...

by Bina Agarwal | On 29 Sep 2015

State, Ideas and Economic Reform in India

This paper argues that the state is an important institution for initiating economic reforms in India. Ideas held within the state are especially important. When the state reposed faith in a closed ec...

by | On 28 Sep 2015

Poverty and Social Protection in Urban India

This paper, highlights the need for provisioning adequate social protection coverage to the vulnerable sections of population in urban India, assesses the role of the TPDS in reaching out to the depri...

by R. Radhakrishna | On 28 Sep 2015

Role and Effectiveness of Public Distribution System in Assuring Food Security in India: An Appraisal

This paper tries to identify food insecure population of the country, analyse the availability, storage, procurement of food grain , assess the effectiveness of PDS, identify the discrepancies in the...

by Ishita Aditya Ray | On 28 Sep 2015

Planning and Design for Sustainable Urban Mobility: Global Report on Human Settlements 2013

Planning and Design for Sustainable Urban Mobility argues that the development of sustainable urban transport systems requires a conceptual leap. The purpose 'transportation' and 'mobility' is to gain...

by UN-HABITAT | On 25 Sep 2015

Technology, Development and the Role of the State

South Asian countries like India and Pakistan had in the beginning placed the State at the “commanding heights of the economy”. Later, the State was justifiably displaced from that high pedestal. Howe...

by | On 24 Sep 2015

Present State of Goods and Services Tax (GST) Reform in India

There are several challenges before introduction of GST and these can be classified into two broad heads – a) GST Design and Structure related, and b) GST Administration and Institutional. On design r...

by Sacchidananda Mukherjee | On 24 Sep 2015

Human Rights for All: International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

This Handbook is mainly for human rights practitioners who want to familiarise themselves with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and use the human rights fram...

by | On 23 Sep 2015

Towards Universal Access to Health Care in India

In this concept note authors aim to put forth a broad canvas of the various issues that need to be considered and positions that need to be formulated, in order to argue that it is possible to make Un...

by Dr. Abhay Shukla | On 23 Sep 2015

Food Security vs Nutritional Security: Need for Multi-Sectoral Convergence

The paper attempts to address the problem of undernutrition in India and its adverse effects on children and adults. Today, food security concerns include not only the problems of physical availabili...

by | On 22 Sep 2015

Geo-economics: Seven Challenges to Globalization

This report from the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Geo-economics maps out the challenges that current geo-economic trends pose for globalisation. Findings show that the rise in strat...

by | On 22 Sep 2015

Report of the Working Group on Public Distribution System and Food Security for the Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007)

This planning commission report on Food Security deals with the changing consumption pattern for food in India and reviews some studies on demand and supply projections for cereals in India. It also e...

by Planning Commission | On 21 Sep 2015

Book Review: Gender, Ideology and Conflict

Review of Women in Terrorism: Case of the LTTE by Tamara Herath. Sage Publications 2015. pp. 264. Rs. 533/- ISBN-13: 978-8132106951.

by Ilina Sen | On 21 Sep 2015

Challenges In Designing Counterinsurgency Policy: An Institutionalist Perspective

Research on India's counterinsurgency practice is divided into two categories. One emphasizes moderation in the use of coercive power, while the other highlights its wanton abuse. This paper attempts...

by Kaustav Dhar Chakrabarti | On 18 Sep 2015

The Elephant in the Dark: Finding Ways to End India’s Hunger and Malnutrition

This paper tries to map some of the major debates exploring the 'elephant‘ of India‘s failure to end hunger and malnutrition. The authors identify five main hurdles towards addressing the issue of hun...

by | On 17 Sep 2015

The Bali Agreement: An Assessment from the Perspective of Developing Countries

This paper discusses the different agreements and decisions reached in the Bali Ministerial Conference and the potential implications for the post-Bali work program. The results of the Bali Minister...

by Eugenio Díaz Bonilla | On 16 Sep 2015

Rights-based Legal Guarantee as Development Policy: The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

This paper analyses the legal framework and policy innovations undertaken towards achieving the stated objectives of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. This paper seeks to cri...

by | On 15 Sep 2015

Assessment of State Implementation of Business Reforms

This report – “Assessment of State Implementation of Business Reforms” is a scorecard to take stock of what reforms have happened, and to identify the way forward for States. The report highlights the...

by World Bank | On 15 Sep 2015

India: Death Without Legal Sanction

This study highlights that India has not been complying with its obligations under the ICCPR and has indeed been imposing death penalty without legal sanction. While the violations of international fa...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 14 Sep 2015

Impact of Water and Sanitation on Selected Water Borne Diseases in India

One of the Millennium Development Goals is to provide improved sanitation facilities along with availability of potable water; which are indeed the two basic needs for human survival. However, despite...

by Brijesh C. Purohit | On 14 Sep 2015

Steel's a Steal

Steel is a basic input for the entire engineering industry (cars, household goods, machinery of all kinds), and for the infrastructure sector (roads, railways, power, real estate, etc). Raise the cost...

by T.N. Ninan | On 12 Sep 2015

Overcoming the Curse of Malnutrition in India: A Leadership Agenda for Action

The leadership agenda for action released by Coalition for Sustainable Nutrition Security in India to promote policy, programme and budgetary focus on overcoming the curse of malnutrition. The Coaliti...

by Coalition for Food & Nutrition Security India | On 11 Sep 2015

Structures of Violence: The Indian State in Jammu and Kashmir

Prepared over two years, this report is a part of the continuing work to understand and analyze the role of the Indian State in Jammu and Kashmir, an occupied territory internationally recognized as a...

by The International Peoples' Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Indian-Administered Ka | On 10 Sep 2015

Report of Working Group on Nutrition for the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17)

This report details the vision for 12th Five Year Plan on Nutrition which is to move towards Nutrition Security- especially the more vulnerable infants and young children, adolescent, girls and women,...

by Planning Commission | On 10 Sep 2015

Seventh All India School Education Survey

The broad objective of the survey is to assess the availability of schooling facility for primary, upper-primary, secondary and higher secondary stages within the habitations (including SC/ST) in diff...

by National Council of Educational Research &Training NCERT | On 10 Sep 2015

Sanitation in Maharashtra: A Policy Note

More than half of Rural Maharashtra defecates in the open. The main issue to understand is the nexus between the access to water and adoption of sanitation practices. It is also interesting to underst...

by Parliamentarian's Group for Children PGC | On 09 Sep 2015

Social Security for International Labour Migrants: Issues and Policy Options

Cross-border population movement, an indispensible feature of the current phase of globalisation, has led to significant changes in the migration landscape. Factors like temporisation of labour flows,...

by | On 09 Sep 2015

Tracking Progress on Child and Maternal Nutrition: A Survival and Development Priority

This report contains nutrition profiles for 24 countries. This report shows that an estimated 195 million children under age 5 in developing countries suffer from stunting, a consequence of chronic nu...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 08 Sep 2015

Is Citizenship the Answer? Constructions of belonging and exclusion for the stateless Rohingya of Burma

The Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority group in Arakan State, Burma, are among the most vulnerable and persecuted populations across the globe. Despite their significant historical presence in the cou...

by Cresa L. Pugh | On 08 Sep 2015

Drones and India: Exploring Policy and Regulatory Challenges Posed by Civilian Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

India currently operates close to 50 drones in various military, reconnaissance and intelligence gathering configurations, a number more than that of France, Germany and Italy combined. Yet the Direct...

by R. Swaminathan | On 07 Sep 2015

Centre-State Relations in India: Time for a New Framework

Three cross-cutting developments, namely the rise of regional political parties, globalisation and liberalisation of the economy and judicialisation of the federal process have deeply influenced the m...

by Niranjan Sahoo | On 07 Sep 2015

Change in Efficiency Level in Achieving Human Development: Inter-Temporal Comparison of Indian States

In India, research on human development has received considerable importance from both the academic and policy point of view. However, all the previous studies on human development mainly focused on t...

by Swati Dutta | On 04 Sep 2015

Indonesia: Concerted Efforts Needed to Find Solutions for Protracted IDPs

IDMC estimates that as of July 2015 at least 31,400 people are internally displaced as a result of conflict and violence in Indonesia. Nearly all are protracted internally displaced persons (IDPs) who...

by Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre | On 03 Sep 2015

Needs vs Expediency - Poverty Reduction and Social Development in Post-Conflict Countries

Conflict depletes all forms of human and social capital, as well as supporting institutions. The scale of the human damage can overwhelm public action, as there are many competing priorities and resou...

by Tony Addison | On 01 Sep 2015

Poverty Eradication in India by 2015

This paper highlights a strategic framework to eradicate rural poverty by 2015 with the rural household as the central unit. It is based on the premise that the livelihoods of rural households depend...

by Ministry of Rural Development Government of India | On 31 Aug 2015

“Denied”: Failures in Accountability for Human Rights Violations by Security Force Personnel in Jammu and Kashmir

Indian security forces have been deployed in Jammu and Kashmir for decades, officially tasked with protecting civilians, upholding national security and combatting violence by armed groups. However, i...

by Amnesty International AI, | On 31 Aug 2015

Determinants of Public Expenditure on Health in India: The Panel Data Estimates

There is high inter-state variation in public expenditure on health across states of India. This paper examines the degree to which this discrepancy in health expenditure is explained by income and ot...

by | On 25 Aug 2015

The New ‘MASVAW Men’: Strategies, Dynamics and Deepening Engagements. A Case Study of a Networked Approach to Challenging Patriarchy Across Institutions in Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh is ranked second among Indian states in ‘crimes against women’, which includes rape, abduction, dowry-related deaths, mental and physical torture and sexual harassment (Government of Utt...

by Jerker Edström | On 25 Aug 2015

Analysis of Fish Consumption and Poverty in Bangladesh

Aquaculture has grown in leaps and bounds in the last couple of decades in Bangladesh. This is welcomed by most as increasing fish production is expected to contribute to enhancing food security in a...

by Kazi Ali Toufique | On 21 Aug 2015

The WTO Agreement on Agriculture and Food Security

This study aims to help identify how a future multilateral agreement on agricultural trade can provide a secure framework within which developing countries can pursue effective policies to ensure thei...

by Stephen Devereux | On 21 Aug 2015

Introduction to "Governing Marriage Migrations: Perspectives from Mainland China and Taiwan"

Cross-border migration for the purpose of marriage is on the rise, and at present it constitutes one of the most common forms of long-term international mobility in East Asia. The articles included he...

by | On 20 Aug 2015

Addressing Long-term Challenges to Food Security and Rural Livelihoods in South Asia

Notwithstanding its impressive economic growth, food insecurity in South Asia continues to be a stark reality for a large number of households. Despite several successful policy interventions by Gover...

by K. S. Kavi Kumar | On 19 Aug 2015

The changing nature of jobs - World Employment and Social Outlook 2015

The International Labour Organization reports on the increasingly insecure nature of job tenures worldwide. The World Employment and Social Outlook 2015 finds that, among countries with available data...

by | On 17 Aug 2015

The Public Education System and What the Costs Imply

There are basic methodological and conceptual problems with recent research that ends up arguing that private school education is more effective than public education. Such findings have obvious polic...

by | On 17 Aug 2015

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act: A Catalyst for Rural Transformation

This report examines changes in the lives of rural households and in the rural economy against the backdrop of changes brought about by the programme. This research report addresses such challenging q...

by Sonalde Desai | On 13 Aug 2015

Urban India 2011: Evidence

India’s urban transition has the potential to shift the country’s social, environmental, political and economic trajectory. Urbanisation will interact with the country’s ongoing demographic evolution...

by Indian Institute for Human Settlements | On 12 Aug 2015

The Politics of Sustaining Inclusive Growth and Social Inclusion

This working paper records the findings of the project and discusses the key principles that underpin the Danish and Finnish welfare states. The paper reflects on the critical issues that must be cons...

by Valerie Koh | On 11 Aug 2015

Social Sector and Economic Reforms (With Special Reference to Public Health)

Social Sector performs an effective function in human resource development and hence it is very important to study how the economic reforms are influencing social sector expenditures. Any economic re...

by Runa Paul | On 03 Aug 2015

Rationalisation of Agriculture in Kerala: Implications for Natural Environment, Agro-Ecosystems and Livelihoods

This paper takes on an older debate that the agriculture transformation in the regional economy of Kerala has been mainly driven by ‘peasant rationality’. It argues that the agrarian transformation...

by Viswanathan P K | On 31 Jul 2015

Long-Run Trends in the Distribution of Income and Wealth

This paper reviews the long run developments in the distribution of personal income and wealth. It also discusses suggested explanations for the observed patterns. It tries to answer questions such as...

by | On 30 Jul 2015

Resolving the Food Crisis – Assessing Global Policy Reforms Since 2007

The report looks beyond the proclamations and communiqués to assess what has really changed since the crisis erupted. While not exhaustive, the report looks at: Overseas Development Assistance, both i...

by | On 30 Jul 2015

Trafficking in Persons Report

This report, produced by the United States of America's Department of State, catalogues the state of human trafficking as of 2015 across the world.

by Department of State United States of America | On 30 Jul 2015

Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment

This Policy note on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment is central to the attainment of the overarching goal of enabling poor rural women and men to improve their food security and nutrition, rais...

by International Fund for Agricultural Development IFAD | On 29 Jul 2015

When the Dish Knocked Down the Antenna: How Television Digitization is Impacting Low Income Viewers and Public Broadcasting

A technology switch in television affects different income groups differently. In India the digitization of TV signals is putting an end to the free-to-air telecast regime. This study,the first of its...

by Sevanti Ninan | On 26 Jul 2015

Book Review of Philip MacDougall's 'Naval Resistance to Britain's Growing Power in India, 1660-1800'

Review of Naval Resistance to Britain’s Growing Power in India, 1660-1800: The Saffron Banner and the Tiger of Mysore. Suffolk: Boydell Press, 2014. 224 pp. $99.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-1-84383-948-4.

by Nicholas Cunigan | On 25 Jul 2015

Health Policy, Inequity and Convergence in India

The objective of this study is to put to test the development paradigm that this inequity will converge and adjustment period will be lowered for equitable outcomes in health provided a fine tuning o...

by Brijesh C. Purohit | On 21 Jul 2015

Can GDP-Linked Official Lending to Emerging Economies and Developing Countries Enhance Risk Management and Resilience?

This paper considers whether GDP-linked official external public debt can help address some of the challenges that developing countries face when managing international financial flows. GDP-linked off...

by United Nations Development Programme UNDP | On 20 Jul 2015

Banking on Non-solutions

Can state owned banks revive Indian economy? Let's see what the managerial solutions to revive banks show us.

by T.N. Ninan | On 18 Jul 2015

World Social Protection Report 2014/15

Social protection policies play a critical role in realizing the human right to social security for all, reducing poverty and inequality, and supporting inclusive growth – by boosting human capital an...

by International Labour Organisation ILO | On 17 Jul 2015

Inflation Targeting in India: Select Issues

The adoption of inflation targeting in India has been a much debated topic which also becomes a challenge for the emerging economy. Though inflation targeting has already been adopted in many emerging...

by Charan Singh | On 17 Jul 2015

Book Review : Diplomatic Games: Sport, Statecraft, and International Relations since 1945

Review of Diplomatic Games: Sport, Statecraft, and International Relations since 1945. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2014. 496 pp. Rs. 2268/- Hardcover, ISBN 978-0-8131-4564-8.

by J. Simon Rofe | On 15 Jul 2015

Welfare Comparisons with Multidimensional Well-Being Indicators: An Indian Illustration

This paper attempts a welfare comparison of population where only ordinal information is available at the micro level in terms of multi-dimensional discrete well-being indicators. This does not involv...

by Udaya S. Mishra | On 08 Jul 2015

Trends in Centre-State Relations

This paper seeks to understand the trends in Centre-State relations in post-Independence India in their varied manifestations over time, across space, and along the specific context of issues. The dyn...

by | On 06 Jul 2015

A Financial Slave State

Greece is in huge financial trouble. Greece is paying the price for past follies like fictitious national accounts, unsustainable pension programmes, non-existent tax revenues and (the biggest mistake...

by T.N. Ninan | On 04 Jul 2015

Managing Rice Value Chain for Improved Food Security in Bangladesh

This Policy Brief utilizes the concept of value chain management as the basis of improving the competitive advantage of the rice sector for promoting food security in Bangladesh. For analyzing the is...

by | On 02 Jul 2015

Understanding Northeast India Through a ‘Spatial’ Lens

Applying ‘spatial’ lens to Northeast India (NEI) is merely not for hermeneutic purposes but for a nuanced understanding of the flux accompanying the region. Spatial analysis helps us to move beyond th...

by Gorky Chakraborty | On 01 Jul 2015

State and Economic Development: The Need for a Reappraisal of the Current Literature

This essay tries to bring out some of the complexities that are overlooked in the usual treatment of the state in the institutional economics literature and supplement the latter with a discussion of...

by Pranab Bardhan | On 29 Jun 2015

Guidelines and Protocols: Medico-legal Care for Survivors/Victims of Sexual Violence

Sexual violence is a significant cause of physical and psychological harm and suffering for The health concerns of survivors/victims of sexual violence, and their right to health is an issue of import...

by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare H & FW | On 22 Jun 2015

World at War: Global Trends, Forced Displacement in 2014

Global forced displacement has seen accelerated growth in 2014, once again reaching unprecedented levels. The year saw the highest displacement on record. By end-2014, 59.5 million individuals were fo...

by United Nations Human Rights Commission | On 19 Jun 2015

Inflation Targeting India: Select Issues

The adoption of inflation targeting in India has been a much debated topic which also becomes a challenge for the emerging economy. Though inflation targeting has already been adopted in many emerging...

by Charan Singh | On 18 Jun 2015

Building a Sustainable Agricultural Trade Security System for Kerala

The present Report offers suggestions for the consideration of the Government of India, based on the UN Millennium Goals for Poverty Eradication, as well as on the principle that trade should strength...

by | On 17 Jun 2015

Medium-Term Budgetary Framework (MTBF) of Bangladesh Cabinet Division 2011-12

Statement aims to establish good governance by coordinating activities of different ministries & divisions and supervising activities of field administration in pursuing government policy and strategy...

by Ministry of Finance Bangladesh | On 17 Jun 2015

Medium-Term Budgetary Framework (MTBF) of Prime Minister’s Office 2011-12

The statement aims to build a knowledge-based and digital Bangladesh and to advance the socio-economic conditions of all sections of the nation, through the establishment of good governance in the all...

by Ministry of Finance Bangladesh | On 17 Jun 2015

Gender and Food Security: Towards Gender-Just Food and Nutrition Security

This BRIDGE Cutting Edge Overview Report makes the case for a new, gender-aware understanding of food security, arguing that partial, apolitical and gender-blind diagnoses of the problem of food and n...

by Bridge Cutting Edge Programme | On 16 Jun 2015

Maldives: The Case for a Resolution at the 29th Session of the UN Human Rights Council

As the UN Human Rights Council holds its 29th session from 15th June 2015 to 3 July 2015, it ought to adopt a resolution on the deplorable human rights situation in Maldives as a consequence of the si...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 15 Jun 2015

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan 1390 National Budget Statement Draft

The national budget is the primary tool for implementing the priorities and policies of the government as a whole. The 1390 budget maintains the Government’s major budgetary objective of allocating fi...

by Ministry of Finance Afghanistan | On 15 Jun 2015

Inter-State Disparities in Economic Growth in India: Some Policy Implications for Laggard States

Faster economic growth of some of the backward states like Bihar, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh in the post 2004-05 compels us to think if it is any indicative of convergence among states of India. How...

by Anjali Masarguppi | On 10 Jun 2015

The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015: Meeting the 2015 International Hunger Targets Taking Stock of Uneven Progress.

This report discusses the need to eradicate hunger and achieve food security across all its dimensions. The report also identifies key factors that have determined success to date in reaching the MDG ...

by Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN UN | On 10 Jun 2015

Water for Food Security and Nutrition

This report is a report by the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition of the Committee on World Food Security. Water is key to food security and nutrition. However there are many c...

by Food and Nutrition Division FAO | On 10 Jun 2015

Archiving the Nation-State in Feminist Praxis: A South Asian Perspective

This essay mainly examines the relationship between feminism and nationalism as a point from which it looks at South Asian feminist scholarship. The historical circumstances in their respective countr...

by Uma Chakravarti | On 08 Jun 2015

Scaling the Heights: Social Inclusion and Sustainable Development in Himachal Pradesh

This report peels through to many of the underlying drivers of Himachal Pradesh’s social inclusion. The paper tells us that commitment of the state and progressive policies are important, and that the...

by | On 08 Jun 2015

The Economics of Peace: A Nepalese Perspective

Understanding the importance of peace has been accorded high priority in many religions, such as Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. In recent years, many economists have realized the monetary va...

by Hari Bansh Jha | On 05 Jun 2015

Universal Food Security Program and Nutritional Intake: Evidence from the Hunger Prone KBK Districts in Odisha

This article provides evidence on the role of consumer food subsidies in improving nutritional intake and diet quality by evaluating the expansion of the government food assistance program coverage i...

by Andaleeb Rahman | On 05 Jun 2015

Nepal's Continuing Quest for Federalism and Peace

Nepal is currently experiencing perhaps one of the most turbulent phases in its contemporary political history. In 2008, the 240-year-old institution of monarchy—for long seen as a symbol of unity, in...

by Akanshya Shah | On 05 Jun 2015

'Look East through Northeast': Challenges and Prospects for India

This paper focuses on the considerable hurdles and limitations encountered in carrying forward India's 'Look East' through Northeast—problems caused by the nature of physical terrain, the history of v...

by Subir Bhaumik | On 04 Jun 2015

Analysis of Trends in India’s Agricultural Growth

The present study discusses the trends and patterns in agricultural growth at the national and sub-national levels in India. Data on important variables like area, production, input use and value of o...

by Elumalai Kannan | On 04 Jun 2015

Second Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement, 2015-16

On the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation the statement suggest that the global recovery is still slow and getting increasingly differentiated across regions.

by Raghuram G. Rajan | On 03 Jun 2015

Stateless in Law: Two Assessments

This report comprises two assessments. The first is a theoretical analysis of the prevention and reduction of statelessness under international laws. By acceding to the ICCPR and the ICSCER conventio...

by Charlotte-Anne Malischewski | On 02 Jun 2015

Fourteenth Report on Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and Empowerment of Women in Rural Areas

The primary objective of the Act is augmenting wage employment. In this regard, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 provides for the enhancement of livelihood security of the...

by Committee on Empowerment of Women GOI | On 01 Jun 2015

Breaking the Binary: Understanding Concerns and Realities of Queer Persons Assigned Gender Female at Birth Across a Spectrum of Lived Gender Identities

This study is based on 50 life history narratives, and explores the circumstances and situations of of queer PAGFB (persons assigned gender female at birth) who are made to conform to societal norms o...

by LABIA- A Queer Feminist LBT Collective | On 28 May 2015

Report of Planning Commission Working Group on Horticulture and Plantation Crops for Twelfth Plan

This Report of  the Working Group  on Horticulture &  Plantation  Crops will give  renewed  impetus  to  measures  for  sustained  growth  of  India's  Horticulture  &  Plantation  Sector  along with ...

by Planning Commission | On 25 May 2015

Women’s Social Security and Protection in India

This report points out the existence of a number of Government-sponsored schemes for promoting the social welfare of women and for achieving other goals such as poverty amelioration, reduction in maln...

by | On 25 May 2015

Report of the Sixty-Seventh World Health Assembly on Framework of Engagement with Non-State Actors

At its 134th session, in the provisional agenda the Executive Board have requested the Director-General to develop a framework of engagement with non-State actors and separate policies on the engageme...

by World Health Organisation (WHO) | On 25 May 2015

Crop Husbandry, Agricultural Inputs, Demand and Supply Projections and Agricultural Statistics for the Twelfth Five Year Plan

Eleventh Five Year Plan has focused on a model that encompass 4 per cent growth in agriculture. This was considered vital not only for improving food and nutrient security, but also for inclusive grow...

by Planning Commission | On 22 May 2015

Report of the Working Group on Social Security for Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17)

The Working Group, in its meeting held to discuss the terms of reference to review the existing social security measures for organized workers. It is a basic human right, and its fulfillment will con...

by Ministry of Labour and Employment MoL&E | On 22 May 2015

Report of the Working Group on Drugs & Food Regulations

Strengthening of Drugs Regulatory Mechanisms is one of the major public health interventions. This ensures that safe, efficacious and quality drugs are made available to the people. Keeping in view th...

by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare H & FW | On 21 May 2015

Euthanasia, a Dignified Death: Because Surviving is Not Living

After spending 42 years in a vegetative state, Aruna Shanbaug breathed her last in Mumbai on May 18, 2015. The junior nurse who was brutally assaulted and sodomised by a ward boy in 1973 and whose cas...

by Rituparna Dutta | On 20 May 2015

The Constitution (One Hundred and Fifteenth Amendment) Bill, 2011

This Bill is further amendment to the constitution on levy and collection of goods and service tax and trade in India. It provides the parliament with exclusive powers to make laws with respect to goo...

by Ministry of Finance | On 19 May 2015

The Human Rights of Stateless Rohingya in Thailand

The Rohingya are an ethno-religious minority group from the Rakhine region, which today is encompassed within the borders of Myanmar and is adjacent to Bangladesh. The majority of Rohingya in Myanmar...

by The Equal Rights Trust | On 14 May 2015

Globalisation and Child Labour: Evidence from India

Child labour is a complex problem basically rooted in poverty. The Government of India has formulated policies since the economic reforms of the early 1990s. Children under fourteen comprise 3.6 per c...

by Mita Bhattacharya | On 14 May 2015

All India Report on Number and Area of Operational Holdings

This report provides disaggregated information about operational holdings at the national level and for states/UT. The present report which is an outcome of the first phase of agriculture census 2010-...

by Agriculture Census Division GoI | On 14 May 2015

Accountability of Local and State Governments in India: An Overview of Recent Research

The paper discusses the notion of accountability, followed by an introduction to the Downsian theory of electoral competition. This serves as a point for classifying different sources of accountabilit...

by Dilip Mookherjee | On 14 May 2015

National Vaccine Policy

The National Vaccine Policy document has been developed following the recommendation of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI). This policy document addresses broad issues of streng...

by National Rural Health Mission | On 13 May 2015

ASEAN and Conflict Management: The Need for a High Council

This year the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will formally establish the ASEAN Community, which is set to enhance regional community building among its member states. Ramses Amer makes...

by | On 13 May 2015

Instability and Regional Variation in Indian Agriculture

This study has taken up two seemingly different but connected aspects of Indian agriculture, the first part dealing with the analysis of agricultural instability at the national and state levels and t...

by Ramesh Chand | On 13 May 2015

Odisha State Youth Policy: Framework-2013

The Odisha State Youth Policy 2013 aims to give a strategic direction and make timely interventions to enable the youth to get the best out of the changing scenario in the state and the country due to...

by Environmental Management & Policy Research Institute | On 12 May 2015

Adolescent Health and Development – A Profile for Orissa

The Orissa Adolescent Profile is a maiden effort to carry this process forward at the state level and contribute to the knowledge and information base on the issue. The profile is primarily based on s...

by Dr. Bhagbanprakash . | On 12 May 2015

The Voices – Uncensored Nagaland State Youth Consultation on Employment

This paper takes into consideration of broad areas into consideration and the problems for youth employment should be viewed as a larger macroeconomic issue of the state. Greater participation, invol...

by YouthNet Nagaland | On 12 May 2015

Growth of Indian Agriculture: A District Level Study

The purpose of the study is to extend the period of analysis of the impact of new seed fertiliser technology from 1990-93 to 2003-06. A special significance to economic reforms in India in 1991 is giv...

by Gurmail Singh | On 12 May 2015

YOJANA Volume 58, Issue 1- January 2014

The January 2014 issue of YOJANA contains the following articles - Tribal and Marginalized Communities, Constitutional Provisions, Laws and Tribes, Actualising Adivasi Self-Rule, The Food Bill, Wild F...

by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting MIB | On 11 May 2015

Understanding Poverty in India

Inclusive growth needs to be achieved to reduce poverty and other disparities and raise economic growth. This book develops a poverty profile for India in view of the ongoing national and global effor...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 08 May 2015

Annual Report: 2010-2011

This report of government details on challenges in agriculture sector. There is a need to address these issues as India faces a greater challenge, since with only 2.3% share in world’s total land area...

by Ministry of Agriculture GOI | On 07 May 2015

Report on the State of Food Insecurity in Rural India

This Report is an update of the Rural Food Insecurity Atlas of 2001 released by the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) and the World Food Programme (WFP). Since then, numerous new programmes...

by V B Athreya | On 06 May 2015

Assamese Language, Narrative and the Making of the North East Frontier of India: Beyond Regional Indian Literary Studies

This paper is divided into two broad sections. The first section deals with the Brahmaputra Valley in Assam (north east India) and its transformation into a frontier in the nineteenth century. The sec...

by Manjeet Baruah | On 05 May 2015

Southern Thailand: From Conflict to Negotiations?

It has been a decade since the outbreak of one of Asia’s most serious insurgencies, the conflict between Malay Muslims and the Thai state in Southern Thailand. Often ignored and unremarked upon by the...

by Duncan McCargo | On 30 Apr 2015

Thailand: The Evolving Conflict in the South

After a decade of separatist violence in Thailand’s Malay/Muslim-majority southern provinces, insurgent capabilities are outpacing state counter-measures that are mired in complacency and political co...

by International Crisis Group | On 30 Apr 2015

Book Review: Civil Wars in South Asia: State, Sovereignty, Development

Review of Civil Wars in South Asia: State, Sovereignty, Development ed. Aparna Sundar and Nandini Sundar. New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2014. pp. 273. Rs. 850/-, ISBN: 9789351500407.

by Pramod K. Nayar | On 28 Apr 2015

Reassessing Internal Displacement in South Asia

Displacement is by no means a new phenomenon in South Asia. As they emerged as independent states, at least half of the South Asian countries experienced mass displacement. In Bangladesh it is esti...

by | On 28 Apr 2015

Report of the Expert Group to Recommend the Detailed Methodology for Identification of Families Living Below Poverty Line in the Urban Areas

The paper focuses on the objective of putting in place a uniform criteria to identify the BPL households in urban areas so that objectivity and transparency is ensured in delivery of benefits to the t...

by Planning Commission | On 27 Apr 2015

India Human Development Report 2011: Towards Social Inclusion

This Report examines: human development index and profile for India and its states; economic attainment of the population, especially in terms of the two major sources of income-employment and assets;...

by | On 27 Apr 2015

Is Long-Term Food Insecurity Inevitable in Asia

This article questions two widely accepted claims on long-term food insecurity in Asia, the world's (heterogeneous) region with the largest number of undernourished individuals. The first claim is tha...

by | On 23 Apr 2015

Return of the Kashmiri Pandits: Need for Inclusive Dialogue

In context of contemporary debates about the government’s plan to rehabilitate Kashmiri Pandits, this paper presents perspectives on the creation of separate townships, grounding these in the historic...

by Sheetal Munshi | On 21 Apr 2015

The National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013 -Challenges, Buffer Stocking and the Way

The National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013 combines and expands the scope of some existing food-based welfare schemes. It will be distributing raw rations, meal(s) and/or cash. Approximately 81.35 cro...

by Shweta Saini | On 20 Apr 2015

The Internet and State Intervention in Asia: A Comparative Study of Selected Countries

In context of contemporary debates about censorship, net neutrality and the role of the state in today’s globalising world, it becomes vital to examine the stand taken by various Asian governments tow...

by Nandini Bhattacharya | On 17 Apr 2015

The Net Neutrality Debate in the United States

In 2006, a major telecommunications bill was held up because it did not include guarantees for something called “net neutrality.” Republicans strongly opposed these guarantees, while Democrats strongl...

by Jeffrey Hart | On 15 Apr 2015

Towards a Water and Food Secure Future

The aim of this paper is to provide policy-makers with a helpful overview of the technical and economic aspects of water use in agriculture, with particular emphasis on crop and livestock production....

by Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN UN | On 15 Apr 2015

Realizing Sustainable Food Security in the Post-2015 Development Era: South Asia’s Progress, Challenges and Opportunities

This paper reviews South Asia’s progress, challenges and opportunities for realizing sustainable food security in the post-2015 development agenda. The review finds that South Asia’s average dietary e...

by | On 14 Apr 2015

Personalities and Public Sector Performance: Evidence from a Health Experiment in Pakistan

This paper provides evidence that the personality traits of policy actors matter for policy outcomes in the context of two large-scale experiments in Punjab, Pakistan. Three results support the releva...

by | On 14 Apr 2015

Vitriolage & India: The Modern Weapon of Revenge

This paper explores the physical, psychological and socio-economic consequences of acid attacks, and delineates the various legal provisions in place to combat this form of gender violence. Highlighti...

by | On 13 Apr 2015

Women, Violence and Conflict in Pakistan

This report presents an overview of both legal frameworks that have institutionalised discrimination and fuelled religious intolerance and violence against women and a dysfunctional criminal justice s...

by International Crisis Group | On 13 Apr 2015

The State of Food Insecurity in the World Economic Growth is Necessary but not Sufcient to Accelerate Reduction of Hunger and Malnutrition

This report provides evidence that poor, hungry and malnourished people use some of their additional income either to produce or purchase more food, aiming to increase their dietary energy intake and...

by Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN UN | On 09 Apr 2015

Economic Survey of Maharashtra 2014-15

Maharashra Government, State Economy, Population, State income, Prices & Public Distribution System, Public Finance, Institutional Finance & Capital Market, Agriculture & Allied Activities, infrastru...

by Government of Maharashtra | On 09 Apr 2015

The National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013 - Challenges, Buffer Stocking and the Way Forward

The paper empirically maps the annual distribution commitment (61.43 MMTs) of the government with the procurement pattern of rice and wheat, for each quarter, to estimate the quarterly operational sto...

by Shweta Saini | On 01 Apr 2015

State Effectiveness, Growth, and Development

This paper discusses recent developments in the literature on state effectiveness. Each section covers the relevant theory with a special focus on the current knowledge about the mechanisms highlighte...

by | On 01 Apr 2015

Industrial Policy: Its Relevance and Currency

This paper makes an attempt to reflect on the debate on industrial policy, which has seen a revival of sorts in recent years, by analysing the developments in the two most important faces of market-or...

by Biswajit Dhar | On 25 Mar 2015

Assam Child Budget 2014-15

The State budget had focused the receipt and expenditure under the Consolidated Fund of the Government with dissemination of allocation under different development sectors. The fund flow towards child...

by | On 24 Mar 2015

Budget (2015-16) Speech of Haryana Finance Minister

Budget speech of Haryana Finance Minister

by Capt. Abhimanyu | On 24 Mar 2015

Japan and ASEAN: Their Changing Security Relations

Southeast Asia has been one of the key components of Japan's foreign policy in the post-Cold War period. It is one region where Japan's diplomacy has accomplished considerable success in coming to ter...

by | On 24 Mar 2015

A Dynamic Economic Model of Soil Conservation Involving Genetically Modified Crop

This paper attempts to model the positive role of cultivation of Genetically Modified (GM) crop with its soil-anchoring root-characteristic and use of conservation-tillage technology, in saving orga...

by Amrita Chatterjee | On 23 Mar 2015

Women’s Education, Family Planning, or Both? Application of Multistate Demographic Projections in India

Is education the best contraceptive? Using the multistate human capital projection model, the authors' analysis shows that the projected changes in India population vary depending on investments in ed...

by | On 19 Mar 2015

India and the MDGs: Towards a Sustainable Future for All

India has made notable progress in achieving poverty reduction and other Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) since their adoption at the turn of the century but this progress has been uneven and milli...

by United Nations Economic and Social Commission (UNESCAP) | On 19 Mar 2015

Regional Disparities in Growth and Human Development in India

This paper argues that that per capita income in all states in India increased in the past four decades but in fact no sign of convergence could be visible as it was expected in the context of liberal...

by | On 13 Mar 2015

Finance Commission of India’s Assessments: A Political Economy Contention between Expectations and Outcomes

The objective of this study is to examine the structural basis on which Finance Commissions make their awards rather than examining the predictability of the forecasts. The story of Finance Commission...

by | On 12 Mar 2015

Food Security in India: Issues and Suggestions for Effectiveness

Attaining food security is a matter of prime importance for India where more than a-third of its population is estimated to be absolutely poor, and as many as one half of its children have suffered fr...

by | On 11 Mar 2015

Are Schools Safe and Equal Places for Girls and Boys in Asia?

Research findings point to the need for focusing on gender equality in education and the need for a multi-level approach addressing barriers at the individual, community, school and policy levels if...

by | On 11 Mar 2015

Gender Equality and Food Security: Women’s Empowerment as a Tool against Hunger

This report explores how gender equality can contribute to food security. Its focus is on Asia and the Pacific, though developments in other regions are also referenced. The report describes the relat...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 10 Mar 2015

Women in Indian Labour Market - Emerging Options

Expanding women’s access to the labour market and enhancing their employability, apart from all its other impact, contributes to the GDP substantially. It is important to generate creative partnership...

by G.D Bino Paul | On 10 Mar 2015

Budget for the Rich to get Richer and throw Crumbs to the Poor

A substantial part of the 2015 Budget Statement is interspersed with the promise that ‘every rupee of public expenditure…will contribute to the betterment of people’s lives through job creation, pover...

by Gautam Mody | On 03 Mar 2015

Of Bold Strokes and Fine Prints - An Analysis of Union Budget 2015-16

This publication highlights a range of pertinent issues primarily focusing on social sectors (such as education, health, drinking water and sanitation, food security etc.) and the responsiveness of th...

by Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability | On 02 Mar 2015

Budget 'Asks' for Food and Nutrition Security

With the budget round the corner what are the asks from the standpoint of food sovereignty? A Convention on Budget 2015-16 by the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability looks at these.

by Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability | On 26 Feb 2015

Report of the Fourteenth Finance Commission

The Fourteenth Finance Commission (FC-XIV) was constituted by the President under Article 280 of the Constitution on 2 January 2013 to make recommendations for the period 2015- 20. Dr. Y. V. Reddy w...

by Finance Commission | On 24 Feb 2015

Inclusive Water Governance: a Global Necessity. Lessons from India

Efficient water management has emerged as a critical challenge of environmental protection and human security in the twenty-first century. Lack of water management affects the hydrological cycle of th...

by | On 24 Feb 2015

Democracy, Inclusion, and Prosperity

People want to live in a safe prosperous country where they enjoy freedom of thought and action, and where they can exercise their democratic rights to choose their government. But how do countries en...

by Raghuram G. Rajan | On 24 Feb 2015

Leakages from Public Distribution System (PDS) and the Way Forward

The public distribution system (PDS) has been one of the main policy instruments of the Government of India (GoI) to provide food security to the people of this country, especially the vulnerable ones...

by Ashok Gulati | On 17 Feb 2015

The Impacts of Infrastructure in Development: A Selective Survey

Development economists have considered physical infrastructure to be a precondition for industrialization and economic development. Yet, two issues remain to be addressed in the literature. First, whi...

by Yasuyuki Sawada | On 16 Feb 2015

Indian Public Finance Statistics 2013-14

Indian Public Finance Statistics' is an annual publication prepared by the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. This provides a comprehensive overview of the b...

by Ministry of Finance | On 10 Feb 2015

State Racism and Sexism in Post-war Sri Lanka

Institutionalised racism-sexism in post-war Sri Lanka is not only essentialising women and their productive and reproductive labour in different ways but also rendering it increasingly difficult to bu...

by Chulani Kodikara | On 10 Feb 2015

The Questions We Should be Asking Frequently about the Land Acquisition Act -And Answers From an Expert

A look at Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and the amendments to it from the perspective to those who live close to the land.

by Usha Ramanathan | On 02 Feb 2015

Research and Development and Extension Services in Agriculture and Food Security

This paper makes a case for sustained investments in research and extension to address the numerous challenges along the pathway from agriculture production and distribution to consumption and utiliza...

by | On 30 Jan 2015

Approaches to Food Security in Brazil, China, India, Malaysia, Mexico, and Nigeria: Lessons for Developing Countries

This paper provides a review of the national experiences of six emerging and developing economies, two from Latin America (Brazil and Mexico), three from Asia (China, India, and Malaysia), and one fro...

by Pooja Sharma | On 23 Jan 2015

Special Financial Incentive Schemes for the Girl Child in India: A Review

In order to improve the survival and welfare of girls and to reverse the distorted sex ratio at birth, both the national and state governments have launched special financial incentive schemes for gir...

by T.V Sekher | On 23 Jan 2015

So That We Can Breathe Easy

The easiest way to clear air pollution is to not know how bad it is. This is what India practices—in most parts of the country. There is virtually no equipment to monitor the air we breathe and no sys...

by Sunita Narain | On 22 Jan 2015

Promoting Agricultural Research and Development to Strengthen Food Security in South Asia

This study aims to highlight the status of agricultural R&D in South Asia and contends that creating an effective agricultural research and innovation systems is a vital element to ensure food securit...

by | On 22 Jan 2015

Cyber Crime and Security

The purpose of this paper is Understanding Cyber crime and its phenomena, challenges and legal response to assist everyone in understanding the legal aspects of cyber security and to help harmonize le...

by Shilpa Yadav | On 13 Jan 2015

Trade Liberalization, Poverty and Food Security in India

This paper attempts to assess the impact of trade liberalization on growth, poverty, and food security in India with the help of a national level computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. It shows t...

by | On 29 Dec 2014

Food Security and Nutritional scenario of India- An overview

The purpose of this paper is to assess the availability of food to poor and nutritional situation of national households. The growth of production of food grains is 2.12 per cent in 2000-01 to 2010-1...

by | On 26 Dec 2014

Review of Healthcare in India

The political economy of health care services in India has various dimensions. Multiple systems, various types of ownership patterns and different kinds of delivery structures make up a complex plural...

by Dr. Leena Gangolli | On 26 Dec 2014

Social Safety Net—Emergency Assistance for Food Security in Bangladesh

In 2007, Bangladesh was adversely affected by severe flooding and a devastating cyclone which triggered a 1.2 million-ton shortfall in the country’s rice production. This situation resu...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 23 Dec 2014

Support to Rural Pension Reform and Administration in the People’s Republic of China

The lack of social protection for the elderly in rural areas of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has, since the 1990s, been seen by the government as a critical issue. The central government intro...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 23 Dec 2014

Prevalence of Undernutrition and Evidence on Interventions: Challenges for India

In the Indian context, the challenge to reducing undernutrition is twofold. Firsty, the evidence on the prevalence of undernutrition as well as its trend over the years varies by indicators and by r...

by Brinda Viswanathan | On 23 Dec 2014

Pakistan and Afghanistan: Understanding Islamabad’s Objectives and Strategies

Pakistan plays a vital role in Afghanistan and is its most prominent neighbor given its strategic location, geographical proximity, historical and cultural ties with the exception of political influen...

by | On 18 Dec 2014

Food and Nutrition Security Status in India: Opportunities for Investment Partnerships

Ensuring food and nutrition security is a challenge for India, given its huge population and high levels of poverty and malnutrition. India is a net agricultural exporter, particularly of milk, fruit...

by T. Nanda Kumar | On 18 Dec 2014

A Nutrition Secure India: Role of Agriculture

India continues to suffer from under-nutrition among large sections of its population. The country is unlikely to realise the first millennium development goal by 2015. How can agriculture be us...

by Suneetha Kadiyala | On 18 Dec 2014

U.S. - China Climate Deal : Maker or Breaker?

Recently, the U.S. and China signed a bilateral treaty according to which they would equalise green house emissions by 2030, followed by a gradual reduction in emissions. Not part of the treaty, India...

by Sunita Narain | On 17 Dec 2014

Housing and Labor Productivity of Female Tea Pluckers in Sri Lanka

This study analyzes the link between labor productivity of tea-plantation workers in Sri Lanka and their living conditions. The results indicate a significant negative relationship between Indoor Air...

by Ajantha Kalyanaratne | On 16 Dec 2014

Last Call to Get Climate Deal Right

The US “peaked” its emissions in 2012. Countries which were required to cut emissions did not do so at the scale or pace needed. The Durban CoP agreed that the world would work to finalise a new agree...

by Sunita Narain | On 03 Dec 2014

Regionalization of Labour Reform Process: The Fabian strategy

The President of India signed a revised set of labour laws from Rajasthan into state law. The Rajasthan government has revised the Factories Act, the Industrial Disputes Act and the Contract Labour Ac...

by K.R. Shyam Sundar | On 02 Dec 2014

Migration and HIV in India: Study of select districts

In India, efforts of the National AIDS Control Programme have been successful in reducing overall HIV incidence in the country by 50 percent with focused interventions with female sex workers (FSWs),...

by Population Council | On 01 Dec 2014

Food Price Subsidies and Nutrition: Evidence from State Reforms to India’s Public Distribution System

It investigate whether food price subsidies affect household nutrition using a dramatic expansion of the availability of subsidized rice in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh in the early 2000’s. Hous...

by Prasad Krishnamurthy | On 28 Nov 2014

Poverty-Hunger Divergence in India

The usual explanations for the divergence between calorie intake and consumption expenditure in India ignore the enormous squeeze on food budgets arising from dispossession (leading to loss of a...

by Deepankar Basu | On 28 Nov 2014

Food Security in India-Some Issues and Challenges

Food security has emerged as a fundamental issue at global level since the global food crisis of 2008. Now, investment in agriculture, food, and nutritional security is a prime concern for every natio...

by Palwinder Kaur | On 27 Nov 2014

Agricultural Transformation and Food Security in India: Lessons for Southeast Asia

This article seeks firstly to look at the three aspects of food security in India, viz., food availability, accessibility, and absorption. Secondly, an attempt has been made to study food security in...

by Reshmi Banerjee | On 27 Nov 2014

Global Report on Trafficking in Persons

The exploitation of one human being by another is the basest crime. And yet trafficking in persons remains all too common, with all too few consequences for the perpetrators. Trafficking happens every...

by United Nations Drugs and Crime | On 26 Nov 2014

Enhancing the Nutrition-Sensitivity of Agricultural Development Interventions in the Eastern Gangetic Plains: Challenges and Options

This background paper aims first is to outline the rationale and merits for enhancing the nutrition-sensitivity of agricultural interventions in general, highlighting recognised pathways which lin...

by Toni Darbas | On 20 Nov 2014

Safeguarding Security and Sovereignty

K.G.KANNABIRAN MEMORIAL LECTURE.

by Justice C.V. WIGNESWARAN | On 20 Nov 2014

Global Nutrition Report 2014

This Global Nutrition Report is the first in an annual series. It tracks worldwide progress in improving nutrition status, identifies bottlenecks to change, highlights opportunities for action, and co...

by Independent Expert Group (IEG) | On 17 Nov 2014

Measures, Spatial Profile and Determinants of Dietary Diversity: Evidence from India

Food security policies in developing countries generally focus on calorie intake, which is not sufficient to tackle the triple burden of malnutrition: undernourishment, micronutrient deficiencies and...

by Mousumi Das | On 14 Nov 2014

Crime and Consent

In a recent judgment in Achey Lal vs State Govt of NCT Delhi, the Delhi High Court on October 30 set aside the conviction of the appellant for rape and murder. What has provoked discussion are the obs...

by Vrinda Grover | On 13 Nov 2014

Prioritizing Demand-Driven Agricultural Research for Development in India

India has shown an impressive economic growth of about 8 percent per year in the last decade. But the coexistence of impressive growth with widespread poverty and hunger is a real worry and a seri...

by Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions | On 12 Nov 2014

Socio-Economic Status of the Notified Minority Communities

The report provides a detailed quantitative account of the four notified minority communities – Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and Parsis using all available information. The study takes into account th...

by Institute Human Development | On 11 Nov 2014

Migration and Urbanisation in India in the Context of Poverty Alleviation

Migration and urbanization are direct manifestations of the process of economic development in space, particularly in the contemporary phase of globalization. Understanding the causes and consequences...

by Amitabh Kundu | On 11 Nov 2014

A Report on Health Inequities in Maharashtra

This study project was undertaken by SATHI and CEHAT to make a small contribution in this emerging field of study of health inequities in India, and with the objective of strengthening advocacy on hea...

by Srijit Mishra | On 11 Nov 2014

Social Exclusion and (RSBY) Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana in Maharashtra

Out-of-pocket payments make up a large proportion of total health expenditure leading to inequity amongst the poorer sections. Recently government of India has instigated various demand side financing...

by Harshad Thakur | On 11 Nov 2014

Participation in Decision Making

This is the 5th chapter from the report 'Women and Men in India 2014' by CSO. This is shows the participation of women in India.

by Central Statistical Organization CSO | On 05 Nov 2014

Towards a Food Secure India and South Asia: Making Hunger History

The paper begins with a detailed analysis of the various elements of food security, then it describes the various policy and programme restructurings and interventions to meet the challenges and const...

by R.B. Singh | On 29 Oct 2014

Governance Issues and Challenges in Implementation Of National Food Security Act 2013

India is a developing country having 2nd highest population in the world. Even after 66 years of its independence, County is facing a serious issue of poverty and malnutrition. The Government of I...

by Hitesh S. Gujarati | On 29 Oct 2014

Ozone-smart, climate-cool

HFC has been a bugbear in the India-US relationship. One item on the agenda of the much-discussed Narendra Modi-Barack Obama meeting that has Indian commentators flummoxed is hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)...

by Sunita Narain | On 29 Oct 2014

Creating Jobs in India’s Organised Manufacturing Sector

Despite witnessing a decade of rapid economic growth, an acceleration of growth in the organised manufacturing sector has eluded India. Using data from the Annual Survey of Industries, the factors hol...

by Radhicka Kapoor | On 27 Oct 2014

The Soya Project: Farm Evangelists

In 2008, two earnest young men set out to boost soya bean yields in the semi-arid region of Bundi in Rajasthan. Rainfall there is meagre and the soil lacks nutrients. But there are ready buyers for so...

by Civil Society | On 20 Oct 2014

Fighting Child Malnutrition

India has the dubious distinction of having the highest burden of malnutrition in the world – higher than Sub-Saharan Africa. Nearly 50 per cent of our children are underweight and stunted and 70...

by National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, India | On 16 Oct 2014

Report on the State Of Food Insecurity in Urban India

This report maps food insecurity in urban India. It captures the changes in the urban scenario from updated statistics like NFHS, NSSO etc. and highlight the parameters that would lead to improved foo...

by World Food Programme | On 16 Oct 2014

Institutional Credit in Rainfed Areas: District Level Analysis in Southern States

Dryland regions of the country, poorly endowed as they are with natural resources including water are likely to be disadvantaged in terms of access to credit. Within the dryland areas too inter-pers...

by Satyasai K J S | On 08 Oct 2014

Notes on Land, Long-run Food Security and the Agrarian Crisis in India

These Notes are mainly about three interconnected themes; i) the international and Indian ‘take’ on control over land (and water); ii) the distinction between an agricultural crisis and an agrarian...

by Sheila Bhalla | On 01 Oct 2014

Estimating Workers' Bargaining Power and Firms' Markup in India: Implications of Reforms and Labour Regulations

Implications of industrial deregulations, trade liberalisation and labour regulations on workers' bargaining power and firms' markup in Indian manufacturing industries is examined, using state-wise th...

by Rupayan Pal | On 29 Sep 2014

Genesis and Evaluaton Political Parties in India

In the last two decades, there has been a substantial change both in the nature of politics in India as well as in nature of relationship between the state and the society. One of the very important m...

by Satri Kesalu | On 29 Sep 2014

Evolution and Critique of Buffer Stocking Policy of India

An evaluation of the country’s buffer stock policy reveals gaps and inefficiencies. Large quantities of food grains have accumulated in the godowns of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and its nom...

by Shweta Saini | On 26 Sep 2014

Training Module on Gender and Social Security for Unorganised Sector

The benefits of social protection do not, often, percolate down to the eligible beneficiaries. The main case of this deficiency is the lack of awareness of the main stakeholders, like the workers or...

by Shashi Bala | On 19 Sep 2014

Food Security and Nutrition: Vision 2020

The concept of food security has undergone considerable changes in recent years. Food availability and stability were considered good measures of food security till the seventies and the achievement o...

by K. Venkata Reddy | On 18 Sep 2014

SEWA: Supporting Village-Level Organizations to Improve Rural Livelihoods

In spite of the rapid growth of the Indian economy, the fraction of the rural population living in poverty has declined only modestly. Increasing indebtedness, rises in input prices, and rapid commerc...

by Raj M. Desai | On 17 Sep 2014

Scaling up Agricultural Supply Chains in the Private Sector

This brief is one of series on scaling up in agriculture, rural development, and nutrition. PepsiCo is a global business operating in more than 200 countries and territories and rooted in creating and...

by Beth Sauerhaft | On 17 Sep 2014

Floods: Trends and Social Impacts in Indian Context

India is the most flood affected nation in the world after India is the most flood affected nation in the world after Bangladesh. ? It accounts for 1/5 It accounts for 1/5thth of the global deaths by...

by Gopakumar K.U. | On 15 Sep 2014

Food Stamps: A Model for India

About 4.5 lakh fair price shops in India sell 10-20 lakh tons of rice and wheat at the subsidized rate per month. Majority of the ration shops are in urban areas, they are hardly ever open and only a...

by Parth Shah | On 27 Aug 2014

Real Estate and Hosing-A Sensitive Sector or Samvriddhi Sector ?

The speech shows the investment government has done for the housing and real estate sector. There are recommendations on how the sector can be improved.

by R. Gandhi | On 22 Aug 2014

Debt Sustainability at the State Level in India

The debt position of the state governments in India, which deteriorated sharply between 1997-98 and 2003-04, has witnessed significant improvement since 2004-05, reflecting the impact of both favourab...

by Atri Mukherjee | On 19 Aug 2014

Three Blind Men and an Elephant: The Case of Energy Indices to Measure Energy Security and Sustainability

An 'Energy Index', which is aggregated from energy indicators is a rich source of information and is helpful in providing an assessment of a country's performance. This has, however, resulted in mus...

by Kapil Narula | On 24 Jul 2014

The Memories of a Spark: Reconstructing the 1965 riots in Madurai against the imposition of Hindi

The paper aims to capture the synthesis and popular reconstruction of one of independent India’s earliest instances of large-scale violence over the emotive issue of language, i.e. the January 1965 Ma...

by Sriram Mohan | On 24 Jul 2014

Union Budget 2014: New Government, Same Ol'Budget

If the Union Budget 2014 is anything to go by , the fiscal policy of the new government shows no change. In fact, there is an amazing continuity with the previous few Budgets. Significantly however,...

by Ravi Duggal | On 23 Jul 2014

The Planning Process of China

The report provides an account of the State, the Party and the political system in China, which will enable a more accurate appreciation of the Planning System and Process of the People’s Republic....

by Institute of Chinese Stuies ICS | On 21 Jul 2014

Modified Budget Rajasthan: 2014-15

Budget speech by chief minister Vasundhara Raje

by Vasundhara Raje | On 21 Jul 2014

Horizontal Devolution of States in India-Suggestions Before the Fourteenth Finance Commission

The focus of the paper is to suggest an alternate methodology for horizontal devolution from divisible pool of Central taxes and disbursement of grants. Tax devolution criteria suggested are populat...

by R. Mohan | On 16 Jul 2014

Gujarat Gender Budget Statement 2014-15

As per census 2011, there are 289.48 lakh women and girls in the state of Gujarat, comprising 47.90 per cent of total population. “Gender Budget 2014-15” shows financial allocations for women in vario...

by Ministry of Finance Government of Gujarat | On 03 Jul 2014

The Flash Statistics - Elementary Education in India – Progress towards UEE

The present publication is an outcome of the second year of unified school based data for elementary and secondary schools. UDISE has become a regular source of information on all aspects of elementar...

by Ministry of Human Resource Development, GOI | On 02 Jul 2014

Three Decades of Human Development across Indian States: Inclusive Growth or Perpetual Disparity?

The importance of strengthening the human development (HD) achievements in a country to augment its growth potential is well known in development literature. Several initiatives to enhance the HD leve...

by Sacchidananda Mukherjee | On 24 Jun 2014

Jobs and Livelihoods Mapping the Landscape

The Indian labour market is characterised by abysmally low participation of women in the labour market, enormity of low wage informal employment, and scarcity of decent regular wage employment. The c...

by IRIS Knowledge Foundation IKF | On 17 Jun 2014

World Social Protection Report 2014/15 - Building economic recovery, inclusive development and social justice

This ILO flagship report: (i) provides a global overview of the organisation of social protection systems, their coverage and benefits, as well as public expenditures on social security; (ii) followin...

by International Labour Organisation ILO | On 17 Jun 2014

In the Name of Science and Public Health: Concerns about the Safety of Pentavalent Vaccine

This report provides information on the policy and implementation of immunization in India. A description of the findings of the verbal autopsies gathered from the visits to Srinagar and Haryana, as a...

by PUDR Peoples Union for Democratic Rights | On 10 Jun 2014

PRS Legislative Research: Annual Policy Review-April 2013 – March 2014

The PRS Annual Policy Review aims to capture the key legislative and policy developments in India during the fiscal year 2013-14. The objective of this document is to summarise all the major devel...

by Parliamentary Research Service PRS | On 05 Jun 2014

Organised Labour and Economic Liberalisation India: Past, Present and Future.

This paper examines the role of organised labour in India in a structural and historical context. It attempts to trace the economic, political and social effects of the trade union movement and its st...

by Debashish Bhattacharjee | On 23 May 2014

Labour Market Information System - An Indian Perspective

The concept paper is conceptualization of a well-structured LMIS to assist planning and delivery of training for NSDC. The report is structured into key sections which unfold the blueprint for buildin...

by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) | On 23 May 2014

Developmental Disability Index for Hill States in India

Tthe first objective of this study is to construct a cost disability index in provision of developmental infrastructure. The second objective is rooted in the poor state of developmental infrastructur...

by Ritu Pandey | On 20 May 2014

World Youth Report 2007 Young People’s Transition to Adulthood: Progress and Challenges

The Report highlights the unique aspects of youth development in various regions but emphasizes that young people the world over are ultimately constrained in their efforts to contribute to their own...

by United Nations UN | On 16 May 2014

The Employment Imperative: Report on the World Social Situation 2007

The report closely examines four areas of increasing concern that of particular importance when addressing the issue of employment: jobless growth, global informalisation of the labour market, economi...

by United Nations UN | On 16 May 2014

Water Security in South Asia: Issues and Policy Recommendations

It is estimated that by 2030, only 60 per cent of the world's population will have access to fresh water supplies. This would mean that about 3 billion people would be living without reliable source...

by Wilson John | On 15 May 2014

The Unique ID Project in India: An Exploratory Study

The issues of concern around the UID scheme, are largely based on the issues of principles and practicalities. The issues of principles, are basically the rationale to carry out an identification sche...

by Prakash Chandra Sao | On 13 May 2014

The Real Wealth of Nations:Pathways to Human Development

This Report surveys critical aspects of human development, from political freedoms and empowerment to sustainability and human security, and outlines a broader agenda for research and policies to resp...

by Jeni Klugman | On 06 May 2014

The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World

The 2013 Human Development Report, The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World looks at the evolving geopolitics of our times, examining emerging issues and trends and also the new actors...

by Khalid Malik | On 06 May 2014

Soil Degradation : A Threat to Developing-Country Food Security by 2020?

This comprehensive paper explains why and when soil degradation should be of particular concern to policymakers interested in assuring food security. The inferences in this paper are based on research...

by Sara J. Scherr | On 05 May 2014

Achieving Urban Food and Nutrition Security in the Developing World

Growth in urban poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition and a shift in their concentration from rural to urban areas will acompany urbanisation. This is a series of briefs covering various aspects...

by James L. Garrett | On 02 May 2014

India’s Agricultural Trade Policy and Sustainable Development

During the last six decades or so Indian agriculture has made remarkable progress with food grain production growing five fold from about 50 MMT in 1950 to more than 250 MMT in 2012. Despite the incre...

by Anwarul Hoda | On 29 Apr 2014

The Food Security Policy Context in South Africa

The analysis in this report leads to an overall conclusion that the IFSS is an excellent strategy on paper and a relevant framework for different stakeholders, but in reality it lacks implementing pow...

by Josee Koch | On 29 Apr 2014

The Impact of Education Across Sectors: Food Security

This policy brief explores ways in which the education sector contributes to the creation of food security, as well as how a more food secure population can have better educational outcomes, promoting...

by Michele McNabb | On 29 Apr 2014

Food and Nutrition Security Status in India

Ensuring food and nutrition security is a challenge for India, given its huge population and high levels of poverty and malnutrition. India is a net agricultural exporter, particularly of milk, fruits...

by Pravesh Sharma | On 28 Apr 2014

Features of Urban Food and Nutrition Security and Considerations for Successful Urban Programming

This paper discusses the wide disparities that exist in childhood malnutrition, food insecurity and livelihoods within urban areas which, when combined with the mobility of urban residents,add to the...

by Marie T. Ruel | On 22 Apr 2014

Addressing the Global Food Crisis: Key trade, investment and commodity policies in ensuring sustainable food security and alleviating poverty

The recent global food crisis can be seen as a wake-up call which can be turned into an opportunity by developing countries and the international community to revitalize global agriculture producti...

by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development | On 22 Apr 2014

Access to Food

This series of eSSays is an attempt to fill that gap and make social and economic research impacting policy available to enhance public debate in this time of change. We also hope that this will const...

by Shambhu Ghatak | On 21 Apr 2014

How to win an Afghan Election

Afghanistan is currently in its second round of presidential and provincial council elections since 2001. In these elections most attention by international observers and analysts is being paid to que...

by Martine Bijlert | On 21 Apr 2014

National Refugee Law in India: Benefits and Roadblocks

India’s status as a preferred refugee haven is confirmed by the steady flow of refugees from many of its subcontinental neighbours as also from elsewhere. India continues to receive them despite its o...

by Arjun Nair | On 17 Apr 2014

Improving Child Nutrition: The achievable imperative for global progress

The World Health Assembly has set the goal of achieving a 40 per cent reduction in the number of stunted children under 5 years old by 2025, or around 70 million children saved from the misery o...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 11 Apr 2014

Politics and Public Policies: Politics of Human Development in Uttar Pradesh, India

In India, public policies for human development are politically contested for many reasons like diverse political interests, commitment to specific social bases by political regimes etc. They have r...

by Shyam Singh | On 10 Apr 2014

Food Security and Poverty Key Challenges and Policy Issues

Food insecurity, or the inability to access food of sufficient quantity and quality to satisfy minimum dietary needs, is the most basic form of human deprivation. Before people can provide for their e...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 09 Apr 2014

The State of Food Insecurity in the World : Addressing food insecurity in protracted crises

The number and proportion of hungry people in the world are declining as the global economy recovers and food prices remain below their peak levels, but hunger remains higher than before the foo...

by World Food Programme WFP | On 04 Apr 2014

Report on the State of Food Insecurity In Urban India

The concept of food insecurity is multidimensional in nature and is determined by a whole range of issues such as domestic production of food, import and export of food, purchasing power of people to...

by V. B. Athreya | On 03 Apr 2014

Debating Poverty

The first of a series of eSSays dossiers on issues of public concern. Guest editor: M.H. Suryanarayana. Contents: Poverty Line: Pursuit of an Elusive Minimum by M.H. Suryanarayana Fixing Poverty...

by eSocialSciences eSS | On 08 Mar 2014

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005

MGNREGA, which is the largest work guarantee programme in the world, was enacted in 2005 with the primary objective of guaranteeing 100 days of wage employment per year to rural households. It aims at...

by Ministry of Rural Development GOI | On 05 Mar 2014

Human Rights and Public Finance: Budgets and the Promotion of Economic and Social Rights

Is there sufficient allocation for children in the budgets? [HAQ CRC].

by Enakshi Ganguly Thukral | On 05 Mar 2014

National Food Security Mission: Operational Guidelines

The National Development Council (NDC)in its 53rd meeting held on 29th May, 2007 adopted a resolution to launch a Food Security Mission comprising rice, wheat and pulses to increase the production of...

by Ministry of Agriculture GOI | On 03 Mar 2014

Poverty and the state of nutrition in India

This paper analysis the development paradox of India, relatively high economic growth rates in the past few years, but lower progress in areas of life expectancy, education and standard of living. Pov...

by Kiruba S Varadharajan | On 03 Mar 2014

Food Security in India: Performance, Challenges and Policies

This paper examines performance, challenges, and policies in food security in terms of availability, access, and absorption or nutrition. Speci? cally, the paper addresses the following questions: ...

by S. Mahendra Dev | On 28 Feb 2014

What Census 2011 Reveals about Our Growers and Their Land

To gain a better understanding of the changes in the numbers of cultivators and Agricultural labor (marginal or main), it is useful to read them with the change in the number of agricultural holdings...

by Rahul Goswami | On 28 Feb 2014

Can Government-Allocated Land Contribute to Food Security? Intrahousehold Analysis of West Bengal’s Microplot Allocation Program

Secure land rights are a critical, but often overlooked, factor in achieving household food security and improved nutritional status in rural areas of developing countries. This study evaluates the im...

by Florence Santos | On 17 Feb 2014

Combating Youth Unemployment in India

This study discusses in depth the youth unemployment "problem" in India and the reasons behind it. Despite its demographic dividend and increased literacy levels, India faces youth unemployment as a...

by Pravin Sinha | On 08 Feb 2014

Do Indian States have the Power to Devise their Own Policies? A Study on Fiscal Space

With the decentralization process of the 1990s, linked to economic liberalization, there emerged new decisional scope for regional governments to shape their own policies. But the decentralization pro...

by Kim Robin | On 24 Jan 2014

National Food Security Bill Challenges and Options

Despite ensuring ample availability of food, existence of food insecurity at the micro-level in the country has remained a formidable challenge for India. The recently introduced National Food Securit...

by Ashok Gulati | On 23 Jan 2014

Structural Reforms and Agriculture: Issues and Policies

The performance of Agriculture in India is important as the sector not only contributes to overall growth of the economy but also provides employment and food security to majority of the population...

by S. Mahendra Dev | On 23 Jan 2014

Conflicts in South Asia: Causes, Consequences, Prospects

Studying conflicts is a big intellectual enterprise. More than 60 per cent of the top 100 think-tanks listed in the University Pennsylvania survey (2012) study conflicts and issues related to conflict...

by S. D. Muni | On 22 Jan 2014

Youth and Politics in India-II

This paper aims to uncover the features that make India’s youth politics so distinct from other forms of politics within the country, the kinds of politics young people participate in, and the kinds o...

by Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury | On 22 Jan 2014

Access to Justice for Rape Survivors

Taking note of the pervasiveness of Violence against Women (VAW), coupled with insensitive and prolonged investigations & trials, which only furthers the trauma faced by a sexual violence survivor; th...

by Lawyers Collective | On 21 Jan 2014

India’s Regional Security Cooperation: The Nehru Raj Legacy

The paper explores the logic of continuity in independent India’s security policy from where the British Raj had left off. Much like the Raj, Nehru’s India sought to provide security to its smaller ne...

by prashant kumar | On 21 Jan 2014

Obituary: Prof. Ila Pathak (1933-2014): A Feminist Crusader

Ila Pathak was a dedicated social activist who stood by socially excluded sections of society, especially brutalized women. She tirelessly supported women survivors of dowry harassment, rape victims,...

by Vibhuti Patel | On 21 Jan 2014

Bilateral Trade and Food Security

We analyze the relationship between food security and trade, focusing on food importers’ exposure to sudden market failures from relying on a narrow range of international suppliers. We compute a bil...

by Douglas H. Brooks | On 20 Jan 2014

Governance and Development Outcomes in Asia

The relationship between governance and economic development is one of the most important areas of research in international development. Much of the previous literature has focused on whether better...

by Kunal Sen | On 20 Jan 2014

Changes between IPC law commission reports

Indian Penal Code (IPC, ) is the main criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code, intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. The Code has since been amended several times and...

by Lawyers Collective | On 20 Jan 2014

Agriculture and Rural development: Hunger and Malnutrition

This paper focuses on two different types of malnutrition and then looks at the links between poor nutrition and agriculture.Malnutrition is one of the most devastating problems worldwide and its dire...

by Kevin Cleaver | On 16 Jan 2014

Security and the Pathways of Women’s Empowerment: Findings from a Thematic Synthesis of the Pathways of Women’s Empowerment Research

While security and women’s empowerment are both prominent development concerns, there has to date been little sustained analysis of the relationship between the two. An unexamined assumption appears t...

by Naomi Hossain | On 15 Jan 2014

Functioning of the Public Distribution System: An Analytical Report

During September 2013, Parliament passed the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013. The NFSA seeks to make the right to food a legal entitlement by providing subsidised food grains to nearly two-th...

by Sakshi Balani | On 07 Jan 2014

Maritime Territorial Disputes in East Asia: A Comparative Analysis of the South China Sea and the East China Sea

This article systematically compares maritime territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas. It draws on the bargaining model of war and hegemonic stability theory to track the record of confl...

by Andy Yee | On 02 Jan 2014

How to Evaluate Rural Development Schemes

In 2000-01, almost Rs 10,000 crore was spent on rural development schemes. The central government has almost a dozen major schemes in operation. But how is the success or failure of these schemes to b...

by Arpita Bedekar | On 31 Dec 2013

Providing Income Security for the Elderly

Despite high and long-lasting economic growth, inequalities are widening in most countries in Asia and the Pacific. Currently over 1.6 billion people in the region live on less than $2 per day, of whi...

by United Nations Economic and Social Commission (UNESCAP) | On 23 Dec 2013

In the Balance: The National Food Security Act vis-Ã -vis the WTO Agreement on Agriculture

This piece analyzes the implications of the National Food Security Act for India's commitments under the WTO Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) in the context of widespread concern that they might be mu...

by Sudha Narayanan | On 10 Dec 2013

The World Trade Organization and the Post-Global Food Crisis Agenda

This policy note offers a preliminary assessment of the compatibility between the WTO and efforts to protect the human right to adequate food as part of the post-crisis food security agenda. Existing...

by Olivier Schutter | On 02 Dec 2013

Asia's Rising Power and America's Continued Purpose

This paper examines a range of possible outcomes in strategic Asia and evaluates the likelihood of each outcome based on the prospective performance of the U.S and the Chinese economies, potential pol...

by Aaron Friedberg | On 26 Nov 2013

Subnational-level Fiscal Health: Stability and Sustainability Implications for Kerala, Punjab, and West Bengal

The Government of India has recently announced that Kerala, Punjab, and West Bengal are fiscally unsound at the level of general category states. The study reviews this projection and assesses their...

by Nimai Das | On 26 Nov 2013

The Dark Side of Migration

Qatar’s population is growing at a truly staggering rate. Between August 2012 and August 2013 it grew by 10.5 per cent. This growth is driven primarily by the recruitment of low-paid migrant workers...

by Amnesty International AI, | On 19 Nov 2013

Southeast Asia’s Food Security Challenge: More than ‘Stock’ Solution Needed

Countries in Southeast Asia face a fresh challenge to their food security as food consumption patterns change, and reliance on imports increases to meet such shifts. Consequently, they may be left wit...

by Belinda Chng | On 01 Nov 2013

Democratic Politics and Legal Rights: Employment Guarantee and Food Security in India

This paper focusses on two Indian laws that seek to guarantee socioeconomic rights: the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), an important example of India’s recent history of legislation...

by Reetika Khera | On 25 Oct 2013

Rationalism Rationed

The gruesome murder of Dabolkar, who had been spearheading a movement against superstitions in Maharashtra, has plunged all people of rationalist disposition in shock. Voices are rising that laws sho...

by Oscar F Picazo | On 22 Oct 2013

Identity Politics and Statehood Movements in India

The paper has explored into the reasons behind political mobilization of minority ethnic groups in support of smaller states. In accordance with the above hypothesis, the paper has tried to arrive at...

by Rajat Ganguly | On 11 Oct 2013

Hunger in India

The first step toward change is awareness. Do take out some time to know what's happening in the country we live in. This video has been designed to spread awareness about food insecurity in India,...

by The Hunger Project Project | On 11 Oct 2013

Incentive Effects of Capital Gains and Inheritance Taxes on Interstate Migration: The Holt and Shelton Analysis Revisited

The present study attempts to analyse the effect of capital gains and inheritance taxes on individual decisions to migrate. [NIPFP WP no. 81].

by Martin David | On 11 Oct 2013

Weather Sensitivity of Rice Yield: Evidence from India

This study estimates the weather sensitivity of rice yield in India, using disaggregated (district) level information on rice and high resolution daily weather data over the period 1969-2007. Compare...

by Anubhab Pattanayak | On 11 Oct 2013

Changing Leadership in Computer and Information Services, Emergence of India as the Current World Leader in Computer and Information Services

The paper analyses the changing leadership in Computer and Information Services (CIS). Leadership is measured in terms of export shares. The leadership appears to have changed from United States of ...

by Sunil Mani | On 10 Oct 2013

Transforming State-Citizen Relations in Food Security Schemes: The Computerized Ration Card Management System in Kerala

In this paper the application of ICTs to the improvement of state-citizen relations in a developing country context. To maximise the responsiveness of the government, ICTs need to target the structura...

by Silvia Masiero | On 07 Oct 2013

Envisioned Scope and Challenges of National Food Security Bill

National Food Security Bill (NFSB) aims to make food easily accessible at affordable prices to people. But there are operational and financial difficulties in implementing this.

by Sweety Thomas | On 07 Oct 2013

Fiscal Reforms, Fiscal Rule and Development Spending: How Indian States have Performed?

In this paper it is examined whether a favourable fiscal rule had impact on fiscal balance but what lies behind a particular outcome in a rule based fiscal regime. Often time it is argued that fiscal...

by Pinaki Chakraborty | On 30 Sep 2013

A Study on Fiscal Space

In the study states’ finances is analysed to see whether all states have been able to create a fiscal space and whether their fiscal capacities have increased over time. Then the states’ spending is l...

by Kim Robin | On 23 Sep 2013

The National Food Security Act, 2013

Our public distribution system has been severely criticized for its gaping lacunae. To fill in these gaps, a new Act was originally conceived by the National Advisory Council headed by Congress Presid...

by Ministry of Law, Justice and Company Affairs GOI | On 17 Sep 2013

Report of the Fact Finding Investigation Conducted to Ascertain Facts in the Case of Alleged Rape and Murder of Dalit girl in Jind district of Haryana

On August 24, 2013, a 20 year old Dalit girl was brutally raped and murdered in Jind, Haryana, while she was on her way to write an examination. Her body was found near a canal the next day by the pol...

by Nivedita Menon | On 14 Sep 2013

The Power and Peril of Rape Myths in American History

Review of Rape in Chicago: Race, Myth, and the Courts by Dawn Rae Flood.: University of Illinois Press, Urbana; 2012. 272 pp. $55.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-252-03689-7.

by Kathleen Cairns | On 13 Sep 2013

Vital Stats: Parliament in the Monsoon Session 2013

The Monsoon Session ended with the passage of Bills on food security, land acquisition, companies, and pension. During the session, significant time was lost due to frequent disruptions over issues su...

by Kusum Malik | On 12 Sep 2013

Bridging Education Gender Gaps in Developing Countries: The Role of Female Teachers

Recruiting female teachers is frequently suggested as a policy option for improving girls' education outcomes in developing countries, but there is surprisingly little evidence on the effectiveness of...

by Karthik Muralidharan | On 06 Sep 2013

Climate Variability and Internal Migration: A Test on Indian Inter-State Migration

Migration data is matched from the Indian census with climate data to test the hypothesis of climate variability as a push factor for internal migration. The main contribution of the analysis is to...

by Ingrid Dallmann | On 06 Sep 2013

Migration and Poverty in India: A Multi-Patterned and Complex Reality

The paper reviews the existing evidence on migration-poverty interface in the light of the macro and micro level studies in India. It also discusses the extent, patterns, and correlates of short term...

by Amita Shah | On 03 Sep 2013

Basic Procedures to be Followed in Sexual Assault: Towards Guidelines for Support Groups and Others

The focus of this document is to explain basic hospital ,police and justice systems procedures so that individuals providing support and care are aware of the rights of survivors vis a vis law enfo...

by ... CEHAT | On 31 Aug 2013

Vulnerability of Migrants and Responsiveness of the State: The Case of Unskilled Migrant Workers in Kerala, India

The paper examines how the state and other agencies in the host state (Kerala) responded to reduce the vulnerability of inter-state migrant workers. The paper also makes an assessment of a pioneering...

by N. Ajith Kumar | On 26 Aug 2013

Anti-Superstition Legislation

After a long and gruelling campaign by ANS for the past eight years to enact a Law against Superstition which harm the citizens, the Maharashtra State Government under the leadership of the new Chie...

by Maharashtra Andhshraddha Nirmoolan Samiti MANS | On 22 Aug 2013

A Capable State in Afghanistan: A Building Without a Foundation?

This paper argues that attempts at state-building in Afghanistan have led to institutions that are not robust. The state institutions and organizations continue to be highly dependent on external re...

by Frauke de Weijer | On 20 Aug 2013

The Changing Pattern of Internal Migration in India: Issues and Challenges

This paper is an attempt to understand the emerging migration patterns in India and issues underlying it. With globalisation, urbanisation and accompanying changes in socio-economic conditions, migran...

by Sandhya Rani Mahapatro | On 07 Aug 2013

Draft National Land Reforms Policy

This policy outlines a very clear strategy of creating a large pool of land so that every family's right to land is fully honoured. The policy proceeds to suggest a just and equitable method of allott...

by Ministry of Rural Development GOI | On 06 Aug 2013

Press Note on Poverty Estimates, 2011-12

A recap of the previous poverty estimates can be found here. [Planning Commission]. URL:[http://planningcommission.nic.in/news/pre_pov2307.pdf].

by Planning Commission | On 05 Aug 2013

Report of the Expert Group to Recommend the Detailed Methodology for Identification of Families Living Below Poverty Line in Urban Areas

The report deals with the estimation of poverty and identification of poor – differences in approach. It also describes the characteristics and trends of urban poverty. The vulnerability of urban poor...

by Planning Commission, India | On 29 Jul 2013

Cyberwarfare: Logged and Loaded, but Wither Asia?

Cyber operations could have as devastating an impact on populations as conventional military weapons. With militaries already in the process of developing cyberwarfare as a means of battle, there is a...

by Elina Noor | On 26 Jul 2013

Fuel Price Hike and Indonesia’s Energy Insecurity

Fuel price hikes have always been unpopular in Indonesia, largely because of their wide-ranging impact on the population. Yet, it is undeniable that the current high subsidies are unsustainable. To mo...

by Margareth Sembiring | On 26 Jul 2013

Perils of the Drug Trade: Implications and Challenges of Central Asia’s “Northern Route”

The international trade in Afghan drugs is one of the most significant transnational threats emanating from Central Asia. Exacerbated by weak border management, corruption, and lack of income-generat...

by Lars-Erik Lundin | On 26 Jul 2013

Breaking New Ground: Enacting a National Land Use Policy

With only a total land area of 30 million hectares and a population of 92.3 million growing at an average rate of 2.12 percent, how should the Philippines allocate a very scarce and important resource...

by Senate Economic Planning Office SEPO | On 24 Jul 2013

Mumbaikars’ last supper

The National Food Security Bill is all set to become an Act/ordinance and give legal entitlement to the citizens of the country to food. However the Bill does not define what food security is; but sim...

by Mousumi Das | On 19 Jul 2013

Rainfed agriculture: for an inclusive, sustainable and food secure India

India is increasingly focusing on its rainfed areas due to demand for food and nutrition security, and escalating farmer distress. But agricultural policy paralysis has meant that the familiar, extern...

by Srijit Mishra | On 16 Jul 2013

Food Security Bill: Time To Act

The basic objective of the Congress led- United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s proposed Food Security Bill is to address the acute problems of hunger and malnutrition in India. Despite of hav...

by Niranjan Chichuan | On 28 Jun 2013

Child malnutrition in India: Why does it persist?

An estimated forty per cent of the world’s severely malnourished children under five live in India. This is a shameful stain on a country that, with China, will be one of the great economic powerhouse...

by Sam Mendelson | On 28 Jun 2013

The Caloric Costs of Culture: Evidence from Indian Migrants

Can culture constrain caloric intake and contribute to malnutrition? Inter-state migrants within India consume fewer calories per Rupee of food expenditure compared to their non-migrant neighbors, ev...

by David Atkin | On 27 Jun 2013

Refining State Level Comparisons in India

The performance of Indian States are analyzed across three critical sectors – health, education and infrastructure are analyzed. An index is constructed for each using the Principal Component Analys...

by Pranjul Bhandari | On 10 Jun 2013

Driving Force: Labour Struggles and Violation of Rights in Maruti Suzuki India Limited

As reports of severe harassment of Maruti workers and their families trickled in in late July 2012, Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) undertook a fact finding investigation into the inciden...

by PUDR Peoples Union for Democratic Rights | On 07 Jun 2013

Rural Migration, Weather and Agriculture: Evidence from Indian Census Data

This study explores the three way linkage between weather variability, agricultural performance and internal migration in India at state and district level using Indian Census data.[MSE].

by Brinda Viswanathan | On 06 Jun 2013

Does Political Competition Influence Human Development? Evidence from the Indian States

Recently, it has been argued that political competition may have similar effects on economic performance as market competition. This study empirically examines this proposition by linking political co...

by Bharatee Bhushan Dash | On 05 Jun 2013

Interstate Migration

Panelists discuss the issues arising out of interstate migrations and its impact on the overall economy. [youtube].

by NDTV NDTV Profit | On 04 Jun 2013

Amended National Food Security Bill Introduced in Lok Sabha

Minister for Food and Consumer Affairs K.V. Thomas introduced the amended National Food Security Bill in Lok Sabha on Thursday. The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 22, 2011, to addre...

by Anonymous | On 27 May 2013

Addressing Long - term Challenges to Food Security and Rural Livelihoods in South Asia

Notwithstanding its impressive economic growth, food insecurity in South Asia continues to be a stark reality for a large number of households. Despite several successful policy interventions by Gover...

by K.S. Kavi Kumar | On 23 May 2013

Assessing Farmer ’s Willingness to Participate in the On - farm Conservation of Minor Millet using Direct Compensation Payment

The farmers, predominantly the small and tribal, particularly in regions of rich agro-biodiversity immensely contribute to the on-farm conservation and enrichment of this diversity, often at personal...

by Prabhakaran Raghu | On 22 May 2013

Land Acquisition Bill: Past and Present

Land acquisition, which refers to the process of a government forcibly acquiring private property for public purpose, has been the cause of over a third of the legal conflicts in India in the past dec...

by iGovernment. in | On 19 Apr 2013

Efficiency of Raising Health Outcomes in the Indian States

This study measures the efficiency of Indian states in raising health outcomes, using the stochastic frontier methodology for panel data for the period 2000-2009. [MSE WORKING PAPER 70/2012]. URL: [...

by Prachitha J | On 16 Apr 2013

Submission of 1392 National Budget, Afghanistan

H.E Finance Minister’s Speech for Mishrano Jirga. [Ministry of Finance, Afghanistan]. URL:[http://mof.gov.af/Content/files/HE%20Minister%20Speech%20to%20Mishranow%20Jirga-%20English%20after%20review....

by Ministry of Finance Afghanistan | On 10 Apr 2013

Budget Analysis: Kerala Budget 2013-14

The Minister of Finance, K.M Mani , presented the General Budget 2013 to the State Assembly on March 15, 2013. In his address, he commented on the fiscal performance of the State in 2012-13 and laid...

by Vishnu Padmanabhan | On 09 Apr 2013

Monthly Policy Review: February 2013

Justice Usha Mehra report on Delhi gang rape case, Railway Budget, Union Budget were the important highlights on this months. [PRS]. URL:[http://www.prsindia.org/announcements/monthly-policy-review-26...

by Parliamentary Research Service PRS | On 02 Mar 2013

Gambling on the Private Sector at the Cost of the Working Class: NTUI Statement

The budget offers no programme for job creation or any substantive policy measures to contain inflation that continues to erode the real wage while it commits itself to cash transfers and cuts in subs...

by Gautam Mody | On 01 Mar 2013

Focus on Rural India

The budget has come with schemes for rural India. It has got schemes for women, youth and poor.

by Sunil Duggal | On 28 Feb 2013

Odisha Budget 2013-14: Part 1 Agriculture

Budget presented by Shri Prasanna Acharya. The first part contains the Agriculture Budget.

by Orissa Government | On 25 Feb 2013

Historical Sources of Institutional Trajectories in Economic Development: China, Japan, and Korea Compared

This essay provides a game-theoretic, endogenous view of institutions, and then applies the idea to identify the sources of institutional trajectories of economic development in China, Japan, and Kore...

by Masahiko Aoki | On 22 Feb 2013

Standing Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution

The proposed legislation marks a paradigm shift in addressing the problem of food security – from the current welfare approach to a right based approach. About two thirds of the population will be ent...

by MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DIST GOI | On 15 Feb 2013

Performance of PDS: Better in Richer States?

How well has the PDS been functioning across the country? Do the poorer states do better or worse than the richer states? Interpreting data on PDS can be misleading unless they are read against seve...

by Shambhu Ghatak | On 14 Feb 2013

Domestic Violence Prevention Bill, 2012, Bhutan

Recognizing that the domestic violence is a serious social evil; that there is incidence of domestic violence within Bhutanese Society; that victims of domestic violence are the most vulnerable membe...

by National Assembly of Bhutan | On 11 Feb 2013

The Official Emergency Continues: The Ordinance on Sexual Assault

The ordinance is a hasty piece of legislation that has not taken into consideartion situations and conditions that are widely prevalent. It does not remedy existing laws and nor is even an interim me...

by Pratiksha Baxi | On 07 Feb 2013

A Comparison of the IPC, Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2012, Justice Verma Committee and Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance 2013

A comprehensive chart mapping legal developments regarding sexual offences developed and published by Lawyers' Collective.

by Lawyers Collective | On 07 Feb 2013

The Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2013

The Amendment was drafted taking into account the recommendations of the Justice Verma Committee that was set up following the rape and murder of a young girl in New Delhi. The Amendment was signed i...

by Government of India GOI | On 07 Feb 2013

Supreme Court impleads CEHAT in case on two finger test and sexual assault protocols

The Supreme Court today allowed an application for impleadment filed on behalf of CEHAT (Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes) in a matter where it will consider the constitutional validit...

by Lawyers Collective | On 04 Feb 2013

Building a Knowledge Base on Population Ageing in India: Report on the Status of Elderly in Select States of India, 2011

To understand the ageing in India, a primary survey was carried out in seven states – Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal – having a higher percentage of...

by United Nations Population Fund UNFPA | On 08 Jan 2013

PUDR's Submission of Suggestions to Verma Commission for Changes in Law and Procedure Regarding Violence Against Women

Legal mechanisms to achieve justice should factor in the challenges and roadblocks of its implementation, structural or otherwise, right from the stage of planning and framing the law. Law can be expe...

by D Manjit | On 08 Jan 2013

How to Tackle Food Insecurity in Asia

Review of the book Food Security in Asia, by Amitava Mukherjee Sage Publications India 2011 pp. xix+392, Rs 895/-.

by Rudra Narayan Mishra | On 04 Jan 2013

Vital Stats: Parliament in Winter Session 2012

The first half of the Winter Session of Parliament, 2012 was dominated by disruptions over and discussion on the government's notification to allow 51% FDI in the retail sector. The issue was finally...

by Devika Malik | On 21 Dec 2012

Provide Human Security through Human Development

Review of the book 'Peace is Everybody's Business: Strategy for Conflict Prevention' by Arjun Ray. Number of pages: 264, Price Rs. 495/-.

by Irfan Engineer | On 03 Dec 2012

Analyzing Intersectoral Convergence to Improve Child Undernutrition in India: Development and Application of a Framework to Examine Policies in Agriculture, Health, and Nutrition

To reduce child under nutrition in India, convergence from various sectors are required. The framework notes that issues related to convergence must be resolved in relation to three major steps in the...

by Rajani Ved | On 16 Nov 2012

Review of Input and Output Policies for Cereals Production in Pakistan

This report reviews the input and output policies for cereals implemented in Pakistan during the period 1996–2010. Pakistan has a long and varied history of intervening in farm input and output market...

by Abdul Salam | On 16 Nov 2012

Foreign Investment in Farmland No Low-hanging Fruit

A key driver of foreign investment in land, food security is a challenge mankind has been confronted with in various times and places. Wherever human societies have developed, growing needs have led t...

by Claire Schaffnit Chatterjee | On 15 Nov 2012

The Buoyant Billions: How “Middle Class” Are the New Middle Classes in Developing Countries? (And Why Does It Matter?)

Middle-income countries (MICs) are now home to most of the world’s extreme poor—the billion people living on less than $1.25 a day and a further billion people living on between $1.25 and $2. At the s...

by Andy Sumner | On 05 Nov 2012

How Indian Voters Respond to Candidates with Criminal Charges: Evidence from the 2009 Lok Sabha Elections

What are the response of voters to candidates who have reported that they have criminal charges against them? A analysis within the framework of a simple analytical model which assumes that criminal c...

by Bhaskar Dutta | On 02 Nov 2012

Why was the Participation of Indian States in the Growth Turnaround so Patchy? Some Evidence Based on Robustness Analysis

In Ghate & Wright Journal of Development Economics, vol. 99 (2012) pp 58–67, it was noted that there was considerable variation in the extent to which different Indian states participated in the Gr...

by Chetan Ghate | On 02 Nov 2012

Security Sector Governance (SSG) and Conflict Management in Indonesia: The Aceh Case

This paper examines the evolution of security sector governance (SSG) in Indonesia, focusing in particular on the effects of security sector reform (SSR) on the management of the secessionist conflict...

by Rizal Sukma | On 26 Oct 2012

Renewable Resource Shocks and Conflict in India’s Maoist Belt

A rigorous econometric analysis of a civil conflict is conducted that the Indian Prime Minister has called the single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by his country, the so-called Mao...

by Davesh Kapur | On 13 Oct 2012

Tackling Urban and Rural Food Wastage in Southeast Asia: Issues and Interventions

Food wastage is prevalent in Southeast Asia and has significant implications for the region’s food, environmental and economic security. It is likely that the region wastes approximately 33 per cent o...

by Paul S Teng | On 08 Oct 2012

Legislative Brief: The National Food Security Bill, 2011

The National Food Security Bill, 2011 was introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Minister of Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution on December 22, 2011. The Bill was referred to the Stand...

by Sakshi Balani | On 28 Sep 2012

Poverty, Human Development and Health Financing in India

This study aims at analyzing the differentials across rich and poor states and across rich and poorer strata and rural urban segments of 19 major Indian states. The study indicates that besides ind...

by Brijesh C Purohit | On 28 Sep 2012

Contribution of the Unorganized Sector to GDP Report of the Sub Committee of a NCEUS Task Force

The task of the Sub-committee was to review the existing methodologies for estimating the contribution of unorganized/informal sector to GDP and suggest measures to facilitate direct estimation. The G...

by NCEUS NCEUS | On 06 Sep 2012

Report on Conditions of Work and Promotion of Livelihoods in the Unorganised Sector

This Report is focused on the informal or the unorganized economy which accounts for an overwhelming proportion of the poor and vulnerable population in an otherwise shining India. It concentrates on...

by NCEUS NCEUS | On 05 Sep 2012

Recent Developments in Kerala State Finances

This paper covers recent trends in a series of broad indicators of the financial health of the Government of Kerala with its developmental policy as the backdrop. It examines fiscal balances in Kerala...

by Tapas K. Sen | On 30 Aug 2012

Revisiting the Devolution of ENR Functions

The devolution of environment and natural resource functions to local government units was a bold move in the history of environmental Management in the Philippines. However, the implementation of the...

by Senate Economic Planning Office SEPO | On 28 Aug 2012

The Economic Consequences of Excess Men: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Taiwan

As sex ratio imbalances have become a problem in an increasing number of countries, it is important to understand their consequences. With the defeat of the Kuomintang Party in China, more than one mi...

by Simon Chang | On 28 Aug 2012

Japan’s Post-Triple-Disaster Growth Strategy

This paper discusses the scope of the many challenges and sets out a long-term strategy for overcoming them and putting the Japanese economy on a stable growth path. [Working Paper No. 376]. URL:[http...

by Masahiro Kawai | On 24 Aug 2012

Capital Market Bank Funding: (Not such a) Brave New World …

What degree the financial crisis and the resulting developments have impacted and will impact long-term, capital market bank funding. [DB research] URL:[http://www.dbresearch.com/PROD/DBR_INTERNET_EN-...

by Meta Zähres | On 23 Aug 2012

Situating Conflict and Poverty in Manipur

What is the relationship between social conflict and poverty in the context of Manipur? There is a need to recognize togetherness of the imperatives of economic well being, socio-cultural identity a...

by Anand Kumar | On 22 Aug 2012

Food Security: Cities As Part of the Solution and Not the Problem

As the world becomes increasingly urban, food demand will come mainly from people living in cities while there will be fewer rural farmers producing food on less land with less water. Cities can play...

by Paul S Teng | On 16 Aug 2012

Environmental Changes and Ripples for Water Security in Southern States

Environmental change is regarded by many geopolitical experts as one of the biggest threats to international security in the coming years. In Southern Asia, its impact on rivers, and thus water secur...

by Dhanasree Jayaram | On 07 Aug 2012

The Quality of Governance How Have Indian States Performed?

What is ‘good’ governance? Can the quality of governance be measured? And how do state governments in India measure up by such a measure? [Working Paper no. 104]. URL:[http://www.nipfp.org.in/neww...

by Sudipto Mundle | On 02 Aug 2012

Suicide and Property Rights in India

Is there an impact of female property rights on male and female suicide rates in India. Using state level variation in legal changes to women's property rights, it is shown that better property righ...

by Siwan Anderson | On 02 Aug 2012

Western Myanmar Unrest: Partisan Portrayals Risk Extremist Implications

The violence in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State appears to have died down. However, partisan portrayals of the violence risks jeopardising the security of locals and Myanmar’s reform process with extr...

by Kyaw San Wai | On 31 Jul 2012

Ensuring Food and Nutrition Security in a Green Economy

What are the implications of a green economy for the poor and hungry? How can the poor benefit from and thrive under a green economy? What role can agriculture play? What are the possible trade-off...

by Shenggen Fan | On 17 Jul 2012

Child Malnutrition in Pakistan: Trends and Determinants

The major objective of this paper to examine the determinants of child malnutrition, based on the Pakistan Panel Household Survey (PPHS-2010). The study has focused on individual (child), household an...

by G M Arif | On 16 Jul 2012

Political Strongholds and Budget Allocation for Developmental Expenditure: Evidence from Indian States, 1971-2005

This paper examines the effects of political factors on allocation of revenue budget for developmental expenditure by the sub-national governments, using data from 15 major states in India during the...

by Arun Kaushik | On 10 Jul 2012

Nagaland's Demographic Somersault

This study examines the reliability of the Census of Nagaland between 1981 and 2011 by testing the internal consistency of Census population estimates. It also tries to validate the Census estimates...

by Ankush Agrawal | On 06 Jul 2012

Small Farmers in India: Challenges and Opportunities

This paper examines the roles and challenges of small holding agriculture in India. It covers trends in agricultural growth, cultivation patterns, participation of small holding agriculture, productiv...

by S. Mahendra Dev | On 06 Jul 2012

Revive Development Studies

Review of the book From Individual to Community: Issues in Development Studies--Essays in Memory of Malcolm Adiseshiah by Nandan Nawn.

by Nandan Nawn | On 05 Jul 2012

Troubled Encounter: Japan–DPRK Non-Relations

This paper explores the interplay between two neighbors that have been victims of history, Japan and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, also known as North Korea). [ISDP Asia Paper]. U...

by Bert Edström | On 05 Jul 2012

Determinants of Child Morbidity and Factors Governing Utilisation of Child Health Care: Evidence from Rural India

The objective in this paper is to estimate the role played by such factors in determining the utilisation of formal health care to cure diarrhoea and certain respiratory illnesses plaguing young ch...

by Anindita Chakrabarti | On 02 Jul 2012

Improving Access to Mental Health Care and Psychosocial Support within a Fragile Context: A Case Study from Afghanistan

Afghanistan is an example of a ‘‘fragile state,’’ characterised by a government that lacks the capacity to provide core services and basic security to its population. Improving health care within...

by Peter Ventevogel | On 22 Jun 2012

The Military along the Security Development Frontrier: Implications for Non-Traditional Security in the Philippines and Thailand

This paper focuses on development missions carried out by the armed forces of the Philippines and Thailand in and out of conflict zones, and provides an analysis of the causes behind the re-emergence...

by Aries A Arugay | On 20 Jun 2012

Are Drone Strikes Effective in Afghanistan and Pakistan? On the Dynamics of Violence between the United States and the Taliban

Strikes by unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, have been the primary weapon used by the United States to combat the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This paper examines the dynamic...

by David A. Jaeger | On 01 Jun 2012

Price Support, Domestic Procurement Programme and Public Stock Management

This Policy Brief discusses the policy options for improving effectiveness of price support, domestic procurement programme and public stock management in Bangladesh. It has been funded by th...

by Quazi Shahabuddin | On 01 Jun 2012

Cambodia’s Hydropower Development and China’s Involvement

The research was undertaken to better understand the current policy and plans of the Cambodian government for the electricity sector; map the decision-making process; develop a greater understanding...

by Carl Middleton | On 25 May 2012

Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture and Food Security

This paper takes a broader view and explores the multiple effects that global warming and climate change could have on food production and food security. Dealing with climate change would require stre...

by S. Richa | On 24 May 2012

Financing the WASH Sector in India Cost of Provision and Budget Allocations

This paper attempts to estimate the fund requirements for the provision of water and sanitation services in rural and urban areas at the all India level as well as in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Th...

by V Ratna Reddy | On 22 May 2012

Hate Crimes in India: An Economic Analysis of Violence and Atrocities against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

Crimes against the historically marginalized Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) by the upper castes in India represent an extreme form of prejudice and discrimination. In this paper, the ef...

by Smriti Sharma | On 16 May 2012

The Domestic Workers Convention 2011: Implications for Migrant Domestic Workers in Southeast Asia

The recent International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers (Domestic Workers Convention 2011) offers an opportunity to finally address the longstanding...

by Pau Khan Khup Hangzo | On 09 May 2012

China’s Rising Military Power and Its Implications

The aim of this paper is to examine the driving forces behind China’s military modernization efforts followed by an assessment of the goals and foci of China’s military modernization at present and...

by Jiao Liang | On 08 May 2012

Developing Asia’s Pension Systems and Old-Age Income Support

A broad overview of the current state of pension systems in the People’s Republic of China, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam is provided. An anal...

by Donghyun Park | On 30 Apr 2012

Measuring the Contribution of Bt Cotton Adoption to India’s Cotton Yields Leap

This study examines the contribution of Bt cotton adoption to long- term average cotton yields in India using a panel data analysis of production variables in nine Indian cotton-producing states from...

by Guillaume P Gruere | On 25 Apr 2012

Nepal: Elusive Democracy and Uncertain Political System

Persistence and breakdowns of democracy are the dominant features of Nepali politics.Democracy continues to be attractive amidst setbacks and discontinuity. So it remains perennially elusive, desp...

by Lok Raj Baral | On 23 Apr 2012

Regional Implications of National Reconciliation in Myanmar

The paper examines the implications of Myanmar's reforms for its neighbours- China, India, Thailand and Bangladesh. Issues of major concern to the four countries include energy, humanitarian consequen...

by Lina Gong | On 20 Apr 2012

Journalism in Democracies During Times of War: Examining the Role of Indian and US Media

This paper examines the larger issue of how a ‘free’ media performs during times of war with particular reference to US and India using case studies. It focuses on ‘national security’ becoming a maj...

by Aradhana Sharma | On 20 Apr 2012

Approaches to Food Security in Brazil, China, India, Malaysia, Mexico and Nigeria: Lessons for Developing Countries

This paper provides a synthesis of the experiences of six countries (Brazil, China, India, Malaysia, Mexico, and Nigeria) in enhancing food security of their population. Approximately 46 per cent of t...

by Pooja Sharma | On 16 Apr 2012

Signpost for Community Policing

Review of the book Community Policing: Misnomer or Fact? Author: Veerendra Mishra Sage, New Delhi.

by Vijay Raghavan | On 16 Apr 2012

West Bengal Budget Speech: 2012-13

Speech by Amit Mitra, Minister of Finance. [Government of West Bengal]. URL:[http://www.wbfin.nic.in/writereaddata/Budget_Speech/2012_English.pdf].

by West Bengal Government | On 13 Apr 2012

What is the Role of Social Pensions in Asia?

The main objective of this paper is to explore the potential role of social pensions and other noncontributory schemes in Asia, informed by insights from theory and international experience. The paper...

by Armando Barrientos | On 13 Apr 2012

The Iban Population of Sarawak: 1947-2000

The paper gives an analysis and description of the quantity and quality of the Iban population of Sarawak. The information about the pattern and trends of change of the population over time is also sh...

by Lam Chee Kheung | On 09 Apr 2012

State Finances: A Study of Budgets of 2011-12

The budgetary data for 2011-12 indicates the commitment of States to carry forward fiscal correction, as evident from the emergence of revenue surplus after a gap of two years and consequent reductio...

by Reserve Bank of India RBI | On 03 Apr 2012

Patterns of Labour Market Insecurity in Rural India: A Multidimensional and Multivariate Analysis

Labour market insecurity, recognised as pervasive in rural India, is multi-faceted. This study attempts to fill a gap in the research on key dimensions of labour market insecurity by using the Natio...

by Padmini Desikachar | On 02 Apr 2012

A Review of Input and Output Policies for Cereals Production in India

This paper reviews the key policies with regard to agriculture inputs such as seed, fertilizer, water, agricultural equipment, research, extension, and agricultural credit. It also provides an overvie...

by Ganga Shreedhar | On 29 Mar 2012

Highlights of the Budget for FY2012: Japan

1) Allocating budget to the measure for the real revitalization of Japan to recover Japan’s economy and society 2) Reviewing the existing budget based on the result of evaluation by the Policy Propos...

by Ministry of Finance, Japan MOF, Japan | On 28 Mar 2012

Budget Speech 2012-13: Goa

Budget speech by Ministry of Finance, Goa. [Budget Speech]. URL:[http://www.goa.gov.in/pdf/Speech12-13.pdf].

by Goa Government | On 28 Mar 2012

Political Determinants of the Allocation of Public Expenditures: A Study of the Indian States

This study examines whether the allocation of public expenditures of the Indian states are significantly influenced by government specific political characteristics. Three types of government specif...

by Bharatee Bhusana Dash | On 27 Mar 2012

Myanmar’s Ethnic Insurgents: UWSA, KNU and KIO

Since the elections of 2010, Myanmar’s political landscape has changed significantly; the old military junta has officially been dissolved and a new civilian government, led by President Thein Sein,...

by Christopher O’Hara | On 27 Mar 2012

Maharashtra Budget Speech 2012-13: Part I

Budget for the year 2012-13. [Government of Maharashtra]. URL:[http://maharashtra.gov.in/pdf/english_speech_part_I.pdf].

by Maharashtra Government | On 27 Mar 2012

National Budget of Bhutan-2011-12

Budget speech by the Finance Minister of Bhutan. [Budget Speech]. URL:[http://www.mof.gov.bt/downloads/Budgetreport2012.pdf].

by Minister of Finance Bhutan | On 22 Mar 2012

In Search of Food Security: Addressing Opacity and Price Volatility in ASEAN's Rice Sector

The availability of rice has long been considered a key indicator of food security in Southeast Asia. However for largely strategic reasons there is paucity of information in the public domain on rice...

by Sally Trethewie | On 22 Mar 2012

BMC Budget 2012-13

Budget presented to Municipal Commissioner. . [BMC Annual Reports]. URL:[http://www.mcgm.gov.in/irj/go/km/docs/documents/MCGM%20Department%20List/Chief%20Accountant%20(Finance)/Budget/Complete%20Engli...

by Municipal Commissioner BMC | On 22 Mar 2012

NRHM, GOI, 2012-13

Using government data, this brief reports on NRHM expenditures along the following parameters: a) Overall trends in fund allocation and expenditure: GOI and States, b) Allocation and expenditure...

by Accountability Initiative | On 19 Mar 2012

Not the Remembered Country

The food security Bill's focus ignores changes in agriculture and eating habits. [BS editorial]. URL:[http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/t-n-ninan-notremembered-country/467874/].

by T.N. Ninan | On 19 Mar 2012

Towards Building A Happy, Prosperous and Caring Bangladesh: Budget Speech 2011-12

Budget speech 2011-12 by Finance minister. URL:[http://www.mof.gov.bd/en/budget/11_12/budget_speech/speech_en.pdf].

by Abul Maal Abdul Muhith | On 14 Mar 2012

Final Report-Water Security and Climate Change: Challenges and Strategies

The main objectives of this seminar has been to contribute to the understanding of the development processes and problems related to water security and climate change; to focus on studies relating t...

by Gursharan Singh Kainth | On 12 Mar 2012

The Global Race for Excellence and Skilled Labour: A Status Report

In this context, higher education as well as research and development (R&D) have long since ceased to be purely the domain of the developed Western economies. Numerous regions of the world, some in th...

by Ingo Rollwagen | On 09 Mar 2012

Theft and Loss of Electricity in an Indian State

Utilizing data from the power corporation of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, the politics of electricity theft over a ten year period (2000–09) is studied. It is seen that electricity the...

by Miriam Golden | On 06 Mar 2012

Issues and Challenges with the Philippines' Public Corporate Sector

Government-ownedand- controlled corporations were initially created as solutions to market imperfections. It is ironic therefore, that in recent years, they have come to be seen as problems t...

by Senate Economic Planning Office SEPO | On 06 Mar 2012

Taiwan’s Role in the Breakout of the Taiwan Strait Crises: A Historical Perspective

The implications of the rule of Chiang Kai-shek and his son Chiang Ching-kuo in Taiwan (1950–1988) for the Taiwan Strait Crises is examined, especially the third one af??ter the Cold War and potenti...

by Lu Jinghua | On 05 Mar 2012

What is the (New) Deal with Fragile States?

Poor governance and lack of state capabilities in around 45 countries pose a threat to global security and development. The involvement of the international community is required to help these st...

by Wim Naudé | On 02 Mar 2012

The State of the World's Children 2012: Children in an Urban World

The experience of childhood is increasingly urban. Over half the world’s people – including more than a billion children – now live in cities and towns. This report adds to the growing body of eviden...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 01 Mar 2012

Why Does Mental Health Not Get the Attention It Deserves? An Application of the Shiffman and Smith Framework

More than 13% of the global burden of disease for mental disorders is due to neuro psychiatric disorders, and over 70% of this burden lies in low- and middleincome countries. Suicide is one of the...

by Mark Tomlinson | On 01 Mar 2012

Annual Report 2011-12 On the Working of State Power Utilities and Electricity Departments

Major shifts in the policy initiated in the electricity sector are well documented so that the effect of this policy change can be analyzed especially from the point of view of laying down future poli...

by Planning Commission | On 28 Feb 2012

Subsidizing the National Food Authority: Is It a Good Policy?

National Food Authority's (NFA) twin mandate of price stabilization and food security has cost the government billions of pesos in losses over the past few decades. As such, there is a need to ...

by Senate Economic Planning Office SEPO | On 28 Feb 2012

Can Institutions be Reformed from Within? Evidence from a Randomized Experiment with the Rajasthan Police

Institutions in developing countries, particularly those inherited from the colonial period, are often thought to be subject to strong inertia. This study presents the results of a unique randomized t...

by Abhijit Banerjee | On 27 Feb 2012

Indian Islam in the Age of Industry

Review of Bombay Islam: The Religious Economy of the West Indian Ocean, 1840-1915. by Nile Green. Cambridge University Press, New York 2011. xvi + 327 pp. $90.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-521-76924-2.

by Fahad A. Bishara | On 26 Feb 2012

The Public Procurement Bill, 2012

A bill to regulate public procurement with the objectives of ensuring transparency, fair and equitable treatment of bidders, promoting competition, enhancing efficiency and economy and safeguarding...

by Ministry of Finance | On 24 Feb 2012

Climate Change and Migration in Southeast Asia: Responding to a New Human Security Challenge

The paper aims at understanding the reasons which influence migration and mobility choices, ways by which vulnerabilities can be managed and the role that local, national and regional policy responses...

by Lorraine Elliot | On 24 Feb 2012

Foundations of Collective Action in Asia: Theory and Practice of Regional Cooperation

This paper argues that the collective action in Asia by its regional organizations has historically suffered from a “capability–legitimacy gap”: a disjuncture between the capability (in terms of mat...

by Amitav Acharya | On 17 Feb 2012

Violent Conflict and Human Capital Accumulation

This paper reviews and discusses available empirical research on the impact of violent conflict on the level and access to education of civilian and combatant populations affected by violence. Three ...

by Patricia Justino | On 15 Feb 2012

Aiding Conflict: The Impact of U.S. Food Aid on Civil War

This paper examines the effect of U.S. food aid on conflict in recipient countries (these include Asian countries like Afghanistan, Sri Lanka). To establish a causal relationship, time variation in fo...

by Nathan Nunn | On 08 Feb 2012

Findings From the Rapid Survey of Severely Malnourished Children in 11 Districts of Karnataka

A rapid survey was undertaken in Karnataka to understand access of severely malnourished children to health and child care services, understand these families’ experience of seeking care in PHC and an...

by Republic of Hunger RoH | On 30 Jan 2012

India’s Food Security Bill: A Waste or Win for the Hungry?

Home to over 25 per cent of the world’s hungry poor, India faces major food security challenges and the situation has barely improved in two decades. Will the National Food Security Bill that the Indi...

by Sally Trethewie | On 27 Jan 2012

Engines of Development: How Cohesive?

Review ofEconomy, Democracy and the State: The Indian Experience, By Ramashray Roy, Sage Publications, New Delhi; 2009, Pages: viii + 247, Rs 650.

by Bhanoji Rao | On 22 Jan 2012

Right to Food Security Bill: Challenges and Opportunities

The financial implications of the food security bill can be questioned. But the Bill proposes to protect the citizens from hunger and improve the nutritional intake of women and children.

by Rudra Narayan Mishra | On 30 Dec 2011

The National Food Security Bill, 2011-as introduced in Lok Sabha

A bill to provide for food and nutritional security in human life cycle approach, by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices to people to live a life with dignity...

by Lok Sabha | On 30 Dec 2011

Twenty Years of CRC: A Balance Sheet- Volume 1

The report is a rich source with qualitative and quantitative data on the status of children in India from authentic and established sources. [HAQCRC report]. URL:[http://www.haqcrc.org/sites/default/...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 28 Dec 2011

Redifining Food Security in the Face of Foreign Land Investors: The Philippine Case

This paper proposes to redefine food security in terms of protecting vulnerable populations from the structural violence of involuntary hunger. [NTS-Asia Research Paper No.6]. URL:[http://www.rsis.edu...

by Ben Shepherd | On 23 Dec 2011

A China Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations

Until recently, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been an effective framework for cooperation because it has continually adapted to changing economic realities. The current Doha Agenda is an ab...

by Aaditya Mattoo | On 13 Dec 2011

Data from State Assemblies: Some trends

How often do our State Assemblies meet? Do MLAs get enough opportunity to scrutinize Bills? Are all budget demands discussed on the floor of the House? PRS studied the work done by 13 State Assemblies...

by Parliamentary Research Service PRS | On 07 Dec 2011

Turning the Tide

If the story earlier was that the number of Maoist-affected districts was increasing, that no longer seems to be true. URL:[http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/t-n-ninan-turningtide/456691/].

by T.N. Ninan | On 02 Dec 2011

Efficiency of State Universities and Colleges in the Philippines: A Data Envelopment Analysis

In view of the long-standing issues and concerns that beset the Philippine system of higher education, the study attempts to evaluate the performance of state universities and colleges (SUCs) in the p...

by Janet S Cuenca | On 01 Dec 2011

Legislative Brief: The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill, 2011

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill, 2011 was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, Minister for Finance on March 24, 2011. The Bill was referred to the St...

by M. R. Madhavan | On 01 Dec 2011

Fifth Krishna Raj Memorial Lecture Series: Moving Towards Universal Access to Health Care- 5

The Fifth Anusandhan Trust’s Krishna Raj Memorial Lecture Series on Contemporary Issues in Health and Social Sciences was held on January 5, 2011. The speakers were Dr. K. Srinath Reddy (Chairperson o...

by Hansa Thapliyal | On 29 Nov 2011

Fifth Krishna Raj Memorial Lecture Series: Moving Towards Universal Access to Health Care- 4

The Fifth Anusandhan Trust’s Krishna Raj Memorial Lecture Series on Contemporary Issues in Health and Social Sciences was held on January 5, 2011. The speakers were Dr. K. Srinath Reddy (Chairperson o...

by Hansa Thapliyal | On 29 Nov 2011

How Are Markets Made?

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the making of markets. The paper identifies two ideal-typical processes in which markets are made – organized making and spontaneous making – which are often...

by Patrik Aspers | On 29 Nov 2011

Social Security and Labor Migration in ASEAN

This policy brief takes a preliminary look at portability of social security in ASEAN, particularly old-age, retirement, and survivor benefits. The next section discusses the growth of intra-ASEAN...

by Gloria O. Pasadilla | On 28 Nov 2011

The Politics of Water Discourse in Pakistan

The policy brief explores the evolving discourse on water issues in Pakistan where the process of political articulation, securitization and mobilization which often links water to Kashmir is studied....

by Medha Bisht | On 24 Nov 2011

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill, 2011

A bill to provide for the establishment of an Authority to promote old age income security by establishing, developing and regulating pension funds, to protect the interests of subscribers to sche...

by Parliamentary Research Service PRS | On 17 Nov 2011

Millenium Development Goals: How is India Doing?

This paper evaluates the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) as a framework for measuring development and, subject to qualifications arising from that evaluation, assesses how India is doing in terms o...

by Sudipto Mundle | On 11 Nov 2011

The Public Procurement Bill, 2011

An Act to regulate public procurement with the objective of maximising economy and efficiency, promoting competition among suppliers and contractors while ensuring a fair, transparent and equitable...

by Planning Commission | On 08 Nov 2011

Institutionalising Democracy

Review of Economy, Democracy and the State: The Indian Experience by Ramashray Roy, Sage Publications, New Delhi;2009, pp. viii + 247, Rs 650.

by Bhanoji Rao | On 07 Nov 2011

Economic and Financial Developments in Goa

Goa is celebrating the Golden Jubilee Year of its Liberation. The recent economic achievements of the state are highlighted. The economic and financial structure of the state as well as the various fi...

by Deepak Mohanty | On 04 Nov 2011

Draft of Citizens Right to Grievance Redress Bill, 2011

A Bill to lay down an obligation upon every public authority to publish citizens charter stating therein the time within which specified goods shall be supplied and services be rendered and provide...

by Department of Administrative Reforms Public Grievances | On 03 Nov 2011

"Ramanujan's Essay Depicts Multiplicity of Views Through Many Ramayanas."

The deletion of Three Hundred Ramayanas from B.A. History course of Delhi University. Professor Biswamoy Pati of History Department of D.U. calls this intolerance a dangerous trend. Video interview o...

by Jyotsna Singh | On 02 Nov 2011

Agriculture, Food, and Water Nanotechnologies for the Poor: Opportunities and Constraints

This brief presents a review of the potential opportunities and challenges of using nanotech applications for agriculture, food, and water in developing countries. [IFPRI Policy Brief 19]. URL:[http...

by Guillaume Gruère | On 01 Nov 2011

Growth and Election Outcomes in a Developing Country

With the exception Brander and Drazen (2008), who use a comprehensive cross-country database consisting of both developed and developing countries, the hypothesis that rapid growth helps incumbents...

by Poonam Gupta | On 31 Oct 2011

Emigration of Women Domestic Workers from Kerala: Gender, State Policy and the Politics of Movement

Restrictions imposed by the Government of India on the emigration of women in ‘unskilled’ categories such as domestic work are framed as measures intended to protect women from exploitation. Specia...

by Praveena Kodoth | On 24 Oct 2011

Report of the Expert Group to Review the Methodology for Estimation of Poverty

There has been a growing concern on the official estimates of poverty released by the Planning commission. The official poverty estimates have been severely criticised on various counts. In view of...

by Planning Commission | On 21 Oct 2011

Populations at Risk: Other End of Youth Bulge

While there is much written on the youth bulge in developing countries, little is being done to address the problems of the elderly. And yet demographically, it is this section that is showing high gr...

by Lakshmi Priya | On 10 Oct 2011

Food, Hunger and Ethics

Management of hunger has to look into issues of availability, accessibility and adequacy. Posing it from an ethical perspective the paper argues out in favour of right to food. But, for this to happe...

by Srijit Mishra | On 30 Sep 2011

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict

The Optional Protocol (OP) on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict was ratified by India on November 30, 2005, and is in effect since December 30, 2005. This is t...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 29 Sep 2011

Labour Market in Urban Agglomerations: A case from an Indian Global City

The study explores different aspects of employment and labour market prevalent in large in UAs, in particular global cities. To capture the role of labour market in urban agglomeration, particularly...

by G.D Bino Paul | On 27 Sep 2011

Mitigating Climate Change Through Agriculture

Among the major challenges currently faced by humanity are food security and climate change. Agriculture plays a significant role in both. Adapting to climate change is expected to be an increasing ...

by Claire Schaffnit Chatterjee | On 26 Sep 2011

What Causes Agglomeration? – Policy or Infrastructure – A Study of Indian Manufacturing Industry

This paper investigates whether industrial dispersal policy is more potent or the natural and agglomeration cost advantages are important in influencing locational choice of a firm. To carry out the a...

by Vinish Kathuria | On 22 Sep 2011

Iraq’s Last Window: Diffusing the Risks of a Petro-State

This paper, examines the possibility of adopting Oil- to- Cash scheme in Iraq. Here, a new opportunity is identified which aims for direct distribution of Iraqi oil rents in the planned production exp...

by Johnny West | On 19 Sep 2011

The National Food Security Bill, 2011

A Bill to provide for food and nutritional security, in human life cycle approach, by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices, for people to live a life with dign...

by Department of Food and Public Distribution Fcamin | On 14 Sep 2011

Agricultural Productivity and Credit- Issues and Way Forward

Certain trends in agricultural productivity, agricultural finance are outlined. Recommendations for improving agricultural productivity are given here. [Address at The National Seminar on Productivity...

by Chakrabarty K C | On 12 Sep 2011

Faster, Sustainable and More Inclusive Growth: An Approach to the 12th Five Year Plan

In preparing the Approach Paper, the Planning Commission has consulted much more widely than ever before recognising the fact that citizens are now much better informed and also keen to engage. Over...

by Planning Commission, India | On 12 Sep 2011

Agricultural Practice and its Relation to Poverty and Food Security in Selected River Basins in Bangladesh: A Situation Analysis

Poverty and food security in the context of Bangladesh has become a major concern over time. While efforts have been intensified to increase crop yield through increased land use, using inorganic fe...

by Shyamal C Ghosh | On 30 Aug 2011

Trans-border Identities: (A Study on the Impact of Bangladeshi and Nepali Migration to India)

This paper deals with migration into India from adjoining neighbours and its impact on security and other issues of national interest. Unlike other studies on migration, it focuses on the ethnic ident...

by Subhakanta Behera | On 26 Aug 2011

Indian Social Democracy: The Resource Perspective

This paper examines the strategy for obtaining adequate resources for the Indian State, where the goals of the State comprise the provision of public goods (which, by de nition, bene t everyone) and...

by P.V. Srinivasan | On 24 Aug 2011

Consultation Paper on IMT – Advanced Mobile Wireless Broadband Services

In order to facilitate introduction of International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) Advanced mobile broadband services, the Authority has decided to deliberate on various related issues including sui...

by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India TRAI | On 24 Aug 2011

Does Land Reform Matter? An Empirical Analysis of Indian States

This article looks into the role of land reform in comparison to concentric ef fort to augment agricultural GDP. Redistribut ive land reform policy aims to improve land endowments of poor, though va...

by Debdatta Pal | On 18 Aug 2011

Climate Change, Rural Livelihoods and Agriculture (focus on Food Security) in Asia-Pacific Region

The objective of this paper is to identify climate change related threats and vulnerabilities associated with agriculture as a sector and agriculture as people’s livelihoods (exposure, sensitivity, a...

by S. Mahendra Dev | On 17 Aug 2011

Determinants of Primary Yield Spreads of States in India: An Econometric Analysis

An attempt is made to identify the determinants of yield spreads between the State and Central government securities in a panel data framework as has been used in several cross-country studies. This...

by Dhritidyuti Bose | On 08 Aug 2011

Working and Living Conditions of Women Domestic Workers: Evidences from Mumbai

This paper, exploring primary data collected from 1510 women domestic workers in Mumbai, evidently brings out that domestic work as a feminine occupation in a global city like Mumbai is a epitome of...

by G.D Bino Paul | On 08 Aug 2011

Parliament Session Alert: Monsoon Session: August 01 – September 08, 2011

Parliament meets for the Monsoon Session between August 01 and September 08, 2011. There will be a total of 26 sittings. The agenda for government Bills includes 35 pending Bills for consideration...

by Kusum Malik | On 01 Aug 2011

Health Care Systems and Conflict: A Fragile State of Affairs

Health care systems are necessary in all countries, the importance of strong health care systems to fragile nations, and the damage done to these systems during conflict, receive less attention t...

by PLoS Medicine Editors | On 29 Jul 2011

Engaging with Policy Makers: Ideas on Contributing to the Law Making Process

This Primer explains the process by which a citizen group can participate and become actively involved in the process of lawmaking. A number of cases have been used to demonstrate the various ways in...

by Avinash Celestine | On 19 Jul 2011

Inter-State Imbalances in Essential Services: Some Perspectives

This paper analyzes the inter-state imbalances in three major sectors of the economy, namely, education, health and family welfare, and water supply and sanitation for fifteen major states. It uses...

by C Bhujanga Rao | On 14 Jul 2011

Deprivation and Vulnerability Among Elderly in India

A documentation of different aspects of human deprivation in the old age other than the measurement of income poverty is done. Aspects of economic, health and social aspects of deprivation and how i...

by Syam Prasad | On 14 Jul 2011

EGoM cleared the Draft National Food Security Bill

The empowered group of ministers on food on Monday approved the draft National Food Security Bill, bringing the ambitious social security programme that guarantees highly subsidized food grains to abo...

by Economic Times ET | On 12 Jul 2011

A Thousand Industries In A Thousand Days? State Business Relations and The Puzzle of Orissa's Industrial Performance

In this paper, the phenomenon of 'two types of industrialisation' in Orissa is documented where a fast growing resource based manufacturing sector has co-existed with a stagnant non-resource based...

by Alivelu G | On 11 Jul 2011

The Don Sahong Dam: Potential Impacts on Regional Fish Migrations, Livelihoods and Human Health

This paper focuses on the Don Sahong Dam (DSD’s) potential impacts on fish and fisheries, and particularly the project’s regional implications in relation to fisheries, including its possible impact...

by Ian Bird | On 08 Jul 2011

Human Trafficking: The Shameful Face of Migration

A new framework for understanding migration as a series of phases, defining categories of people affected by migration and suggesting estimates of the likely size and importance of each group is g...

by PLoS Medicine Editors | On 04 Jul 2011

Economic Development in Orissa: Growth Without Inclusion?

The economy of Orissa has been lagging behind the national economy by several decades. Its per capita net state domestic product, a measure of average income, stood at Rs.20200 for 2006-07 which fal...

by Manoj Panda | On 04 Jul 2011

Fragile States

Many of the world’s poorest countries can be described as 'fragile states' wherein governments cannot or will not provide an environment for households to reduce, mitigate, or cope with poverty and ot...

by Wim Naudé | On 23 Jun 2011

Polarization, Inequality and Growth: The Indian Experience

Polarization in India is analysed roughly in the past two and half decades using consumption expenditure data. It is seen that polarization has increased sharply since the 1990s, reversing the earlie...

by Sripad Motiram | On 13 Jun 2011

Cash at Your Fingertips: Biometric Technology for Transfers in Resource-Rich Countries

Cash transfers are often a good way for developing countries to address economic and social problems. They are less expensive than directly providing goods and services and allow recipients the flex...

by Alan Gelb | On 06 Jun 2011

Budget for Children Analysis: A Beginner's Guide

This toolkit is designed to train individuals and civil society on how to conduct a child centered budget analysis to support their advocacy work and to hold state accoutable for the fulfilment of chi...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 02 Jun 2011

Social Assistance and the ‘Dependency Syndrome'

This policy brief discusses the fact that social assistance is critical to counter the insecurity and vulnerability experienced by chronically poor people. Evidence shows that as well as preventing pe...

by Andrew Shepherd | On 30 May 2011

Indian Railways Statistical Statement (2009-2010)

This paper presents the statistical statement of the Ministry of Railways, India. URL: [http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/directorate/stat_econ/Stat_0910/Annual_Statistical_Stateme...

by Ministry of Railways | On 26 May 2011

Working Effectively in Conflict-affected and Fragile Situations

Getting analysis right in conflict-affected and fragile situations is a critical starting point for developing effective responses. Analysis serves a number of important purposes, including develo...

by International Growth Centre | On 26 May 2011

A State in Periodic Crisis: Andhra Pradesh

This monograph looks at the periodic crisis that overwhelmed the state of Hyderabad. URL: [http://www.cess.ac.in/cesshome/mono/CESS_Monograph_11_BPR.pdf]

by B P R Vithal | On 17 May 2011

The Future of Development Finance

Development finance is at a turning point. There is talk about a “triple revolution of goals, actors and tools.” As much of Asia grows its way out of poverty, aid will increasingly be focused on Afr...

by Nemat Shafik | On 13 May 2011

National Environment Policy

The National Environment Policy, 2006 is the out come of extensive consultations with experts indifferent disciplines, Central Ministries, Members of Parliament, State Governments, Industry Associa...

by Ministry of Environment and Forests | On 12 May 2011

Budget Speech 2010-2011 (Nepal)

This paper contains the public statement on income and expenditure of Fiscal Year 2010‐11. URL: [http://www.mof.gov.np/publication/speech/2010_1/pdf/budgetspeech_english.pdf]

by Ministry of Finance, Government of Nepal | On 10 May 2011

India at 75: Towards Inclusive Growth through Labour Market Reforms

The policy of free hiring and firing, leading to a high labour turnover is in nobody’s interest: employers lose industrially accumulated useful skills while workers lose jobs and incomes. Yet job secu...

by Snehal Barai | On 09 May 2011

What do you want from us?

In the past three years, two journalists for El Diario have been killed by drug-cartels and since 2000 more than 64 journalists have been killed throughout the country. The armed conflict between orga...

by Rocio Gallegos | On 08 May 2011

Nepal and the Pax Indianus

In May 2009, the Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) warned of growing threats to sustainable peace in Nepal. Since that time, Nepal’s politics have continued to polarize. Nepal still has two ar...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights | On 04 May 2011

Armed Conflict, Violence aganist Women and Right to Health

Two of the key highlights of the training were: the absence of counselling services, especially for women in Kashmir given the nature and scale of violence and; the denied right of conflict affected...

by ... CEHAT | On 29 Apr 2011

Encounters

The Tarkunde Committee confirmed that the police and the government of Andhra Pradesh were involved in the cruel practice of committing planned murders and covering it up as encounter. It recommende...

by People's Union for Democratic Rights PUDR | On 28 Apr 2011

Report of the Task Force on Credit Related Issues of Farmers

The Task Force visited 45 villages across 17 states and held state and regional level consultations to understand from women and men farmers, bankers, civil society, academicians, planners, activists,...

by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Devt NABARD | On 27 Apr 2011

Guidelines for Human-Leopard Conflict Management

After careful consideration of the inputs received from a variety of stakeholders, the following framework guidelines are suggested for managing the humanleopard conflict situations in areas where l...

by Ministry of Environment and Forests GOI | On 22 Apr 2011

Declining Child Sex Ratio: Addressing the Imperatives

A discussion about the declining sex ratio in India is given. The various reasons for declining sex ratio are outlined.

by Anwesha Sen | On 09 Apr 2011

Issues Related to the Lok Pal Bill

In January 2011, the government formed a Group of Ministers, chaired by Shri Pranab Mukherjee to suggest measures to tackle corruption, including examination of the proposal of a Lok Pal Bill.

by Kaushiki Sanyal | On 08 Apr 2011

Hong Kong's Anti-Terrorism Measures Under Fire

Following behind other jurisdictions, Hong Kong tabled its post September 11th anti-terrorism legislation for first reading on April 17, 2002. The United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Bill (herein...

by Simon N.M. Young | On 05 Apr 2011

Deficit Fundamentalism vs Fiscal Federalism: Implications of 13th Finance Commission’s Recommendations

The important recommendations of the Thirteenth Finance Commission (THFC) can be categorised under the following heads: • Enhanced vertical devolution from 30.5 to 32 per cent of divisible pool of ...

by Pinaki Chakraborty | On 31 Mar 2011

Budget 2011-12, Delhi

Budget speech by finance minister. URL: [http://delhi.gov.in/wps/wcm/connect/21d1f280463783518436871b84a2a7b0/CM+Speech+-+PRINT.pdf?MOD=AJPERES].

by Government of Delhi | On 30 Mar 2011

Foretelling the Mekong: Key Findings of the MRC’s Strategic Environmental Assessment on Mekong Mainstream Dams

With 11 large hydropower dams proposed to block the Lower Mekong River’s mainstream, the future of the river lies at a crossroads. To inform decision-making, in October 2010, the Mekong River Commiss...

by International Rivers Network IRN | On 29 Mar 2011

Scheme for “New Initiative in Skill Development through PPP” - Guidelines for Grants-in-Aid and Other Heads

The scheme would facilitate improving both qualitative and quantitative aspects of skill development in Mission Mode by harmonizing efforts of Central / State Governments as well as private sector t...

by Planning Commission, India | On 28 Mar 2011

Globalization and the Women’s Movement in India

From the early 1990s, the principal economic, social and political problems experienced by the mass of Indian women have, in one way or another, become inextricably linked with the processes and pol...

by Centre for Women's Development Studies | On 28 Mar 2011

Banking Laws Amendment Bill

The government introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that seeks to align voting rights in private banks with shareholding, enhance the central bank’s regulatory powers over banks and give grea...

by Economic Times ET | On 23 Mar 2011

The Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2011

A BILL further to amend the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970 and the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertak...

by Parliamentary Research Service PRS | On 23 Mar 2011

Economic Survey, 2010-11, Maharashtra

State income, public finances, agriculture and animal husbandry, education, health, population etc are given importance in the economic survey. URL: [http://mahades.maharashtra.gov.in/files/publicatio...

by Maharashtra Government | On 23 Mar 2011

A Veteran's Asia Reflections

The report reflects on a wealth of impressions from the emerging continent. Political and economic developments from the Hindukush to Japan are assessed and put into a global context. The issues addre...

by Norbert Walter | On 22 Mar 2011

Social and Economic Policies to Prevent Complex Humanitarian Emergencies Lessons from Experience

In simple language and with numerous concrete examples, this policy brief analyses the impact - among others - of key ex-ante factors such as acute 'horizontal inequality' between social groups in the...

by Jeni Klugman | On 22 Mar 2011

Constituency Development Funds: Are They Constitutional?

This brief examines one particular criticism of Constituency Development Funds (CDFs): they infringe upon the doctrine of separation of powers. It also discusses whether CDFs adhere to other important...

by Christina Murray | On 18 Mar 2011

Can We Eradicate Hunger?

World hunger is prevalent yet receives relatively less attention compared to poverty. The MDGs have taken a step to address this with the resolution of halving the number of starving people in the wor...

by Basudeb Guha Khasnobis | On 16 Mar 2011

State of Environment Report

In the global context of State of the Environment (SoE) Reporting, India is probably unique. Over the last two decades, the Indian SoE reporting experience has ranged from grassroots initiatives li...

by Ministry of Environment and Forests GOI | On 11 Mar 2011

Book Review: Search for Identities: Dalits and Tribal Christians in India

Review of: Margins of Faith: Dalit and Tribal Christianity in India, Edited by Rowena Robinson & Joseph Marianus Kunjur; Sage Publications, New Delhi, 2010, 295 pages, Rs.695/

by Hemali Sanghavi | On 09 Mar 2011

Health and Human Rights in Chin State, Western Burma: A Population-Based Assessment Using Multistaged Household Cluster Sampling

The Chin State of Burma (also known as Myanmar) is an isolated ethnic minority area with poor health outcomes and reports of food insecurity and human rights violations. A report on a population-base...

by Richard Sollom | On 09 Mar 2011

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Gender Budget 2011-12

The Corporation has decided to implement various schemes for females within the framework of its obligatory and discretionary functions as laid down in the M.M.C. Act. A step towards it, is a separat...

by Municipal Commissioner BMC | On 07 Mar 2011

Draft Food Security Bill, 2010

While the Government of India has several schemes for augmenting agricultural production and ensuring adequate availability of food for different segments, a Bill to provide a statutory framework to e...

by Government of India GOI | On 04 Mar 2011

Feedback received until 28th February, 2011 on the Framework note on NFSB

Based on the recommendations the National Advisory Council had already communicated to the Government, as a first step towards preparing the draft National Food Security Bill, a detailed Framework Not...

by National Advisory Council NAC | On 04 Mar 2011

Draft National Food Security Bill: Explanatory Note

This Explanatory Note highlights the rationale and major considerations that form the basis of the NAC proposals on food security. It supplements (i) the NAC recommendations on food security relea...

by National Advisory Council NAC | On 04 Mar 2011

Note on the Draft National Food Security Bill

As agreed by the NAC at its meeting on July 14th, 2010, a Working Group of Members of the NAC was constituted on the National Food Security Bill. After due deliberations and wide ranging consultations...

by Harsh Mander | On 04 Mar 2011

Failed States, Vicious Cycles, and a Proposal

The problems of failed states, including the repeated return to power of former warlords are examined. It is argued that this causes institutions to become weaker and people to get poorer. It is argue...

by Raghuram G. Rajan | On 04 Mar 2011

No Protection for the AamBachcha

Despite some commendable efforts and achievements of the Indian state, it is an explicit fact that the majority of children in India are suffering, deprived of basic resources and needs for an average...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 01 Mar 2011

An Ethnobiography of Teyyam Performance from a Practitioner’s Perspective

Rajesh Komath gives a description the conflicts between his socio-material position as a Teyyam performer, and persona/personality as a student of economics.

by Smriti Vohra | On 26 Feb 2011

Sri Lanka: Budget Speech, 2011

In the aftermath of the long war in the north, the prime minister anf finance minister launched Mahinda Chintana - Vision for the Future” that targets a per capita income in excess of US$ 4,000 by 201...

by Mahinda Rajapaksa | On 26 Feb 2011

Indian Social Democracy:The Resource perspective

This paper examines the strategy for obtaining adequate resources for the Indian State, where the goals of the State comprise the provision of public goods (which, by defi nition, benefi t everyone)...

by Vijay Kelkar | On 17 Feb 2011

Punishing the Poor? A Look at Evidence and Action Regarding User Fees in Health Care

This policy brief aims to summarise evidence and discuss various concerns about charging user fees from a low-income perspective.

by ... CEHAT | On 16 Feb 2011

India's Forests and the Judiciary-The Godavarman Story

The Godavarman Case since 1995, the Centre for Environment Law –WWF-India case also instituted in 1995 and the Navin Raheja case since 1998, ongoing before the Apex Court with over few thousand appli...

by Sanjay Upadhyay | On 15 Feb 2011

Kerala Budget 2011-12

The Minister for Finance, Dr. T. M. Thomas Issac presented the Budget for the financial year 2011-2012.

by Government of Kerala Govt | On 14 Feb 2011

Civil Society 2.0? How the Internet Changes State-Society Relations in Authoritarian Regimes: The Case of Cuba

In the debate over the role of civil society under authoritarian regimes, the spread of transnational web-based media obliges us to rethink the areas in which the societal voice can be raised --- and...

by Bert Hoffman | On 10 Feb 2011

India and the Civil War in Sri Lanka:   On the Failures of   Regional Conflict Management in South Asia 

The  paper  provides  an  assessment  of  India’s  role  in  the  final  years  of  the  civil  war  in  Sri  Lanka  (2003‐2009).  In  particular,  it  looks  for  explanations  for  India’s  in...

by Sandra Destradi | On 10 Feb 2011

Resolutions of the Sixth Session of the First Parliament of Bhutan

The following bills were resolved to be passed with corrections: The Child Care and Protection Bill; Penal Code Amendment Bill; Anti Corruption Act 2010; and others

by Jigme Tshultim | On 08 Feb 2011

Quantifying Vulnerability to Climate Change: Implications for Adaptation Assistance

The effects of climate change have been and will be worse in poor countries and small-island states, those least able to adapt to the climate-related disasters. In this paper, senior fellow David Whee...

by David Wheeler | On 01 Feb 2011

Conflict Resolution through Mutuality: Lessons from Bayesian Updating

If priors are deterministic (zero or unity) and conditional evidence is uncertain (lies between zero and one) then Bayesian updating will lead to posteriors that are the same as priors. This in a sen...

by Srijit Mishra | On 31 Jan 2011

Rising Food Crisis and Financial Crisis in India:Impact on Women and Children and Ways of Tackling the Problem

The objective of the study is to examine the impact of rising food prices and financial crisis on the impact of women and children in India. It identifies the pathways for dealing with the effects of...

by S. Mahendra Dev | On 31 Jan 2011

Context and Dynamics of Civil Society in the 21st Century

The gap between the world of knowledge and the world of action, although perennial, is probably the widest in the area of development. In no other field is there such a sharp divergence between rati...

by Centre for Women's Development Studies | On 31 Jan 2011

Rethinking Agricultural Production Collectivities: The Case for a Group Approach to Energize Agriculture and Empower Poor Farmers

In the face of persistent rural poverty, an incomplete agrarian transition, the predominance of small and marginal farms and an emerging feminization of agriculture, this paper argues for a new in...

by Bina Agarwal | On 28 Jan 2011

India's Low Carbon Inclusive Growth Strategy

India’s low carbon inclusive growth strategy is framed in the context of  multiple goals and its national circumstances. In many cases, co­benefits  such as energy security, universal access to cl...

by U. Sankar | On 28 Jan 2011

Industrial Policy of Assam 2008

At the time of India’s independence, Assam was relatively a land of plenty. It was not only among the better administered states, the per capita State Domestic Product was way above the average in the...

by Government of Assam | On 28 Jan 2011

Conceptualising Social Security And Income Redistribution

This paper offers a conceptualisation of social security and income redistribution schemes which highlights the strong overlaps between the two. Indeed, it is virtually impossible to disentangle the t...

by Ravi Kanbur | On 27 Jan 2011

Rethinking the Policy Objectives of Development Aid: From Economic Growth to Conflict Prevention

The current consensus objective of development aid in the international community is to reduce poverty in general and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in particular. In addition,...

by Sakiko Fukuda- Parr | On 21 Jan 2011

Postconflict Countries: Strategy for Rebuilding Fiscal Institutions

This paper reviews the challenges and experiences in rebuilding fiscal institutions in postconflict environments, based on advice from the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department to selected countries. Th...

by Sanjeev Gupta | On 20 Jan 2011

Rethinking Food Security Strategy: Self-sufficiency or Self-reliance

This Policy Brief discusses whether Bangladesh should continue to pursue a national food security strategy based on self-reliance or return to its earlier policy of food self-sufficiency through ...

by Uttam Kumar Deb | On 17 Jan 2011

Shared Goals: Measuring Overall Development in Pakistan

Five possible indicators are suggested that illustrate the type of measurable targets that could help the United States and Pakistan meet shared goals for effective and transparent development. [CGD...

by Nancy Birdsall | On 17 Jan 2011

The Report of the Thirteenth Finance Commission Conundrum in Conditionalities

The focus of this paper is to examine the approach of the Commission in regard to its Terms of Reference (ToR) and analyse the recommendations relating to its main task, namely tax devolution and gr...

by M Govinda Rao | On 07 Jan 2011

Transforming Conflict with an Economic Dividend: The Sri Lankan Experience

Peace can generate an economic dividend, which can be further increased by appropriate economic reform. This dividend can in turn be used to raise popular support for conflict resolution measures...

by Saman Kelegama | On 31 Dec 2010

Does Women’s Status Matter for Food Security? Evidence from Bangladesh

Using data from a survey of Bangladeshi households, this paper investigates the link between female status and food security. Employing three different indicators of female status – husband’s an...

by Mohammad A. Razzaque | On 29 Dec 2010

Responding to Violence Against Women: Role of Health Care Providers

Report of a training workshop for health care providers on responding to violence organised by the Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes (CEHAT), Mumbai.

by Yavnika Tanwar | On 28 Dec 2010

The Economy of Thiruvananthapuram

The major objectives of the paper is to:- * to locate the Thiruvananthapuram district in the economic map of the State; *to document the structural and sectoral transformation of the district; *to...

by Oommen M A | On 22 Dec 2010

Group-Oriented Values, Rules and Cooperation

This paper uses a game-theoretic framework to explain how collectivist values hamper societies’ efforts to elicit cooperation in inter-group games of prisoners’ dilemma (PD) and draws on the resul...

by Ke-young Chu | On 15 Dec 2010

Asymmetric Federalism in India

The paper examines the asymmetric features in Indian federalism and evaluates its contribution. There are discussions on the special arrangements in the Indian constitution to accommodate special ca...

by M Govinda Rao | On 14 Dec 2010

Five Years of NRHM 2005-2010

Health is a State subject and the Government of India has always tried to work in partnership with states to meet people's needs. As the report will indicate, it is through this partnership with const...

by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare H & FW | On 08 Dec 2010

Credibility and Reputationin Peacemaking

The paper analyses credibility and reputation in the context of peace negotiations. Where war provides economic gains to one side, peace is not incentive compatible, and peace agreements will necess...

by Tony Addison | On 08 Dec 2010

'Slippage': The Bane of Rural Drinking Water Sector (A Study of Extent and Causes in Andhra Pradesh)

Slippage is one of the main bottlenecks of achieving full coverage of water and sanitation services in India. This paper makes an attempt to identify the causes of slippage in a systematic manner. T...

by V. Ratna Reddy | On 02 Dec 2010

Getting Infrastructure Priorities Right in Post-Conflict Reconstruction

In this paper, an attempt is made to identify some key challenges for infrastructure sectors in post-conflict reconstruction. In spite of the Hague and Geneva Conventions, infrastructure can be da...

by P. B. Anand | On 01 Dec 2010

Does Inequality lead to Conflict?

This paper presents a simple model to show how distributional concerns can engender social conflict. They have a two period model, where the cost of conflict is endogenous in the sense that partie...

by Indranil Dutta | On 01 Dec 2010

How Can Donors Create Incentives for Results and Flexibility for Fragile States? A Proposal for IDA

International Development Association (IDA) donors and others operating a country performance-based allocation system face two difficult problems: how to strengthen incentives to produce and document...

by Alan Gelb | On 29 Nov 2010

Economic Agendas in Civil Wars: What We Know, What We Need to Know

The political economy of civil wars has acquired unprecedented scholarly and policy attention. Among others, the International Peace Academy’s programme on Economic Agendas in Civil Wars (EACW) ha...

by David M Malone | On 26 Nov 2010

Security in the Transport of Radioactive Material: Implementing Guide

This publication addresses the vulnerability of radioactive material during transport. Given the international concern over acts of nuclear terrorism, it is imperative to have a well defined plan for...

by International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA | On 23 Nov 2010

From Conflict to Reconstruction: Reviving the Social Contract

Contemporary civil wars are rooted in a partial or complete breakdown of the social contract, often involving disputes over public spending, resource revenues, and taxation. A feasible social contra...

by Tony Addison | On 23 Nov 2010

Issues in Real Estate and Urban Management – A Note

This note raise many policy issues related to real estate and the urban sector. Urban issues and the very high cost of real estate in India have deep rooted problems that have their origin in the po...

by Sebastian Morris | On 22 Nov 2010

From Conflict to Reconstruction

Governments frequently compartmentalize issues of reform and reconstruction into separate strategies and separate ministries (the fate of poverty reduction as well). Donors do likewise, for each has i...

by Tony Addison | On 19 Nov 2010

Food Balance Sheet of Kerela

This paper is a look at the food balance sheet of Kerela, the extent of undernutrition and malnutrition in Kerela. For ths purpose, 57 items of food normally available in the State were taken into acc...

by P.G.K. Panikar | On 19 Nov 2010

Entrepreneurial Ventures and the Developmental State: Lessons from the Advanced Economies

A basic intellectual challenge for those concerned with the poverty of nations is to come to grips with the nature and causes of the wealth of the world’s wealthier nations. One might then be in a...

by William Lazonick | On 15 Nov 2010

Impact of Trade Liberalization on Returns from Land: A Regional Study of Indian Agriculture

Trade liberalization, by aligning domestic prices with world prices, is envisaged to bring welfare gains to a country. In the case of Indian agriculture, owing to the vastness and diversity of the s...

by Nilabja Ghosh | On 11 Nov 2010

Human Capital and Manufacturing Productivity Growth in India

Empirical studies on total factor productivity growth (TFPG) in developing countries highlight trade openness, research and development and market structure as being the most important determinants...

by Vinish Kathuria | On 02 Nov 2010

Revisiting the Global Food Architecture: Lessons from the 2008 Food Crisis

The 2008 episode of food price explosion, political turmoil, and human suffering revealed important flaws in the current global food architecture. This paper argues that to safeguard the strengths...

by Luc Christiaensen | On 27 Oct 2010

Malaysia and the Global Crisis: Impact, Response, and Rebalancing Strategies

The economic crisis that began in the United States had an effect on the developed world, including the European Union, Japan, and Singapore. The downturn of the economy in the United States, coupled...

by Shankaran Nambiar | On 26 Oct 2010

The Welfare Fund Model of Social Security for Informal Sector Workers: The Kerala Experience

This paper examines the evolution of the institution of ‘Welfare Funds’ for informal sector workers in the State of Kerala in India. The Kerala experience, which is now thirty years old, reflects wh...

by K. P. Kannan | On 25 Oct 2010

The Republic of Korea’s Economy in the Swirl of Global Crisis

This paper argues that the Republic of Korea (hereafter Korea) is not immune to global crises, but that a more than proportional response of gross domestic product to global crises does not seem to be...

by Dongchul Cho | On 25 Oct 2010

Aid Allocation and Fragile States

This paper summarises research on aid allocation and effectiveness, highlighting the current findings of recent research on aid allocation to fragile states. Fragile states are defined by the dono...

by Mark McGillivray | On 21 Oct 2010

Supply Chain Dynamics in Asia

Supply chain management in Asia is a relatively new topic but is a key challenge for all Asia based manufacturers and traders trying to integrate into the “global market.” The purpose of this paper...

by Ruth Banomyong | On 14 Oct 2010

On Some Monetarist Arithmetic

The paper improves upon the original Sargent-Wallace (SW) version which had to resort to numerical simulations to prove this point It is also shown that incorporating the Mundeil-Tobin and Darby-Tanzi...

by M J Manohar Rao | On 13 Oct 2010

The Role of State Intervention in the Financial Sector: Crisis Prevention, Containment, and Resolution

This paper discusses the role of state intervention for prevention, containment, and resolution of financial crises based mainly on the Korean experience during the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Crises...

by Yoon Je Cho | On 12 Oct 2010

Peace, Prosperity, and Pro-Growth Entrepreneurship

Support for entrepreneurship is widely seen as a mechanism to facilitate prosperity and peace in a growing number of post-conflict states. In this paper they critically evaluate this view. They ar...

by Wim Naudé | On 08 Oct 2010

A Campaign for No UID-Till Complete Transparency, Accountability and People’s Participation

A press conference was arranged which was against the Unique Identity Card (UID) project of Government of India. The panel discussed about the project that the potential to transform the state-citize...

by Shambhu Ghatak | On 08 Oct 2010

Aid to Fragile States: Do Donors Help or Hinder?

The record of aid to fragile and poorly-performing states is the real test of aid effectiveness. Rich countries can justify aid to fragile states both through altruism and self-interest. But, wit...

by Stephen Browne | On 06 Oct 2010

Beyond Short-Term Thinking: How to Spend Billions Well in Pakistan, for Them and for Us

This essay draws on the work of the Center for Global Development’s Study Group on U.S. Development Strategy in Pakistan and on the ideas in the group’s open letters to Ambassador Richard Holbrooke...

by Nancy Birdsall | On 05 Oct 2010

Fiscal Management in Haryana: A Review

An attempt has been made to understand the factors leading to the worsening situation of the state finances. Investigations reveal that the revenue receipts of the state could not keep pace with ex...

by N K Bishnoi | On 05 Oct 2010

Chronic Poverty and Social Conflict in Bihar

Chronic poverty trends cannot be examined without considering the impact of various social conflicts afflicting a region. It is true that all forms of poverty cannot be explained by conflicts as much...

by N.R. Mohanty | On 04 Oct 2010

Government Intervention in Commercial Crop Development: Case of Flue Cured Virginia Tobacco

The role of the state in industrialisation is a much discussed topic these days. Specifically this role has witnessed itself in the form of direct intervention by the states through owning the means...

by Sunil Mani | On 01 Oct 2010

Who Are the MDG Trailblazers? A New MDG Progress Index

In September, world leaders will assemble in New York to review progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Ahead of the ensuing discussions, we examine how individual countries are fari...

by Benjamin Leo | On 29 Sep 2010

The Role of the State in Managing and Forestalling Systemic Financial Crises: Some Issues and Perspectives

This paper reviews recent state interventions in financial crises and draws lessons for crisis management. A number of areas are identified where crisis management could be strengthened, including...

by Charles Adams | On 29 Sep 2010

Handbook on Nuclear Law: Implementing Legislation

Access to a well organized body of resource materials for helping States in drafting nuclear legislation is possible with the help of this handbook. [IAEA]. http://www-pub.iaea.org/books/IAEABooks/...

by Carlton Stoiber | On 17 Sep 2010

Dignity on Trial

The report discusses the problems posed by one of the most archaic forensic procedures still in use: the finger test. [CEHAT].

by Human Rights Watch | On 15 Sep 2010

Who Leaves and Who Returns? Deciphering Immigrant Self-Selection from a Developing Country

Existing research examining the self-selection of immigrants suffers from a lack of information on the immigrants’ labor force activities in the home country, quotas limiting who is allowed to enter t...

by Randall K. Q. Akee | On 09 Sep 2010

Feeding Southeast Asia: Mekong River Fisheries and Regional Food Security

This paper reviews the available literature that links regional food security to the Mekong River’s wild capture fisheries, and argues for recognition of the existing contribution that the fisheries...

by Brooke Peterson | On 08 Sep 2010

Employee State Insurance: For a handful of contribution, a bagful of benefits

The paper is about the Employment State Insurance Act (ESIC). It analyzes two important questions i.e. what ESTA is and whether the ESIC in Delhi is catering to the needs of its employees.

by M Gopinath | On 02 Sep 2010

Poverty Target Programs for The Elderly In India: With Special Reference to National Old Age Pension Scheme, 1995

This paper looks into various aspects of the old age pension debate and related policies in India. In the analysis that follows, we address issues such as: the identity of the drivers of change; t...

by Anand Kumar | On 11 Aug 2010

Social Protection Package for the Retrenched Workers of State-owned Enterprises: A quick Assessment

BRAC designed and implemented a project namely Kallyan project aiming to improve the quality of life of the retrenched workers of state-owned enterprises of Bangladesh. This study aimed to map the p...

by Narayan Chandra Das | On 28 Jul 2010

Backward & Forward Linkages in the ITES/ BPO Industry

Walk down the corridors of any college in Delhi, Bangalore or any of the metros and you will definitely find advertisements calling for executives to join in the “booming ITES industry” for a bright...

by Sabith Ullah Khan | On 22 Jul 2010

Not a matter of choice

This editorial questions whether the two values freedom and liberty can come together?

by T.N. Ninan | On 19 Jul 2010

State Capacity, Conflict and Development

This paper is a report on an on-going project, which asks a number of questions relevant to the study of state capacity. What are the main economic and political determinants of the state’s capacity...

by Timothy Besley | On 15 Jul 2010

Assessing the Economic Vulnerability of Small Island Developing States and the Least Developed Countries

Macro vulnerability of the small island developing states (SIDS) as well as of least developed countries (LDCs) has been an increasing concern for the international community. This concern has led...

by Patrick Guillaumont | On 30 Jun 2010

Women and Sustainable development

In this paper there is an attempt to bring in some theoretical analysis on the development process and women's roles in it as seen and advocated by the women's movements and later on by the State and...

by Aleyamma Vijayan | On 22 Jun 2010

Farming First’s Guide to Food Security Initiatives

Food security is an immediate and future priority for all countries worldwide. Since the food crisis erupted in 2008, a large number of global and regional food security initiatives have been launch...

by Farming First | On 21 Jun 2010

Customized Development Interventions for the Ultra Poor: Preliminary Change Assessments of Health and Health-seeking Behaviour (CFPR/TUP 2002 to 2004)

A mid-term survey of the CFPR/TUP programme participants (at the end of 1st cycle of 18 months intervention) on health and related issues was done during July-September 2004. The survey involved re-in...

by Syed Masud Ahmed | On 16 Jun 2010

Impact Assessment of CFPR/TUP: A Descriptive Analysis Based on 2002-2005 Panel Data

This paper looks at the overall performance of the CFPR/TUP programme using the 2002 baseline survey and 2005 repeat survey. All the topics covered in this study could be analysed more deeply, but tha...

by Mehnaz Rabbani | On 15 Jun 2010

Street Vendors: Exploitation by the State

Street vendors are those millions of people who come to cities as economic refugees hoping to provide basic necessities for their families.They are the main distribution channels for a large variety...

by Shailly Arora | On 15 Jun 2010

“It’s Only a Theory”: Science, Religion and Attitudes Toward Evolution

The controversy over evolution is a long standing one in American politics. The issue is often depicted as a conflict between science and religion. In this paper the effects of confidence in science a...

by Linda A Lockett | On 10 Jun 2010

Agricultural Development for Peace

Agricultural development can contribute significantly to peace by raising incomes and employment, thereby reducing the social frustrations that give rise to violence. Agricultural growth also gene...

by Tony Addison | On 10 Jun 2010

Instability at the Gate: India’s Troubled Northeast and its External Connections

This paper intends first to give a brief overview of the rise and growth of some of those separatist groups, with a special focus on the Nagas, the Mizos and the Assam movement. An analysis of the de...

by Renaud Egreteau | On 10 Jun 2010

Social Capital and State-Civil Society Relations in Singapore

This paper shows that the realization of Singapore’s vision of “active citizenship” and “state-society partnership”, to a significant extent, depends on how social capital is being created and renew...

by Tan Tay Keong | On 09 Jun 2010

HIV Counselling, Testing And Referrel Services in Mental Health Care Settings in Kolkata- A Provider Perspective

The main objective f this paper id to assess the adherence of and barriers to HIV counseling, testing and referral services on the part of the providers.

by Arupkumar Chakrabartty | On 04 Jun 2010

Civil Conflict and Human Capital Accumulation: The Long Term Effects of Political Violence in Perú

This paper provides empirical evidence of the long- and short-term effects of political violence exposure on human capital accumulation. Using a novel data set that registers all the violent acts an...

by Gianmarco Leon | On 27 May 2010

Can Social Security Boost Domestic Consumption in the People’s Republic of China?

This paper reviews the development of the social security system and trends in the urban labor market in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Despite its remarkable economic achievement, the PRC face...

by Wang Dewen | On 20 May 2010

Women Safety in Delhi

This paper attempts to question the state of ‘women community” at large with situation depicting the growing rate of crime, oppression and subjugation which is historically unprecedented and its re-...

by Chitra Mishra | On 03 May 2010

North East: Fallen off the Media Map?

Report from the 11th Media Dialogue ’North East: Fallen off the Media Map? or Why Does the Media Give so Lettle Space to this Vast Region?

by Shambhu Ghatak | On 07 Apr 2010

Kerala Budget 2010-11

Budget speech by finance minister Dr. Thomas Issac

by Government of Kerala Govt | On 05 Mar 2010

State Business Relations and Performance of Manufacturing Sector in Andhra Pradesh

In this paper, an attempt is made to enquire into the politics of the government and business relation and how it affects the industrial development in general and expansion of manufacturing sector...

by Alivelu G | On 02 Mar 2010

State Aid and Competition in Banking: The Case of China in the Late Nineties

A reduced form model where banks can pursue other goals than profit maximization is presented. This allows us to test for behavioral changes of banks over time. This model provides a framework to e...

by Xiaoqiang Cheng | On 23 Feb 2010

Globalisation Lived Locally: New Forms of Control, Conflict and Response Among Labour in Kerala, Examined Through a Labour Geography Lens

With the support of the labour geography framework, this study tries to analyse how the economic geography of capitalism is shaped by the spatial practices of labour. The model that is taken up is n...

by Neethi P | On 22 Feb 2010

What Determines the Success and Failure of ‘100 Days Work’ at the Panchayat Level? A Study of Birbhum District in West Bengal

West Bengal is not among the best performing states with regard to NREGA. The performance of all districts in the state is not equally discouraging. Some districts, in fact, have done well in gener...

by Subrata Mukherjee | On 19 Feb 2010

The Current Trade Paradigm and Women's Health Concerns in India: With Special Reference to the Proposed EU-India Free Trade Agreement

India is currently negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with the European Union, which includes not only liberalization of commodity trading, but also a wide range of chapters including deep services ...

by Ranja Sengupta | On 17 Feb 2010

Tax Devolution and Grant Distribution to States in India Analysis and Roadmap for Alternatives

The paper attempts to analyse the impact of devolution of taxes and distribution grants by the Centre to the States in India by taking fourteen major States for the time period 1980-81 to 2006-07. T...

by R Mohan | On 15 Feb 2010

Negotiating the Terms of A New Social Contract: Private Companies, Civil Society and the State in India

A detailed analysis of the stakes and dynamics at play in the public, civil and self-regulation of companies in India is offered. With the rapid growth and modernization of the country as the backdro...

by Damien Krichewsky | On 02 Feb 2010

Why Bihar is Poor?

Bihar has achieved double-digit economic growth over the past five years is a wonder

by T.N. Ninan | On 21 Jan 2010

Who Owns Children and Does It Matter?

In this paper a particular market failure that may lead to inefficiently low equilibrium fertility and therefore to a need for government intervention are analysed. The friction which is investigated...

by Alice Schoonbroodt | On 18 Jan 2010

Bihar’s Miraculous Economic Performance: Myth or Reality?

The Indian media has wrongly compared Bihar's (that is, 11.03per cent) average annual growth during the period 2004-05 to 2008-09 with that of Gujarat (that is, 11.05per cent). While the media has quo...

by Shambhu Ghatak | On 14 Jan 2010

Social Security Nets for Marine Fisheries

This paper attempts to explain the provision of social security in the fisheries sector of Kerala State in south India. It enumerates the salient achievements and the problems faced by the state in pr...

by John Kurien | On 14 Jan 2010

Rethinking Food Security Policies: IDSAsr Declaration

Declaration made at the end of two days national seminar on Food security and Sustainability in India held on November 7-8, 2009 organized by GAD Institute of Development Studies, PO Naushera, Amritsa...

by Gursharan Singh Kainth | On 14 Dec 2009

The Effect of Direct Foreign Investment on Domestic Firms: Evidence from Firm Level Panel Data in Emerging Economies

This paper uses firm level panel data to investigate empirically the effects of direct foreign investment (DFI) on the productivity performance of domestic firms in three emerging economies of Centr...

by Jozef Konings | On 11 Dec 2009

Public Private Partnership in Uttar Pradesh Health Care Delivery System- UPHSDP as an Initiative

The objective of the study is to find out the primary reason to encourage public private participation in health care delivery system in Uttar Pradesh and the study also aim to analyse UPHSDP -a Wor...

by Bibi Ishrat Jahan | On 07 Dec 2009

Women’s Experience in New Panchayats: The Emerging Leadership of Rural Women

This paper presents some of the findings of our recent study on women’s representation and participation in panchayats. Some of the findings of the study (Buch; 1999) of women in panchayats after the...

by Nirmala Buch | On 04 Dec 2009

Post-Conflict Recovery: Does the Global Economy Work for Peace?

This paper mainly addresses the economic dimensions, concentrating on the importance of international trade to state-building and the need for global public goods in a global market economy. The focu...

by Tony Addison | On 23 Nov 2009

HIV Prevention in Vulnerable Indian States: Lessons from the Chayan Project

This document highlights the results and associated processes from Chayan’s implementation experience under the RACHNA program. The programmatic framework, designed for low-prevalence contexts in In...

by CARE India | On 20 Nov 2009

New Steps to Faster and Broader Debt Relief for Developing Countries

This paper mainly describes he concepts of FTAP and explains the current political state of affairs in the international discussions. [FES]

by Jürgen Kaiser | On 09 Nov 2009

Horizontal Equity and the Thirteenth Finance Commission: Issues and Ponderables

An attempt has been made in this paper to critically analyse the parameters/ criteria on which basis awards are finalized. With special reference to poorer states, the following aspects have been di...

by Keshab Das | On 03 Nov 2009

2 headaches, 1 solution

The government simply has to find a way to deliver the basics. That is what will defeat the Maoists and hold off China.

by T.N. Ninan | On 27 Oct 2009

Kerala Fights Clock in ASEAN Free-Trade Deal

The paper discusses the impacts of free-trade policy on the agricultural exports of Kerala.

by Ranjit Devraj | On 08 Oct 2009

Situational Analysis of Reporting and Recording of Maternal Deaths in Gandhinagar District, Gujarat State

A situational analysis of recording and reporting maternal deaths in Gandhinagar district, Gujarat, India and to suggest improvements in the system for reporting and recording maternal deaths based o...

by Tapasvi I Puwar | On 23 Sep 2009

Food Security in South Asia: Issues and Opportunities

The study aims to identify issues relating to food security, the policy initiatives taken to tackle these issues, evaluate these policies and suggest measures to overcome identified constraints in ord...

by Surabhi Mittal | On 11 Sep 2009

A Simple Model of the Financial Crisis of 2007-9 with Implications for the Design of a Stimulus Package

The financial crisis of 2007-09 began as a local problem in the mortgage finance market in the United States and Europe but, within months, escalated into a general global financial crisis, resulting...

by Kaushik Basu | On 17 Aug 2009

School Exclusion as Social Exclusion: The Practices And Effects of Conditional Cash Transfer Programme for the Poor in Bangladesh

This paper explores the efforts of government to interrupt the intergenerational transmission of poverty. It focuses on the practices and effects of the Primary Education Stipend Programme, a conditio...

by Naomi Hossain | On 17 Aug 2009

Morbidity Patterns In Kerala: Levels and Determinants

This paper examines the levels, patterns, and determinants of morbidity in Kerala. This study is based on a community survey conducted in 2004, in three districts of the state namely Thiruvananthap...

by Navaneetham K | On 14 Aug 2009

Reforming Foodgrains Management: Achieving Food Security with Cost-Effectiveness

This paper examines the efficacy of the current system of public foodgrains management and policies in promoting food security in the country. It argues that the system has outlived its usefulness,...

by A. Ganesh Kumar | On 13 Aug 2009

Swine Flu Casts its Spell across the Globe

The swine flu has come to India also. What measures have been taken by the government to fight against the pandemic?

by Rajeev Mavani | On 12 Aug 2009

Where the State Makes War on its own People

A report on violation of people's rights during the Salwa Judum campaign in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh.

by People's Union for Democratic Rights PUDR | On 23 Jul 2009

Privatized Retirement And how the Current Crisis has Worsen Worker’s Losses

The debate around retrenchment of pension systems became really popular in the 1990’s after the pioneering experience of Chile in 1981.The disastrous outcomes of the Chilean reform were widely known b...

by Camila Gripp | On 04 Jul 2009

Report of the Internal Working Group on Debt Management

Establishing a debt management office would consolidate all debt management functions in a single agency, and be the catalyst for wider institutional reform and transparency about public debt. It is i...

by Ministry of Finance | On 04 Jul 2009

Groundwater Irrigation in India: Gains, Costs and Risks

Groundwater has rapidly emerged to occupy a dominant place in India’s agriculture and food security in the recent years. It has become the main source of growth in irrigated area over the past 3 decad...

by Vasant P Gandhi | On 23 Jun 2009

Goods and Services Tax for India

The paper contours of a feasible design of VAT in India. It also takes on board the various alternatives proposed. It looks at the issues that need resolution and the options available for resolving t...

by R.Kavita Rao | On 12 Jun 2009

Archiving the Nation –State in Feminist Praxis: A South Asian Perspective

This essay mainly examines the relationship between feminism and nationalism as a point from which it looks at South Asian feminist scholarship. The historical circumstances in their respective countr...

by Uma Chakravarti | On 03 Jun 2009

Contribution of the Unorganised sector to GDP Report of the Sub Committee of a NCEUS Task Force

The task of the Sub-committee was to review the existing methodologies for estimating the contribution of unorganised/informal sector to GDP and suggest measures to facilitate direct estimation. The G...

by NCEUS NCEUS | On 28 May 2009

Insecurities of the Old and Marginalized: Inflation, Oil Shocks, Financial Crisis and Social Security

The paper examines the impact of recent inflation and financial shocks on the vulnerable, and explores policy design to reduce both future shocks and vulnerability to shocks. Inflation affects the typ...

by Ashima Goyal | On 22 May 2009

Straddling Faultlines : India's Foreign Policy Toward The Great Middle East

India’s foreign policy has had an anomalous quality since the time Jawaharlal Nehru resolutely attempted to steer clear of Cold War alliances. This continues to be so given India’s unique situation of...

by Sushil J Aaron | On 21 May 2009

Himalayan Journal of Development and Democracy Vol 3:1, 2008

Papers and Proceedings of The Third Annual Himalayan Policy Research ConferenceSession Chairs and Discussants Session 1A: Conflict Resolution and Democratic Transitions Chair: Christopher Can...

by Vijaya R. Sharma | On 19 May 2009

No Through Road: The Limitations of Food Miles

The focus of this paper is on food miles issues associated with the import of products from developing countries. As the concept of food miles has been an issue in organic agriculture since before the...

by Els Wynen | On 14 May 2009

Social Protection for Informal Workers: Insecurities, Instruments and Institutional Mechanisms

This paper presents a broad definition of social protection to include basic securities, such as income, food, health and shelter, and economic securities including having income generating productive...

by Jeemol Unni | On 01 May 2009

The Indian Security State: Agendas of Concern

The indecent haste shown by Political Executive and Parliament on December16-17, 2008 while dealing with security related issues substantiates the argument that security and defence agenda of the Indi...

by C. P. Bhambhri | On 16 Apr 2009

Asia Enters an Era of Strife

The author argues that deep-seated religious conflicts will mar the region's prospects unless nations truly embrace secularism.

by Michael Wesley | On 06 Apr 2009

Where Are The Empty Thalis In Uttarakhand? : District Level Food Insecurity Analysis of Uttarakhand.

The primary focus of this paper is a remote sense mapping excercise to identify the food insecure parts in Uttarakhand, using official, secondary data. To mitigate the intrinsic weakness of such an ef...

by Ravi Chopra | On 05 Mar 2009

Karnataka Budget 2009-10

Budget speech by finance minister of Karnataka

by Government of Karnataka GoK | On 24 Feb 2009

Andhra Pradesh Budget Speech 2009-10

Speech of Sri K. Rosaiah

by Government Andhra Pradesh | On 23 Feb 2009

Kerala Budget Speech 2009-10

Budget speech by finance minister Dr. Thomas Issac

by Government of Kerala Govt | On 23 Feb 2009

Planning for Results: The Public Accountability Information System

The paper proposes a Public accountability information system (PAIS), with a web enabled public information system and a smart card recording all the benefits that the poor are entitled to receive thr...

by Arvind Virmani | On 22 Jan 2009

Fiscal Federalism, State Lobbying and Discretionary Finance in India

The paper attempts to construct political influence variables and explain discrepancies in fund disbursement through proper econometric specification in the Indian context.

by Rongili Biswas | On 21 Jan 2009

States Reorganisation: Contemporary Concerns

Language alone can no longer be the basis for division of states. Issues such as size, governance, economic viability and recognition of new identities are equally important to consider the demands f...

by Asha Sarangi | On 14 Jan 2009

Conflict in Cross Border Mergers: Effect of Firm and Market Size

This paper tries to analyze the interrelationship between possibilities of conflict in cross border mergers and acquisitions and firm and market characteristics in a two country three firm model. Th...

by Poonam Mehra | On 14 Jan 2009

Women's Contribution to the Economy Through Their Unpaid Household Work

An attempt has been made to discuss various aspects of unpaid household work such as its treatment in the system of National Accounts, and the methodologies of its valuation. With the help relevant da...

by R N Pandey | On 09 Jan 2009

Does Timing of Elections Instigate Riots? A Subnational Study of 16 Indian States, 1958-2004

Whether timing of the elections leads to riots or not within India. In other words, does timing of elections instigate riots? Using time series crosssectional data for 16 major Indian states for the...

by Krishna Chaitanya Vadlamannati | On 09 Jan 2009

Report on the GLobal Financial Crisis and Kerala Economy: Impact and Mitigation Measures

This preliminary report has been prepared with a view to assist the state government in understanding the implications of the crisis, so that appropriate policies and programmes could be chalked to de...

by Centre for Development Studies CDS | On 02 Jan 2009

Negotiating Constitution for Political Unions

This paper provides a cradle-to-grave model for political union between two unequally endowed states. The main contribution of this paper is to highlight the role of technology gap and unequal distrib...

by Vikas Kumar | On 10 Dec 2008

The Impact of Terrorism and Conflicts on Growth in Asia, 1970–2004

This paper quantifies the impact of terrorism and conflicts on income per capita growth in Asia for 1970–2004. Transnational terrorist attacks had a significant growth-limiting effect. An additional t...

by Khusrav Gaibulloev | On 05 Dec 2008

Inside the Family A Report on Democratic Rights of Women

The report highlights the following aspects: 1. the inability of the legal system to recognise the unique unequal , 2. position of women; 3. the perception of women as peripheral to economic develo...

by PUDR Peoples Union for Democratic Rights | On 01 Dec 2008

Heterogeneity, Commons and Privatization: Agrarian Institutional Change in Goa

A case study in Goa is used to examine whether tenure security and asset re-distribution can lead to environmentally sustainable outcomes.

by Pranab Mukhopadhyay | On 28 Nov 2008

Ensuring ‘Collective Action’ in ‘Participatory’ Forest Management

This paper is based on a qualitative analysis of three case studies, each belonging to one of three types of institutional structures: Self-initiated, NGO-promoted, and Government-sponsored JFM. The b...

by Rucha Ghate | On 14 Nov 2008

Agflation and the PDS: Some Issues

In the context of the current public policy focus on rising food prices and their implications for food security, this paper examines two major issues raised: (i) Universalization of the public distri...

by Suryanarayana M H | On 04 Nov 2008

Dynamics of Rural Water Supply in Coastal Kerala: A Sustainable Development View

This paper examines empirically within sustainable development framework the dynamics of coverage in rural drinking water supply of 180 demand-driven schemes from Malappuram, predominantly a coastal...

by K Pushpangadan | On 27 Oct 2008

Impact of Urban Growth on Water Bodies The Case of Hyderabad

This study makes an attempt to analyse the transformation of common property resources (the lakes) into private property. [WP No. 60].

by Ramachandraiah C | On 17 Oct 2008

Right to Drinking Water in India

This paper proceeds with approach that it is the constitutional obligation of the State to provide adequate quantity of drinking water to the citizens and also protect water resources as common good...

by Ramachandraiah C | On 13 Oct 2008

Gender Justice and Reconciliation

This paper examins how women's experiences of conflict and transition differ to that of men because of inherent gendered power relations and that, as a result women's experiances of violance and need...

by Nahla Valji | On 10 Oct 2008

Issues Before the Thirteenth Finance Commission

The paper argues that irrespective of the wording of the Terms of Reference (ToR), the Commission would do well to focus on its primary task of recommending transfers to serve the objective of equit...

by M.Govinda Rao | On 06 Oct 2008

Reconciliation and Development

Reconciliation has become an important part of postconflict peacebuilding rhetoric and practice in recent years. As nearly all conflicts today are intrastate, former enemies, perpetrators and victims,...

by Karen Brounéus | On 01 Oct 2008

Pollution Across Chinese Provinces

The environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis is revisited using 1987-1995 data for Chinese provinces.

by Catherine Yap Co | On 29 Sep 2008

Another Commission is Not Enough:Ram Harri Shrestha and the Corrosive Impact of Impunity on Nepal's Unsteady Peace.

Neplal's maoists initiated the process of crippling the institution of parliamentary dempcracy by giving primacy to military meanse over the political. Mainstream parties, unable to resist petty polit...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 29 Sep 2008

Population Growth Trends, Projections, Challenges and Opportunities

Demographic transition is a global phenomenon; population growth is inevitable in the initial phases of the transition. For India the current phase of the demographic transition is both a challenge an...

by Prema Ramachandran | On 26 Sep 2008

Report on the Fact Finding Mission to the North & East of Sri-Lanka to Asses the State of Displaced Persons

This report on the state of displaced persons in the North and East of Sri Lanka analyses the security conditon and concerns of those who live in makeshifts and camps in conflict affected areas. It pr...

by South Asians for Human Rights SAHR | On 25 Sep 2008

Winners and Losers of State Electricity Boards Reforms : An Organisational Analysis

This article is mainly based on repeated field inquires in Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, at different stages of reform. In these States, the reform, far from precluding to analyse what are class...

by Joel Ruet | On 23 Sep 2008

Estimating the Probability of Trade Union Membership in India: Impact of Communist Parties, Personal Attributes and Industrial Characteristics

The paper analyses the impact of the reach of communist parties, the degree of political activism, personal attributes of workers, and industrial characteristics on the individual decision to unionise...

by Rupayan Pal | On 22 Sep 2008

Kandhamal Massacres: Where is the State? Central Government of India must stop the killings

Over 50 persons, mainly Christians, have been killed since the Hindu fundamentalists launched an attack on the Christians following the murder of four members of the VHP including 90 year old Laxmanan...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 22 Sep 2008

Food Processing in Andhra Pradesh Opportunities and Challenges

The study is taken up in the state of Andhra Pradesh with the following objectives: 1. To study the opportunities and challenges in processing of rice, fruits and vegetables, oilseeds and livestock...

by S.Mahendra Dev | On 17 Sep 2008

Rising Inequality With High Growth Isn't This Trend Worrisome? Analysis of Kerala Experience

The relation between growth, inequality and poverty is the central theme of the paper. While the fast economic growth under the neo-liberal policy regime helps reduce poverty, it increases inequality...

by KK Subrahmanian | On 16 Sep 2008

Can Insurance Reduce Catastrophic Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditure

It is argued that for households below poverty line any expenditure on health is catastrophic as they are unable to attain the subsistence level of consumption. Thus, zero percent is taken as a thres...

by Rama Joglekar | On 15 Sep 2008

Withdrawal of the Maoists’ unilateral cease-fire:Where does Nepal go?

The government of Nepal took an illegal measure to try the cases under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Ordinance. Under the amendments, all anti-terrorist cases will be heard in-c...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 27 Aug 2008

Trading with Asia’s Giants

India represents a sharp contrast to China in the small size of its goods trade. Although India’s GDP is a third that of China, its global trade is only about 12 percent as large while its trade with...

by Barry Bosworth | On 22 Aug 2008

The Naxals get lethal: Chhattisgarh continues to be the epicenter of the conflict

Chhattisgarh continues to be the epicenter of the Naxalite conflict as a direct consequence of the counter-insurgency Salwa Judum campaign. There have been credible reports of serious human rights vio...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 18 Aug 2008

Fighting Drugs and Building Peace: Towards Policy Coherence between Counter-Narcotics and Peace Building

Over the past years, increasing attention to how “lootable” natural resources fund armed conflict has spurred the development of innovative policies and mechanisms, like the Kimberly Process – a dia...

by Barnett R. Rubin | On 14 Aug 2008

Growing Services in India - An Inter-Sectoral Analysis Based on State-Level Data

This study is an inter-sectoral analysis of state domestic product data to understand the determinants of the services sector growth in India during the recent years. It is a demand side analysis wh...

by Deepita Chakravarty | On 11 Aug 2008

Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007–2012) Volume II Social Sector

Eleventh Five Year Plan 2007-12

by Planning Commission, India | On 06 Aug 2008

Banking Sector Reforms and Equity a Sub-Regional Analysis in Andhra Pradesh

In this study an attempt is made to examine the equity aspect due to reforms in the banking sector at sub-regional level in the state of Andhra Pradesh covering the period 1985 to 2004. [CESS WP 68]...

by K S Reddy | On 04 Aug 2008

A Human Rights Commission Must Have Effective Powers

Ratification imposes specific obligations on a state to incorporate human rights into national laws, to amend legislation, to promote, protect and fulfill human rights and prevent violations of huma...

by South Asians for Human Rights SAHR | On 31 Jul 2008

Andhra Pradesh State Policy on Organic Farming

The objectives of the policy on organic farming, the strategies of the policy are explained here.

by Centre for Sustainable Agriculture CSA | On 26 Jul 2008

The Chinese Chequer: Split Wide Open in Nepal

Although unilateral ceasefire declared by the Maoists on 3 September 2005 brought down the level of violence, the security forces sought to provoke the Maoists. The security forces and the Maoists hav...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 21 Jul 2008

Impact of Organic Farming on Economics of Sugarcane Cultivation in Maharashtra

The primary goal of this paper is to examine the impact of organic farming on economics of sugarcane cultivation in Maharashtra. The study is based on primary data collected from two districts coverin...

by Kshirsagar K G | On 14 Jul 2008

Constitutionalising Panchayats: The Response of State Legislatures

This article is an attempt to look at debates in the light of the Assemblies' tryst with panchayats. It should be noted that it is not an evaluation of what transpired in the state Assemblies. In view...

by Girish Kumar | On 03 Jul 2008

The Naxal Conflict: Killings Decreases, Conflict Intensifies

The paper analyses the conflicts in Naxal affected areas and how the respected authorities deal with the Naxalism. Asian Centre for Human Rights consistently reiterated that there has been no dearth o...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 25 Jun 2008

At a Glance -- Peace Process in Nepal

King Gyanendra of Nepal took over as a king after the royal massacre incidence in 2007. But soon after taking the power people of Nepal were fed up of his authoritarian tendencies and the continuous u...

by South Asians for Human Rights SAHR | On 24 Jun 2008

The State versus Kataria

The execution of Showkat Ahamad Kataria in 2006 by Jammu-Kashmir army raised serious concerns about the special powers given to army and fake encounters. The case of Kataria’s execution became a symb...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 12 Jun 2008

Gujjar protest and Reservation Politics

Successive governmental commissions have held that Gujjars do not meet the criteria for inclusion in the Scheduled Tribes. The Gujjar protest has ramifications beyond the States where they live. If th...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 28 May 2008

Reprioritisation of Public Expenditure for Human Development

An important method of managing resources to finance consistent and balanced human development lies in the reprioritisation of current expenditure in accordance with the urgent needs and shortfalls...

by Tapas K. Sen | On 13 May 2008

Report on SAHR Fact Finding Mission to the North and East of Sri Lanka to Assess the State of Displaced Persons

This report on the state of displaced persons in the North and East of Sri Lanka analyses the security condition and concerns of those who live in makeshifts and camps in conflict affected areas. It p...

by South Asians for Human Rights SAHR | On 11 Apr 2008

Andhra Pradesh Budget 2008-09

SPEECH OF SRI K. ROSAIAH, HONOURABLE FINANCE MINISTER WHILE PRESENTING THE BUDGET FOR THE YEAR 2008-09 TO THE ANDHRA PRADESH STATE LEGISLATURE.

by Government Andhra Pradesh | On 10 Mar 2008

Kerala Budget Speech 2008-09

Budget speech 2008-09 by Finance Minister Dr. Thomas Issac

by Government of Kerala Govt | On 07 Mar 2008

Budget at a Glance 2008-09, Rajasthan

A glance at the budget presented by the government of Rajasthan 2008-09.

by Rajasthan Government | On 05 Mar 2008

Economic Survey: State of the Economy

Economy Survey 2007-08. website:http://indiabudget.nic.in

by Ministry of Finance | On 29 Feb 2008

The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2007

The Bill seeks to amend the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.

by Parliamentary Research Service PRS | On 28 Feb 2008

Book Review: Building Industry under State Planning

Review of Locked in Place: State-building and Late Industralization in India By Vivek Chibber; Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford,

by N.S. Siddharthan | On 25 Feb 2008

A Quick Look at Orissa Budget 2008-09

Quick findings for feedback as well as further analysis. [Contact Pravas Ranjan Mishra CYSD, E-1, Institutional Area, RRL PO., Bhubaneswar India - 751 013 Tel. +91-674-2300774, 2301725 Fax: +91-674-...

by Orissa Government | On 22 Feb 2008

The Sexual Internet

The ‘sexual Internet’ is clearly a social space where multiple economies – commercial, political and libidinal – intersect. It is a phenomenon that requires exploration from multiple angles: economic,...

by Pramod K. Nayar | On 21 Feb 2008

Public Private Partnership in Drinking Water Supply of Greater Mumbai

Demand for drinking water is continuously increasing over the period of time in Mumbai city but the supply is stagnant. The State government of Maharashtra and Brihanmumbai Corporation (BMC) does not...

by Sanjay Rode | On 12 Feb 2008

Health and Millennium Development Goal 1: Reducing Out-of-pocket Expenditures to Reduce Income Poverty - Evidence from India

The first of the eight Millennium Development Goals is to halve extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. In India, thirty two and a half million people fall below the national poverty line by making out-of...

by Charu C. Garg | On 07 Feb 2008

Acceptance Speech for the Nobel Peace Prize Awarded to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

The work of the IPCC has helped the world to learn more on all aspects of climate change, and the Nobel Peace Prize Committee has acknowledged this fact. [Speech delivered in Oslo]

by Pachauri R K | On 04 Feb 2008

From Theory to Practice: Translating Research into Health Outcomes

Commenting on recent research articles which look at the potential health benefits of behaviour change, the PLoS Medicine Editors say that publication of the findings of such research is only one part...

by PLoS Medicine | On 01 Feb 2008

Market Failure and the Poverty of New Drugs in Maternal Health

A new survey finds that only 17 drugs are under active development for maternal health indications, which is less than 3% of the pipeline in cardiovascular health (660 drugs). The international agenci...

by Nicholas M Fisk | On 30 Jan 2008

Book Review: Public Memory and Cultural Politics in Sri Lanka

Militarizing Sri Lanka: Popular Culture, Memory and Narrative in the Armed Conflict by Neloufer de Mel; Sage, New Delhi, 2007; pp. 329, Rs. 475.

by Pramod K. Nayar | On 14 Jan 2008

Outline of a Joint Lecture on Action Agenda for Transition to a Just, Equitable, Regenerative and Prosperous Society

The outline of an action agenda to address issues regarding barriers to creating an equitable society that we urgently need to take up. [at XXXI ISSC at SNDT women's University].

by Datye K R | On 28 Dec 2007

WCD Thematic Review V.5 Participation, Negotiation and Conflict Management in Large Dams Projects

This thematic review focuses on the siting, construction and operation of large dam facilities (or their alternatives) as sources of significant conflict, and as opportunities to involve many interest...

by RESOLVE Inc et al | On 26 Dec 2007

Salwa Judum in Chattisgarh

Not only has the state outsourced its duty to protect its citizens but has also permitted human rights violations without any accountability. Such state action cannot be justified at any cost. Will th...

by Aditya Swarup | On 28 Nov 2007

National Human Development Report 2001

The process of development, in any society, should ideally be viewed and assessed in terms of what it does for an average individual.For any approach or development framework to be meaningful and effe...

by Planning Commission, India | On 28 Nov 2007

Vaccine Policy in India

The success of an immunisation programme in any country depends more upon local realities and national policies. This is particularly true for a huge and diverse developing country such as India, with...

by Yennapu Madhavi | On 12 Nov 2007

‘A People United In Development’: Developmentalism In Modern Malayalee Identity

The attempt is to draw upon public sphere debates in Malayalee society in the immediate post-independence decades, more specifically on speech and writing accruing around the distinctiveness of Malaya...

by J Devika | On 23 Oct 2007

A Hostage in Office

What is the position of the Prime Minister among his Cabinet colleagues after signing the nuclear deal with the US?

by T.N. Ninan | On 15 Oct 2007

Unorganised Sector Worker's Social Security Bill 2007

A bill to provide for the social security and welfare of unorganised sector workers and for other matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

by Minister of State for Labour and Employment | On 15 Oct 2007

Elements of Effective Central Banking: Theory, Practice, and History

The key elements of effective central banking that account for much of the improvement in monetary policy around the world today are outlined and explained. The past quarter of the century has been a...

by Marvin Goodfriend | On 09 Oct 2007

Food Consumption and Calorie Intake in Contemporary India

This paper examines how the patterns of India’s food consumption have been changing in recent times as a consequence of its faster economic growth and generally rising affluence levels. The study, als...

by Srikanta Chatterjee | On 30 Sep 2007

Tracking Functional Devolution by States to Panchayats

The Eleventh Schedule added to the Constitution by the Seventy-third Amendment lists twenty-nine functions devolvable by States to Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). States were free to set the sp...

by Indira Rajaraman | On 28 Sep 2007

Minorities Under Attack in Gujarat: Report of an Investigation

This report is based on the visit of the team to various affected villages and other areas in Gujarat and interviews with the victims and other villagers of these areas. There are a number of other vi...

by Act Now for Harmony and Democracy ANHAD | On 26 Sep 2007

The Reserve Bank and the State Governments: Partners in Progress

The States, relative to the Centre, have taken the centre-stage in the reform process since the areas of highest national priority now fall essentially within the purview of the States. The unique and...

by Y V Reddy | On 26 Sep 2007

Women and Food Security in South Asia: Current Issues and Emerging Concerns

The educated and socially empowered Asian Woman is the key to improving the nutrition and mental acuity of young children and that improvement sets in motion lifelong prospects for heightened learning...

by Nira Ramachandran | On 24 Jul 2007

Evaluate Anti-Naxal Policies of the Chhatisgarh Government: Naxal Conflict Monitor April 11, 2007

The State has the responsibility to ensure right to life of the citizens. Involving civilians directly in armed conflicts only increases the risks to their lives and prolongs the conflicts. Common cit...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 13 Jul 2007

Conceptualizing Economic Marginalization

What exactly is 'economic marginalization'? How should one conceptualize it, and what are the implications of such conceptualization? Economic marginalization can be conceptualized as outcome or as p...

by Ravi Kanbur | On 05 Jul 2007

Women, Work and Insecurities in India

The poor women in developing countries are burdened with the dual responsibility of taking care of housework and the need to supplement household income to meet the subsistence needs. The on-going fle...

by Uma Rani | On 05 Jul 2007

Does the Market Matter? Economic History of an Indian Region in a Euro-Centric View

The 18th Century Deccan was a highly commercialised, market driven society, quite unlike the descriptions of "traditional" Indian societies in the literature. In many ways, this society was similar to...

by Neeraj Hatekar | On 27 Jun 2007

Investment Climate and Total Factor Productivity in Manufacturing: Analysis of Indian States

Liberalisation initiatives have been taken by India with a view to improve the efficiency of manufacturing industries and achieving faster GDP growth. The present paper investigates the influence of...

by C Veermani | On 01 Jun 2007

Humanism: The Essence of Civil Liberties

Humanism is defined to mean: any system which puts human interests and the mind of man paramount; non-religious philosophy based on liberal values; tendency to civilise; and compassion. Tarkunde satis...

by J. S. Verma | On 28 May 2007

Time to Mainstream Micro-Pensions in India

The paper has argued that to expand coverage of micro-pensions, social entrepreneurship (along with social responsibility) will be needed by the financial sector, including the MFIs, insurance compani...

by Mukul Asher | On 08 May 2007

Language Politics: Learning English

States are struggling to find the right language formula in education, giving rise to political agendas around language teaching. How early should English be introduced in the school curriculum? Shoul...

by Lakshmi Priya | On 03 Apr 2007

State Budget 2007-08: Maharashtra No Reforms on the Agenda

With the state economy registering a robust growth, this was the time for the finance minister to launch much-needed reforms. But he has chosen to deliver no more than an accounts and expenditure sta...

by Savita Kulkarni | On 03 Apr 2007

State Budget, 2007-08: Kerala: New Development Agenda: Will the State Overcome Obstacles?

The Budget for 2007-08, the year being the first year of the Eleventh Plan, has done reasonable justice to support the Plan and take Kerala on a higher growth path. However, there are external constr...

by K.Ramachandran Nair | On 27 Mar 2007

Editorial: Outlays Only, Not Outcomes?

The Budget does not sufficiently recognize the need for re-balancing the role of the state and the market, and of the public and the private sectors for managing increasingly complex economic and stra...

by Mukul Asher | On 07 Mar 2007

Outlays Only, Not Outcomes?

The Budget does not sufficiently recognize the need for re-balancing the role of the state and the market, and of the public and the private sectors for managing increasingly complex economic and stra...

by Mukul Asher | On 07 Mar 2007

Can Singapore Sustain its Current Globalisation Strategy? Singapore's 2007 Budget

Singapore’s 2007 budget reaffirms government’s determination to continue with the current globalization strategy of high growth, high net in-migration and minimal social risk pooling in financing old...

by Mukul Asher | On 05 Mar 2007

Bondage In Freedom Colonial Plantations in Sounthern India c. 1797-1947

Opposing views persist with regard to the emergence of plantations in southern India and the transfer of slave labour to these plantations: the abolition of slavery as an end in itself and, second, a...

by K. Ravi Raman | On 02 Mar 2007

Women's Health

The double burden carried by women explains their chronic state of malnutrition, overwork and fatigue. Added to these are the stresses and strains of modern life, environmental degradation and increa...

by Jan Swasthya Abhiyan | On 28 Feb 2007

Outcome of the review of the trends in receipts and expenditure in relation to the budget at the end of the second quarter of the financial year 2006-2007

This mid-year review reports developments in the economy in the first half of 2006- 07, with a particular focus on Central Government finances, outlining the performances in the real sector, economi...

by Ministry of Finance | On 06 Feb 2007

Declining Trends in Public Health Expenditure in Maharashtra

This analysis of the trends in public health expenditure in Maharashtra shows that the State has to become more proactive in raising resources being allocated to the health sector. The level of publi...

by Ravi Duggal | On 01 Feb 2007

Recent Social Security Reforms in Asia

This presentation reviews recent social security reforms in Asia-Pacific, with emphasis on countries with major reliance on social insurance schemes. Japan, Korea, Philippines, China, Vietnam, and Tha...

by Mukul Asher | On 12 Jan 2007

State Finances and Effectiveness of Policy Measures: An Analysis of Indian States

This paper provides a phase-wise analytical review of the fiscal situation of the Indian major States over the previous two and half decades and examines the effectiveness of the policy measures to s...

by Rajmal | On 10 Jan 2007

Anthropology in the Clinic: The Problem of Cultural Competency and How to Fix It

Cultural competency has become a fashionable term for clinicians and researchers. Yet no one can defi ne this term precisely enough to operationalize it in clinical training and best practices....

by Arthur Kleinman | On 10 Jan 2007

Social Cleavages, Multiculturalism and Emerging Space for State in India under Globalisation Regime

This paper focuses on social cleavages based on class , caste,religion and ethnicity in India. It examines the political salience of caste and class conflicts and addresses the translation of social c...

by Sarojini Mishra | On 29 Dec 2006

Food Retailing, Supermarkets and Food Security: Highlights from Latin America

The importance of supermarkets in the world food economy has increased radically since the early 1990s. They are now major sellers and buyers of food items not only in developed but also in developin...

by Mehmet Arda | On 27 Dec 2006

NIPFP Policy Brief: Public Spending on Health in Low Income States and Central Transfers

There are two factors that make additional central transfers for reinforcing health services essential: (a) while the prescription of spending 3 percent of GDP on health may be an appropriate objec...

by Mita Choudhury | On 26 Dec 2006

Economic Development in a Changing Globalised Economy: The Case of Developing Countries

In the context of the changing economic environment, this analysis is of particular relevance to Third World countries, who are currently being asked and/or actively encouraged to implement the "globa...

by Mozammel Huq | On 22 Dec 2006

Causality and Error Correction in Markov Chain: Inflation in India Revisited

The present paper proposes certain statistical tests, both conceptually simple and computationally easy, for analysing state-specific prima facie probabilistic causality and error correction mechani...

by N. Vijayamohanan Pillai | On 19 Dec 2006

Dalits Ostracised in Karnataka

In Kadakola, a small village near Basavabagevadi in Bijapur district Karnataka the Chalavadi community, a lower caste is facing a social boycott from the upper caste and including Madigas which is als...

by PUCL Karnataka | On 14 Dec 2006

State Level Reform and Role of Research

The role of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the current stage of reform is crucial. The need for research and information collection not just at the national level but at the state-level has never...

by Vidya Pitre | On 05 Dec 2006

Decrypting E-Governance: Narratives, Power play and Participation in the Gyandoot Intranet

The mapping of the social and political constraints that marginalized communities and individuals encounter in their interface with e-governance projects, perhaps, has implications for the optimistic...

by T.T. Sreekumar | On 27 Nov 2006

Premature Mortality and Poverty Measurement

There is a glaring paradox in all commonly used measures of poverty. The death of a poor person, because of poverty, reduces poverty according to these measures. This surely violates our basic intui...

by Ravi Kanbur | On 27 Nov 2006

Kanshi Ram: The Man and his Legacy

Kanshi Ram’s main legacy is that political mobilization and use of State power is required to provide dalits self-respect, dignity, social equality and political empowerment to fight against dominati...

by Sudha Pai | On 13 Oct 2006

Women's Equality in Transition: North of Ireland's Equality Legislation

Intersectional analysis is required if the approach to women’s equality in Northern Ireland/ the North of Ireland is to benefit the most marginalized women and thereby improve the prospects of build...

by Eilish Rooney | On 29 Aug 2006

Horizons of New Industrial Jurisprudence: A Critique of the Law and Reality

The day has arrived when the legislative machinery of the State needs to respond to the industrial and market forces. There are clear signals coming from the judiciary, which now seems to be less acti...

by Durgambini A. Patel | On 17 Aug 2006

Journal of Social and Economic Change

Articles Pareto’s Revenge — Ravi Kanbur 1 Socio-Economic Dimensions of Old Age Security in India: With Special Reference to Karnataka — T V Sekher Gender, Poverty and Employment in India — V Gaya...

by | On 12 Aug 2006

Ethics in Social Science Research: Reflections from a Student of Economics

If poverty and nutrition are issues also of social justice and the commitment that a democratic state makes to its citizens (namely, ridding the country of hunger and malnutrition and also of ensuring...

by Padmini Swaminathan | On 19 Jul 2006

The Role and Nature of Non-Contributory Social Security in the Design of Social Protection Strategies for Older People in DCs

Non-contributory social security is increasingly attracting the attention of developing country policymakers and observers, not least as a mechanism to help address the perceived failure of contributo...

by Roddy McKinnon | On 23 May 2006

Sociology in the Context of Globalisation: Issues and Challenges in India

Any exercise in mapping the current status of any social science discipline is a mammoth task, as it involves the normative concerns as well as the personal perceptions of the sociologist who treads t...

by Paramjit S Judge | On 16 May 2006

Nepal/SouthAsia Beat: From the Underbelly of the Beast

Kanak Dixit was arrested in Kathmandu on Saturday, April 8, with a host of other professionals for defying curfew to press for democratic rights in Nepal. He remains in detention still. This column wa...

by Kanak Mani Dixit | On 14 Apr 2006

Gender Critiques of Budgets: How Useful?

While critical perspectives on the budget are certainly necessary and are useful, they are not sufficient to produce the change necessary. For that we need to encourage civil society initiatives on en...

by Maithreyi Krishnaraj | On 07 Apr 2006

Democracy and People’s Rights in the Neo-Liberal Era: Role of Judiciary

The recent judgments and orders from various levels of higher judiciary indicate a drastic shift in their outlook and approach. A close look reveals two trends developing within the judiciary. Firstly...

by M.B.Rajesh | On 31 Mar 2006

India’s Post-Liberalisation Growth Experience: An Analysis by the Demand Components

This paper tries to examine the sustainability aspect of the rate of growth (rog) in recent years, designated as ‘the second phase of liberalisation’. This paper is based on the Keynesian framework wh...

by Anamitra Roychowdhury | On 29 Mar 2006

Union Budget : Financing Social Sector Budgets

There has been a perception that since the introduction of what have derisively been called “neo-liberal” reforms, the social sectors i.e. those dealing with education and health, have suffered. Is...

by Ajit Karnik | On 07 Mar 2006

Indo-US Nuclear Deal: Dead or Alive?

India has much to gain from the Nuclear Deal. But if India places its breeder programme under international safeguards, then its research will come under public scrutiny, exposing all of India’s advan...

by D.Raghunandan | On 28 Feb 2006

IEEMA Pre-Budget Memorandum

EEMA is however deeply concerned with regard to a few issues, particularly about the recent FTA’s with neighboring countries like Thailand, Singapore, Bangladesh and other countries. EEMA fears that,...

by Indian Electrical & Electronics Manufacturers` IEEMA | On 16 Feb 2006

Social Security Policy in an Era of Globalization and Competition: Challenges for Southeast Asia

There are several themes which emerge from the comparative analysis of social security systems in Southeast Asia. Each country will need to address the limitations of their respective system in relati...

by Mukul Asher | On 06 Feb 2006

Macroeconomic and Monetary Developments: Third Quarter Review, 2005-06

The robust performance of the Indian economy continued during the second quarter (July-September) of 2005-06. According to the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), the economy recorded a real GDP...

by Reserve Bank of India | On 02 Feb 2006

Port Security is Still a Houe of Cards

Warns that weak links in the global shipping network expose the world’s ports to acts of terrorism.

by Stephen E. Flynn | On 27 Jan 2006

Macroeconomic and Monetary Developments: Third Quarter Review 2005-06

Contents I. The Real Economy -- 1 Agricultural Situation Industrial Performance Business Expectations Surveys Services Sector II. Fiscal Situation 14 Combined Government Fi...

by Reserve Bank of India | On 25 Jan 2006

ICT sector and regional economic development:Evidence from Karnataka State

This paper distinguishes the contribution of information and communication technology (ICT) sector to economic development by manufacturing and service activities in Karnataka State. Using the availab...

by M.R. Narayana | On 19 Jan 2006

A test of Governance: Education, Health and Family Planning in Areas Annexxed toKarnataka, Maharashtra and AP from Hyderabad State

At the time of reorganization of states on the basis of the linguistic formula, the territory that belonged to erstwhile state of Hyderabad was broken down to three parts and annexed to Andhra Prade...

by P. N. Mari Bhat | On 19 Jan 2006

Conceptualizing NGO-State Relations in Karnataka:Conflict and Collaboration amidst Organizational Diversity

This paper maps the organizational diversity of the NGO sector in Karnataka, a “middle order state” (Vyasulu, 1995), and demonstrates that conceptualizing NGO actions vis-à-vis the state dichotomously...

by Neema Kudva | On 13 Jan 2006

AT Times When Limbs May Fail: Social Security for Unorganised Workers in Karnataka

Policy makers, therefore, often encounter the following questions while formulating the social security schemes. What are the priority social security needs of unorganized workers? What existing mecha...

by D. Rajasekhar | On 13 Jan 2006

Karnataka Yeshasvini Health Insurance Scheme: Towards Comprehensive Health Insurance Coverage in Karnataka?

This is a case study of the Yeshasvini Health Insurance Scheme for rural farmers and peasants in Karnataka. The scheme, now in its second year of operation, covers 2.2 million farmers and peasants w...

by Sarosh Kuruvilla | On 13 Jan 2006

The Quest of Economic community in East Asia: Thailand's Perspective

To make the Customs Union in East Asia happen, what is needed the most now are political will and concerted efforts. FTAs should not be the end of economic cooperation in Asia. Instead, the onsolidati...

by Nipon Poapongsakorn | On 22 Nov 2005

Underground Gun Markets

This paper provides an economic analysis of underground gun markets drawing on interviews with gang members, gun dealers, professional thieves, prostitutes, police, public school security guards and t...

by Philip J. Cook | On 11 Nov 2005

Rebuilding China’s Social Safety Net: Why Governance Matters

China has adopted a wide-ranging program of pension reform since the late 1990s. The new pension system has replaced the pre-existing enterprise-based system. This paper analyzes the background of t...

by Minxin Pei | On 08 Nov 2005

Globalisation, Demographic Transition and Reform of Social Safety Nets in India

This paper accepts Rodrik’s premise that globalization and associated changes have increased the urgency of developing social safety nets to: Cushion transition; Help maintain legitimacy of reform, a...

by Mukul Asher | On 08 Nov 2005

Recent Social Security Reforms In Selected Asian Countries

There are considerable variations in the philosophy, coverage, investment policies and performance, design of schemes, governance structures, degree of professionalism and adequacy of benefits among A...

by Mukul Asher | On 11 Oct 2005

Marital Rape: A Non- Issue In India*

Rape with in marriage is not only the violation of sex it is related to a woman's consent i.e. her autonomy and bodily integrity are at stake. It is the violation of self-determination and breach of t...

by artee aggrawal | On 14 Sep 2005

Central Transfers To States And Centrally Sponsored Schemes

The Indian Constitution assigns specific tax and expenditure responsibilities to the Centre and States. In practice, however, the Centre often operates in the sphere of the States. For instance, it...

by Naresh C. Saxena | On 09 Sep 2005

Market, Media, and Mediocrity

by Arup Maharatna | On 06 Sep 2005

Further Reading

On political and social developments in Nepal

by Anonymous | On 30 Aug 2005

The Problem

Trapped for close to a decade in a vicious cycle of violence and counter-violence, the royal proclamation of 1 February 2005 declaring an emergency, suspending the constitution and fundamental rights,...

by Anonymous | On 30 Aug 2005

Interview

Pradeep Giri is a central committee member of the Sher Bahadur Deuba led Nepali Congress (Democratic).

by Prashant Jha | On 30 Aug 2005

Dialogues: The Monarchy And Demovracy In Nepal

THE project on the State of Democracy in South Asia (SDSA) is a 30 month study undertaken to evaluate the democratic enterprise in five South Asian countries: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sr...

by Peter Ronald deSouza | On 30 Aug 2005

Comment: When The State Kills

The militarisation of society, already alarming, has visibly increased since 1 February. The king justifies his takeover as a move towards peace. Peace there will be in Nepal, only it will be the chil...

by Bela Malik | On 30 Aug 2005

Neighbourly Concerns

India has repeatedly asserted that there is no military solution to the Maoist insurgency in Nepal. It is time that concrete and relevant initiative is taken by India in the direction of a viable poli...

by S. D. Muni | On 30 Aug 2005

Clarity Amidst Extremism

Another solution is needed now. An honest solution, a lasting one. One that might bring with it a republican Nepal. For this, certainly, is the call of the times: the monarchy must retreat to a strict...

by Manjushree Thapa | On 29 Aug 2005

SAARC Regional Convention On Suppression O Terrorism

An Additional Protocol to the SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism, has been prepared recognizing the importance of updating the Convention, in order to meet the obligations devolving...

by Anonymous | On 13 Aug 2005

SAARC and India: Policy Issues hinge on Security and Democracy

The entire project of SAARC is dependent on India’s capacity to bind the neighbouring states in multiple networks of ties to promote regional cooperation. India not only shares frontiers with all the...

by Rajen Harshe | On 13 Aug 2005

Constraints On Women Entrepreneurship Development In Kerala: An Analysis Of Familial, Social, And Psychological Dimensions

Irrespective of special incentives offered by the state, women enterprises encounter several problems. Often, women are merely fronts for men to obtain concessional credit, subsidies, and other ince...

by Nirmala D'Cruz | On 13 Aug 2005

Crop Insurance Scheme: A Case Study Of Banana Farmers In Wayanad Districts

Crop insurance is recognised to be a basic instrument for maintaining stability in farm income, through promoting technology, encouraging investment, and increasing credit flow in the agricultural sec...

by Manoj Kumar K | On 11 Aug 2005

BACKPAGE

The frequency with which ‘innocents’ are charged, sometimes even convicted only to be let off later is alarming. Fortunately, the Supreme Court has demanded an impartial and speedy enquiry into the Ge...

by Harsh Sethi | On 08 Aug 2005

Role Of Pension Regulator

In developed financial and capital markets all financial intermediaries such as banks, insurance companies, and pension funds are well regulated. India is the first country in Asia to establish an ind...

by Mukul Asher | On 06 Aug 2005