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Matching keywords : Vasudha Dhagamwar, legal reform activist, women's rights

Sonal Shukla 1941-2021: A Tribute

Feminist activist, cultural icon, intersectional women's activist

by Vibhuti Patel | On 14 Sep 2021

Tribute: Gail Omvedt (1941-2021)

Tribute to Gail Omvedt : feminist scholar, dalit and feminist activist died on August 25, 2021

by Vibhuti Patel | On 09 Sep 2021

Who’s Afraid of Naomi Osaka?

As an extraordinarily powerful individual, Naomi Osaka presents challenges to institutional power most of us can only imagine. If she worked in coordination with other top athletes across different sp...

by Jeffrey Montez de Oca | On 29 Jun 2021

Rapid Policy Briefing: Fair and equitable access to COVID-19 treatments and vaccines

• The development of an effective treatment and vaccine for COVID-19 is key to ending the pandemic and resuming social and economic activity. An international research effort to this end is underway. ...

by | On 02 Jun 2020

Covid-19 Crisis, Pandemic Resilience and Linkages to Land: An Exposition

For a COVID-19 like pandemic, the Achilles heel is an unsuspecting villain – rapid and global land use changes. The way governments, businesses and communities see, relate to and use land, not only in...

by | On 12 May 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

Tribute: Vidya Bal (January 12, 1937 to January 30, 2020)

Vidya Bal was a veteran feminist journalist, author and editor based in Pune. She was also a well-known social activist in the women’s liberation movement in India who dedicated her life to fighting f...

by Vibhuti Patel | On 24 Apr 2020

Emerging Markets Perspectives on G-20 led Financial Reforms

The chapter examines progress as well as continuing concerns in G-20 led financial reforms, with particular emphasis on emerging markets (EMs). Although risks remain they are of a lower order of magni...

by Ashima Goyal | On 25 Apr 2019

What Explains the Volatility of India’s Catch-up Growth?

Indian post reform growth rates have been higher but more volatile compared to transition periods for other comparable countries. The reasons are aggravation of shocks due to unaddressed critical bott...

by Ashima Goyal | On 29 Mar 2019

Human Rights Watch World Report, 2019. Events of 2018

World Report 2019 is Human Rights Watch’s 29th annual review of human rights practices around the globe. It summarizes key human rights issues in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide, draw...

by | On 27 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

Wage Inequalities in India

This paper examines the dimension of inequality since our earlier work on poverty and deprivation suggest that social inequality seems to overwhelm all other inequalities in a whole range of indicator...

by K.P. Kannan | On 31 Jan 2019

Transformation of Indian Agriculture? Growth, Inclusiveness and Sustainability

This paper provides 10 conclusions on the policies needed to achieve three goals of agricultural development in India. These are : (1) There is a need for change in the narrative in the new context; (...

by S. Mahendra Dev | On 26 Dec 2018

Women’s Land Title Ownership and Empowerment: Evidence from India

This paper examines how women’s participation in family decision-making is affected by land rights in rural areas in India. The 2005 Hindu Succession Act was legislated to protect women’s rights to an...

by Harold Glenn A. Valera | On 26 Sep 2018

Risk Management in Maldives: Sharing Practical Experience and Lessons Learned

Risk management is a systematic approach to determine which goods and passengers need to be examined in detail when entering a country. It involves (i) collecting, storing, and analyzing data to und...

by Asian Development Bank | On 19 Sep 2018

Rationale and Institution for Public – Private Partnerships

Private–public partnership (PPP) methods are considered to be an effective way to narrow the gap between demand and supply of social infrastructure. If successfully pursued, PPP can deliver benefits t...

by Jungwook Kim | On 19 Sep 2018

Assessment of the BUB Program: Improving Access of Local Communities to Basic Services and Strengthening Social Capital

The Aquino administration through the Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cluster (HDPRC) and Good Governance and Anti-Corruption Cluster (GGACC) launched the Bottom-up Budgeting (BUB) exercise in...

by Rosario G. Manasan | On 05 Jul 2018

Regulating Infrastructure Development in India

This paper reviews the existing framework for infrastructure development and the associated standards in India, and identifies areas for concern. Rather than deeply analysing any one standard, this pa...

by Sanhita Sapatnekar | On 15 Jun 2018

Status of Labour Rights in Pakistan 2016

The PILER 2016 report on the Status of Labour Rights, sixth in the series, based on the secondary research, aims to present an overview of the status of labour and the issues in the year impacting lab...

by Pakistan Institute of Labour Education & Research (PILER) | On 14 Jun 2018

Adjustment to Trade Opening: The Case of Labor Share in India’s Manufacturing Industry

This paper is to studies how manufacturing plants in India adjusted to trade liberalization during the period 1998–99 to 2007–08. It estimates how the labor share changed due to tariff reduction. The...

by Prachi Gupta | On 05 Jun 2018

Mythili Sivaraman: An Interview

First published in 1999, this video interview of Mythili Sivraman, who was vice president All India Democratic Women's Association, with Gnani, Tamil journalist with English subtitles.Mythily speaks a...

by Gnani Gnani | On 04 Jun 2018

Vertical Integration, Market Structure and Competition Policy: Experiences of Indian Manufacturing Sector during the Post - Reform Period

In the context of declining degrees of vertical integration in major industries of Indian manufacturing sector during the post - reform period, the present paper is an att...

by Pulak Mishra | On 15 May 2018

National Digital Communications Policy 2018

The National Digital Communications Policy, 2018 seeks to unlock the transformative power of digital communications networks - to achieve the goal of digital empowerment and well b...

by | On 02 May 2018

Restorative Care: Integral to Access to Justice

Existing research on “access to justice” has shown how the understanding of the term developed as the human rights approach gained ground. The conventional notion of access to justice was limited to s...

by HAQ: Centre for Child Rights | On 20 Apr 2018

Human Trafficking in Taiwan’s Fisheries Sector

Taiwan has one of the world’s largest DWFs, with over 1,800 vessels flying the Taiwanese flag operating across the world and hundreds of Taiwanese-owned vessels flying other flags.

by Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) | On 09 Apr 2018

Improving Performance in the Fight Against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing

This briefing provides an overview of the key factors that have influenced the European Commission’s carding decisions to date.

by Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) | On 06 Apr 2018

Community health worker programs in India: a rights-based review

This article presents a historical review of national community health worker (CHW) programs in India using a gender- and rights-based lens. The aim is to derive relevant policy implications to stem...

by Kavita Bhatia | On 06 Apr 2018

The Impact of Global Labour Standards on Export Performance

The issue of global labour standards has been at the forefront of both regional and multilateral trade negotiations over the past two decades, and will likely remain high on the agenda of future tra...

by | On 28 Mar 2018

Law, Culture and Innovation

This chapter reviews theoretical and empirical research on the relationship between legal systems and innovation and culture and innovation. We highlight legal and cultural forces that encourage inn...

by | On 23 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

The Multilateral Legal Instrument: A Developing Country Perspective

This paper makes an attempt to assess whether this instrument has succeeded in bringing about the desired changes. A unique database is constructed on the basis of these country positions. Using this...

by Suranjali Tandon | On 03 Mar 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 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

Performance and Challenges of the UN Human Rights Council : An NGOs’ View

The current dynamic within the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) has driven the Council in certain cases to function more closely in accordance with normative standards, as well as with the reality on t...

by | On 12 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

A Shift from Crime to Terrorism: Assessing D-Company

This paper offers an analysis of the causes behind the changing philosophy and practices of one of the well-known crime organizations from India to move closer towards terrorism to support its crimina...

by Ajey Lele | On 09 Feb 2018

Agricultural Extension in Cambodia: An Assessment and Options for Reform

Cambodia’s agriculture sector remains the backbone of the country’s economy. Most of Cambodia’s people live in rural areas and rely heavily on agriculture for their livelihoods. In recent decades, th...

by Sam Oeurn Ke | On 06 Feb 2018

Economic Survey 2017: Volume I, Chapter 4: Reconciling Fiscal Federalism and Accountability: Is there a Low Equilibrium Trap?

Long-run institutional development co-evolves with fiscal accountability involving, perhaps requiring, a low and declining dependence on devolved resources and a high and rising share of direct taxe...

by Arun Jaitley | On 31 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

Tribal Movement in Orissa: A Struggle Against Modernisation ?

Contemporary India is witnessing a wide number of micro-level social movements struggling against industrialisation, big dams and other similar development projects. This paper looks at the tribal m...

by | On 24 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

Cross-Border Spillover Effects of the G20 Financial Regulatory Reforms

The paper also emphasize the need for regulatory consistency within and between jurisdictions to ensure a level playing field.

by Clive Briault | On 15 Jan 2018

Nation State Boundaries and Human Rights of People in South Asia

The present study seeks to examine the issue of human rights violations in the border areas of countries in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region. It is in an effort to...

by | On 12 Jan 2018

Property Rights, Intersectionality, and Women’s Empowerment in Nepal

Property is widely recognized as an important resource for empowering women. Many development policies worldwide therefore call for strengthening women’s rights to property, especially to physical a...

by Rajendra Pradhan | On 11 Jan 2018

Military Courts in Pakistan: Will they return? What are the implications?

This paper narrates that during the first week of January 2017, many in Pakistan were surprised, when the government allowed the earlier Parliamentary legislation on the military courts to elapse.

by D. Chandran | On 09 Jan 2018

A Study on Illegal Immigration into North-East India : The Case of Nagaland

Migration is a global phenomenon, and will continue to do so in the near future. Every country aspires to regulate migration according to their requirements. But, not all country is successful. Hence...

by | On 04 Jan 2018

Exploring the Relationship Between Geographical Indications and Traditional Knowledge

The case studies undertaken mainly from India revealed that a large number of local and village communities and also from backward communities are involved in the production of the GIs products.

by N. Gopalakrishnan | On 28 Dec 2017

Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform In The WTO: Options For Constraining Dual Pricing In The Multilateral Trading System

This paper discusses the practice of energy dual pricing in the broader context of fossil fuel subsidy reform.

by Anna Marhold | On 20 Dec 2017

Intellectual Property Rights and Diaspora Knowledge Networks: Can Patent Protection Generate Brain Gain from Skilled Migration ?

This paper studies the mechanism through which intellectual property rights (IPR) protection can influence the impact of skilled migration on innovation activities in developing countries. We argue th...

by | On 18 Dec 2017

Open Educational Resources: Enhancing Education Provision and Practice

Open educational resources (OERs), a disruptive technology, made their appearance in early 2002 as a promising tool for enhancing the quality of and access to education generally and higher education...

by Jouko Sarvi | On 14 Dec 2017

PIDS Calls For ‘Intelligent’ Discourse On Federalism

The study says that the policymakers should see merit in examining whether federalism can indeed address the sociopolitical and economic problems that hamper the country’s growth.

by PIDS Information Staff | On 11 Dec 2017

Vertical Integration, Market Structure and Competition Policy: Experiences of Indian Manufacturing Sector during the Post-Reform Period

In the context of declining degrees of vertical integration in major industries of Indian manufacturing sector during the post-reform period, the present paper is an attempt to examine how such ‘verti...

by Pulak Mishra | On 11 Dec 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

Tariff Liberalization and Trade Specialization in India

Since the early 1990s, India has embarked on economic reforms that have progressively opened up the country to international trade. This paper analyzes the effects of reform on India’s trading struc...

by Michele Alessandrini | On 17 Nov 2017

Price Discovery in some Primary Commodity Markets in India

With the onset of wide-ranging economic reforms in India in 1991, agents have been exposed to increased price risk in commodity markets. Futures markets are one important instrument for reducing price...

by Raushan Kumar | On 07 Nov 2017

Corporate Social Irresponsibility: Companies & PC&PNDT Act

Female foeticide because of preference for boys over girls for a host of reasons is gigantic in India. According to the estimates of Asian Centre for Human Rights, during 1991 to 2011, a total of 25,4...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) | On 26 Oct 2017

Measuring Competition in the Banking Sector of Pakistan: An Application of Boone Indicator

The banking sector of Pakistan has witnessed a notable transformation in its structure and business activities following the implementation of financial sector reforms since the early 1990s. Specific...

by Mahmood ul Hasan Khan | On 09 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

Migrant Smuggling Data and Research: A Global Review of the Emerging Evidence Base

The report narrates that the diversity of smugglers has been examined in the academic and grey literature.

by Marie McAuliffe | On 25 Sep 2017

Public Health Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights

The World Health Organization considered that its mission demanded it should play a part in this debate, with the objective of illuminating how intellectual property rights might affect public health...

by World Health Organisation (WHO) | On 14 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

Assessment of the 2017 Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion

This paper aims to assess the implications of these bills on the distribution of tax burden across income groups, economic incentives in affected sectors, national government revenues, and likely impa...

by Rosario G. Manasan | On 01 Sep 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

Public Procurement in India: Assessment of Institutional Mechanism, Challenges, and Reforms

The present study assesses the public procurement system and recent reform initiatives in India and outlines the need for changes in the institutional frameworks.

by Bhabesh Hazarika | On 09 Aug 2017

Gender, Islam, and law

This paper considers arguments about Islam and women’s welfare, and, at greater length, how legal systems with Islamic elements treat women, with a focus on how women fare in Islamic family courts. Ke...

by John R. Bowen | On 02 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

Rethinking Electricity Sector Reform in Developing Asia: Balancing Economic and Environmental Objectives

The OECD or ‘standard’ model of electricity sector reforms has been widely adopted in non-OECD Asian countries since the 1990s. However, despite two decades of attempts at reforms, no notable progress...

by Tooraj Jamasb | On 31 Jul 2017

Building Synergies: Matching Business Reforms to Improved 'Ease of Doing Business'

The study explores ground-level realities linked with initiatives on tax administration, construction permits, transparency, compliance with environmental and labour laws and regulations, and inspecti...

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

East Asia Department Knowledge Management Initiatives in 2014

This annual publication showcases the results of knowledge management initiatives of the East Asia Department of the Asian Development Bank in 2014.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 24 Jul 2017

Assessing Financial Protection against Disasters: A Guidance Note on Conducting a Disaster Risk Finance Diagnostic

The purpose of this note is to help development practitioners gather relevant information, conduct analysis, and present both in a standardized diagnostic framework. In addition to the guidance note i...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 14 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

Strengthening City Disaster Risk Financing in Vietnam

This paper presents a summary of a technical assistance project on the development of disaster risk financing solutions for the cities of Can Tho and Hue and, by extension, for other cities in Viet Na...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 26 Jun 2017

Toward Mainstreaming and Sustaining CDD in Indonesia: Understanding Local Initiatives and the Transition from PNPM-Rural to the Villlage Law

The report summarizes important lessons learned and policy implications from the first year of Village Law implementation.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 16 Jun 2017

Reviving Lakes and Wetlands in the People's Republic of China, Volume 3: Best Practices and Prospects for the Sanjiang Plain Wetlands

The report narrates that the Sanjiang Plain wetlands are among the most important wetlands in the People’s Republic of China with unique habitats, species, and ecology. There is a considerable body of...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 08 Jun 2017

Gender Equality Results Case Study: Nepal Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women Project

This report presents the case study of that project, whose special features include responsiveness to local contexts and to conditions created by conflict, a well-coordinated system for women collecti...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 06 Jun 2017

Judicial Review and Money Bills

Under the Constitution of India, for a bill to be enacted into a law, it has to be approved by both Houses of the Parliament - the Lower House (Lok Sabha) and the Upper House (Rajya Sabha). There is o...

by Pratik Datta | On 26 May 2017

Probabilistic Patents, Alternative Damage Rules and Optimal Trade Policy

This paper analyzes interdependencies between optimal trade policy and 'preferred' liability doctrine to assess infringement damages, when intellectual property rights are probabilistic, in a model of...

by Apurva Dey | On 16 May 2017

ASEAN+3 Bond Market Guide 2016: Japan

The paper narrates that the Government of Japan raises significant amounts from domestic capital markets to finance government expenditures, mainly through the issuance of Japanese Government Bonds (J...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 16 May 2017

ASEAN+3 Bond Market Guide 2016: Thailand

The paper says that the government has continued to issue bonds since then with the primary objectives being to finance the annual budget deficit, support social and economic development, and restruct...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 16 May 2017

The India Freedom Report

On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day 2017 it becomes important to view the level of press freedom in India in the wider context of societal freedom. The press cannot be truly free when facilitat...

by The Hoot the hoot.org | On 08 May 2017

The Long Road to Transformation of Agricultural Markets in India: Lessons from Karnataka

This paper examines Karnataka's pioneering agricultural output marketing reforms with the twin goals of assessing the state and challenges of implementation and to glean lessons from Karnataka's expe...

by Nidhi Aggarwal | On 02 May 2017

Unexplored “Bill of Rights” : A Magna Carta for Gender Justice and Budgeting in India

This paper explores the “Bill of Rights” in the Justice Verma Committee Report as an analytical framework for gender budgeting in justice. Gender budgeting in justice, as a public good, needs effectiv...

by Lekha Chakraborty | On 03 Mar 2017

Leave No One Behind : A Call to Action for Gender Equality and Women’s Economic Empowerment

The report captures the importance of shaping macro-economic policies so they support inclusive growth, and ensuring that women entrepreneurs have access to technology and finance. It also highlights...

by | On 21 Feb 2017

Tackling Sex Discrimination through Pay Equity

Discrimination at work is a violation of a basic human right. Workers may be discriminated against on many different grounds, including their sex, with women being particularly discriminated against w...

by International Labour Organization [ILO] | On 06 Feb 2017

Demonetization of Currency Notes: Significance and Challenges

Demonetization is the act of stripping a currency unit of its status as legal tender. Demonetization is necessary whenever there is a change of national currency. The old unit of currency must be reti...

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

Securing Property Rights in India Through Distributed Ledger Technology

India registered rapid economic growth over the past couple of years, with the GDP growing 7.6 percent in 2015-2016. While economic activity remains buoyant, however, the country still has a long way...

by | On 11 Jan 2017

Demonetization, the Cash Shortage and the Black Money

Demonetisation of INR 500 and INR 1,000 notes in India on November 8, 2016 is different from many other countries’ scrapping of high value notes in two respects – the withdrawal of their legal tende...

by Ashok K. Lahiri | On 02 Jan 2017

From Struggle to Law Reform: Eliminating Incarceration of Children as adults in Jails in India

India’s juvenile Justice Law started its journey in 1919-20 with Indian Jail Committee’s recommendation that children be removed from Jails. This mandate remains unfulfilled till date. One will stil...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 23 Dec 2016

Tribute

Sulabha Bramhe was a remarkable scholar-activist. Daughter of an eminent economist and trained in top notch universities, she could have launched into a focused career in economics in any global inst...

by | On 14 Dec 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

Poverty Impacts of Agricultural Trade Reforms

The impact of trade policy on poverty, food security and inequality in developing countries is at the centre of a crowded international debate on the role of international trade in development. Develo...

by United Nations Environment Programme UNEP | On 24 Nov 2016

Parliament Session Alert Winter Session: November 16 – December 16, 2016

Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will meet for the Winter Session between November 16 and December 16, 2016. There will be a total of 22 sittings. The agenda for legislation includes ten Bills for consider...

by Kusum Malik | On 14 Nov 2016

Black Money, Corruption and Demonetisation

The demonetisation of currency after a long period of 38 years was a welcome and bold step taken by the Government of India on November 8, 2016. The last demonetisation was implemented in 1978 by wi...

by Martin Patrick | On 11 Nov 2016

Regulatory Responsiveness in India: A Normative and Empirical Framework for Assessment

This paper seeks to measure the extent to which Indian regulators are responsive in the performance of their functions. The paper focuses on one function common to all Indian statutory regulators, na...

by Anirudh Burman | On 08 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

A Critique on the Current Labour Policy Reforms

Presently, there is a constant intense debate on labour law reforms in India. It is argued that the restrictive labour laws create rigidity in the labour market or else the Indian economy would have w...

by | On 03 Nov 2016

The Elephant That Became a Tiger 20 Years of Economic Reform in India

A foreign exchange crisis in 1991 induced India to abandon decades of inward-looking socialism and adopt economic reforms that have converted the once-lumbering elephant into the latest Asian tiger. I...

by | On 28 Oct 2016

Shelter From the Storm

While remarkable progress has been achieved during the past decade protecting the health and rights of women and adolescent girls in humanitarian settings, the growth in need has outstripped the growt...

by United Nations Population Fund UNFPA | On 21 Oct 2016

Review: The Making of International Human Rights: The 1960s, Decolonization, and the Reconstruction of Global Values

Review of The Making of International Human Rights: The 1960s, Decolonization, and the Reconstruction of Global Values. Human Rights in History Series. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016.

by | On 17 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

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

Gender Quotas: Challenging the Boards, Performance, and the Stock Market

Comparing before and after the reform within firms, we find that quotas are associated with a higher share of female board directors, higher levels of education of board members, and a lower share of...

by | On 12 Oct 2016

Regularisation of Contract Workers and Asha Volunteers in the National Health Mission : A Statement

It is the multi-layers of health providers that make health care possible. It is therefore important that we address the job security of the workers in the National Health Mission.

by Kavita Bhatia | On 03 Oct 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

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

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

The Indian Steel Sector: Development and Potential

The Indian steel industry has made a rapid progress on strong fundamentals over the recent few years. The industry is getting all essential ingredients required for dynamic growth. The government is b...

by | On 19 Sep 2016

The Effects of Climate Change on Public Health and the Healthcare Provider 's Role in Addressing Climate Change

Climate change is a term that refers to major changes in temperature, rainfall, snow, or wind patterns lasting for decades or longer. Both human-made and natural factors contribute to climate change”...

by | On 14 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

Obituary: Sharit Bhowmik

Sharit Bhowmik, sociologist, teacher, labour and social activist, well known for his studies in labour and especially on the informal sector, passed away last night (September 9, 2016) in Bangkok. [Tr...

by Editors eSocialSciences | On 09 Sep 2016

Development of Grassroots and Youth Football in India: Current and Future Opportunities

According to the Basketball Federation of India, Basketball is now the fastest-growing sport among boys and girls, with five million participants-which they claim is second only to soccer 2 The Indian...

by | On 09 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

Prospects and Challenges of Out-Migration from South Asia and its Neighbouring Countries

This paper analyses the trends, nature and extent of out-migration from South Asia and its neighbouring countries like Afghanistan and Iran and examines the economic implications in both sending and r...

by | On 06 Sep 2016

Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction in the Education Sector

The ultimate goal of the resource manual is to ensure that all children may equitably exercise their educational and environmental rights in totality, as described in the Convention. The resource ma...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 29 Aug 2016

Seed Wars and Farmers’ Rights: Comparative Perspectives from Brazil and India

Drawing on interviews with Indian and Brazilian farmers’ rights activists, lawyers, agronomists and plant breeders, this article aims at better understanding how farmers’ rights are protected on paper...

by | On 25 Aug 2016

Brain Drain Versus Brain Gain: The Study of Remittances in Southeast Asia and Promoting Knowledge Exchange Through Diasporas

The study attempts to identify the macroeconomic determinants of remittance inflows in South Asian countries. It uses additively separable utility function as theoretical framework and the Arellano-Bo...

by | On 16 Aug 2016

The Mental Healthcare Bill, 2016

A bill to provide for mental healthcare and services for persons with mental illness and to protect, promote and fulfil the rights of such persons during delivery of mental healthcare and services a...

by Rajya Sabha Secretariat | On 10 Aug 2016

Can “Make In India” Make Jobs? The Challenges of Manufacturing Growth and High–Quality Job Creation in India

A new “Make in India” campaign to “transform India into a global manufacturing hub” aims to use manufacturing as a vehicle for job growth. Is this strategy realistic? This paper helps answer the quest...

by | On 10 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

Empowering India with Gender Equality

Achieving gender equality has become a development challenge for India. Women are entitled to live with dignity in society and enjoy freedom from humiliation, fear, exploitation and every type of viol...

by Sanghamitra Deobhanj | On 28 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

Economic Reform and Social Sector Expenditures: A Study of Fifteen Indian States

This paper examines social sector expenditures in fifteen Indian states between 1980/81 and 1999/2000 to find out whether the far-reaching economic reforms that began in 1991 had any significant impac...

by | On 19 Jul 2016

Labour Law and Governance Reforms in India: A Partial and Misguided View of Employment Relations

Labour regulation in India has engaged the attention of not only policy makers but also social actors, researchers and practioners. Policy measures have started rolling out from the state governments...

by Shyam Sundar | On 11 Jul 2016

Old-Age Pension and Extended Families: How is Adult Children’s Internal Migration Affected?

This paper makes use of the most recent social pension reform in rural China to examine whether receipt of the pension payment equips adult children of pensioners to migrate. Employing a regression di...

by Xi Chen | 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

Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) and Financial Sector Regulation in India

This paper examines the changes in regulation in four G7 countries post the financial sector breakdown of 2008 and suggestions made by the Financial Stability Board with respect to e.g. capital adequa...

by Jaimini Bhagwati | On 07 Jul 2016

State-Focused Roadmap to India’s “Vision 2030”

By 2030, India will be amongst the youngest nations in the world with nearly 150 million people in the college-going age group. By 2030, the already existing challenges for Indian higher education – a...

by | On 07 Jul 2016

Trends in Strategies and Performance of the Indian Corporate Sector: What has changed in two decades of economic reforms?

This paper documents strategies followed by firms in the last two decades and the resultant changes in business conditions. It is found that although the rate of growth of the industry sector has not...

by Rakesh Basant | On 04 Jul 2016

Guidelines For Improving Water Use Efficiency in Irrigation, Domestic & Industrial Sectors

There is a need for a paradigm shift in approach from development to efficient management by making concerted efforts to achieve higher standards of efficiency in water use in all the three sectors....

by Ministry of Water Resources GOI | On 04 Jul 2016

Parental Unemployment and Child Health in China

This paper studies the causal effect of maternal and paternal unemployment on child health in China, analyzing panel data for the period 1997-2004, when the country underwent economic reforms leading...

by Janneke Pieters | On 30 Jun 2016

Ad(d)venture with Knowledge: Stepping ahead with Intellectual Property Rights

Human society has witnessed adventure with knowledge resulting in scientific understanding of the secrets of nature and converting them into technological innovations resulting in metamorphosis of...

by Prabuddha Ganguli | On 30 Jun 2016

Global Economic Prospects at 25

Although global growth is projected to accelerate gradually, a wide range of risks threaten to derail the recovery, including a sharper-than-expected slowdown in major emerging markets, sudden escalat...

by World Bank [WB] | On 29 Jun 2016

Evidence on Policies to Increase the Development Impacts of International Migration

International migration offers individuals and their families the potential to experience immediate and large gains in their incomes, and offers a large number of other positive benefits to the sendin...

by | On 28 Jun 2016

How Successful Are Banking Sector Reforms in Emerging Market Economies? Evidence from Impact of Monetary Policy on Levels and Structures of Firm Debt in India

In this paper investigates the success of banking reforms in India where significant banking reforms have been introduced since 1990s. Using the argument that well functioning credit markets would ref...

by Sumon Kumar Bhaumik | On 27 Jun 2016

Implementing the Right to Education Act 2009: The Real Challenges

This study is based on the fact that the implementation of the Act involves serious financial and governance challenges. Considering that different Indian states are at different stages of development...

by Jyotsna Jha | On 23 Jun 2016

Slum Free India: Myths and Realities- A Status Report on Rajiv Awas Yojana

The present report is a result of efforts that were spread over a period of more than a year (2013 – 2014) and included two national level consultations and sharing meetings held in Delhi, visit to m...

by Simpreet . | On 23 Jun 2016

How to Make a Living in the Creative Industries

This booklet looks at the different ways in which copyright can help all kinds of creative individuals to make a living from their original literary and artistic works. [WIPO Booklet].

by WIPO WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION. | On 22 Jun 2016

Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) and Financial Sector Regulation in India

The Financial Sector Reforms Commission (FSLRC) which was set up in 2011 by the Ministry of Finance was mandated to study existing legislation and financial sector regulatory practices in India and...

by Jaimini Bhagwati | On 22 Jun 2016

Evaluating Labour Market Policy

This pper reviews major approaches and findings on the evaluation of the impact of different labour market institutions but pays particular attention to active labour market policies that play an impo...

by Werner Eichhorst | 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

Landed Property and Credit in Colonial India

The chapter tries to identify three dimensions of land rights – the type of ownership, tenants’ rights, and the right to transfer – to categorise the diversity of land tenures in colonial India. Also,...

by Anand Swamy | On 08 Jun 2016

The Economics of Copyright and the Internet: Moving to an Empirical Assessment Relevant in the Digital Age

Technology and the Internet have triggered important changes to how creative works are created, accessed and how creators and copyright-based industries generate their revenues. In this chapter, the e...

by Sacha Wunsch-Vincent | On 08 Jun 2016

Confiscation in Taiwan: The Laws and Ideas for Reform

This Occasional Paper shows the evolution of confiscation law in Taiwan. It reviews the current state of confiscation laws and policies in Taiwan and also proposes suggestions for reform of the conf...

by Helen Liu | On 08 Jun 2016

Education Through the Lens of Sustainable Human Development

If human development is defined as a comprehensive economic, social, cultural and political process aiming to improve the well-being of populations and individuals, then the one element that can serve...

by Gianna Alessandra Sanchez Moretti | On 06 Jun 2016

Property Rights and Gender Bias: Evidence from Land Reform in West Bengal

While land reforms are typically pursued in order to raise productivity and reduce inequality across households, an unintended consequence may be increased within-household gender inequality. We analy...

by | On 03 Jun 2016

Intellectual Property Rights and Preferential Trade Agreements: Data, Ceoncepts and Research Avenues

Today, more than half of international trade is regulated through preferential trade agreements (PTAs). While in the past, these agreements served as tools to eliminate further tariffs between the pa...

by | On 01 Jun 2016

The Harvest is in My Blood: Hazardous Child Labor in Tobacco Farming in Indonesia

This report—based on extensive research including interviews with more than 130 children who work on tobacco farms in Indonesia—shows that child workers are being exposed to serious health and safety...

by Human Rights Watch | On 31 May 2016

Minimum Wage Comparison: Asian Countries Minimum Wage Fixing

For countries which have a minimum wage, the minimum wage fixing system differs according to objectives and criteria, machinery and procedures, coverage, and subsequent adjustment as well as the opera...

by Sanjana Singh | On 31 May 2016

Fairness for Children: A League Table of Inequality in Child Well-Being in Rich Countries

This Report Card presents an overview of inequalities in child well-being in 41 countries of the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It focuses o...

by | On 31 May 2016

People's Rights and Social Res.Centre and ors Petitioner(s) versus Union of India and Ors.

This writ petition was filed in the year 2006, praying for a direction to the respondents to constitute a high level committee with the participation also of the NGOs to investigate the occurance of t...

by Supreme Court of India | On 30 May 2016

Youth and Labour Reforms in India

On account of May 1st being the Labour Day, India Youth Fund interviewed Professor Arup Mitra from the Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi on a number of labour rights and reforms related issues in In...

by Arup Mitra | 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

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

Discussion Paper on Standard Essential Patents and their Availability on FRAND Terms

This paper aims to sensitize the stakeholders, concerned organization and citizens towards need and importance of regulating SEPs as well as facilitating their availability at Fair, Reasonable and N...

by Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion DIPP | On 19 May 2016

National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy

Creativity and innovation have been a constant in growth and development of any knowledge economy. There is an abundance of creative and innovative energies flowing in India. India has a TRIPS compl...

by Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion DIPP | On 19 May 2016

Priorities for India’s National Health Policy

In this paper we will argue that India’s health policy needs to focus more on delivering those aspects of healthcare which are public or quasi-public goods to correct this balance, and to regulate and...

by Rahul Ahluwalia | On 18 May 2016

Building a Design Economy in India

The interministerial group will rework its strategy on labour laws and tweak it in such a manner that it maximises benefits for both workers and employers. In this paper, we outline the manner in whi...

by Shamika Ravi | On 18 May 2016

Population Policy: Abortion and Modern Contraception are Substitutes

There is longstanding debate in population policy about the relationship between modern contraception and abortion. Although theory predicts that they should be substitutes, the existing body of empi...

by Grant Miller | On 18 May 2016

Housing Policy in the Republic of Korea

This paper evaluates housing policy in the Republic of Korea over the past several decades, describes new challenges arising from the changing environment, and draws lessons for other countries. The m...

by Kyung-Hwan Kim | On 18 May 2016

Know the Biological Diversity Act (2002) and the Rules (2004) Better!

The Act covers conservation, use of biological resources and associated knowledge occurring in India for commercial or research purposes or for the purposes of bio-survey and bio-utilisation. It prov...

by National Biodiversity Authority NBA | On 17 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

Economic Incentives for the Conservation of Bharathapuzha River: Focus on Sand Mining

Rivers in Kerala are assailed by pollution, sedimentation, sand mining, and constriction of flows. The indiscriminate and unscientific sand mining, even in the midst of many regulatory and protective...

by Lakshmi Sreedhar | On 04 May 2016

West Bengal: Analysis of Asset Comparison of Re-contesting MLAs in West Bengal Assembly Elections, 2016

This report provides analysis of asset comparison of re-contesting MLAs in the West Bengal Assembly Elections

by Association for Democratic Reforms ADR | On 04 May 2016

West Bengal: Analysis of Criminal Background, Financial, Education, Gender and other details of Candidates in Phase 6

This report provides information about the criminal, financial and other background of the candidates contesting in phase 6 of the West Bengal Assembly Elections.

by Association for Democratic Reforms ADR | On 04 May 2016

Reforming Personal Insolvency Law in India

This paper motivates the need for a personal bankruptcy law, and study the existing Indian legal framework in the form of the Presidency Towns Insolvency Act, 1909 (PTIA) for Calcutta, Bombay and Mad...

by Siva Raman | 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

Towards a Tribunal Services Agency

The performance of Indian tribunals has been unsatisfactory. Yet, policy-makers continue to rely heavily on tribunals to achieve their end objective. One example of this are the tribunals which will a...

by | On 02 May 2016

Financial Stability: Underlining Context

The paper argues that context is important in discussions of financial stability. It explores weaknesses in domestic and international reforms and ways of overcoming them, based on mitigating the fund...

by Ashima Goyal | On 02 May 2016

Economic Reforms, Poverty and Inequality

It is going to be 25 years since India embarked on big-bang economic reforms in 1991. What are the achievements in terms of growth and inclusive growth in the post-reform period? What are the issues i...

by S. Mahendra Dev | On 02 May 2016

‘Credit’ Transfer, ‘Capital’ Gains and Intellectual Property in the University: Points from a Case Study

An absolute insistence on profits in numbers is increasingly driving the modern University system today. The insistence on metrics as an index of scholarship has entailed a shift toward the market mod...

by Pramod K. Nayar | On 02 May 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

Joint Recommendation Concerning Provisions on the Protection of Marks, and Other Industrial Property Rights in Signs, on the Internet

The provisions aim at providing a clear legal framework for trademark owners who wish to use their marks on the Internet and to participate in the development of electronic commerce. They are intended...

by WIPO WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION. | On 26 Apr 2016

Are Patents and Copyrights Morally Justified? The Philosophy of Property Rights and Ideal Objects

In this paper, the author is examining the popular conceptions behind Patents and Copyrights and questioning whether they are legitimate forms of property.

by Tom Palmer | On 26 Apr 2016

The Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012

An Act to amend the Copyright Act, 1957.

by Ministry of Law and Justice GOI | On 25 Apr 2016

Reducing Child Marriage in India: A Model to Scale Up Results, New Delhi, 2016

This paper presents a model for contextual strategizing and scaling up of interventions to accelerate the pace of reduction of child marriage, with particular reference to India, and within India with...

by Jyotsna Jha | On 18 Apr 2016

Copyright Enforcement and Quality Differentiation on the Internet

Right-holders can create differences between their cultural goods to attract consumers with varying levels of willingness to pay. Some Internet intermediaries propose similar choices but do so without...

by | On 15 Apr 2016

Gender and Land Statistics

The Gender and Land Rights Database (GLRD) is an on-line platform that was launched by FAO in February 2010 with the objective of highlighting the major political, legal and cultural factors that infl...

by Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] | 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

Free Speech in 2016: First Quarter Report

Apart from the turbulence in February over the sedition cases filed at Jawaharlal Nehru University, the arrests of students, and the allegations regarding doctored videos, the period saw an overall in...

by | On 05 Apr 2016

Inclusive Migration in India: A Study on Domestic Migration and Issues in Electoral Participation

The study compiled information from academic papers, government and non-government reports on the subject of domestic migration, with a specific emphasis on their political inclusion. In order to cond...

by | On 05 Apr 2016

Adolescent Boys and Young Men

This study of Adolescent Boys and Young Men highlights the importance of engaging adolescent boys and young men in sexual and reproductive health and rights (srhr) and gender equality. not only is thi...

by United Nations Population Fund UNFPA | On 29 Mar 2016

Budget 2016-17 & The Indian Economy

A brief summary by Niti Aayog about the pre and post 2016-17 Indian Budget Analysis.

by Arvind Panagariya | 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

Impact of JNNURM and UIDSSMT/ IHSDP Programmes on Infrastructure and Governance Outcomes in Cities/ Towns in India

The paper is based on a review of the available official data and the existing literature on the Missions. It is divided into three broad sections. The first analyzes data available from the official...

by Lalitha Kamath | On 21 Mar 2016

India-Bangladesh Relations: Moving towards Friendship

India-Bangladesh relations are advancing rapidly in recent times. There are of course some impediments such as non-tariff barriers (NTBs) in trade, and the Teesta water-sharing dispute that need to be...

by Chandrani Sarma | 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

Changing Wage Structure in India in the Post-Reform Era

This paper documents the changing structure of wages in India over the post-reform era, the roughly two-decade period since 1993. To investigate the factors underlying these changes, a supply-demand f...

by Basab Dasgupta | On 20 Mar 2016

More Ghost Savings: Understanding the Fiscal Impact of India’s Direct Transfer Program — Update

Since April 1, 2015, India’s cooking gas subsidies have been distributed by electronic transfer through the Direct Benefit Transfer for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) scheme (known as DBTL, or PAHAL1 )...

by | On 18 Mar 2016

Reforming the Financing System for the Road Sector in the People's Republic of China

This report recommends the creation of a National Roads and Funding Administration and a central road trust fund with dedicated revenues; changes to roles and responsibilities of different levels of g...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 17 Mar 2016

The 8th Lecture of Krishna Raj Memorial Lecture Series on The Golden Rule: A Remedy for Decadence in Global Health

The 8th Lecture of Krishna Raj Memorial Lecture Series On Contemporary Issues in Health and Social Sciences: ‘The Golden Rule: a remedy for decadence in global health’ By Dr Eric Suba

by ... CEHAT | On 16 Mar 2016

Impact of Strengthening Intellectual Property Rights Regime on Income Inequality: An Econometric Analysis

This paper examines the impact of strengthening Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) on within-country income inequality for a cross-section of 65 developed and developing countries for the time period...

by Swati Saini | On 16 Mar 2016

The Rise of the “Just-in-Time Workforce”: On-demand Work, Crowdwork and Labour Protection in the “Gig-Economy”

The so-called “gig-economy” has been growing exponentially in numbers and importance in recent years but its impact on labour rights has been largely overlooked. Forms of work in the “gig-economy” inc...

by | On 15 Mar 2016

Fossil Fuel Subsidies in Indonesia Trends, Impacts, and Reforms

The objective of this study is to systematically assess the prevalence of different types of fossil fuel subsidies in Indonesia and analyze the potential impacts of their removal. It is hoped that thi...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 15 Mar 2016

Fossil Fuel Subsidies in Thailand - Trends, Impacts and Reforms

The objective of this study is to systematically assess the prevalence of different types of fossil fuel subsidies in Thailand and analyze the potential impacts of their removal. It is hoped that this...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 15 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

Illegal Markets Boundaries and Interfaces between Legality and Illegality

In sociology generally, the infringement of legal norms is not treated as a special kind of norm violation, the sociology of law being an obvious exception. The study of illegal markets therefore face...

by Renate Mayntz | On 14 Mar 2016

Towards Rules of the Monetary Game

There are few areas of robust growth around the world, with the IMF repeatedly reducing its growth forecasts in recent quarters. This period of slow growth is particularly dangerous because both ind...

by Raghuram G. Rajan | On 14 Mar 2016

Corporate Governance and Product Market Competition

On one hand product market competition acts as an ultimate solution to align interests of managers and shareholders, and on the other hand, competition alone may not be sufficient because it may not p...

by Ekta Selarka | On 13 Mar 2016

Striking a Balance: Myanmar and the Issue of Intellectual Property Rights

Strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights in Myanmar has the potential to act as a catalyst for economic growth, spurring foreign direct investment and in the long run helping the c...

by | On 12 Mar 2016

Human Rights in North Korea: Pressure and Engagement

Over a year since its report was published, what are the implications and limitations of the UN Commission of Inquiry’s investigation into human rights violations in North Korea, and what is the best...

by | On 10 Mar 2016

Poverty Reduction in Pakistan: Learning from the Experience of China

Three major objectives of this study are: (i) to understand China’s success against poverty, particularly the mechanism through which, the economic reforms led to poverty reduction; (ii) to give a his...

by G. M. Arif | On 10 Mar 2016

Pension System Reforms for Pakistan: Current Situation and Future Prospects

The study deals with pension system reforms for the Pakistan economy and highlights the current situation and future prospects. The study presents an overview of the problems prevailing in current pay...

by Umaima Arif | On 10 Mar 2016

In the Shadow: Illegal Markets and Economic Sociology

Illegal markets differ from legal markets in many respects. Although illegal markets have economic significance and are of theoretical importance, they have been largely ignored by economic sociology....

by | On 09 Mar 2016

Contrarian Lives: Christians and Contemporary Protest in Jharkhand

This paper is a preliminary attempt to assess the impact of Christian social activists on issues facing adivasis in the state of Jharkhand in contemporary India. This has been prompted by a few factor...

by Sushil J. Aaron | On 09 Mar 2016

How Protected are our Children in Assam?

Situation of children in Assam in 2016.

by Melvil Pereira | On 09 Mar 2016

India’s Union Budget: Changing Scope and the Evolving Content

The paper reflects on the changing scope of the Union Budget and the Finance Minister’s speech and assesses the evolving content of these policy instruments in recent years. The analysis undertaken...

by | On 08 Mar 2016

Linking mobility, human trafficking and Infectious Disease

Current studies on pandemics explore the links between population mobility and health. These studies usually focus on regular population movement such as those of tourists and legal immigrants. Howeve...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 06 Mar 2016

Chartering ASEAN Human Rights

Human rights issues within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations pose a significant challenge as it seeks to remain relevant in an increasingly interconnected global system. On 20 July 2009, ASEA...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 05 Mar 2016

Growing Optimism Marks Cancún Climate Change Talks

The recent UN Climate Change Conference (COP16) in Cancun, Mexico concluded on a generally positive note as growing optimism replaced the disappointment that defined the 2009 talks in Copenhagen.While...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 03 Mar 2016

Critical Reflections on Anti¬-Human Trafficking: The Case of Timor¬Leste

Human trafficking is commonly seen as a heinous crime affecting millions of migrants from all parts of the globe. The struggle against this phenomenon is perceived as noble, moral and necessary. Howev...

by | On 03 Mar 2016

Australian High Court Rules Refugee Swap with Malaysia Unlawful

The controversy surrounding the Australia¬Malaysia refugee swap agreement that would have seen 800 asylum seekers sent to Malaysia in exchange for 4,000 processed refugees took a decisive turn on 31...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 02 Mar 2016

Indradhanush-Banking Sector Reforms

The Indradhanush framework with its seven pronged plan was unveiled by Finance Minister Mr Arun Jaitley on 14th August 2015 for revamping Public Sector Banks (PSBs) of India. In this paper, we look at...

by Sakshi Bhardwaj | On 02 Mar 2016

Japanese-Chinese Territorial Disputes in the East China Sea – Between Military Confrontation and Economic Cooperation.

This paper analyses the various legal, political, military and economic circumstances of the two territorial disputes in the ECS, and it evaluates the approaches by both sides to turn the ECS from a `...

by Reinhard Drifte | On 01 Mar 2016

The Political-economy of Tax Reforms in Pakistan: The Ongoing Saga of the GST

Should tax reforms be guided by rules of thumb suggested by the IMF, or directions or reform based on analytical approaches, such as optimal tax theory? In many cases, the applications of the directio...

by Ehtisham Ahmad | On 01 Mar 2016

An Assessment of the International Legal Obligations Owed to the Rohingya Refugees

This paper considers the issue of migration of the Rohingyas from the lens of international law. It evaluates the responses of the countries that have been the destination of these migration flows – n...

by Ramandeep Kaur | 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

Can the New Intergovernmental Structure Work in Pakistan in the Presence of Governance Challenges? Learning from China

The reform of the tax administration has been recognized as a priority since the early 1980s and the report of the Tax Reforms Commission headed by Qamar-ul Islam, which had called the then Central Bo...

by Ehtisham Ahmad | On 29 Feb 2016

Agricultural investments in Southeast Asia: Legal tools forpublic accountability

In Southeast Asia, the rise in agricultural investments takes place against the backdrop of a fast-evolving regional context. In this ‘Asian Century’, trade and investment flows are flourishing across...

by Shalmali Guttal | On 29 Feb 2016

India'a Services Sector: Performance, Some Issues and Suggestions

This paper examines the performance of India’s services sector; the recent policy reforms in some important services sectors; issues and suggestions in services sector and in particular the four impor...

by H.A.C. Prasad | On 29 Feb 2016

What is Title Guarantee Worth in Land Markets? Evidence from Bengaluru, India

Land reforms require urgent attention in emerging market economies, and there is a vast body of literature that deals with the economic impact land reforms, especially land titling (Acemoglu et al., 2...

by Madalasa Venkataraman | On 27 Feb 2016

Juxtaposing Scientific Uncertainty with Legal Certainty The Carbon conundrum

This paper problematizes the basis for international policies and regulations towards adaptation, mitigation and adjustment for ‘climate change’. Specific aspects of Fourth Assessment Report of IPCC h...

by Nandan Nawn | 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

Land Reform and Changes in Land Ownership Concentration: Evidence from Rice-Growing Villages

This paper examines the effect of land reform and land transfer actions of farmer beneficiaries on land ownership concentration. A case study of two rice-growing villages was used to track down owners...

by Marife M. Ballesteros | On 25 Feb 2016

Development Policies and Democratic Disruptions: Predicaments of the Marxist Left

This paper argues that development policies operate in Indian democracy at the interstices of two largely different yet interconnected worlds – of technical formulation and political formations. The I...

by | On 25 Feb 2016

Comparative Assessment of Proposals to Amend the Personal Income Tax Law

Proposals to reform the personal income tax has gained prominence in recent months. To date, personal income tax reform is part and parcel of the platform of a number of the candidates in the 2016 pre...

by Rosario G. Manasan | On 25 Feb 2016

National Hazardous Waste Management Strategy

National Hazardous Waste management Strategy has now been formulated to complement and strengthen the regulatory regime. This is based on the understanding and experience of diverse issues connected w...

by Ministry of Environment and Forest | On 24 Feb 2016

Forest – Based Bamboo Trade in Mendha Lekha and Jamguda

This paper documents two different models that can be adopted by tribal villages for forest-based bamboo trade under the ambit of the FRA, 2006.

by Centre for Civil Society CCS | On 24 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

India’s Bid for APEC Membership: Trade Policy is the Stumbling Block

India’s chances of becoming a member of the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) forum brightened considerably after the United States welcomed its interest in early 2015. But till now, there has...

by Amitendu Palit | On 22 Feb 2016

Regional Integration in South Asia: What Role for Trade Facilitation?

The trade performance of countries in South Asia over the past two decades has been poor relative to other regions. Exports from South Asia have doubled over the past 20 years to approximately USD 100...

by John Wilson | On 21 Feb 2016

The People’s Republic of China and Global Imbalances from a View of Sectorial Reforms

This paper examines the impact of sectorial reforms on current account imbalances, with a special focus on the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In particular, we investigate to what extent reforms pe...

by Hiro Ito | On 21 Feb 2016

The Road to Rio+20: Ambitious Goals for Sustainable Development

The world’s biggest summit on environment and development in 20 years will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June this year. What are the opportunities and challenges for this global multilater...

by | On 20 Feb 2016

Euthanasia Regime: A Comparative Analysis of Dutch and Indian Positions

Euthanasia has always been in limelight as a subject matter of debate in the field of medicine and law. The euthanasia debate, being a value debate, seems to have no concrete solution, at least in the...

by Sandeepa Bhat B | On 20 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

Impact Of Trade Liberalisation On Employment In Bangladesh

The present study has examined the changes in the employment scenario of Bangladesh following the pursuance of the trade liberalisation strategy and the possible effects of further trade liberalisatio...

by Wasel Shadat | 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

A Significant Shift in Casual Relations of Money, income, and Prices in Pakistan: The Price Hikes in the Early 1970s

This study extends the analysis of causality by Husain and Rashid (2006) by taking care of the shift in the variables due to the price hikes in the early 1970s. Casual relation between real income and...

by Fazal Husain | On 17 Feb 2016

Why Civil Service Reforms Do Not Work

(Public Sector Reforms) PSR must be based on the recognition that people are at the heart of public service. As a result, managing human resources must be at the centre of any effort. The people who...

by Nadeem Ul Haque | On 16 Feb 2016

Economic Stability and Choice of Exchange Rate Regimes

The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the importance of Europe’s structural problems and governance as the cause of the current euro area crisis. The euro may have led to bubbles, but member econo...

by Sahoko Kaji | On 16 Feb 2016

Global Implications of the Renminbi’s Ascendance

This paper evaluates the prospects for the renminbi’s role as an international currency and the implications for global financial markets. Although the People’s Republic of China (PRC) does not have e...

by Eswar Prasad | On 16 Feb 2016

Financial Inclusion, Financial Education, and Financial Regulation: A Story from Indonesia

Many reforms have taken place in Indonesia following the Asian financial crisis of 1997– 1998. The government has embarked upon institutional transformation, making the country one of the region’s mos...

by Georg Inderst | On 16 Feb 2016

Link between the financial inclusion and Economic Growth: Unconventional Monetary Policy in Bangladesh

Like other developing countries, Bangladesh initiated financial sector reform program during 1990’s. The main objectives of the financial sector reform programs were: i) Gradual B 3 | P a g e eliminat...

by Sayera Younus | On 15 Feb 2016

Need to Push for Inclusive Growth

The major challenge facing the Indian economy at this juncture is to provide a big push to the growth momentum while striking a balance between the much-needed capital expenditure and fiscal consolida...

by S.D Naik | On 15 Feb 2016

Corporate Governance: An essential mechanism to curb malpractices by Organizations

The corporate governance mechanisms are market, institution and legal settings that protect outside investors from opportunistic behavior of managers or controlling shareholders. In the absence of suc...

by M. Bakhtear Uddin Talukdar | On 15 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

Growth Diagnostics in Pakistan

Following the Hausmann, et al. (2005) methodology, an attempt is done to identify the constraints to growth in Pakistan. It is argued that governance failure and institutional shortcomings are the h...

by Abdul Qayyum | On 14 Feb 2016

A Study of Cases Filed under Section 498A, IPC; Closed as False in Two Districts and Two Cities of Rajasthan

This study explores closed cases filed under section 498A of the IPC, which pertains to cruelty to a married woman by her marital family. It draws from two datasets of both primary and secondary data,...

by Anjali Dave | On 14 Feb 2016

A Strategy of the Special Cell

The primary objective of this study is to understand if the strategy which was developed by and for the violated woman, is at all detrimental to her and her access to rights.

by Anjali Dave | On 14 Feb 2016

Reforming Institutions: Where to Begin?

The theories of institutional evolution put forth by Douglas North, Darron Acemoglu and Dani Rodrik and the historical experiences of different countries in the context of development (or non-developm...

by M. Idrees Khawaja | On 14 Feb 2016

Whistleblowing: An Effective Tool in the Fight Against Corruption

Whistleblowing helps to prevent and detect corruption and other malpractice. But reporting can come at a high price and it is essential to have policy and legal measures in place that provide an alter...

by Transparency International TI | On 12 Feb 2016

Towards Fiscal Consolidation and a Simplified Tax Structure?

The forthcoming union budget 2016-17 faces several fiscal challenges and it will be tough task for the government to provide positive signals to revive the private investment while pursuing the fiscal...

by Pratap Jena | On 11 Feb 2016

Mapping Prevailing Ideas on Intellectual Property: Preliminary Findings from a Survey

Mapping Prevailing Ideas on Intellectual Property by Professor Jean-Frédéric Morin, Universitélibre de Bruxelles, examines an overlooked yet critical dimension of global IP governance: where do IP ide...

by | On 10 Feb 2016

The Role of Informal Cross-border Trade in Myanmar

In a country where there are constraints in formal practices, informal activities normally arise. Informal practices are not necessarily illegal and bad, however some of them tend to occupy a grey are...

by | On 09 Feb 2016

Illegal Heroes and Victimless Crimes Informal Cross-border Migration from Myanmar

This paper highlights the perception of each and everyone involved in the course of cross-border migration from Myanmar in each step they, internationally or unintentionally, maintain the status of il...

by | On 09 Feb 2016

Trade Policy Options for Sustainable Oceans and Fisheries

With 37% of fish harvest exported as food for human consumption or in non-edible forms, trade policies and measures constitute an essential part of the overall policy framework needed to support susta...

by | 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

Statement 22: Recognition of Budget for Children in India

This paper traces the process of recognition of children’s budget and the introduction of Statement 22- Budget Provisions for Schemes for the Welfare of Children in the Expenditure Budget Volume 1. I...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 08 Feb 2016

Violence Against Women at the Workplace

Violence against women at the workplace is a major problem, though the statistical evidence is not well developed for many countries. This report aims at gaining a better insight into the extent to wh...

by Kea Tijdens | On 05 Feb 2016

Implementing Energy Subsidy Reforms: Evidence from Developing Countries

This report aims to provide the emerging lessons from a representative sample of 20 country case studies that could help policy makers to address implementation challenges, including overcoming politi...

by | On 05 Feb 2016

Just For Show? Reviewing G20 Promises on Beneficial Ownership

Major corruption scandals hitting the news often share key commonalities: the people at the centre of the scandal use a complex web of anonymous companies, trusts and other legal entities situated acr...

by Transparency International | 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

Trade Integration and Labour Market Trends in India: an Unresolved Unemployment Problem

This paper focuses on the Indian pre-crisis strategy of liberalization and integration into the world economy and its impact on labour market trends. It then examines the specific ways in which the cr...

by International Centre for Sustainable Trade and Development | 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

Apostasy and the Freedom of Belief: A New Islamic Perspective

This paper offers a novel perspective on the concept of freedom of conscience in Islam and the rules of apostasy in which the author, YehyaJad revises the notion of the death penalty for the apostate....

by | On 02 Feb 2016

Developing Language and the Language of Development in the Arab World

This study analyzes some of the manifestations of the state of the Arabic language in contemporary Arab societies. Moreover, this study aims to explore and highlight the developmental potential of the...

by | On 02 Feb 2016

Corruption Perceptions Index 2015

Based on expert opinion from around the world, the Corruption Perceptions Index measures the perceived levels of public sector corruption worldwide. Not one of the 168 countries assessed in the 2015 i...

by | On 02 Feb 2016

Trade Policy and Manufacturing Performance: Exploring the Level of Trade Openness in India’s Organized Manufacturing in the Period 1990-2010

This study presents industry-level evidence regarding the connection between trade policy reforms and manufacturing performance. It contributes to the existing literature in several respects. The stu...

by Deb Kusum Das | 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

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

Policies for Industrial Learning in China and Mexico

In this paper a comparative analysis of the role of government policies in industrial learning and the development of capabilities of indigenous firms in Mexico and China in order to shed light on why...

by Kevin P. Gallagher | On 31 Jan 2016

Climate Change, Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Rights

In this discussion paper, the question of technology transfer, intellectual property rights is addressed in the context of climate change. Technology development and transfer has been identified as a...

by K.Ravi Srinivas | On 30 Jan 2016

Trade Facilitation, Information Technology and SMEs: Emerging Evidences from India

This paper looks into the key issues concerning trade facilitation and SMEs, particularly how information technology related measures have influenced SMEs. India undertook focused and dedicated trade...

by Sachin Chaturvedi | On 30 Jan 2016

Challenges and Trends in Decentralised Local Governance in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has a rich legacy of establishing and promoting local government institutions, but the actual roles and contributions of these institutions to augment citizens’ participation and consolidat...

by Niaz Khan | On 29 Jan 2016

Recognition of Forest Rights and Livelihoods of Tribal Communities: A Study of Western Ghats Region, Kerala State

The study tries to examine the implementation process of the Forest Rights Act 2006 in Kerala, in terms of providing individual holding land rights and community rights over forest products. The stu...

by Jyothis Sathyapalan | On 29 Jan 2016

A Legally Binding Agreement (LBA) - Growing Need for Air Pollution Reduction and Control in South Asia

With increasing urbanization and economic growth, air pollution is becoming an urgent concern in South Asian countries. The study upon which this paper is based has been conducted at SDPI, to look int...

by Mahmood Khwaja | On 28 Jan 2016

TRIPS and Pharmaceutical Industry: Issues of Strategic Importance

Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) brings in uniformity in the standards of intellectual property rights among the member countries of the WTO irrespective of their developmental statu...

by N. Lalitha | On 28 Jan 2016

Primary Health Care in Gujarat: Evidence on Utilization, Mis-Matches and Wastage

In order to provide adequate and quality primary health care, a multi-layered network of public health infrastructure has been created right from the district to the village level. But Health for All...

by B.L. Kumar | On 28 Jan 2016

Schools and Schooling in Tribal Gujarat: The Quality Dimension

In order to provide adequate and quality primary health care, a multi-layered network of public health infrastructure has been created right from the district to the village level. But Health for All...

by B.L. Kumar | On 28 Jan 2016

Role of Gender in Health Disparity: The South Asian Context

South Asia's girls and women do not have the same life advantage as their Western counterparts. A human rights based approach may help to overcome gender related barriers and improve the wellbeing of...

by Omrana Pasha | 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

Synthesis of Important Discussions on Livelihood and MF issues related to Domestic Workers

This publication focuses on the issues related to domestic workers such as financial inclusion of urban poor , issues related to identity proof for opening accounts in the banks, best practices for do...

by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) | On 27 Jan 2016

Intellectual Property Provisions in Regional Trade Agreements: Revision and Update

The paper assembles detailed information about the IP provisions contained in active RTAs notified to the WTO. The goal was to expand beyond the more commonly studied RTAs, to review the full array of...

by Maegan McCann | On 27 Jan 2016

Intellectual Property Rights Protection and Export Diversification: the Application of Utility Model Laws

We examine in this paper the impact of the tightening of IPRs, notably patents rights, and the adoption of utility model laws on export diversification. To perform our analysis, we used panel data cov...

by Kimm Gnangnon | On 26 Jan 2016

TRIPS Plus Agreements and Issues in Access to Medicines in Developing Countries

Harmonisation of intellectual property rights among the members of WTO has in the recent years seen informed debates on access to medicines. While the developing countries are lured to such agreements...

by Samira Guennif | On 26 Jan 2016

Economic Reforms and Expenditure on Health in India

In this paper an attempt has been made to analyse the impact of economic reforms on the public health expenditure of 15 major states and the centre as well as the combined expenditure of both the stat...

by Shiddalingaswami Hanagodimath | On 26 Jan 2016

Child Marriage In South Asia

The briefing paper primarily focuses on violations of women’s and girls’ reproductive rights and right to be free from sexual violence arising from child marriage in six South Asian countries—Afghanis...

by Center for Reproductive Rights CRR | On 23 Jan 2016

The R&D Scenario in Indian Pharmaceutical Industry

This discussion paper provides an analysis of the impact of these reforms on pharmaceutical R&D in India. It looks into the context in which the reforms were introduced, the nature and trends of R&D e...

by Reji K Joseph | On 21 Jan 2016

Synthetic Biology in India: Issues in Risk, Power and Governance

In this discussion paper, the status of synthetic biology in India and debates in India on synthetic biology are discussed and the discourses on synthetic biology in India are also analysed. The paper...

by Krishna Ravi Srinivas | On 21 Jan 2016

Global Capitalism, Deflation and Agrarian Crisis in Developing Countries

The issue of land rights and that of gender equality are strongly affected by the prevalent economic and social policy regimes, at both national and global levels. The dominant policy regimes decide t...

by | 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

Human Trafficking in Southeast Asia: Results from a Pilot Project in Vietnam

Human trafficking is one of the most widely spread and fastest growing crimes in the world. However, despite the scope of the problem, the important human rights issues at stake and the professed inte...

by Ngan Dinh | On 19 Jan 2016

India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement: Follow-up Concerns Need a Fair Approach

The recent success of India and Bangladesh in settling the complicated issue of political enclaves in each other’s territories could be traced to the spirit displayed by the leaders of the two countri...

by | On 18 Jan 2016

Equity and Health­ Care in the Era of Reforms

Two important policy shifts occurred with the period of economic reforms: one, the sharp reduction in the controlled drug list leading to significant increase in drug prices, and second, the introdu...

by Gita Sen | On 18 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

Gender and Migration: Overview Report

This Overview Report on Gender and Migration takes a broad approach to migration – it looks at the gender dynamics of both international and the lesser-researched internal migration and the interconne...

by | On 13 Jan 2016

Recent Downturn in Emerging Economies and Macroeconomic Implications for Sustainable Development: A Case of India

The paper discusses the progress of Indian economy and its policies since the broadbased structural reforms initiated in 1991 with a special focus on the recent downturn following the global financial...

by | On 11 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

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

TRIPS and the Balance between Private Rights and Public Welfare: The Case of Pharmaceutical Sector

This paper tries to analyse the effects of TRIPS on public welfare in the context of the pharmaceutical sector. It takes a closer look at the policies of some developing countries and their usage of t...

by Deeparghya Mukherjee | On 09 Jan 2016

Indian agricultural development in the context of economic reforms. Causes of change and issues for a future reform agenda.

This work examines the influence of reforms in the 1990s regarding the agricultural development in India. Many studies have analysed the impact of these reforms but most of them focused on foreign tra...

by Marion Künzler | On 08 Jan 2016

Analysis of Myths and Realities of Deforestation in Northwest Pakistan: Implications for Forestry Extension

Pakistan is among those countries, which have very high deforestation rate. The remaining forests are very diverse in nature and of significant importance for the country’s economy and livelihoods of...

by Tanvir Ali | On 08 Jan 2016

A Report on Fluorosis mitigation in Dhar District (M.P.)

Vasudha Vikas Sansthan with the help of Peoples’ Science Institute, Dehra Doon undertook fluoride testing and fluorosis mitigation in Tirala, Dharampuri and Umarban bloks of Dhar district. The program...

by People's Science Institute PSI | On 07 Jan 2016

Activity Based Training of WaterAid India Partners in Water Quality Monitoring & Management

Effective monitoring of access to, quantity of and quality of water is a key consideration for India. Given the large investments and big programmes and schemes including the current thrust of Sector...

by People's Science Institute PSI | On 07 Jan 2016

Asia-Latin America Free Trade Agreements: An Instrument for Inter-Regional Liberalization and Integration?

Trade integration and free trade agreement (FTA)-led cooperation between Asia and Latin America has increased since the early 2000s. Using new criteria, this paper examines whether Asia-Latin America...

by Ganeshan Wignaraja | On 07 Jan 2016

Innovative Strategies in Higher Education for Accelerated Human Resource Development in South Asia Nepal

The report herein provide in-depth analysis of the state of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and higher education in Nepal.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 07 Jan 2016

How Low-Carbon Green Growth Can Reduce Inequalities

Half of the world’s population — 3 billion people — lives below the poverty line, and Asia has the largest share. In pursuit of sustainable economic development and poverty alleviation, there is great...

by Anbumozhi Venkatachalam | On 07 Jan 2016

Better Hospitals, Better Health Systems: The Urgency of a Hospital Agenda

This paper outlines the nature of the issues surrounding hospitals in emerging markets and makes the case for early action to bridge the abyss of neglected hospital investments and the path needed to...

by | On 06 Jan 2016

Urbanization as “Development” Versus Constitutional Safeguards for the Tribal People

Following are excerpts from Report of a PUCL Fact Finding Team into unrest and repression in the Sundergarh scheduled district of Odisha.

by People's Union of Civil Liberties PUCL | On 06 Jan 2016

Locating the Survivor in the Indian Criminal Justice System: Decoding the Law

The publication “Locating the Survivor in the Indian Criminal Justice System: Decoding the Law” serves as a guide for survivors, young lawyers, and other key stakeholders in the criminal justice syste...

by Lawyers Collective | On 06 Jan 2016

Labour Migration for Employment: A Status Report for Nepal

This report reflects efforts to capture the trends in labour migration from Nepal, identify the structural gaps and suggests ways to move forward for the Government and stakeholders. Although various...

by The Asia Foundation | On 02 Jan 2016

Developing Myanmar’s Information and Communication Technology Sector toward Inclusive Growth

Myanmar is expected to grow at least 6.8% per year in the coming years. Accompanying this growth will be an increase in demand for infrastructure services, including ICT-related services, both for co...

by Kee-Yung Nam | On 01 Jan 2016

International Financial Reforms: Capital Standards, Resolution Regimes and Supervisory Colleges, and their Effect on Emerging Markets

This paper focuses on the relevance to emerging economies of three major financial reforms following the global financial crisis of 2007–2009: the improved capital requirements intended to reduce the...

by Duncan Alford | 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

Illegal Immigration and the Shadow Economy

We build a general equilibrium model in which both illegal immigration and the size of the informal sector are endogenously determined. In this framework, we show that indirect policy measures such as...

by Carmen Camacho | On 29 Dec 2015

Financial Crisis as a Catalyst of Legal Reforms: The Case of Asia

This paper discusses how financial crises in emerging Asia and Japan worked as catalysts for legal reforms. Findings show that six Asian countries pursued significant legal and judicial reforms follow...

by Masahiro Kawai | On 29 Dec 2015

An Asian Perspective on Global Financial Reforms

The purpose of this study is to better understand the likely impact on Asian economies and financial institutions of various recent global financial reforms, including Basel III capital adequacy and l...

by Peter Morgan | On 29 Dec 2015

Three Arrows of 'Abenomics' and the Structural Reform of Japan: Inflation Targeting Policy of the Central Bank, Fiscal Consolidation, and Growth Strategy

“Abenomics” refers to the economic policies advocated by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who became prime minister of Japan for a second time when his party, the Liberal Democratic Party, won an overwhelmin...

by Farhad Hesary | On 29 Dec 2015

Realizing Women's Rights to Land and Other Productive Resources

Women’s access to, use of and control over land and other productive resources are essential to ensuring their right to equality and to an adequate standard of living. Throughout the world, gender ine...

by UN Women | On 28 Dec 2015

Empowering Women Migrant Workers in Asia: A Briefing Kit

A new feature of international migration for work is the increase in the numbers of overseas women migrant workers, which in countries like the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka exceed the numbe...

by | On 28 Dec 2015

Assessing the Experience of South Asia–East Asia Integration and India's Role

This paper examines the gains for South Asian economies from integratingwith East Asia and India’s role in this process. Evidence of increased pan-Asian integration exists but the process is uneven. B...

by Ganeshan Wignaraja | On 24 Dec 2015

Securing Land Rights For Women through Institutional and Policy Reforms

Rural women suffer double discrimination because they are female and poor. Though women are the biggest food producers, they earn only one-tenth of the world’s income and own less than 1% of the world...

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

nabling Trade: Increasing the Potential of Trade Reforms

It has become clear that as governments pursue trade facilitation, those that take a “horizontal” approach achieve the most success. This approach involves identifying industries with the highest pote...

by | On 22 Dec 2015

National Refugee Law for India: Benefits and Roadblocks

This paper intends to ascertain whether a uniform national law would be beneficial to the interests of the three main parties involved with refugee policy in India, namely the Government of India, the...

by Arjun Nair | On 22 Dec 2015

Disability, Health and Human Rights

This paper addresses the issue of disability and its public health implications within the human rights framework. It also throws light on people with physical disabilities at least get noticed but th...

by Leni Chaudhari | On 21 Dec 2015

Challenges to School Edupreneurs in the Existing Policy Environment: Case Study of Delhi and Gujarat

The Indian education ecosystem today consists of the government, private sector, and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) that have helped provide education to millions of children. The enactment of t...

by Meril Antony | On 21 Dec 2015

Regulatory Structure of Higher Education in India

This report analyses the current regulatory framework of higher education in India and highlights areas that require important policy reforms in order to encourage greater private participation. This...

by Centre for Civil Society CCS | On 21 Dec 2015

National Legal Framework for IDPs in Sri Lanka: A Critical Analysis

This study places special attention on evaluating constitutional provisions that affect IDPs, on legislation pertaining to displacement, and the National Legal Framework for Relief, Rehabilitation, an...

by | On 18 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

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

Hidden in Plain Sight: A Statistical Analysis of Violence against Children

The report sheds light on the prevalence of different forms of violence against children, with global figures and data from 190 countries. Where relevant, data are disaggregated by age and sex, to pro...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 17 Dec 2015

The Challenges of Climate Change: Children on the Front Line

The challenge of climate change is huge; it requires an urgent response from all generations. As the effects of climate change become more visible and extreme, they are likely to affect adversely the...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 17 Dec 2015

Surrogacy: Law’s Labour Lost?

The article presents the inconsistencies in the revised Draft ART Bill of 2010, particularly with regard to provisions about surrogacy and citizenship of the babies born from a surrogate mother.

by Aastha Sharma | On 16 Dec 2015

China's Fitful Economic Reforms

Back in 2004, when I ran the Chinadesk at the International Monetary Fund, my team some written questions to Beijing ahead of our meetings with Chinese officials. China’s central bank had claimed that...

by Eswar Prasad | 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

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

Big Data and International Development: Impacts, Scenarios and Policy Options

Many people are excited about data, particularly when those data are big. Big data, we are told, will be the fuel that drives the next industrial revolution, radically reshaping economic structures, e...

by | On 15 Dec 2015

Irregular Migration, Migrant Smuggling and Human Rights: Towards Coherence

This report examines the political predicament that confronts governments and other political actors when they address the issue of irregular migration. Primarily, it sets out the rights, and claims t...

by | 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

Human Rights and Asian Values

The thesis that Asian values are less supportive of freedom and more concerned with order than discipline than are Western values and that the claims of human rights in the areas of political and civi...

by Amartya Sen | On 10 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

Socially Sustainable Development and Participatory Governance: Legal and Political Aspects

This paper explores the notion of “sustainable development” which has progressively evolved over the recent years from the environmental field in which it originated, to the social sphere and has been...

by | On 02 Dec 2015

Gender, Headship, and the Life Cycle: Landownership in Four Asian Countries

To inform the formulation of policies and interventions to strengthen women’s land rights, this paper analyzes nationally representative data from Bangladesh, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam to...

by Kathryn Sproule | On 02 Dec 2015

Indonesia’s Missing Millions: Erasing Discrimination in Birth Certification in Indonesia’s Missing Millions

Indonesia’s rate of birth registration is imprecisely measured but is low, especially among the poorer, rural, population. At the same time, the country has developed a system of population registrati...

by Cate Sumner | On 20 Nov 2015

Children and Their Rights in Mining Areas: A Community Resource Guide

The Ministry of Mines’ fundamental job is to mine. Many of the violations and human rights abuses that result from mining, especially with respect to children, are not the mandate of the ministry to a...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 19 Nov 2015

A New Benchmark for Human Rights

If it passes muster, Corporate Human Rights Benchmark will undeniably be the next big thing in human rights tracking

by Sudeep Chakravarti | On 10 Nov 2015

The Sector Reforms Process in Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation: A Review of the Role of WASMO in Gujarat

This paper provides an assessment of the interventions in reforming the drinking water and sanitation sector in Gujarat as through the Water and Sanitation Management Organisation (WASMO) from a sup...

by Keshab Das | 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

Children in the Juvenile Justice System will no Longer Remain Deprived of their Right to Identity, Citizenship and Protection

An RTI filed by HAQ: Centre for Child Rights with Jail No.7 in Tihar, brought to light the shocking violations of Child Rights and Juvenile Justice in the Tihar Jail. It was found that within a peri...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 03 Nov 2015

Indian Society and the Secular: Public Lecture in Memory of Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer

In this lecture, the author discusses the concept of Indian secularism. She suggests that the concept of secularism went beyond politics. The lecture discusses on three aspects of what is involved in...

by Romila Thapar | On 28 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

Child-Related Financial Transfers and Early Childhood Education and Care

This paper examines policies for the support of families with children, in particular child-related financial transfers and early childhood education and care (ECEC) services. The analysis is mainly f...

by Mary Daly | On 21 Oct 2015

Religious Freedom and Gender Equality in India

After India gained independence in 1947, the country's leaders promised its diverse constituents citizenship rights that extended across religion, gender, and caste. Distinct from its previous British...

by | On 20 Oct 2015

Gender Equality and Human Rights

The achievement of substantive equality is understood as having four dimensions: redressing disadvantage; countering stigma, prejudice, humiliation and violence; transforming social and institutional...

by | 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

Labour Market Reforms Since the Crisis: Drivers and Consequences

The paper analyses the determinants and effects of reforms of employment protection legislation (EPL), using a novel inventory that covers 111 developed and developing countries between 2008 and 2014....

by Clemente Pignatti Morano | On 15 Oct 2015

Indian Capitalism: A Case that doesn’t Fit?

This paper critically examines the ‘Varieties of Capitalism’ (VoC) School’s approach to constructing typologies of capitalisms with reference to the specific case of Indian capitalism. It emphasizes t...

by Surajit Mazumdar | On 14 Oct 2015

The New Dread-word

The new dread-word is deflation. What does this mean for India? This can cause a threat for domestic producers. This is because of the global situation. We can be prepared and by improving efficiency...

by T.N. Ninan | On 09 Oct 2015

Inside the News: Challenges and Aspirations of Women Journalists in Asia and the Pacific

Why does gender equality in the media matter? Because of the many influences that shape the way we see men and women, media are among the most powerful. Media shape our daily lives, infusing their mes...

by UNESCO UNESCO | On 07 Oct 2015

India's Journey with Corporate Social Responsibility – What Next?

One of the causes for raised eyebrows to the Companies Act, 2013 is Section 135. The provision mandates companies meeting certain requirements to compulsorily contribute to corporate social responsibi...

by | On 06 Oct 2015

The Effect of ASEAN on Human Trafficking in Southeast Asia

This paper examines the trafficking of vulnerable populations in Southeast Asia and the effectiveness of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in combating human trafficking in the region. Human...

by | 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

Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

This Agenda is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. It also seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom. It recognises that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions...

by United Nations UN | On 28 Sep 2015

Report of the Fact Finding Mission to Rampal, Bangladesh

The objective of the mission was to evaluate the impact of the power plant on the livelihoods of the people and ecology of the region, examine the legal framework governing its and assess if the propo...

by South Asians for Human Rights SAHR | On 28 Sep 2015

An Asessment of Implementation of the POCSO Act in Two Major Cities -Delhi and Mumbai

Almost three years since the enforcement of POSCP Act is a good time to review its implementation and build evidence that can be used to seek improvement and/or appropriate changes.

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 24 Sep 2015

What is Preventing Women from Inheriting Land? A Study of the Implementation of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act 2005 in Three States in India

The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act 2005, an inheritance law that covers 83.6% of the population of India, corrected some of fundamental inequalities in the law bringing the women in equal status to...

by Sohini Pal | On 23 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

The Troubled Democracy of Bangladesh: ‘Muddling Through’ or ‘a Political Settlement’?

Is democracy in Bangladesh on a reverse course? Is there a culture of intolerance being engendered by deliberate design? Will creeping extremisms create an inevitable schism within the nation? The pap...

by | On 23 Sep 2015

BRICS Development Bank an Instrument for Globalization

The establishment of a development bank by the BRICS association of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa is being described by both proponents and opponents of globalization as a rebellion...

by | On 18 Sep 2015

Social Protection, Growth and Employment: Evidence from India, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico and Tajikistan

The paper addresses the issue of growth and development by looking at evidence from six country case studies to assess how to enhance the employment impact of social protection programmes by improving...

by United Nations Development Programme UNDP | 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

Report of the National Consultation on Prevention of Child Marriage

The purpose of the national consultation was to bring together initiatives from across the country to share experience and challenges. This report is the final draft of the discussions and a common ag...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 14 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

The Sunday Edit: It's Not the Labour Laws!

The loud clamour for liberalisation of labour laws in recent times quite overlooks the fact that other institutional reforms are far more important for rejuvenating the sector.

by K.R. Shyam Sundar | On 13 Sep 2015

Obituary: Ramaswamy R Iyer, 1929 - 2015

Ramaswamy Iyer, former union secretary of Water Resources for the government of India, and professor at the Center for Policy Research, and well known advocate of alternatives to big dams, passed awa...

by Aravinda P | On 11 Sep 2015

Women, Business and the Law 2016: Getting to Equal

The report reveal the magnitude of the challenge that the world still faces in the quest for gender equality. This report promotes the cause of inclusion of women by informing research and policy disc...

by World Bank | On 11 Sep 2015

Debt-Bondage Slavery in India

There have been numerous investigations in recent years to determine the incidence and prevalence of modern slavery worldwide, and debt bondage in India has been found to be the most extensive form of...

by Sarah Knight | On 10 Sep 2015

Dalit Women and Social Exclusion in Nepal: A Concern for Social Justice

Nepali society is highly stratified with many glaring inequalities among different socioeconomic groups. The worst positioned among them are Dalits. The caste system segregates Dalits from the rest to...

by | On 10 Sep 2015

A Nation under Threat: The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Rights and Forced Migration in Bangladesh

The report explores how climate change has become one of the major challenges to the enjoyment of the basic rights to life, food, health, water, housing and self-determination in one of the World's mo...

by Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) | On 08 Sep 2015

Pirates and Slaves: How Overfishing in Thailand Fuels Human Trafficking and the Plundering of Our Oceans

The report calls for overfishing, pirate fishing and modern-day slavery in the Thai fishing industry to be addressed as interconnected issues. It examines the complex and multi-faceted problems in Tha...

by Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) | On 08 Sep 2015

Civil Society Briefs: Sri Lanka

This brief provides an overview of civil society in Sri Lanka. With a view to strengthening ADB cooperation with civil society organizations, the NGO and Civil Society Center periodically prepares rep...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 07 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

The Permanent People’s Tribunals and Indigenous People’s Struggles in Mexico: Between Coloniality and Epistemic Justice?

On 21 October 2011, hundreds of Mexican civil society organizations formally submitted a petition to the Lelio e Lisli Basso Foundation in Rome to justify the opening of a Mexican Chapter of the Perma...

by Rosalba Icaza | On 02 Sep 2015

Indian Society and the Secular: 5th Asghar Ali Engineer Memorial Lecture

In this lecture, the author discusses the concept of Indian secularism. She suggests that the concept of secularism went beyond politics and none of the mainstream political parties adhered to it, and...

by Romila Thapar | On 31 Aug 2015

Report on the Death Penalty

The Law Commission of India received a reference from the Supreme Court in Santosh Kumar Satishbhushan Bariyar v. Maharashtra [(2009) 6 SCC 498] and Shankar Kisanrao Khade v. Maharashtra [(2013) 5 SCC...

by Law Commission India | On 31 Aug 2015

From Promises to Delivery: Putting Human Rights at the Heart of the Millenium Development Goals

This report focuses on three main issues – gender equality, maternal health and slums – which provide clear examples of how the MDGs and the targets set fall short of international human rights standa...

by Amnesty International AI, | On 31 Aug 2015

Lethal Lottery: The Death Penalty in India- A Study of Supreme Court Judgments in Death Penalty Cases 1950-2006

This report presents evidence for re-examining the death penalty in India, through a study of Supreme Court judgments in death penalty cases from 1950-2006.

by Amnesty International AI, | On 31 Aug 2015

Generalisations, Omissions, Assumptions: The Failings of Vedanta’s Environmental Impact Assessments For its Bauxite Mine and Alumina Refinery in India’s State of Orissa

This report highlights deficiencies in the Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) undertaken by Vedanta Resources Plc for its proposed bauxite mine in Niyamgiri, Orissa, its alumina refinery in Lanji...

by Amnesty International AI, | On 31 Aug 2015

Exploited Dreams: Dispatches from Indian Migrant Workers in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has attracted more low-paid Indian migrants over the last 25 years than any other country in the Gulf region. Every day, close to 1,000 Indian low-wage migrant workers are provided with e...

by Amnesty International AI, | On 31 Aug 2015

Report on Early Childhood Development and Legal Entitlements

The Report consists of seven Chapters. While Chapter I introduces the issue at hand, Chapter II captures various International Conventions, Treaties and Declarations that concern the issue of ECD. Cha...

by Law Commission India | On 31 Aug 2015

Employment and Wages in Indian Manufacturing: Post-Reform Performance

This work is a contribution to the Employment Policy Department’s focus on employment and growth in G20 developing economies. Much discussion on employment and growth in developing economies analyses...

by | On 27 Aug 2015

Reforming Internet Governance and the Role of China

This paper examines the issue of internet governance and analyzes the developments and challenges in reforming the current system. With state and non-state actors alike seeking to influence the way th...

by | On 25 Aug 2015

Strong Sustainable Growth for the Indian Economy

How is the RBI helping the government to create the conditions for a sustainable growth? Structural reforms will help strengthen this growth – two weeks ago, the Government announced Indradhanush, la...

by Raghuram G. Rajan | On 25 Aug 2015

Has Indian Plantation Sector Weathered the Crisis? A Critical Assessment of Tea Plantation Industry in the Post-reforms Context

the paper provides an overview of the growth and status of Indian tea plantation sector delineating the trends in economic performance in the global context in a historic perspective. It then examine...

by Viswanathan P K | On 25 Aug 2015

Globalisation, Growth and Employment in the Organised Sector of the Indian Economy

One of the most important forces that have shaped India’s economy in the last two and a half decades is the process of globalization. This has been a world-wide phenomenon, and India could not have re...

by B.N. Goldar | On 24 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

WTO and Nepal

This publication attempts to study major concepts of WTO and present some perspectives on Nepal’s membership in this rule based global trading organization. The chapters presents an introduction with...

by Nepal Rastra Bank NRB | On 17 Aug 2015

Criminalizing Cheque Bounce Cases – An Effective Remedy?

A review is done to understand if criminalising cheque bounce cases has been an effective remedy. The penalties imposed in other countries against cheque bounce offenders is studied and an analysis of...

by Centre for Civil Society CCS | On 14 Aug 2015

Regulatory Barriers to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

Against the post-New Industrial Policy (1991) growth witnessed in large-scale industries, a corresponding boom in the small and mid-sized domestic industry has been conspicuously absent. The paper see...

by Amit Chandra | On 13 Aug 2015

Effectiveness of School Input Norms under the Right to Education Act, 2009

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE), 2009 ratified education as a fundamental right and seeks to promote equitable access to education for all children up to the age of 14...

by Centre for Civil Society CCS | On 13 Aug 2015

Property Rights of Street Vendors

Street vendors’ rights to carry on their trade in public spaces, has been the subject matter of debate and discussion in India for a very long time. In fact it has taken numerous judgments of the Supr...

by Amit Chandra | On 13 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

Pathways of Transnational Activism: A Conceptual Framework

This paper presents a novel analytical framework to study transnational activism in the context of today’s international governance architecture. While there is a considerable amount of literature on...

by Sabrina Zajak | On 07 Aug 2015

Impacts of the IPR Rules on Sustainable Development

This project aims to assess the impact of IPR rules on economic growth (including investment), environmental protection (including biodiversity) and social goals (including rural development). There w...

by IPDEV . | On 06 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

Globalisation and Labouring Lives

Newer production processes with changing global spaces have produced newer division of labour and work categories. The two studies presented here draw attention to the shrinking space for articulation...

by Swati Ghosh | On 31 Jul 2015

Globalizing Inequality: ‘Centrifugal’ and ‘Centripetal’ Forces at Work

Th is paper reassesses national income inequalities in this era of globalization. Th e main conclusion is that two opposite forces are at work: one ‘centrifugal’ at the two extremes of the distributio...

by | On 30 Jul 2015

Speaking Out: Safeguarding Civil Society Space for Children

Save the Children believes that a strong, diverse and independent civil society can play an important role in ensuring the realisation of children’s rights. This policy brief outlines why Save the Chi...

by Save Children | On 28 Jul 2015

Freedom to Marry: The Constitutional Choice and KHAP Panchayats

This paper talks about the right to marry as an essential freedom of all human beings as it relates to their right to self-expression and their right to associate with a person of their choice. The au...

by | On 27 Jul 2015

Whither Right to Food? Rights Institutions and Hungry Labour in Tea Plantations of North Bengal

This paper explores what constitutes the mechanics of the legal and the administrative world of food rights in the Dooars area of West Bengal, specifically food rights of the tea plantation labourers....

by Geetisha Dasgupta | On 24 Jul 2015

Girls’ and Women’s Right to Education

This document compiles the explicit references to girls’ and women’s right to education in national reports and is intended to serve as a practical tool for both advocacy and monitoring. The factsh...

by UNESCO UNESCO | On 22 Jul 2015

Alternative Report on the State of Child Rights in Pakistan

The Alternative Report has been prepared by Save the Children UK (Pakistan office) and the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC). It reflects the views of a large number of civ...

by ECHO Save the Children (U.K) | On 17 Jul 2015

Climate Extremes and Child Rights in South Asia: A Neglected Priority

The links between climate change and disasters in South Asia, such as flooding in Pakistan or cyclones in Bangladesh, are increasingly evident. However, there is little recognition of the potentially...

by | On 14 Jul 2015

Gender, Masculinities & Sexual Health in South Asia

Good health is an objective that is socially determined, and gender relations form a crucial aspect of good sexual health. This study on gender, masculinity and SRH in South Asia sets out to examine ‘...

by | On 14 Jul 2015

Estimating Demand for Turtle Conservation at the Rekawa Sanctuary in Sri Lanka

This study estimates the entrance fee that can be charged to visitors for ‘turtle watching’ to ascertain whether revenues from such fees can be used to compensate fishermen and reduce such illegal...

by R. M. Wasantha Rathnayake | On 10 Jul 2015

The Sunday Edit: The House that Constitution Built

The right to acquire/rent property anywhere in the nation is a fantasy fostered by the Constitution and the rhetoric of modernisation and urbanisation.

by Pramod K. Nayar | On 28 Jun 2015

Supreme Court Orders on the Right to Food: A Tool for Action

The aim of this booklet is to introduce activists and the general public to the Supreme Court orders, and help them to make effective use these orders. The Supreme Court orders can also be used to hel...

by | On 24 Jun 2015

Urban Informal Workers: Representative Voice & Economic Rights

he purpose of this paper is to provide a summary analysis of five case studies prepared for the 2013 World Development Report team that illustrate why and how the representative voice and economic rig...

by Martha Chen | On 24 Jun 2015

Improving Children’s Lives, Transforming the Future – 25 years of Child Rights in South Asia

Despite rapid economic growth in South Asia, strong inequalities persist and children pay a heavy price. This publication examines latest trends and data on children in the eight countries of the regi...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 24 Jun 2015

Emerging Pattern of Urbanization and the Contribution of Migration to Urban Growth in India

As India has embarked upon economic reforms during the 1990s, published data from the 2001 Census provides an opportunity to study the country's urbanization process with reference to regional inequal...

by R. B. Bhagat | On 23 Jun 2015

Fifteenth Report on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014

The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 was enacted to give effect to the Proclamation on the Full Participation and Equality of the...

by Lok Sabha Secretariat | On 22 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

Developing a New Perspective on Child Labour: Exploring the Aftermath of Mumbai Raids Conducted from 2008 Onwards

India has 12.6 million child labourers in the age group of 5 to 14 years as per the National Census 2001. Our country is yet to commit itself towards elimination of child labour. espite the ratificati...

by Child Rights and You CRY | On 22 Jun 2015

Mining Without Consent: Chromite Mining in Manipur

The recent identification of chromite deposits in two districts of Manipur, Ukhrul and Chandel, has led the government to grant mining clearances disregarding constitutional provisions. While environm...

by Franky Varah | On 21 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

Minorities and Inclusive Electoral Processes in South Asia

This overview brings together major findings and crosscutting issues in the “country situation reports” from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka respectively, which were commissioned b...

by South Asians for Human Rights SAHR | On 15 Jun 2015

The Legislative and Institutional Framework for Protection of Children in India

This paper presents a broad overview of the law, policy and legal institutions of child protection in India and examines the current legal issues in a rights-based perspective.It points out the poor e...

by Asha Bajpai | On 12 Jun 2015

The Migration of Women Domestic Workers from Sri Lanka: Protecting the Rights of Children Left Behind

Remittances that flow from low-skilled labor migration are critical to many developing countries, yet these economic benefits can come at a high price. Roughly half of all migrant workers are women, m...

by Brian Opeskin | On 12 Jun 2015

Child Labour & Educational Disadvantage – Breaking the Link, Building Opportunity

Compulsory education has a vital role to play in eradicating child labour. Getting children out of work and into school could provide an impetus for poverty reduction and the development of skills nee...

by Gordon Brown | On 12 Jun 2015

World Report on Child Labour 2015: Paving the Way to Decent Work for Young People

The second volume of the ILO World Report on Child Labour series highlights the close linkages between child labour and good youth employment outcomes, and the consequent need for common policy approa...

by | On 12 Jun 2015

Status Report of Child Rights in India

Children constitute over a third of the country’s 1.21 billion population; yet children appear to be the most neglected segment in India, whose rights continue to be vastly ignored. Over 17% of the wo...

by Child Rights and You CRY | On 12 Jun 2015

Five Growth Strategies for Myanmar: Re-engagement with the Global Economy

After decades of isolation, Myanmar is now actively re-engaging with the global economy. For successful re-engagement, Myanmar needs to implement comprehensive economic reforms based on a shared visio...

by So Umezaki | On 10 Jun 2015

Implementation of Forest Rights Act: Undoing the Historical Injustices?

This paper is based on a critical literature review and looks into the implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) in India, with particular reference to the two states of Chhattisgarh and Gujarat....

by Madhusudan Bandi | On 09 Jun 2015

Gender and Migration: Negotiating Rights - A Women's Movement Perspective

This research responds to the growing demand by mass organizations, for better documentation of women’s migration in India amid reports from activists of great increases in and new and more vulnerable...

by Indu Agnihotri | On 08 Jun 2015

Child Marriage in India: A Study of Situation, Causes and Enforcement of Prohibition of Child Marriage Act

The present study has been carried out in 10 states of India to assess the current situation and causes of child marriages and also to examine the implementation of Prohibition of Child Marriage Act....

by Pt. G.B. Pant Institute of Studies in Rural Develo Lucknow | On 02 Jun 2015

“Whoever Raises their Head Suffers the Most”

This report is based on interviews with more than 160 workers from 44 factories, most of them making garments for retail companies in North America, Europe, and Australia. Workers report violations in...

by Human Rights Watch | On 02 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

Report of the Sixty-Seventh World Health Assembly on WHO Global Disability Action Plan 2014–2021

This provides guidance on the draft action plan for better health to disable people. There are more than 1000 million people with disability worldwide, about 15% of the global population. The prevalen...

by World Health Organisation (WHO) | On 01 Jun 2015

A Methodology for Community Mapping of Natural Resources: Forests and Revenue land in Bargarh District of Odisha

International experiences show significant opportunities in using GIS technologies and participatory methods to map community natural resource uses. In India, this has as far as is known only been don...

by Patrik Oskarsson | On 01 Jun 2015

An Advocates' Tool for Monitoring Rights-Based Provision of Contraceptive Information and Services in India

This Advocates’ Guide has been developed based on the ecommendations made in the World Health Organization’s “Ensuring human rights in the provision of contraceptive information and services: Guidance...

by Renu Khanna | On 01 Jun 2015

Socio-Economic Problems of Transgender in Workplace

Transgender is also a part of the society and they have equal right to everything in the world that is available to all other persons. The presence of such transgender is not new, but their presence...

by | On 28 May 2015

Report of the Working Group on Child Rights for the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17)

The core concerns highlighted in this report of working group on child rights includes ensuring the right of all children to life, survival (especially in the context of gender-based sex selection) an...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 27 May 2015

WHO Reform: Progress Report on Reform Implementation

This report summarizes the progress of WHO reform since the report to the Sixty-sixth World Health Assembly. It provides an update on developments in each of the three broad areas of reform (programme...

by World Health Organisation (WHO) | On 22 May 2015

Report of the World Health Assembly Executive Board on its 133rd and 134th Sessions

The Executive Board held its 133rd session on 29 and 30 May 2013 and its 134th session from 20 to 25 January 2014. This report summarizes the main outcomes.

by World Health Organisation (WHO) | On 22 May 2015

GST Reforms and Intergovernmental Considerations in India

This paper reviews the replacement of the state sales taxes by the Value Added Tax in 2005 marked a significant step forward in the reform of domestic trade taxes in India. Implemented under the leade...

by | On 19 May 2015

Reforming Labour Markets in States

resenting a critical review of the issues in labour market reforms in India, this article places them against the backdrop of trends in labour force participation and formal/informal employment in the...

by Achin Chakraborty | On 18 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

Indian Youth: Ignored Constituency Report on the Renewal of Youth Agenda in India

This report look at various youth issues and then suggest changes that can be targeted at redressing the same. There is an opportunity in which hard hitting reforms can be instituted to strengthen you...

by | On 12 May 2015

Fifteenth Report of the Social Justice and Empowerment Committee on “The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014

The Committee are of the view that the disabled group in our country still remains an invisible group in the mind of policy makers. A vast number of the disabled are excluded from the existing servic...

by Lok Sabha Secretariat | On 11 May 2015

MGNREGA: Opportunities, Challenges and the Road Ahead

The Second Report of the Consortium of Civil Society Organizations on MGNREGA emphasis on market reforms and GDP through government schemes like MGNREGA. The paper also focuses on states within India...

by National Consortium on MGNREGA GoI | On 08 May 2015

The Umbrella Revolution and the Future of China-Hong Kong Relations

This article, written during the 2014 civil disobedience 'Umbrella Revolution' in Hong Kong, suggests that this protest became a turning point in China Hong Kong relations. Suggesting that the protest...

by Willy Lam | On 29 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

Power, Voices and Rights

The report focuses on the critical question of advancing gender equality, as seen through the prism of women’s unequal power, voice, and rights. Despite the region’s many economic gains, the Report ch...

by United Nations Development Programme UNDP | On 24 Apr 2015

Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012–2017): Social Sectors

This Five Year Plan document focuses on Social Sectors like Health, Education, Employment and Skill Development, Women’s Agency and Child Rights, Social Inclusion.

by Planning Commission | On 23 Apr 2015

Aging and Migration in a Transition Economy: The Case of China

Post-reform China has been experiencing two major demographic changes, an extraordinary amount of internal migration and an aging population. We present a general migration model which captures the id...

by Kailing Shen | On 22 Apr 2015

Pakistan: New Cybercrime Bill Threatens the Rights to Privacy and Free Expression

ARTICLE 19 and Digital Rights Foundation Pakistan have serious concerns about measures contained in Pakistan’s proposed Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill (‘PEC Bill’). The Bill contains a number of...

by Article 19 | On 22 Apr 2015

Economic Policy Reforms in South Asia: An Overview and the Remaining Agenda

In the past few years, the pace of economic growth in South Asia has slowed considerably for two reasons: unfavourable global economic environment and the slowing pace of economic reforms that once we...

by | On 20 Apr 2015

Network Neutrality: A Thematic Analysis of Policy Perspectives Across the Globe

This policy review looks at four types of Internet traffic management policies across the globe: legal regulation, transparency, non-neutrality, and government control. Each of these has been employed...

by Christine Stover | On 16 Apr 2015

The Political Economy of Free Speech and Network Neutality

The network neutrality debate is the idea that all internet content irrespective of type or who created it, should be treated the same in transfer process. Because the medium of communication has dete...

by | On 15 Apr 2015

Equality, Did You Say? Chinese Feminism After 30 Years of Reforms

After 30 years of economic reforms, what is the comparative situation of men and women in the People’s Republic of China? How can we analyse the policies for promoting gender equality? Have inequaliti...

by | On 14 Apr 2015

Their lives on the line: Women rights defenders under attack in Afghanistan

Based on interviews with more than 50 rights defenders and their families, the 71-page document titled, "Their lives on the line: Women rights defenders under attack in Afghanistan," illustrates the r...

by Amnesty International AI, | 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

Myanmar: Cross-Cutting Governance Challenges

The paper assesses the current status of governance institutions in Myanmar, as well as their performance, in comparison to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and selected other countr...

by Cullen Hendrix | On 02 Apr 2015

Women’s Rights, Gender Equality, and Transition: Securing Gains, Moving Forward

This report is designed to contribute to the growing body of research on gender issues in Afghanistan with a specific focus on identifying gains and losses over the past decade at both the macro and m...

by | On 01 Apr 2015

Intellectual Property Rights and Innovation: MNCs in Pharmaceutical Industry in India after TRIPS

The paper discusses several patent cases to argue that MNCs are aggressively asserting their patent rights not for getting genuine patents which they are entitled to but for preventing generic competi...

by Sudip Chaudhuri | On 30 Mar 2015

Health Policy Changes and Their Impact on Equity in Health Financing in India

This study examines the impact of health policy changes on equity of financing among households by using four successive rounds of national sample survey (NSS) data on consumer expenditure in India. T...

by | On 30 Mar 2015

Improving Children’s Lives Transforming the Future

Despite rapid economic growth in South Asia, strong inequalities persist and children pay a heavy price. This publication examines latest trends and data on children in the eight countries of the regi...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 27 Mar 2015

"Stop Reporting or We’ll Kill Your Family" Threats to Media Freedom in Afghanistan

This 48-page report documents harassment, intimidation, and attacks on journalists and the Afghan government’s failure to investigate and prosecute those responsible. The failure to protect journalist...

by Human Rights Watch | On 26 Mar 2015

The Future of the Japanese Constitution - From MacArthur Constitution to What?

This paper examines the history of the creation of the Japanese Constition, the legislative system and the rights granted to Japanese citizens. It then analyses the options before the Japanese people...

by | On 24 Mar 2015

“Work Faster or Get Out” Labor Rights Abuses in Cambodia’s Garment Industry

Workers in Cambodia’s garment factories—frequently producing name brand clothing sold mainly in the United States, the European Union, and Canada—often experience discriminatory and exploitative labor...

by Human Rights Watch | On 20 Mar 2015

IP Rights, Innovation and Development Priorities: Need for Balance

The present policy initiative by the Government of India may be seen in the light of IP concerns and complaints have been hurled at India by key intellectual property exporters, given pro-consumer ve...

by | On 18 Mar 2015

Electoral Reforms 2015, India

The law Commission of India has submitted its Report No. 255 on “Electoral Reforms” to the Union Law and Justice Ministry. Informing this to the Media persons here in New Delhi Justice Shri A. P. Shah...

by Law Commission India | On 18 Mar 2015

Death Sentences and Executions 2012

This report covers the judicial use of the death penalty for the period January to December 2012. Amnesty International records figures on the use of the death penalty based on the best available info...

by Amnesty International AI, | On 13 Mar 2015

The Fiscal and Welfare Impacts of Reforming Fuel Subsidies in India

This paper evaluates the fiscal and welfare implications of fuel subsidy reform in India. Fuel subsidies are found to be badly targeted, with the richest ten percent of households receiving seven time...

by | On 11 Mar 2015

Women’s Rights in India: Problems and Prospects

United Nation in its Millennium Summit in 2000 declared ‘Gender Equality and Women Empowerment’ as one among the eight ‘Millennium Development Goal’ to be achieved by the year 2015. However these goa...

by | On 11 Mar 2015

India's Union Budget: Changing Scope and the Evolving Content

The paper reflects on the changing scope of the Union Budget and the Finance Minister’s speech and assesses the evolving content of these policy instruments in recent years. The analysis undertaken is...

by | On 27 Feb 2015

Citizens Charter on Drinking Water and Sanitation before Union Budget

Ahead of the Union Budget, Civil Society Organizations ask for policy strategies to support drinking water and sanitation for vulnerable sections. Civil society budget groups, collectively as a networ...

by Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability | On 26 Feb 2015

Budget 2015-16: Expectations

Government of India (GoI) will present its Budget for 2015-16 on February 28, 2015. After the new Government was sworn in during May 2014, it had a short period of six weeks before presenting the Revi...

by Aditi Nayar | On 19 Feb 2015

Medico Friend Circle Bulletin 363-364 (Jan/Feb 2015)

This special issue on mental health was put together for the Annual Meet of the Medico Friend Circle at Pune. Contents - Power to Label: the Social Construction of Madness by Prateeksha Sharma (1); T...

by Medico Friend Circle | On 18 Feb 2015

The Economic Development and Economic Rights Progression of Vietnam

Since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, Vietnam has undergone monumental economic changes. Although, like any country, Vietnam still has a lot of room to grow and improve, overall Vietnam is an econ...

by | On 21 Jan 2015

A Post-2015 World Fit for Children

This issue brief outlines a roadmap for human progress over the next 15 years. Known as the Sustainable Development Goals, these new global targets will drive investment and action in virtually every...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 20 Jan 2015

Relations between Corruption and Human Rights in North Korea

North Korea’s public distribution system has been maintained somewhat perfunctorily since its severe economic hardship in the 1990s. However in reality, rationing to the working class has been suspend...

by | On 20 Jan 2015

Tribute: Jasodhara Bagchi

Jashodhara Bagchi was a leading Indian feminist critic and a prodigious professor in her field. She was a scholar who voiced women's cause and worked for their empowerment. She also was chairman of...

by Vibhuti Patel | On 19 Jan 2015

Global Economic Prospects

The report argues the recent setback in global economy and ways to strengthen the growth in developing countries. with a view to undertake growth and recovery in high-income countries, there is need t...

by World Bank | On 14 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

Human Rights in North Korea: Addressing the Challenges

An international response to North Korea’s egregious human rights record has begun to take shape. Building on the work of NGOs and UN human rights experts, the United Nations Human Rights Council i...

by Roberta Cohen | On 26 Dec 2014

Report of the detailed findings of the commission of inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

On 21 March 2013, at its 22nd session, the United Nations Human Rights Council established the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Resolution A/...

by | On 26 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

Human Rights in India: An Overview

The situation of persistent human rights violations across the country presents manifold challenges. A number of progressive legal and policy initiatives have been taken by GOI. This paper highlights...

by Working Groups on Human Rights | On 12 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

Women Living with HIV Speak Out Against Violence

Violence against women and girls is an unacceptable violation of basic human rights. It also is so widespread that ending it must be a global public health priority. An estimated one in three women is...

by UNAIDS . | On 01 Dec 2014

Land of exclusion: India exclusion Report 2013-14

The report seeks to track and map the extent to which central and state governments in India have succeeded in ensuring access to a range of basic public goods for all people. This report argues that...

by Centre Equity Studies | On 27 Nov 2014

Asia Child Marriage Initiative: Summary of Research in Bangladesh, India and Nepal

Child marriage is one of the most prevalent and serious violations of human rights. The issue needs urgent attention in South Asia, where 46 per cent of children are married formally or in informal u...

by Ravi Verma | On 27 Nov 2014

Safeguarding Security and Sovereignty

K.G.KANNABIRAN MEMORIAL LECTURE.

by Justice C.V. WIGNESWARAN | On 20 Nov 2014

Promoting and Protecting the Rights of Migrant Workers

The Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF) is pleased to present Promoting and Protecting the Rights of Migrant Workers: The Role of National Human Rights Institutions. Nati...

by Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions | On 17 Nov 2014

Myth of Chinese Labour Flexibility

India has been a land of myths. Industrial relations are no exception to this trend. The arguments in the name of supporting the chorus for labour law and governance reforms, when reviewed carefully w...

by K.R. Shyam Sundar | On 14 Nov 2014

Statement on Sterilsation deaths in Chattisgarh by Public Health Groups

The Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, Sama Resource Group for Women and Health, Commonhealth and National Alliance for Maternal Health and Human Rights are shocked at the death of 11 women and the critical condit...

by Nivedita Menon | On 13 Nov 2014

Education System Reform in Pakistan: Why, When, and How?

Pakistan’s education system faces long-standing problems in access, quality, and equal opportunity at every level: primary and secondary schools, higher education and vocational education. In spit...

by Mehnaz Aziz | On 10 Nov 2014

Reforming the Agricultural Extension System in India: What do we Know about What Works Where and Why?

This paper reviews existing reform programs and strategies currently existing in agricultural extension in India. It distinguishes strategies that have been employed to strengthen both the supply and...

by Katharina Raabe | On 05 Nov 2014

The Myth of Tough Labour Laws

In the post-reform period no opportunity has been missed out by the employers, the critics of labour regulation and the government in describing the labour laws in denouncing manner, viz. archaic, num...

by K.R. Shyam Sundar | On 28 Oct 2014

"I Already Bought You" Abuse and Exploitation of Female Migrant Domestic Workers in the United Arab Emirates

This Human Rights Watch report documents how the UAE’s visa sponsorship system, known as kafala, and the lack of labour law protections leave migrant domestic workers exposed to abuse. Domestic worker...

by Human Rights Watch | On 24 Oct 2014

Youth in Transition: The Challenges of Transitional Change in Asia

This book originates from a conference of the Association of Asian Social Science Research Councils and contains writings and research reports on Youth in Transition in the Asia and Pacific region. Th...

by UNESCO UNESCO | On 16 Oct 2014

Social Change and Public Policy

A public policy is basically a law or rule that is enforced by any level of government, whether central, state, or local. When making policy, the government often fall into the conceit that they are i...

by Parth Shah | On 15 Oct 2014

Voice and Agency: Empowering Women and Girls for Shared Prosperity

Despite recent advances in important aspects of the lives of girls and women, pervasive challenges remain. These challenges reflect widespread deprivations and constraints and include epidemic levels...

by Jeni Klugman | On 14 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

Financing Migration, Generating Remittances and the Building of Livelihood Strategies: A Case Study of Indonesian Migrant Women as Domestic Workers in Singapore

Using the case study of Indonesian women migrating as domestic workers to Singapore, this paper draws on a quantitative survey and qualitative in-depth interviews to examine the migration trajectories...

by Maria Platt | On 24 Sep 2014

Worker’s Rights and Practices in the Contemporary Scenario: An Overview

This book offers a careful summary of the rights and practices of work in the Indian labour market. In specific, it deals with rights deficiency of workers in different sectors especially on agricultu...

by V.V. Giri Labour Institute | On 19 Sep 2014

India: Third and Fourth Combined Periodic Report on the Convention on the Rights of the Child

‘India: Third and Fourth Combined Periodic Report on the Convention on the Rights of the Child’ is a product of extensive consultations with all stakeholders. The Report has been prepared after consul...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 15 Sep 2014

Protecting the Girl Child: Using the Law to End Child, Early & Forced Marriage & Related Human Rights Violations

Cultural traditions and a lack of legal protections are driving tens of millions of girls around the world into early marriage, subjecting them to violence, poverty and mistreatment. Equality Now, in...

by Equality Now | On 12 Sep 2014

India: Death Penalty Has No Deterrence

Two people are sentenced to death every day in India, but it has not proved to be a deterrent to crime, says the latest report by NGO Asian Centre for Human Rights. Analysing government data for 12 ye...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 02 Sep 2014

Asia Pacific Human Development Report: Power, Voice and Rights: A Turning Point for Gender Equality in Asia and the Pacific

The report focuses on the critical question of advancing gender equality, as seen through the prism of women’s unequal power, voice, and rights. Despite the region’s many economic gains, the report ch...

by United Nations Development Programme UNDP | On 25 Aug 2014

Teaching and Learning: Achieving Quality for All

The 2013/4 Education for All Global Monitoring Report shows why education is pivotal for development in a rapidly changing world. It explains how investing wisely in teachers, and other reforms aimed...

by UNESCO UNESCO | On 25 Aug 2014

Article 2 and Government Budgets

Governments’ budgets are fundamentally about people’s human rights. Budgets are the central means by which governments can help realize their people’s access to quality education, decent health care s...

by International Budget Partnership IBP | On 10 Jul 2014

Laws and Son Preference in India- A Reality Check

This study underscores the need to connect the dots if the practice of son preference and its manifestation, discrimination against daughters, is to be addressed. Clearly, it is not only about impleme...

by Kirti Singh | On 07 Jul 2014

The Role of Data in Addressing Violence against Women and Girls

This brochure describes, advocates and defenders of women’s and girls’ safety and rights, as well as international agencies, national policymakers and donors, need to understand the nature and magnitu...

by United Nations Population Fund UNFPA | On 07 Jul 2014

Trafficking Women and Children for Sexual Exploitation

Irrefutable is the fact that trafficking of women and children is a grave violation of Human Rights and one of the most serious organized crimes of the day, transcending cultures, geography and time....

by P.M Nair | On 18 Jun 2014

Contractual Solutions for Migrant Labourers: The Case of Domestic Workers in the Middle East

This article discusses domestic and international responses to the issue of abuse of female domestic workers in the Middle East, and concludes that a standard working contract, such as that in use in...

by Gwenann S. Manseau | On 26 May 2014

World Atlas of Gender Equality in Education

Gender equality is one of the six goals of the global Education for All campaign that UNESCO leads. This was launched in 2000, when the countries of the world agreed to “eliminate gender disparities i...

by Edward B. Fiske | On 12 May 2014

Globalization Comes Home: Protecting Migrant Domestic Workers’ Rights

In the hopes of earning money for a better life, and with few other alternatives, millions migrate to big cities or across borders to work as live-in nannies, caretakers for the elderly, and house-cle...

by Nisha Varia | On 08 May 2014

Overcoming Barriers: Human Mobility and Development

The report investigates migration in the context of demographic changes and trends in both growth and inequality. It also presents more detailed and nuanced individual, family and village experiences,...

by Jeni Klugman | On 06 May 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

(En) Gendering a Rights Revolution

The article highlights of the SC judgment on Transgender Rights and why it will go down in history as one of the most rights enhancing decisions in the Court’s history.

by Siddharth Narrain | On 16 Apr 2014

Too many missed opportunities: Human rights in Afghanistan under the Karzai administration

This report presents an assessment of the human rights record of President Hamid Karzai’s administration, following the ousting of the Taliban. Amnesty International has evaluated overall trends of pr...

by Amnesty International AI, | On 11 Apr 2014

Legalising Rights through Implementation of Forest Rights Act 2006: A Critical Review on Odisha and Jharkhand

The present paper seeks to analyse the actual process of implementation at different institutional levels and the factors that constrain its proper implementation, and to understand its livelihood i...

by Tapas Kumar Sarangi | On 03 Apr 2014

Aggregate Fertility and Household Savings: A General Equilibrium Analysis using Micro Data

This study uses micro data and an OLG model to show that general equi- librium forces are critical for understanding the relationship between aggregate fertility and household savings. [BREAD WP No....

by Abhijit Banerjee | On 03 Apr 2014

Land Reforms in India: Unfinished Task

In India, over 70% of the population resides in rural areas with majority depending on land based activities for their livelihood. Studies have shown that owners of productive plots of land tend to be...

by Sita Devi | On 31 Mar 2014

Gender and Land Tenure Security : Challenges and Barriers to Women’s Entitlement to Land in India

The study seeks to understand women’s land rights by documenting how women acquire land, their feelings about tenure security to that land, exploring their knowledge of their land rights, and the exte...

by UN Women | On 14 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

Equity and Health Sector Reforms: Can Low-Income Countries Escape the Medical Poverty Trap?

The paper discusses two of the trends in market-oriented health-sector reforms pushed forward from the international institutions, namely: the introduction of user fees for public services and the gro...

by Margaret Whitehead | On 04 Mar 2014

Obituary: Vasudha Dhagmwar 1940-2014

Vasudha Dhagamwar, legal activist and academician, passed away on February 10, in Pune.

by Vibhuti Patel | On 21 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

Revival of Mining Sector in India: Analysing Legislations and Royalty Regime

This paper on the mining sector is an attempt to analyse the sector, in particular, at its competitiveness. Against the backdrop of the Planning Commission’s High-level Committee Report on National Mi...

by Lekha Chakraborty | On 05 Feb 2014

Women and the RSS

Bound together by fraternal ties, the RSS and the various members of the Parivar share all pervasive ideas of ‘female virtue’ and the ideal of ‘Hindu family’ that serves to push aside a more comprehe...

by Namrata Ganneri | On 25 Jan 2014

Sold to the Sea: Human Trafficking in Thailand's fishing industry

Thailand’s economy is heavily reliant on labour-intensive industries. However, growing economic prosperity since the late 1980s has seen a decline in the available Thai workforce needed to meet the la...

by Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) | On 24 Jan 2014

India’s Role For Promotion of Human Rights in Third Countries Through Universal Periodic Review

This report analyses India’s Role For Promotion of Human Rights in Third Countries Through Universal Periodic Review. Under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism, the United Nations Human Righ...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | 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

The Price of Steel-Human Rights and forced evictions in the POSCO-India Steel Project

The POSCO project in India is a story all too familiar. This is a story about attempts to forcibly evict thousands of families from their homes, their fields, and their forests to make way for a massi...

by Smita Narula | On 22 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

Health in the Post-2015 Development Agenda for Asia and the Pacific

The paper discusses the key health challenges in the post 2015 development agenda for Asia and the Pacific, a highly populated, diverse region of countries with different health needs and priorities....

by Yanzhong Huang | 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

Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and Informal Economy in India: Trends, Initiatives and Challenges

This work examines the status of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (FPRW) in the informal economy in India and locates the gaps and challenges in ratifying the ILO Conventions 87, 98, 138 a...

by Dhanya M.B | On 19 Nov 2013

Migrant Workers’ Rights to Social Protection in ASEAN: Case Studies of Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand

The UN estimates that there are 214 million migrants globally (IOM, 2010), making up 3% of the world’s total population. Increasing rapidly, the number of migrants globally could exceed 400 million by...

by FREDRICH STIFTUNG | On 15 Nov 2013

Nepal’s Constituent Assembly Elections: A Lesson For The Convicted Politicians?

As Nepal prepares to hold the Constituent Assembly (CA) elections on 19th November 2013, there already seems to be one positive lesson: those “convicted of a criminal offence involving moral turpitu...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 11 Nov 2013

Judgement of Supreme Court of India on Voting Option

The apex court of India has decided to allow the NOTA (none of the above) option in the voting system. Noting that democracy was all about choice the Court has stated that by providing NOTA button in...

by Supreme Court of India | On 29 Oct 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

Ostracised and Abandoned: Widows in India

Widows from West Bengal, the northeastern states and Bangladesh still make their way to the ashrams of Vrindavan, Mathura and Varanasi, in the hope that in the holy cities, god will not allow anyone t...

by Hutokshi Doctor | On 15 Oct 2013

The Human Capital Report

The Human Capital Index explores the contributors and inhibitors to the development and deployment of a healthy, educated and productive labour force, and has generated the information contained in...

by World Economic Forum WEF | On 04 Oct 2013

A Critique: HIV/AIDS and the Legal and Policy Framework in Sri Lanka

This paper discusses and comments on the legal and policy dimension and the obstacles it poses to a sustainable and effective response to HIV/AIDS as many do not come forward to obtain medical servic...

by Bhavani Fonseka | On 14 Sep 2013

How will India Facilitate a Credible and Independent Investigation in Sri Lanka?

At the UN Human Rights Council’s (HRC) 22nd session in Geneva India quietly registered its dismay at the lack of progress made by Sri Lanka since its commitments at the Council in 2009. While urging...

by Raghu Menon | On 14 Sep 2013

Celebratory Memoirs of the Life of Comrade Sunila Abeysekera

Sri Lanka’s top UN Human Rights award winner Sunila Abeysekara died at a private hospital in Colombo on Monday afternoon after a long battle with cancer. A founder of Sri Lanka’s feminist movement, Ms...

by Lionel Bopage | On 12 Sep 2013

" I Have A Dream"

I Have a Dream Speech: Martin Luther King's Address at March on Washington, August 28, 1963. Washington, D.C. "When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from...

by Martin Luther King | On 31 Aug 2013

India Shadow Report

The gains made since ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) are plenty, but the reality of children’s situation is disturbing on many counts calling for urgent and serious att...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 26 Aug 2013

Obituary: Narendra Dabholkar

An obituary and tribute to the rationalist, social activist and crusader against superstition and black magic who was murdered in broad daylight in Pune, India.

by Anant Phadke | On 24 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 Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Bill, 2012

An act to provide for the prohibition of employment as manual scavengers and their families and for matters connected there with.

by Parliamentary Research Service PRS | On 08 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

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

Case on “automatic conversion of women to husband’s religion” posted for hearing

The Supreme Court today posted the petition challenging the judgment of the Gujarat High Court which held that all women automatically convert to the religion of their husbands upon marriage, to be he...

by Lawyers Collective | On 16 Jul 2013

Innovation, Efficiency, Productivity and Intellectual Property Rights: Evidence from a BRIC Economy

The innovation, efficiency and productivity responses to the stronger protection of intellectual property rights post-TRIPs, with reference to manufacturing industry in India is studied. The fact that...

by Sunil Kanwar | On 12 Jul 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

National Urban Health Mission

The Union Cabinet gave its approval to launch a National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) as a new sub-mission under the over-arching National Health Mission (NHM).

by Anonymous | On 27 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

Living Rough: Surviving City Streets

This paper records the findings of a small investigation into a fragment of experiences of people living on streets and into the social, economic, nutritional situation of urban homeless men, women, b...

by Harsh Mander | On 10 Apr 2013

Federal Budget Pakistan: 2012-13

Budget speech by Minister of Finance. [Ministry of Finance]. URL:[http://www.finance.gov.pk/budget/budget_Speech_12_13.pdf].

by Minister of Finance Pakistan | On 22 Mar 2013

Report of China’s Local and Central Budgets 2013

Following is the full text of report on the implementation of central and local budgets in 2012 and on draft central and local budgets for 2013, which was submitted for review on March 5, 2013 at the...

by Ministry of Finance China | On 21 Mar 2013

Exploring the Causes and Process of Becoming Child Domestic Worker

The study aimed to explore the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of households with and without child domestic workers (CDW), and explore the causes and process of becoming CDWs in Banglad...

by Shuburna Chodhuary | 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

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

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

Medico Friend Circle Bulletin

Special issue Background Papers for Work, Health and Rights Annual Meet February 2013

by Medico Friend Circle | On 07 Feb 2013

The Changing Perspective of Mental Health of Children and Adolescents

Review of the book 'Child and Adolescent Mental Health' edited by Usha Nayar, United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children; February 2013; pp 363; Rs 115...

by Aarti Salve | 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

Kerala-The Land of Development Paradoxes

An attempt has been made to understand the paradoxes of Kerala's development like the state's per capita consumer expenditure is more than the per capita state domestic product. But the nutritional i...

by K.K. George | On 18 Dec 2012

Demographics, Labor Mobility, and Productivity

This paper considers two major issues that need to be treated as matters of urgency. First, internal (within country) migrations in the Asian (ACI) region are mostly undocumented and large. It is show...

by E J Wilson | On 05 Nov 2012

The Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development Bill, 2011

To declare the institution known as the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, to be an institution of National importance and to provide for its incorporation and for matters connected...

by Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs YAS | On 05 Oct 2012

The Sexual Harrasment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2012

The Lok Sabha (the Lower House of the Parliament) has, on 3 September 2012, passed the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2012. The Bill now remains...

by Ministry of Labour and Employment MoL&E | On 01 Oct 2012

Notional Contracts: The Moral Economy of Contract Farming Arrangements in India

This study examines the moral economy of firm-farmer contracts in contract farming schemes in India, bringing together data from field surveys, conducted between 2007 and 2010, of 42 agribusinesses a...

by Sudha Narayanan | On 20 Sep 2012

Food Subsidy in India: Trends, Causes and Policy Reform Options

This paper analyses the trends in volume of food subsidy in the post-reforms period (1991-92 to 2012-13) and then examines various components of food subsidy, which are under the control of FCI and th...

by Vijay Paul Sharma | On 20 Sep 2012

Property Rights and Intra-Household Bargaining

This paper examines whether an individual-level transfer of property rights increases the individual's bargaining power within the household. The question is analyzed in the context of a housing ref...

by Shing-Yi Wang | On 18 Sep 2012

The Challenge of Employment in India: An Informal Economy Perspective Volume I - Main Report

India is perhaps the first country to set up, at the national level, a commission to study the problems and challenges being faced by what in India is called the unorganized economy - or the informal...

by NCEUS NCEUS | On 05 Sep 2012

The Protection of Women Aganist Sexual Harassment at Work Place Bill, 2010

A bill to provide protection against sexual harassment of women at workplace and for the prevention and redressal of complaints of sexual harassment and for matters connected therewith or incidental...

by Parliamentary Research Service PRS | On 17 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

The Draft National Policy for Children, 2012

To affirm the Government’s commitment to the rights based approach in addressing the continuing and emerging challenges in the situation of children, the Government of India adopted this Resolution...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 30 Jul 2012

Obituary: Mrinal Gore (1928-2012)

Obituary: Mrinal Gore (1928-2012)

by Vibhuti Patel | On 23 Jul 2012

Evolution of Model Concession Agreement for National Highways in India

This paper discusses the evolution of Model Concession Agreement for National Highways, the vital framework on which the success of Public Private Partnership lies. The key learnings of this study wou...

by Ramakrishnan T S | On 18 Jul 2012

Climate Change Mitigation and Green Growth in Developing Asia

Developing Asia is the driver of today's emissions intensive global economy. As the principle source of future emissions, the region is critical to the task of global climate change mitigation. Reflec...

by Stephen Howes | On 16 Jul 2012

Reexamining the Finance–Growth Relationship for a Developing Economy: A Time Series Analysis of Post-reform India

The cross-country empirical literature on the finance-growth relationship has debated three propositions: (i) financial deepening has a strong impact on the growth process; (ii) measures of financia...

by Sabyasachi Kar | On 13 Jul 2012

Recommendations on the Proposed Disability Rights Legislation

Estimates of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in India vary greatly depending on the source. The 2001 census found 21.91 million disabled persons (2.13 % of the population), but there are serious cons...

by National Advisory Council NAC | On 11 Jul 2012

India's SEZ Policy

Over the last few decades India has emerged as an economic giant. In 2000 the Special Economic Zone (SEZs) policy became part of a strategy to maintain high growth and promote India’s manufacturing ...

by Ebba Mårtensson | On 11 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

Growth of Asian Pension Assets: Implications for Financial and Capital Markets

Pension assets have seen rapid growth world-wide over the past decades, although they suffered large losses during the global financial crisis of 2007–2008. Such growth is notably due to both structur...

by Yuwei Hu | On 02 Jul 2012

Responsibility to Protect in Southeast Asia: Enlarging Space for Civil Society

The concept of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) is relatively new to many Southeast Asians, who have traditionally relied on the state for security and therefore faced a sense of hopelessness when such...

by Pavin Chachavalpongpun | On 27 Jun 2012

Has India Emerged? Business Cycle Stylized Facts from a Transitioning Economy

A comprehense documentation - using both annual and quarterly data - an exhaustive set of stylized facts for the Indian business cycle in the pre and post reform period, the data is used to report...

by Chetan Ghate | On 19 Jun 2012

The Effects of Democratization on Public Goods and Redistribution: Evidence from China

This study investigates the effects of introducing elections on public goods and redistribution in rural China. A large and unique survey was collected to document the history of political reforms and...

by Yang Yao | On 05 Jun 2012

Black Money

The objective of this paper is to place in the public domain various facets and dimensions of black money and its complex relationship with the policy and administrative regime in the country. The pa...

by Ministry of Finance | On 22 May 2012

Obituary: Leela Dube (1923-2012)

Obituary: Leela Dube (1923-2012)

by Vibhuti Patel | 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

Role of Communication in Stigma and Discrimination

The objective of the study was to review media coverage (print ) related to HIV/AIDS in three states (Gujarat, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh) in order to determine the gaps in reporting. [CCMG Working Pa...

by Biswajit Das | On 10 May 2012

The Political Economy of Deforestation in the Tropics

Tropical deforestation accounts for almost one-fifth of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide and threatens the world.s most diverse ecosystems. The prevalence of illegal forest extraction in the tropi...

by Robin Burgess | On 08 May 2012

Encouraging Myanmar’s Reforms: Engage Beyond Sanctions

The paper analyzes the state of reforms in Myanmar and the need to increase the pace of these reforms

by Kyaw San Wai | On 02 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

Voices from the Margin: Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Northeast Thailand: Pak Mun Dam

The protests against the Pak Mun Dam are amongst the longest running in the world. The dam is also one of the most studied, in part because it had all the features of a failed development policy: no...

by Katie Jenkins | On 18 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

The State of Juvenile Justice in Karnataka

The situation of juveniles in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection across India is precarious. Nothing underlines this more than the situation in Karnataka. While the State Hu...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 05 Apr 2012

A Corporate Governance Index for Large Listed Companies in India

A Corporate Governance Index for 500 large listed Indian firms for the period from 2003 to 2008 is constructed. The index construction uses information on four important corporate governance mechan...

by Jayati Sarkar | On 04 Apr 2012

Outline of the 12th Five Year Plan: Plan for Development of Trade in Services

To greatly develop trade in services and realize the transition from a big trade country to a strong trade country, the 12th Five Year Plan is formulated based on Outline of the 12th Five Year Plan f...

by Ministry of Commerce China | On 15 Mar 2012

How has the Indian Corporate Sector Responded to Two Decades of Economic Reforms in India? An Exploration of Patterns and Trends

In the context of various policy initiatives made during the last two decades to reform the Indian economy in general and corporate sector in particular, the present paper attempts to assess how the...

by Rakesh Basant | On 07 Mar 2012

Under trial Prisoners: Quicker Trial and Human Rights

Discussion on the human rights violation of under trial prisoners.

by Ranesh Chandra Majumdar | On 06 Mar 2012

Report of the Sub-Groups on Child Rights for 12th Five Year Plan

A Working Group on Child Rights was constituted by the Planning Commission to recommend priorities and strategies for children in the 12th Five year Plan 2012-17. Five Sub Groups of the Working group...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 06 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

Failed Mechanism: How the CDM is Subsidizing Hydro Developers and Harming the Kyoto Protocol

Five years age, International Rivers started monitoring the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), concerned that funds marked for climate change mitigation would be used to encourage c...

by Barbara Haya | On 01 Mar 2012

The End of the “Liberal Theory of History”? Dissecting the U.S. Congress’ Discourse on China’s Currency Policy

In the last ten years, economic issues related to currency policy have become the major ongoing dispute between China and the U.S. Especially the U.S. Congress is stridently demanding a tougher poli...

by Nicola Nymalm | On 01 Mar 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

Girish Sant on India's Energy Challenges

This interview with Girish Sant, head of Prayas Energy Group and one of India's foremost energy experts, was made during COP17 in Durban. Girish died on February 2, 2012. This interview was published...

by Marian M | On 20 Feb 2012

From REDD to Green: A Global Incentive System to Stop Tropical Forest Clearing

A prototype incentive system is developed for promoting rapid reduction of forest clearing in tropical countries. The proposed Tropical Forest Protection Fund (TFPF) is a cash-on-delivery system that...

by David Wheeler | On 09 Feb 2012

Causal Relationship between Saving, Investment and Economic Growth for India – What does the Relation Imply?

This study investigates the relationship between saving, investment and economic growth for India over the period 1950-51 to 2007-08. The literature on the role of saving in promoting economic growt...

by Ramesh Jangili | On 09 Feb 2012

Human Rights in Malaysia: Challenges and Constraints in the Malaysian Context

The paper discusses some of the main human rights areas of concern within Malaysia, over the years. [Working Paper Series No. 12]. URL:[http://www.ieas.unimas.my/images/stories/hirmanritom.pdf].

by Mohammad Hirman Ritom Abdullah | On 07 Feb 2012

Shaking Embedded Gender Roles and Relations: An Impact Assessment of Gender Quality Action Learning Programme

The Gender Quality Action Learning programme initiated a village level intervention in 2007 in 10 districts to increase knowledge, change perception, attitudes, and practice/behaviour of the villagers...

by Md. Abdul Alim | On 03 Feb 2012

Intentions vs. Implementation of Philippine Economic Reforms Under Aquino, 1986-92

This paper explains the gaps between official objectives and the actual accomplishments of the Aquino government, with an emphasis on the implementation record of agricultural-based strategies. Summar...

by V. Bruce J Tolentino | On 30 Jan 2012

Faith in Exile: The Lessons of Tibet

For the last half-century, the Tibetan people have endured the brunt of some of the Chinese governments most brutal policies. In the 1990's, an international activist movement, which attracted a small...

by Anthony Lappe | On 25 Jan 2012

Evidence on Changes in Time Varying Volatility around Bonus and Rights Issue Announcements

The short term and long term stock price volatility changes around bonus and rights issue announcements have been examined using historical volatility estimation and time varying volatility approach...

by Madhuri Malhotra | On 24 Jan 2012

Myanmar’s Reforms: The Challenges Ahead

The release of many high-profile political prisoners by Myanmar’s government has been applauded by the international community. Many obstacles to reform still exist, but they are not the usual suspect...

by Kyaw San Wai | On 24 Jan 2012

The Assisted Reproductive Technologies (Regulation) Bill & Rules (Draft 2010): A Comment

The Draft Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill and Rules 2010, is the latest draft of following the incorporation of additions and modifications to the Draft Bill 2008. The new Draft was expected to...

by SAMA .. | On 21 Jan 2012

India’s Draft Universal Periodic Report-II: A Case of Forced Marriage?

The paper has the objective of viewing the condition of women in terms of freedom of choice, freedom and expression and right of privacy. Also it views violence against women.

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 20 Jan 2012

Second Universal Periodic Review of India-Draft

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a process of the Human Rights Council which involves a review of the human rights records of all 192 UN Member States once every four years. The reviews are cond...

by Ministry of External Affairs, GoI MEA | On 19 Jan 2012

Does Budget Transparency Lead to Stronger Human Development Outcomes and Commitments to Economic and Social Rights?

The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between the quality of the budget process and human development outcomes. It looks in particular at at the relationship between the OBI and human d...

by Sakiko Fukuda-Parr | On 17 Jan 2012

Can the Bill Bring Desired Outcomes?

The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill (LARR) is considered to be a flawed piece of legislation. An alternative method based on auction based pricing mechanism is suggested here.

by Maitreesh Ghatak | On 05 Jan 2012

Consultation Report on Strengthening the Role of Agriculture for a Nutrition Secure India

The Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Mumbai and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), New Delhi organized a workshop ‘Strengthening the Role of Agriculture...

by Srijit Mishra | On 27 Dec 2011

Social Implications of Economic Reforms in India

Review of the book 'Economic Reforms and Social Exclusion: Impact of Liberalization on Marginalized Groups in India', by K S Chalam, Sage Publications, New Delhi, India.

by Rajesh Komath | On 26 Dec 2011

Can these Policies Change their Life?

Women who come into the stream of domestic workers are poorly educated and do not know their rights. It is necessary that these women know about their rights. Even after reading the policies some ques...

by Anwesha Sen | On 19 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

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

Publishing Construction Contracts as a Tool for Efficiency and Good Governance

Construction is a $1.7 trillion industry worldwide, much of which is linked to publicly financed projects. Outcomes from this financing are frequently suboptimal. Cost and time escalation, as well a...

by Charles Kenny | On 25 Nov 2011

Torture in India 2011

Torture in India series have been instrumental for bringing national and international spotlight on torture in india. The Government of India regrettably has been reluctant to address torture. It draf...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 21 Nov 2011

In Search of Growth

With deep crisis weakening potential output growth, the need for an explicit growth policy is emerging most starkly in Japan, the EU and the US. If properly shaped, this will help to consolidate bud...

by Klaus Deutsch | On 21 Nov 2011

Development and Health in Poor Countries: Role of Interntional Organizations and Switzerland

The study tries to better understand three fields which seems to be essential with respect to the problem of a facilitated access to medicines : 1. the ambiguous position of intellectual property...

by Bastein Briand | On 17 Nov 2011

India’s Agricultural Development under the New Economic Regime: Policy Perspective and Strategy for the 12th Five Year Plan

The Eleventh Plan, which had attempted to reverse deceleration of agricultural growth during the Ninth and Tenth Plan, had some success in as foodgrains production has touched a new peak of 241.56 m...

by Vijay Paul Sharma | On 17 Nov 2011

Juveniles of Jammu and Kashmir: Unequal Before the Law and Denied Justice in Custody

While the arrests of dozens of juveniles during the mass uprising in the Kashmir valley from June to September 2010 brought the abuse of the Public Safety Act against the children in conflict with the...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 16 Nov 2011

Feminist Economics of Trade: Reflections on the Indian Manufacturing Sector

This paper examines the socio-economic condition of women in India. The paper begins by delving into different forms of violence faced by women in India, giving special attention to the work sphere a...

by Susana Barria | On 09 Nov 2011

The Determinants of Export Performance of China's Township-Village Enterprises

The rapid export growth of China's township-village enterprises (TVEs) has not been well understood and explained. Using a simple analytical model and exploring a unique dataset on China's TVEs the...

by Changqi Wu | On 08 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

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

Institutional and Procedural Challenges to Generic Production in India: Antiretrovirals in Focus

With a review of the historic role of India as a supplier of Antiretrovirals (ARV) medicines the paper outlines some of the key rulings in Indian courts as the interpretation of the new patent laws ar...

by Cassandra Sweet | On 19 Oct 2011

Transactions Matter but They Hardly Cost: Irrigation Management in the Kathmandu Valley

This study estimates the transaction costs entailed in maintaining Farmer Managed Irrigation Systems (FMIS) in Nepal based on a case study of 60 irrigation systems in the Kathmandu valley. It analyz...

by Ram Chandra Bhattarai | On 18 Oct 2011

An Economic Policy and Legal Analysis of The Micro Finance Institutions (Development & Regulation) Bill, 2011

In response to the Second Micro Finance Crisis in Andhra Pradesh, which took place in October 2010, the Ministry of Finance has pro- posed a new Micro Finance Institutions (Development & Regulation) ...

by Shubho Roy | On 17 Oct 2011

Gender Dimensions: Employment Trends in India, 1993-94 to 2009-10

This paper examines some of the explicit as well as not so explicit trends in relation to women’s employment in India from 1993-94 till 2009-10 and argues that they indicate a grave and continuing...

by Indrani Mazumdar | On 10 Oct 2011

Draft Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2011

A bill to consolidate and amend the law relating to the scientific development and regulation of mines and minerals under the control of the Union. URL:[http://pib.nic.in/archieve/others/2011/sep/d2...

by Ministry of Mines GOI | On 03 Oct 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

Rights, Responsibilities and Resources: Examining Community Forestry in South Asia

This paper seeks to understand whether decentralized management of forests can reduce forest loss in developing countries. [SANDEE Working Paper, No 59 - 11]. URL:[http://www.sandeeonline.org/upload...

by Priya Shyamsundar | On 28 Sep 2011

Civil Service and Military Pensions in India

The New Pension System in India and the progress that has been made since its introduction in 2004 is described. It then identifies the challenges ahead. It also documents the state of military pens...

by Renuka Sane | On 26 Sep 2011

The Lok Pal Bill Debate: Lack of Accountability, not Anna Hazare's Fast, Should be the Focus

The paper analysis the current situation of corruption in India, the protests against it, the role of NGOs and the Lok Pal Bill

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 19 Sep 2011

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography

The Optional Protocol (OP) to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography was ratified by India on September 16, 2005. This is t...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 16 Sep 2011

Pakistan: 10 Year Banking Strategy Paper for the Banking Sector Reforms

This paper maps out a strategy for banking sector reforms over the next decade. It is formulated by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and is centered on reforms involving the SBP. But the Banking Secto...

by State Bank of Pakistan SBP | On 15 Sep 2011

Evolution of Property Rights Regimes in the Groundwater Economy of India-Constraints on Moving Towards a Common Property Regime

The paper paper reviews the 'model' central and state government bills, pertaining to groundwater, through a conceptual framework and discusses the Andhra Pradesh experience in the developing governme...

by G.Ananda Vadivelu | 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

Reforms in Indian Agro-processing and Agriculture Sectors in the Context of Unilateral and Multilateral Trade Agreements

In this paper, the potential impacts of trade and investment-related policy reforms on India’s agro-processing sector is explored. The direct effects of policy reforms within the processing sector, an...

by A. Ganesh-Kumar | On 22 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

In the Shadow: Illegal Markets and Economic Sociology

Illegal markets differ from legal markets in many respects. Although illegal markets have economic significance and are of theoretical importance, they have been largely ignored by economic sociology....

by Jens Beckert | On 05 Aug 2011

Efficiency and Productivity Growth in Indian Banking

This paper attempts to examine technical efficiency and productivity performance of Indian scheduled commercial banks, for the period 1979-2008. A model is constructed using multiple output/multiple i...

by S S Rajan | On 03 Aug 2011

Draft National Competition Policy for India

National Competition Policy is necessitated, as an overarching Policy framework, in continuation of the 1991-reforms, to infuse greater competition across sectors, and unleash fuller growth potential...

by Ministry of Corporte Affairs GOI | On 01 Aug 2011

Bentham from the Crypt Once More: Politicians in Pursuit of Happiness

There is a burgeoning academic literature on happiness polls that has used a range of different measures and approaches across countries rich and poor alike to answer the question, “what makes peopl...

by Charles Kenny | On 21 Jul 2011

Challenges and Opportunities in a Trillion Dollar Economy

The Indian economy reached the trillion US dollar GDP milestone in 2007 and joined other countries of the trillion dollar club, namely, the US, UK, Japan, Germany, China, France, Italy, Spain, Canada,...

by Chakrabarty K C | On 21 Jun 2011

India - Reforming Farm Support Policies for Grains

The objective of this study is to analyze some of the recent reforms proposed in the operation of government buffer stocks and provision of price support to wheat and rice farmers in India. Based o...

by Shikha Jha | On 17 Jun 2011

WRR: Special Focus on Restoring the Flow

The June issue of World Rivers Review is overflowing with ideas on on how to maintain healthy flows in rivers, for their health and our own. If a river's flow is its heartbeat, then we humans have bec...

by International Rivers Network IRN | On 13 Jun 2011

Access to Land and Land Policy Reforms

The objective of this research and policy brief is to analyse different mechanisms of access to land for the rural poor in an era when redistribution through expropriative land reform is largely incon...

by Alain de Janvry | On 10 Jun 2011

Evolution of Land Distribution in West Bengal 1967-2004

This paper uses data from a household survey to estimate changes in land distribution in rural West Bengal between 1967-2004 and decompose these into contributions of different factors. There was a...

by Pranab Bardhan | On 09 Jun 2011

Captured by Cotton: Exploited Dalit Girls Produce Garments in India for European and US Markets

In this report, the widespread use of the Sumangali Scheme in Tamil Nadu is illustrated by four case studies of such vertically integrated enterprises of which the European and US buyers were identif...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 08 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

Community Forestry in Nepal Management Rules and Distribution of Benefits

In the last decade, far reaching policy reforms in Nepal have allowed local communities to regain control over the management of vast tracts of lands. Community forestry is widely believed to be a maj...

by Bhim Adhikari | On 01 Jun 2011

Women and the Right to Livelihood

This report provides an overview of the Women and Livelihoods events held by PWESCR in collaboration with organisations involved in the Gender Equality Coalition of the Human Dignity and Human Rights...

by PCESC R | On 20 May 2011

Migrant Nightclub/Escort Workers in Hong Kong: An Analysis of Possible Human Rights Abuses

The paper is part of a broader study of the human rights of women who migrate or are trafficked to Hong Kong for the purposes of working in the commercial sex industry. The study is being conduct...

by Robyn Emerton | On 12 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

Children and Human Rights

Essay on the subject. In Gujarati [Gyansadhana 2009-10]

by Falguni B. Vahanwala | On 09 May 2011

South Asians for Human Rights' Minority Right Reports (India 2009)

This paper presents the condition of minority in India in the year 2009. URL: [http://www.southasianrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Minority-Right-Situation-in-India.pdf]

by South Asians for Human Rights | On 09 May 2011

Non-Recourse Mortgages and Credit Market Breakdowns: A Framework for Policy Analysis

This paper illustrates that the legal structure of mortgage credit, in particular, its status in terms of recourse in foreclosure, can lead not only to the familiar problem of adverse selection ...

by Kaushik Basu | On 05 May 2011

Why, for a Class of Bribes, the Act of Giving a Bribe should be Treated as Legal

The paper puts forward a small but novel idea of how can the incidence of bribery be cut down.There are different kinds of bribes and what this paper is concerned with are bribes that people often h...

by Kaushik Basu | On 05 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

Customs Tariff Reform

This paper talks about the customs tariff reforms in India that have come down significantly over the last decade. The 'peak' customs duty rate for instance has progressively come down from around 150...

by Arvind Virmani | On 03 May 2011

Technology in Healthcare: Current Controversies

The articles in each section of this analogy of the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics represents major debates on the ethics of healthcare technology- its development and its application. They cover is...

by Sandhya Srinivasan | On 03 May 2011

A Review of India's Industrial Policy and Performance

When India’s industrial policy chronicle is reviewed, it is found that the country has mainly followed three regimes after independence. These are the planned or controlled period till the end of th...

by G Burange | On 02 May 2011

Deregulation of Savings Bank Deposit Interest Rate: A Discussion Paper

The paper is an attempt to deal with pros and cons of deregulating savings deposit interest rate and take on board the suggestions of various stakeholders for either maintaining the status quo or dere...

by Reserve Bank of India RBI | On 02 May 2011

Has India Emerged? Business Cycle Stylized Facts from a Transitioning Economy

This paper presents a comprehensive set of stylised facts for business cycles in India from 1950 - 2009. India's business cycle in the pre 1991 economy is compared with the post 1991 Indian economy,...

by Ila Patnaik | On 27 Apr 2011

Improving the Legal Process in Enforcement at SEBI

The legal processes at SEBI is examined and described with a focus on the enforcement process, particularly on the quasi-judicial functions. An attempt is made to lay out the principles that ought t...

by Dharmishta Raval | On 15 Apr 2011

Medical Negligence: Law and Interpretation

The paper examines the concept of negligence in medical profession in the light of interpretation of law by the Supreme Court of India and the idea of the ‘reasonable man’. [WP No. 2011-03-03]. URL:...

by Anurag K Agarwal | On 13 Apr 2011

Comments from HAQ:Centre for Child Rights

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill, 2011

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 08 Apr 2011

Parliament Session Wrap: Budget Session – February 21 to March 25, 2011

Nine legislative Bills were introduced during the session. Five Bills were passed and one Bill was withdrawn during the session. Several hours were lost due to interruptions on the issues of appointme...

by Kusum Malik | On 28 Mar 2011

Cabinet Approves Bill to Protect Children Against Sexual Crimes

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved a watershed bill to protect children below the age of 16 against sexual offences, aimed at speedy trail through special courts and having a legal regime at par w...

by Chetan Chauhan | On 26 Mar 2011

Co-operatives and Collective Action: Case of a Rubber Grower Co-operative in East Garo Hills in Meghalaya, North East India

Growing evidences demonstrate that the mountainous societies in South and Southeast Asian countries are underway of dynamic agrarian transition in the context of market integration leading to emerge...

by P.K. Viswanathan | On 25 Mar 2011

A ‘Lawless Law’: Detentions under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act

Hundreds of people are locked up on spurious grounds under the Public Safety Act in Jammu and Kashmir every year. This report exposes a catalogue of human rights violations associated with the use of...

by Amnesty International AI, | On 21 Mar 2011

Protecting Rivers and Rights: The World Commission on Dams Recommendations in Action

The briefing kit highlights key examples of policies, regulations and laws that reflect these WCD recommendations and references specific projects that demonstrate them in action. [IRN brief]. URL:...

by International Rivers Network IRN | On 17 Mar 2011

Budget 2011-12, Punjab

Budget speech by Finance minister. URL:[http://punjabgovt.nic.in/departments/Budget/budget/budget.htm].

by Government of Punjab | On 16 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

Political Economy of Tribal Development: A Case Study of Andhra Pradesh

The paper delineates the situation of the Scheduled Tribes in the background of various policies of the state during the successive plan periods and its impact on their socio-economic mobility. Pol...

by M. Gopinath Reddy | On 16 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

The Sudoku of Growth, Poverty and Malnutrition: Policy Implications for Lagging States

There is a view favoured by anti-globalisation activists, left economists and the global/international socialists that faster growth in India has not reduced poverty. A sub-set of these personalitie...

by Arvind Virmani | On 04 Mar 2011

Towards Universal, Comprehensive and Equitable National Health Systems: The 22 Years Brazilian Experience in its Context

The presentation outlines the 22 years of Brazilian experience in of evolving a comprehensive health care strategy

by Armando De Negri Filho | On 10 Feb 2011

Games the State Plays: A Follow-up Report on the Violations of Workers’ Rights in Commonwealth Games Related Construction Sites

The Commonwealth Games have been an eye opener in several ways. Behind the glitz of fancy stadiums, hotels, and apartments, lies the murky and sensitive death knell of a large majority of people whose...

by People's Union for Democratic Rights PUDR | On 10 Feb 2011

Sustaining Employment and Equitable Growth: Policies For Structural Transformation of The Indian Economy

Broad ranging economic reforms were introduced in the Indian economy in the early 1990s. Yet there was no evidence of a statistical break in the rate of growth of the Indian economy during the ninet...

by Arvind Virmani | On 08 Feb 2011

Children's Rights to be Heard in Judicial Process in India

This submission to the UNCRC Committee is primarily addressing the right to be heard in judicial processes. It analyses the space available within the legal system that ensures that children are giv...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 07 Feb 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

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

Monitoring and Evaluation Reform under Changing Aid Modalities: Seeking the Middle Ground in Aid-Dependent Low-Income Countries

This paper grew out of our bewilderment with the insouciance with which some in the donor community seem ready to abandon accounting for the use of aid. If one listens to the rhetoric surrounding...

by Nathalie Holvoet | On 20 Jan 2011

Rethinking the Informal Economy: Linkages with the Formal Economy and the Formal Regulatory Environment

This paper explores the relationship of the informal economy to the formal economy and to the formal regulatory environment. It begins with a comparison of the earlier concept of the ‘informal sec...

by | On 18 Jan 2011

Evolution of India’s Exchange Rate Regime

The paper analyzes the changing INR trends over the reform period, in the context of fundamental determinants of exchange rates. [WP-2010-024].

by Ashima Goyal | On 13 Jan 2011

Vietnam as a Role Model for Development

Vietnam’s development performance since the early 1990s has been one of the strongest in the world, following the introduction of its doi moi (‘renovation’) economic reform programme in 1986. The...

by John Thoburn | On 11 Jan 2011

Economic Reforms and Infrastructure Spending: Evidence from China and India

This paper examines the country specific effect of policy reform on infrastructure spending in China and India. In China we have examined how marketization and decentralization has affected the co...

by Pinaki Chakraborty | On 10 Jan 2011

The Disinterested Government: An Interpretation of China’s Economic Success in the Reform Era

In the last 30 years, China has achieved high economic growth and successfully transformed its economy from a planned economy to a market-based system. The country, to a large extent, has attaine...

by Yang Yao | On 10 Jan 2011

An Approach to Communication and Social Change: How Communications Can Build Social Capital for the Ultra Poor

BRAC’s Advocacy and Human Rights Unit (BAHRU) has developed a social communications programme that goes beyond traditional approaches of marketing communications. The goal of the programme is long-t...

by Jeneviève Mann ell | On 03 Jan 2011

The Withdrawal of OHCHR-Nepal: Agreeing an Alibi for Violation?

On 9th June 2010 the mandate of the UN human rights field mission to Nepal, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Nepal (OHCHR-Nepal), expires. The Prime Minister MK Nepal has said t...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 22 Dec 2010

The State of the World's Children: Celebrating 20 Years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (henceforth referred to as ‘the Convention’) was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20 November 1989 and entered into force on 2 September 1990. It is t...

by United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF | On 17 Dec 2010

Revisiting Group Dynamic and Legal Rights

BRAC Human Rights and Legal Services Programme (HRLS) has initiated to form ward-based Legal Rights Implementation Committee (LRIC) comprised of 19 members to ensure justice for the vulnerable women...

by Debasish Kumar Kundu | On 14 Dec 2010

The Future of Financial Liberalization in South Asia

The paper defines financial liberalization, distinguishing between liberalization of domestic financial markets and capital account convertibility. It then examines the stages and the strategy of Ind...

by Ashima Goyal | On 14 Dec 2010

At Different Speeds: Policy Complementarities and the Recovery from the Asian Crisis

This paper begins with a short review and discussion of the literature on policy complementarities and their implications in terms of (sustainable) growth strategies and the possible emergence of a ne...

by Bruno Rocha | On 09 Dec 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

Framing Custom, Directing Practices: Authority, Property and Matriliny under Colonial Law in Nineteenth Century Malabar

Colonial judges and jurists interpreted matrilineal customs in terms of a theory of matrilineal law, which they shaped in the process of interpretation, rather than on the basis of existing practice...

by Praveena Kodoth | On 18 Nov 2010

Dynamics of Land Distribution: An Alternative Approach and Analysis with Reference to Kerala

The present exercise is primarily exploratory in nature; it does not attempt to provide a comprehensive explanation of the dynamics of land distribution. The conclusions drawn are primary and tentativ...

by K.N. Nair | On 16 Nov 2010

Changing Approaches to Public Expenditure Management in Low-income Aid Dependent Countries

The present paper critically examines how aid dependent low-income countries have approached the process of public expenditure management reform during the 1990s. It begins with an overview of broad...

by Adrian Fozzard | On 09 Nov 2010

The Rhetoric of Disagreement in Reform Debates

This paper is about the discursive aspects of reform debates, more particularly about their rhetorical forms. In the debates on economic reforms in India, communities of scholars seem to have been t...

by Achin Chakraborty | On 28 Oct 2010

India's 1990-91 Crisis: Reforms, Myths and Paradoxes

For most people the story of Indian reforms starts in the nineties, following the BOP crisis of 1990-91. There was a detectable increase in the rate of growth of the Indian economy in the 1980s aris...

by Arvind Virmani | On 26 Oct 2010

Drug Companies Should Be Held More Accountable for Their Human Rights Responsibilities

The PLoS Medicine Editors argue that drug companies should be held much more accountable for their human rights responsibilities

by PLoS Medicine | On 20 Oct 2010

Fiscal Developments and Outlook in India

The paper identifies those elements in the configuration of fiscal parameters confronting the country that give cause for concern, and examines whether the fiscal reform measures taken address these...

by Indira Rajaraman | On 20 Oct 2010

“Gaining Public Acceptance (GPA)” for Large Dams on International Rivers: The Case of Tipaimukh Dam in India and Concerns in Lower Riparian Bangladesh

The construction of Tipaimukh dam by India on the international Barak river has raises a number of questions in relation to successful implementation of World Commission on Dams (WCD) recommendation o...

by Zakir Kibria | On 19 Oct 2010

Liberalization of Capital Inflows and the Real Exchange Rate in India: A VAR Analysis

The East Asian crisis of 1997-98 and the Mexican crisis of 1994 generated much concern among policy analysts regarding the role of macroeconomic policies in the management of capital inflows. A seri...

by Indrani Chakraborty | On 14 Oct 2010

Economic Reforms and Industrial Performance: An Analysis of Capacity Utilisation in Indian Manufacturing

This paper examines the performance of Indian manufacturing sector in terms of economic capacity utilization (CU), over 1974-1998. An attempt is also made to understand the impact of policy changes,...

by E. Abdul Azeez | On 14 Oct 2010

Decent Work and the Informal Economy

The ILO was founded for social justice, a mandate expressed today in terms of decent work as a global goal, for all who work, whether in formal or informal contexts. In June 2002, the delegates to...

by Anne Trebilcock | On 08 Oct 2010

The Blessing of the Commons: Small-scale Fisheries, Community Property Rights and Coastal Natural Assets

This paper is the product of an international research project of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA and the Centre for Science and Environme...

by John Kurien | On 07 Oct 2010

In the Name of National Pride:Blatant Violation of Workers'Rights at CWG Construction sites

On 14 December 2008, a worker died in an accident at the same site. What followed was unprecedented: workers at the site struck work and demanded that his body be released and shown to, them. They als...

by People's Union for Democratic Rights PUDR | On 01 Oct 2010

Games the State Plays: A Follow–up Report on the Violations of Workers' Rights in CWG-related Construction Sites

For the last few years , a massive amount of construction work has been going on in various parts of Delhi for the Commonwealth Games (CWG) to be held in October this year. PUDR tried to conduct a fac...

by People's Union for Democratic Rights PUDR | On 01 Oct 2010

Women's Work in the Post Reform Period: An Exploration of Macro Data

Development within the framework of economic reforms is often equated to growth rates which are highlighted as the only solution to all problems – be it poverty, unemployment or inequalities based...

by Neetha N | On 21 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

Economic Governance of MFIs: Inside the Black Box

This paper investigates a relationship between economic governance and the dual objectives of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs): poverty reduction and financial viability. Using an unbalanced pan...

by Thankom Arun | On 06 Sep 2010

Disarticulation of Indegenous People: Can the Judiciary Saviour Them

The paper aims at bringing out and explaining the problems faced by tribals. The paper also analyzes various laws made for protecting the tribals and giving them justice.

by Ketan Mukhija | On 03 Sep 2010

The Debate on the Poverty Estimates of 1999–2000

This paper compares the latest estimates of poverty (1999–2000) made by the Planning Commission with earlier estimates of the 1980s and 1990s, focusing on the methodology and database used for estim...

by K.L. Datta | On 11 Aug 2010

Asia and the IMF

This lecture series begins with a discussion of the reforms that have undertaken in the IMF since the mid-1990s, and particularly since the start of the Asian economic crisis. It concludes with a disc...

by Stanley Fischer | On 04 Aug 2010

Overview of School Education in Delhi

This paper presents an overview of school education in Delhi. [Working Paper No. 0068]

by Soumya Gupta | On 13 Jul 2010

Reform of the Fiscal and Subsidy Regime for the Petroleum Sector

Reform of the oil sector is long overdue. The problems in the sector emanate from the structure of central taxes and the system of subsidisation through prices. Solutions to the problems necessa...

by Sebastian Morris | On 08 Jul 2010

Supply Response of Indian Farmers: Pre and Post Reforms

This study estimates supply response for major crops during pre and post reform periods using Nerlovian adjustment cum adaptive expectation model. Estimation is based on dynamic panel data approach wi...

by G. Mythili | On 06 Jul 2010

NCPCR Report on Children Affected by Civil Unrest Dantewada and Khammam

The National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) conducted a factfinding visit from 17th to 19th December 2007, to Dantewada (Chhattisgarh) and Khammam (Andhra Pradesh), in order t...

by HAQ Centre for Child Rights HAQCRC | On 18 Jun 2010

Public Works Department Delhi Government

Public Works Department is engaged in planning, designing, construction and maintenance of government assets in the field of built environment and infrastructure development. This paper talks about...

by Sabith Ullah Khan | On 16 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

Affordability to Finance Poverty Reduction Programmes

This paper addresses the question of affordability to finance poverty reduction programs in a dynamic context. In doing so, it stresses the need for approaching the problem from a human rights perspec...

by Omar Haider Chowdhury | On 04 Jun 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

Grassroot Empowerment (1975-1990): A Discussion Paper

The discussion focusses on women in poverty their concentration in rural and urban areas, and the organisational approach for their mobilization and empowerment. Maximum emphasis has been placed on...

by Narayana K Banerjee | On 17 May 2010

Indian Fisheries-A Historical Alternative

This paper aims at touching on the main divisions of fisheries management, with an insight into the state mechanism and the extra legal systems in place. The principal focus is the history of Indian m...

by Rohan Dominic Mathews | On 16 Apr 2010

Commonwealth Games 2010: Displacement of Persons

This research paper analyses Government policy with regard to Jhuggi-Jhopri clusters- a particular type of housing present in Delhi. These colonies are perceived to be illegal by the Government. Wit...

by Eshaan Puri | On 13 Apr 2010

Budget 2010-2011

Budget speech 2010-2011 by Pranab Mukherjee

by Pranab Mukherjee | On 26 Feb 2010

Escaping Chronic Poverty Through Economic Growth

The paper discusses the participation of poor participate in growth, and how different forms of growth connect to poverty. Also the paper discusses important policy levers, in relation to agriculture,...

by Chronic Poverty Research Centre CPRC | On 18 Feb 2010

The World Bank: Toward a Global Club

In the light of this simple idea of the bank as a global credit club, what are the issues that arise with respect to its current governance structure? How might various proposals for reform strength...

by Nancy Birdsall | On 11 Feb 2010

Towards A Competitive Economy: VAT and Customs Duty Reform

In this paper the issue of indirect tax reform, with a special focus on customs duty reform is examined. [WP]

by Arvind Virmani | On 28 Jan 2010

Assessing the Fiscal Capacity of Indian Governments

The record of different post reform governments in meeting their targets and improving both delivery and finances is assessed. A variety of indices are constructed, and consistency checks devised to m...

by Ashima Goyal | On 27 Jan 2010

Democratic Citizenship: From Proportionality to a Continuum Approach to Political Participation

This paper is an attempt to explore the meaning and significance of political participation within (a) the conceptual framework of democratic citizenship and (b) debates surrounding representative d...

by Anupama Roy | On 10 Dec 2009

The Limits of Intellectual Property Rights: Lessons from the Spread of Illegal Transgenic Cotton Seeds in India

This paper examines these difficulties of regulation in the context of spread of unapproved transgenic Bt cotton seeds in India. This paper also examines the impact of the cultivation of approved and...

by Bharat Ramaswami | On 08 Dec 2009

Has India Become More Innovative Since 1991? Analysis of the Evidence and Some Disquieting Features

There is a strong feeling among especially the West that India is becoming very innovative. The study will take the reader through the empirical evidence on whether this is indeed the case since the...

by Sunil Mani | On 03 Dec 2009

Flying with the Crane-Recapturing KMVS’s Ten-Year Journey

This document is at the behest of KMVS and is an effort to hold up a mirror to their journey. It is a documentation of their history, context, evolution, and experiences since its emergence in 1989. A...

by Vimala Ramachandran | On 01 Dec 2009

Institutional and Economic Perspectives on Government Capacity to Assume New Roles in the Health Sector: a Review of Experience

This review paper provides the background to research that will take place in four country case-studies to examine these issues. A key focus of this paper concerns government's capacity to fulfil the...

by Sara Bennett | On 09 Nov 2009

Shariat Courts and Women’s Rights in India

The main thrust of this paper is: Why should women go to these courts to settle matrimonial disputes while there are provisions for them in secular courts? Do women face less harassment and get quic...

by Sabiha Hussain | On 05 Nov 2009

Intellectual Property Rights in Indian Agriculture

This paper distinguishes the Intellectual Property Rights relevant to agriculture and explain these rights. The international intellectual property law for these rights will be described. India's in...

by Jayashree Watal | On 03 Nov 2009

Dual Practice by Public Health Providers in Shandong and Sichuan Provinces, China

Private practice in the health sector was re-introduced from 1980, when China began its economic reform from a planned economy to a market economy. But today the total number of private sector provide...

by Ying Bian | On 30 Sep 2009

Poverty Vs Inequality

Are economic reforms and the greater role of markets responsible for growth being anti-poor and anti-equality, or is it the failure of governance in poverty-ridden states like Bihar and Jharkhand that...

by T.N. Ninan | On 22 Sep 2009

Child Protection A Handbook for Panchayat Members

This handbook on child protection will help Panchayat Raj members to understand the actions they can take to protect children resulting in better convergence of programmes and increased allocation of...

by Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development | On 16 Sep 2009

State-Led or Market-Led Green Revolution? Role of Private Irrigation Investment vis-a-vis Local Government Programs in West Bengal’s Farm Productivity Growth

This paper estimates respective roles of private investments in irrigation and local government programs (land reforms, extension services, and infrastructure investments) in the growth of farm prod...

by Pranab Bardhan | On 14 Sep 2009

Developing The Indian Debt Capital Markets: Small Investor Perspectives

This paper argues that with the recent economic reforms, an efficient and active debt market, particularly in long-term private debt instruments, is essential for the country to realize the full bene...

by Pronab Sen | On 13 Aug 2009

Ethics Without Borders

The authors shows the problems that can arise when research is done in the context of humanitarian relief work and also notes that ethical oversight of such research needs to be rigorous, but also pra...

by Plos medicine Editors | On 06 Aug 2009

Conflict, Crisis, and Abuse in Dharavi, Mumbai: Experiences from Six Years at a Centre for Vulnerable Women and Children

Many victims of domestic violence go to hospitals, but interaction with doctors and nurses tended to stop at treatment for injuries. Engaging with the wider issues—emotional, psychiatric, social, and...

by Nayreen Daruwalla | On 29 Jul 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

Aam Admi Budget Bypasses India’s Children

Money for Education, Health, Child Protection not enough for 400 million children’s basic rights

by Juhi H | On 17 Jul 2009

A Status Report on India’s Financial System: A view from the Standpoint of Intermediation and Risk Bearing

The paper seeks to analyse and discuss the impact of financial reform and related institutional change on the process of financial intermediation. In effect reforms stood the earlier quantity driven...

by Chakrabarti B.B. | On 09 Jul 2009

Regulatory Structure Under EC Competition Laws: Lessons for India

Competition law is different from other branches of law. It is not about the fairness or morality to be instilled in the actions which mark societal behaviour. Instead the rules of competition reflect...

by Tarun Jain | On 14 Jun 2009

Educating Women and Non-Brahmins as 'Loss of Nationality' : Bal Gangadhar Tilak and the Nationalist Agenda in Maharashtra

This paper deals with the nationalist discourse in Maharashtra spanning over forty years. This discourse argued that educating women and non-Brahmins would amount to a loss of nationality. The nationa...

by Parimala V Rao | On 11 Jun 2009

A New Debt Crisis? Assessing the Impact of the Financial Crisis on Developing Countries

This report is intended as a wake-up call to anyone who thinks the developing world debt crisis has been resolved. In fact, it assesses fears of a new debt crisis, more serious than before, spreading...

by Sarah Edwards | On 11 Jun 2009

Initiatives of NGOs in Kutch Region

Many NGOs occupy a space between public and private sector organisations, and the papers in this special issue demonstrate that the mechanisms required for effective accountability by these NGOs are u...

by Kalpana C Satija | On 06 Jun 2009

The EU-India FTA Critical Considerations in a Time of Crisis

The paper broadly examines the core trade interests of the EU and India, the content of the negotiations and outlines some key concerns of a potential deal for India in the areas of goods, services an...

by Shefali Sharma | On 05 Jun 2009

Making the Punishment Fit the Crime or Taliban Justice? Optimal Penalties without Commitment

This paper argues that graduated penalties observed in most legal systems may be an attempt to direct law enforcement efforts towards crimes that are socially more harmful, thereby achieving better de...

by Parikshit Ghosh | On 03 Jun 2009

China- India Economic Engagement Building Mutual Confidence

China and India, Asia's two largest and most dynamic societies, have come to be important players in regional and global decision-making. Both countries have had their share of experience in colonial...

by Swaran Singh | On 03 Jun 2009

Women’s Work in the Post Reform Period: An Exploration of Macro Data

An important aspect that is often highlighted in the context of economic reforms, is the translation of labour market changes into defining or redefining gender relations and empowerment of women. In...

by Neetha N | On 03 Jun 2009

Liberalization with Endogenous Institutions: A Comparative Analysis of Agricultural Reform in Africa, Asia and Europe

Thirty years ago, a vast share of the poor and the middle income countries were heavily state-controlled. The effects of the liberalizations in the 1980s and 1990s differed strongly between regions in...

by Johan F.M. Swinnen | On 02 Jun 2009

Do Social Clauses in Generalized Systems of Preferences Advance the Cause of Women?

While in the era of globalization, millions of women got paid employment in labour-intensive industries in developing countries, they still face precarious working conditions. Women rights violations...

by Franziska Humbert | On 01 Jun 2009

Background Paper: Investment Liberalization in the EU-ASEAN FTA

This background paper focuses on the implications of investment liberalization on ASEAN nations. [FGS OP NO 5]

by Ignacio Jose Minambres | On 31 May 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

Interest Groups and Patent Reform in India

India’s patent reforms represent a shift in India’s policy from one of enormous opposition to revising patent laws according to the WTO, to one of compliance with many aspects of TRIPs (Trade Related...

by Anitha Ramanna | On 26 May 2009

Social Movements and the Law in Post Colonial Hong Kong

Social movements in Hong Kong have begun to challenge the law and the judicial system for the purpose of challenging government policies or at least making their claims highly visible before the publi...

by | On 19 May 2009

Gender and Innovation in South Asia

To understand how gender, women’s rights and citizenship intersect with innovation in SouthAsia, one must begin by considering some of the main features of life for South Asian women, about a half of...

by Sujata Byravan | On 06 May 2009

Reporting The Olympic Year

This paper discusses if the Olymipic Games presented a change- not change along the lines of South Koreas leap towards democracy after the Seol Olympics, but some small shift- and how the nature of it...

by Jane Macartney | On 05 May 2009

India – 1947-79 Six Parliaments and Democratic Rights

Communal riots have become an annual feature of Indian life, although their number varies from year to year. A situation has come to pacs where maddening communal violence, arbitrary actions of exe...

by People's Union for Democratic Rights PUDR | On 16 Apr 2009

The Missing Middle

The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence, and argue, that stunning as India’s success is, the potential – and need – is for still more reform and more rapid growth. 8 percent is a good rate of...

by Anne O. Krueger | On 17 Feb 2009

Exploring the Relationship Between Military Spending and Human Rights Performance in South Asia

The relationship between military spending and human rights is one of the most prominent issues in political economy. Yet, the linkage between the two is empirically underdeveloped. Seeking to fulfi...

by Krishna Chaitanya Vadlamannati | On 08 Jan 2009

Gestational Surrogacy Contracts: Altruistic or Commercial ?

The paper provides an analytical structure to endogenize the optimal gestational surrogacy contract in terms of a simple moral hazard framework. The study shows that altruistic surrogacy is optimal...

by Swapnendu Banerjee | On 23 Dec 2008

Suggesting Effective Policy Frames for Chronic Poverty Alleviation in India

This is a continuation of an earlier paper (2005) by the author which dealt with policy implications based on the work done by CPRC in India. There is no map of chronic poverty in India, but have an a...

by N C B Nath | On 16 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

The Role of Fiscal and Monetary Policies in Sustaining Growth with Stability in India

This paper focuses on the role of fiscal and monetary policies in the evolution of the Indian economy over the years, with particular attention being given to the reforms undertaken in these policies...

by Rakesh Mohan | On 28 Nov 2008

The State of Human Rights in Bangladesh

The system of justice in Bangladesh is derived from the common law system. The judiciary tends to be conservative in its application of international law. While in many cases the judiciary has cited i...

by South Asians for Human Rights SAHR | On 07 Oct 2008

An Ethnographic Study on Women in Prostitution in Bihar

The study tries to focus on the violation of human rights that occur in prostitution. It holds that it is the responsibility of the state to protect these human rights and address the fundamental stru...

by Nina Srivastava | On 30 Sep 2008

On the Economics of Higher Education in India, With Special Reference to Women

The paper investigates the role of economic factors in the enrolment decision at the higher education level in India. The study concludes that the rate of participation of women is in a disadvantage...

by Sugeeta Upadhyay | 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

Civil Liberties, an African perspective

The approach of the PUCL to civil liberties issues underlines a crucial understanding: an understanding which has as its base the recognition of the fundamental truth that civil liberties is not a mat...

by Z.M. Yacoob | On 18 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

Human rights in retreat

Is there not a worse situation today than during the Emergency? There was no colonization of the country by the foreign powers, with agriculture, industry, education, defense, health and trade being a...

by P.B. Sawant | On 05 Sep 2008

Critique of the Human Rights Ordinance in Bangladesh 2008: A Human Rights Commission must have effective Powers

It was left to human rights defenders to inform the UN Committees on the situation of human rights by submitting shadow reports, to investigate violations, and to campaign for an end to impunity for l...

by Hameeda Hossain | On 05 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

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

Fiscal Policy and Economic Reforms

A practitioner’s perspective of fiscal policy, and economic reforms.

by Y V Reddy | On 14 Aug 2008

No Gross National Happiness for Bhutanese Refugees

One sixth of the population of Bhutan is displaced in Nepal and India. The prolonged exile of Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal and India is a major human rights deficit in the South Asian region, a...

by South Asians for Human Rights SAHR | On 12 Aug 2008

The Indian Banking Industry – A Retrospect of Select Aspects

A broad overview of the achievements and progress made by the Indian banking sector in the last two decades and the emerging frontiers of the Indian banking system, in the post-reform era. [Address d...

by Leeladhar V | On 11 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

Shifting Cultivation and its Alternatives in Bangladesh: Productivity, Risk and Discount Rates

This study evaluates the economic feasibility of replacing shifting cultivation (Jhum) with settled agriculture and new soil conservation technology based on an assessment of the farmers’ risk and cor...

by M. A. Monayem Miah | On 29 Jul 2008

The Politics of Responsibility to Protect

This occasional paper addresses three questions revolving around the IMF policy. The questions are: What are the underlying factors shaking the very foundation of one of the pillars of the internatio...

by Marc Saxer | On 29 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

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan - Annual Report Highlights

For a better part of the year 2007 the state of Pakistan was only half alive. That naturally reduced its capacity, never rated high, to guarantee the people's human rights. Thus, from the point of vi...

by South Asians for Human Rights SAHR | On 18 Jul 2008

The Future Role of the IMF: Asian Perspectives

The financial crisis of 1997 gave the Asian region a very hard lesson on the importance of financial stability. The severity of the crisis and the failure of IMF in assisting these countries became a...

by Titik Anas | On 17 Jul 2008

Drug Development for Maternal Health Cannot Be Left to the Whims of the Market

The development of drugs for maternal health cannot be constrained by market-driven needs. What is needed is a political will.

by PLoS Medicine | On 16 Jul 2008

Poverty Eradication and Human Rights

This paper examines the proposition that "poverty is a violation of human rights". The author disuses the possibility of this proposition to be implementable in real case senarios and in polcies,

by Arjun Sengupta | On 26 Jun 2008

Process, People, Power and Conflict: Some Lessons from a Participatory Policy Process in Andhra Pradesh, India

A large body of empirical literature highlights the need for stakeholder participation within the context of policy change and democratic governance. This makes intuitive sense and may appear to be a...

by Vinod Ahuja | On 19 Jun 2008

The UN scam on human trafficking: No protection for the victims

On 8th March, United Nations agencies, governments and non-governmental organisations across the world celebrated “International Women’s Day”. But in the United Nations Human Rights Council there was...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 18 Jun 2008

India’s Energy Security

The paper examines teh current energy demand of India and the implications of future levels and patterns of energy use in India. [FES Briefing Paper 14 ]

by Leena Srivastava | On 06 Jun 2008

Globalization and Securing Worker Rights for Women in Developing Countries

The paper reviews the impact of Globalization on developing economies workers in informal economy and gender implications on the process. Globalization created some insecurity for the workers in infor...

by Jeemol Unni | On 05 Jun 2008

Viet Nam,Human Rights and Trade

With the liberalization of trade Viet Nam became the 150th member of World Trade Organization in January 2007. The country became an example to the world on how trade can spur the economic and social...

by David Kinley | On 03 Jun 2008

Towards a Less Imperfect State of the World: The Gulf Between North and South

Many developing countries assert a claim to the privilege of managing world order on a shared basis but exhibit a strong reluctance to accept the responsibility flowing from such privilege, for exampl...

by Ramesh Thakur | On 14 May 2008

Subject Matter of Jurisdiction of an Industrial Tribunal

The purpose of creating an industrial tribunal was to introduce compulsory adjudication where voluntary negotiation fails and the ‘appropriate government’ believes that the matter is grave enough to b...

by Navjyoti Samanta | On 13 May 2008

Draft Report of the Committee on financial Sector Reforms

The financial sector has built capabilities such that, with appropriate policy changes, it can grow tremendously, both domestically and internationally. the report touches upon two reasons for financi...

by Raghuram G. Rajan | On 14 Apr 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

Divided Destinies, Unequal Lives: Economic, cultural and Social rights and the Indian State

On 10th July, 1979, India - by ratifying the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) - became a State party to this treaty body. Reporting guidelines of the Covenant re...

by Peoples Collective PCESCR | On 10 Apr 2008

Brief Report of the National Seminar on 'Feeding the Child'

The problematic areas in child feedoing, particularly the poor infrastructure for the Anganwadis was highlighted. The consensus was that despite all these shortcomings there must be an expansion of A...

by Swami Sivananda Memorial Institute SSMI | On 13 Mar 2008

Police Firing on Adivasis in Gujarat: Report of Fact Finding Committee, PUCL Gujarat

Report of the committee of concerned citizens formed by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Gujarat to enquire into the facts related to the police firing on the Adivasis demonstration on t...

by Ghanshyam Shah | On 02 Mar 2008

Gender Planning, Budgeting and Auditing

This manual is intended to help local governments to uphold the human rights of women, by involving them in identifying their needs and with their participation, to find possible solutions and move to...

by Aleyamma Vijayan | On 04 Feb 2008

Review of The Economics of Information Technology: An Introduction

Review of The Economics of Information Technology: An Introduction" by Hal R. Varian, Joseph Farrell, Carl Shapiro, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2004, pages 102, Price Rs. 795 RBI Occasional...

by Brijesh Pazhayathodi | On 22 Jan 2008

A Review of the Pharmaceutical Industry of Canada

Three important aspects of the Canadian pharmaceutical industry-viz. compulsory licence, price control on patented drugs and the R&D scenario. Unlike other developed countries, which have adopted the...

by Lalitha N | On 18 Jan 2008

Optimal Patent Length in a North-South Framework

Under certain conditions it is optimal for the noninnovating south to give patent protection for a longer time period than the innovating north. A cooperative patent agreement involves a larger protec...

by Swapnendu Banerjee | On 03 Jan 2008

A Success Story

India's economic reforms are evaluated.

by T.N. Ninan | On 26 Nov 2007

Report on National Mineral Policy

Even after five years of after the liberalisation of the investment regime India has failed to attract FDI to come to the mining sector. In the last decade, many developing countries have significantl...

by Planning Commission, India | On 18 Oct 2007

The New Mumbai: Defining Systemic Reforms for the Governance of Mumbai City and Mumbai Metropolitan Region

The 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution of India were made with an express objective or purpose of restoring power back to people by legally encouraging “local self-governance”. At the same...

by A.K. Shende | On 08 Oct 2007

Model Nagara Raj Bill

Model bill to amend the laws relating to the Municipalities and to institutionalise citizens’ participation in municipal functions, e.g. setting priorities, budgeting provisions, etc. by setting up of...

by Ministry of Urban Development MoUD | On 08 Oct 2007

Inititaing Public Debate on Reforms in Higher Education

Idea on National Knowledge Commission, what it is and what are they trying to accomplish, ask for the audience support, understanding and also talk about the need for major reforms in University educa...

by Sam Pitroda | On 05 Oct 2007

Capital Inflows, Financial Repression and Macroeconomic Policy in India since the Reforms

Since the early 1990s the Indian economy has seen a considerable relaxation of controls, as a consequence of which it has witnessed unprecedented growth. This is especially remarkable in the external...

by Partha Sen | On 04 Oct 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

NOVARTIS vs. Union of India: Some Lessons

TRIPS is a reality and India has to rework its patent law to conform to it. But that does not mean that we have a patent law that provides for TRIPS plus rules. Our interest lies in taking full advant...

by Sheela Rai | On 20 Sep 2007

Intellectual Property Protection to Plant Varieties: Issues in Transgenic Cotton Cultivation

As Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights have been extended to agriculture, member countries are forced to provide intellectual property protection to plant varieties. As a member coun...

by Lalitha N | On 28 Aug 2007

Human Rights Violations Against Sexuality Minorities in India

This report is located in the twin contexts of the global movement for recognition of sexuality minority rights and the increasing assertiveness of sexuality minority voices at the local level. It exa...

by PUCL Karnataka | On 27 Aug 2007

Understanding HIV/AIDS: A Gender and Rights Perspective

Prevalance of HIV/AIDS, HIV in India: Current and Future Trends, Gender Analysis of HIV/AIDS, Recommendations for the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Programs [WOHTRAC Report Series No. 7].

by Renu Khanna | On 14 Aug 2007

ACHR Weekly Review: Pakistan: The Land of Religious Apartheid and Jackboot Justice

On 14 August 2007, the United Nations Committee on the International Convention Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD Committee) is tentatively scheduled to examine the situation of...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 11 Aug 2007

Democracy, Political Dissent, and Repressive Laws

The recent arrest of Binayak Sen of the PUCL-Chattisgarh has brought to the fore the important question as to what democracy means when it is practised under the ever present shadow of state repressio...

by Hasan Mansur | On 08 Aug 2007

Working Draft for Revised Medical Curriculum: Paraclinical: Forensic Medicine

At the end of the course in Forensic Medicine, the learner shall be able to: 1. Identify, examine and prepare report or certificate in medico-legal cases/situations in accordance with the law of lan...

by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare H & FW | On 08 Aug 2007

Dowry and Property Rights

Modernisation necessarily leads to the emergence of dowry as a direct transfer to the groom ("groom-price"). The historical instances of dowry can be classified according to the schema implied by the...

by Siwan Anderson | On 31 Jul 2007

Custodial Death of Rohtas Singh of Haryana: A Fact Finding Report

The report of a two member team of Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) consisting of Advocate Nitesh Kumar Singh and Advocate Rajesh Pandey on the death in custody of Rohtas Singh, owner of a ready-m...

by Asian Centre for Human Rights ACHR | On 13 Jul 2007

Economic Reforms, Capital Inflows and Macro Economic Impact in India

The effects of the inflows of private foreign capital on some major macroeconomic variables in India are analyzed using quarterly data for the period 1993-99. Cointegration test and The Granger Causal...

by Indrani Chakraborty | On 11 Jul 2007

Think Productivity

Export growth and rate of increase in bank credit have slowed down, oil prices are very high, becasuse of the interest rate hike, housing demand has reduced. Even though Sensex has crossed 15000, GDP...

by T.N. Ninan | On 10 Jul 2007

Newsletter on Regional Economy: A bi-monthly four-state update

A monthly compilation by IRIS.

by IRIS India IRIS | On 06 Jul 2007

Handbook on Pre-conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994 and Rules and Amendments

A law to prevent sex determination tests was passed in Maharashtra known as Maharashtra Regulation of Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1988. In 1994 the the Parliament enacted the Pre-Natal Diagn...

by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare H & FW | On 05 Jul 2007

Reproductive Health: Case Laws

This draft chapter of a reader on Health Care Case Laws in India addresses the following issues: Have reproductive rights been recognized in India? What has been the approach of the courts towards rep...

by Vijay Hiremat | On 04 Jul 2007

Industrial Growth in Kerala: Trends and Explanations

The study traces the trends in industrial growth against the backdrop of the overall economic growth in Kerala under the influence of the ongoing economic reforms and evaluates it against the performa...

by KK Subrahmanian | On 14 Jun 2007

Economic Reforms And Entry Barriers In Indian Manufacturing

Analysis is made to the extent of barriers to entry in Indian manufacturing by empirically quantifying the height of these barriers. Econometric estimation of the height of the barriers for 1991 and 1...

by M Suresh Babu | 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

Pension Liabilities of the Central Government: Projections and Implications

The commonly held belief that the Central government pension bill has the potential to reach an unsustainable level does not appear to be based on any realistic assessment of such liabilities in the...

by Pronab Sen | On 25 Apr 2007

Post-Autistic Economics Review : No. 41, March 2007

- What would post-autistic trade policy be? Alan Goodacre (UK) On the need for a heterodox health economics : Robert McMaster (University of Aberdeen, UK) - True cost environment...

by PAER Post Autistic Economic Review | On 17 Apr 2007

Book Review: Trojan Horses?

Review of Susantha Goonatilake's 'Recolonisation: Foreign Funded NGOs in Sri Lanka' . Takes up case studies of some leading development and human rights NGOs in Sri Lanka, arguing that NGOs are neith...

by Mohan Rao | On 21 Mar 2007

Suicides by Cotton Farmers in Andhra Pradesh

The paper disuses and analyzes the condition of cotton farmers of Andra Pradesh and the reasons for their committing suicides.

by Reji K Joseph | On 05 Mar 2007

Assessing the Applicability of Geographical Indications as a Means to Improve Environmental Quality in Affected Ecosystems and the Competitiveness of Agricultural Products

the objective of this report is to analyse the existing and potential links that can be established between current Geographical Indications (GIs) and regional sustainable development. A case study a...

by Mariano Riccheri, | On 24 Feb 2007

Property Rights and Natural Resources: Socio-Economic Heterogeneity and Distributional Implications of Common Property Resource Management

Poverty, property rights and distributional implications of community-based resource management have become major topics of discussion and debate in recent years. This study tries to examine the contr...

by Bhim Adhikari | On 17 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

Policy, Economic Federalism & Product Market Entry: The Indian Experience

Productivity growth has long been associated with, among others, contestability of markets which, in turn, is dependent on the ease with which potential competitors to the incumbent firms can enter t...

by Sumon Kumar Bhaumik | On 11 Jan 2007

Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatan and Electoral Politics

Following the Supreme court judgement on election reforms including the mandate to the election commission to disseminate all information provided by the candidate to the people, a large number of non...

by E. Venkatesu | On 10 Jan 2007

Fiscal Decentralisation and Local Level Gender Responsive Budgeting in Morocco: Some Observations

During the last few years there has been a significant attempt to change the status of women in Morocco. Considerable efforts have been made to incorporate mainstream gender in socio-economic policies...

by M.Govinda Rao | On 27 Dec 2006

Women’s Right To Land, Assets, And Other Productive Resources: Its Impact On Gender Relations And Increased Productivity

It is often assumed that poverty reduction would lead to gender equality. Research however, points to the opposite, namely, that increasing prosperity can have perverse gender effects . It is therefor...

by Nitya Rao | On 26 Dec 2006

(Un)Constituting Property: The Deconstruction of the ‘Rights to Property’ in India

This paper is an engagament with the nuances of institutions contained within the edifice of the State, in particular institutions that have played a role in the construction of property rights in Ind...

by Jaivir Singh | On 20 Dec 2006

Rights-based Strategies in the Prevention of Domestic Violence

This study is an attempt to broaden the discussion about the prevention of domestic violence against women, informed by a rights based strategy. The study discusses the critical elements of a human ri...

by Pradeep Kumar Panda | On 19 Dec 2006

Reforming the Local, Constructing China: Place Identity in a North China Province

Reform in the People's Republic of China has seen a dramatic change in the discourse of localism, which has now moved from being a political crime to being a technique for encouraging entrepreneuriali...

by David S. G. Goodman | On 21 Nov 2006

Overview of Bilateral Free Trade and Investment Agreements

A comprehensive inventory of bilateral FTAs on a global scale, with sections on Africa and the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean. It highlights the key points of e...

by Bilaterals.org | On 03 Nov 2006

Children of Women Prisoners in Jails: A Study in Uttar Pradesh

Imprisonment of mothers with dependent young child is a problematic issue. The effects of incarceration can be catastrophic on the children and costly to the state in terms of providing for their car...

by Planning Commission, India | On 30 Oct 2006

Globalization and China's 'Race to the Bottom' in Labour Standards

Globalization, or integration with the world economy via WTO membership, was expected to increase foriegn investment and benefit the labour intensive manufacturing sector in China. Yet, although forei...

by Anita Chan | On 26 Oct 2006

Reform of the Chinese Electric Power Market: Economics and Institutions

To power national development, the government organized electricity production and distribution as a state-owned vertically integrated utility, structured and operated under central planning. Electri...

by Chi Zang | On 25 Oct 2006

China: Pension Provision and Pension Administration

In the long term, there is little doubt that China will be better off with a single and unified pension insurance system covering the whole country, just as most of other countries do. In the short...

by Shaoguang Wang | On 25 Oct 2006

Book Review: Historical Experiences and Modern Encounters with Law

This book attempts to address how the tribes in India have perceived the State and its law. The tribes stand apart from the general population, and are made to stand outside the law, characterises the...

by Mayur Suresh | On 16 Oct 2006

Book Review: Gendering of Wounds: Male Emotional Injury in Literature, Medicine, and the Law

The book is an exciting study of male emotional injury in literature, medicine, and the law. Travis's strategy of carefully framing the scope of her book gives the reader a clear idea of what to expe...

by Auli Ek | On 07 Oct 2006

Wrong focus

If business gains at the expense of other stake-holders (consumers, the tax department, farmers), economic benefits get captured by a small minority at the top of the pyramid. Even without skewed poli...

by T.N. Ninan | On 01 Oct 2006

Legislative Brief: The Seeds Bill, 2004

The Seeds Bill, 2004 aims to regulate the quality of seeds sold, and replaces the Seeds Act, 1966. The proposed Act would replace the Seeds Act, 1966. The Bill seeks to update the existing Act in or...

by M. R. Madhavan | On 01 Oct 2006

Penal Strategies and Political Resistance in Colonial and Independent India

This paper will explore the discursive practices surrounding specific laws, trials, and the ideology of punishment in colonial and independent India. The purpose is to show how through this matrix o...

by Ujjwal Kumar Singh | On 29 Aug 2006

Section 377 of the IPC and Queer Women in India

How do queer women then claim rights provided by the constitution and international conventions when their identity per se is not included in the legal regime and if such an inclusion might be count...

by Ponni Arasu | On 29 Aug 2006

Forms of Resistance: Postcoloniality as Critique in/of the Time That Remains

Within the context of the mere posit of resistance, who is the remnant within the time of the now? Does the remnant include the postcolonial juridical subject as the index of a cultural and political...

by Tawai Ansah | On 29 Aug 2006

Feminization of Crime: A Critical Interrogation

The issue of feminization of crime provides a vantage point in delineating the theories of crime, criminals, penology and sociology of law.

by Tapan Mohanty | On 29 Aug 2006

Victims and Villains: The construction of Female Criminality in Colonial Calcutta

This paper will examine the implications of the colonial construction of criminality for our understanding of criminology and gender today.

by Sumanta Banerjee | On 29 Aug 2006

Curriculum Design and Legal Pedagogy: Moving Beyond the Case Law Method

While recognizing that the goals of legal education can, and should, extend beyond the solitary objective of generating competent legal professionals this paper will argue that experiential learning...

by Sudhir Krishnaswamy | On 29 Aug 2006

State Against Democracy: Case Study in Orissa, India.

The tribal communities of Orissa face a massive new threat from legislation for conservation and forestry and their judicial interpretations, as well as from the increasing onslaughts of globalisat...

by Shyama Prasad Rout | On 29 Aug 2006

Encountering Disability: The Making and Unmaking of DEvelopment Categories in the Third World

Abstracts of the theme: The theme of the stream would be the investigation, from a critical legal perspective, of the social and legal construction of disability from a human rights perspective.

by Shilpaa Anand | On 29 Aug 2006

Sexualised Economics, Divorce and Division of Farming Property in Australia

The purpose of the paper is to ask how family law texts, as regards rural divorce, have obtained there own particular structure and form. The author concentrates on the rural divorce cases.The purpose...

by Malcolm Voyce | On 29 Aug 2006

The Business of Law Schools

This paper will focus in particular on (a) Revenue generation and associated concerns (b) Attracting and retaining quality faculty (c) Law school management and (d) International Positioning. I wil...

by Sachin Malhan | On 29 Aug 2006

Social Exclusion And Criminal Law

This paper will examine the network of consitutional and penal provisions on the question of social exclusion and will explore the implications of these realities for an understanding of criminology...

by S.R. Sankaran | On 29 Aug 2006

Parens Patriae: Exercising Patriarchal Prerogative in Post-Partition India

This paper analyses the implications of this Abducted Persons (Recovery and Restoration) Act of 1949 not with the intention of discussing its legal merits, but rather, to indicate that in the exercise...

by Ritu Menon | On 29 Aug 2006

Women's Rights and the Crises of International Human Rights Intervention

This paper will map the developments that led to the integration of gender into the international human rights law discourse and examine how the language of ‘violence’ and ‘respectable victimhood’ (...

by Oishik Sarcar | On 29 Aug 2006

International Laws and the Discontended

The paper examines aspects of the contents of contemporary international laws that are threatening the legitimacy of public international law as well as International Commercial Law.

by Gbenga Oduntan | On 29 Aug 2006

Rethinking the Political Core of an Emancipatory Project in Africa

This paper will begin by reviewing the political assumptions of the nature of citizenship underlying T.H. Marshall’s argument for ‘social rights’; it will provide a critique of human rights discours...

by Michael Neocosmos | On 29 Aug 2006

Criminal Tribes and the Debates on Criminal Law

The relationship between itinerant and sedentary communities has become increasingly problematic in modern times.. The many strands from science, myth, religion, official ethnography which went into...

by Meena Radhakrishna | On 29 Aug 2006

Sodomy Law and the Limits of Subjectivation

Using ethnographies of persons situated in cruising spaces, this paper argues that there are limits on the power of subjectivation that section 377 bears; that one’s entry into sociality can occur t...

by Mayur Suresh | On 29 Aug 2006

Enclosure,Biocommons and Open Source:In Search of Alternatives

The upward harmonization through TRIPS, the TRIPS Plus provision in various bilateral and free trade agreements is resulting in the global spread of the enclosure with nation states acting as guaran...

by Krishna Ravi Srinivas | On 29 Aug 2006

Conspiracy in Criminology

This paper will examine the relationship between distributive justice, associational rights and the use of conspiracy in the law, underscoring the potential of this nexus to erode constitutional and...

by K.G. Kannabiran | On 29 Aug 2006

A Cartography of Contemporary Developments in IPR of Plant Materials

This paper engages with the literature on intellectual property rights by adopting an evolutionary economist’s approach to the study of technologies.

by Dwijen Rangnekar | On 29 Aug 2006

Post-Liberalisation India: and the Importance of Legal Reform

The main purpose of this paper is to draw attention to the central importance of legal reform within the context of second generation reforms. Unfortunately, this area is usually seen as peripheral to...

by Sanjeev Sanyal | On 19 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

A Shrinking of the Public Domain in Agriculture: IPR in plant material

Rather paradoxically the promotion of intellectual property rights, aimed at solving the incentive problem, might actually hinder innovation. This paper engages with this literature by adopting an evo...

by Dwijen Rangnekar | On 17 Aug 2006

Are we there yet? The deferral of justice and the promise of human rights

Utilizing the critical theory of Drucilla Cornell and Costas Douzinas, and looking back to the utopianism of Ernst Bloch, the paperI offers an argument that acknowledges the limits of the law and th...

by Narnia Bohler-Muller | On 28 Jul 2006

Crime and Punishment: An Analysis of Death Penalty

However despite the enuniciation of ‘rarest of rare’, there has been no decrease in the number of death sentences awarded by various courts. This essay shall attempt to chart the ‘hardening’ of the c...

by Bikram Jeet Batra | On 28 Jul 2006

Integrating Gender into the Legal Cuurriculum: The Case of a Technical Subject

This paper seeks to show how the absence of a feminist critique in the traditional understanding of a ‘technical’ subject such as tax law has led to a pedagogical crisis in the subject, and how the...

by M. Maithreyi | On 28 Jul 2006

Higher Education in India: The Need for Change

The paper relates the growth of higher education in India to the changing funding pattern and suggests ways to ensure that higher education remains both affordable and accessible to all. The author...

by Pawan Agarwal | On 25 Jul 2006

Law and Life in the State of Nature: Reflections on the Stories of Legal Literacy

This paper, based on analysis of experiential accounts and responses of persons all over the country, drawn from various backgrounds over a period of 15 years, will attempt to examine the ordinary and...

by Abha Singhal Joshi | On 25 Jul 2006

Criminology and the Homosexual Subject: A Queer Critique

well into the twenty first century the legal structure in its various manifestations continues to produce knowledge of the homosexual as criminal. Equally of import is the role that the constitution...

by ARvind Narrain | On 25 Jul 2006

Ethics of Social Research

As society develops, it is important to keep ethical problems under continuing scrutiny and debate. It should also be recognized that a productive balance is between society’s need for knowledge and i...

by Pradip Kumar Bose | On 19 Jul 2006

From a Rights Perspective

The collection of papers demonstrates that the human right to development in essence brings together several distinct but not mutually inconsistent streams of philosophical, political, economic and so...

by Vijay Kumar Nagaraj | On 15 Jul 2006

The Communal Violence (Pevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) bill, 2005

Bill No. CXV of 2005 A Bill to empower the State Governments and the Central Government to take measures to provide for the prevention and control of communal violence which threatens the secular fab...

by Ministry of Home Affairs | On 25 May 2006

Legislative Brief: Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2005

The Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2005 provides for (a) prevention and control of communal violence, (b) speedy investigation and trials, and (c) rehabil...

by Parliamentary Research Service | On 25 May 2006

The limits of tolerance and equality,or towards a 'new tolerance' and equality

Women's Equality in Transition: Intersectionality in Northern Ireland's/ North of Ireland's Equality Legislation Women have been invisible in mainstream analyses of the Northern Irish conflict. The...

by | On 23 May 2006

Fantasm of Permanence and The Monologic of Empire

In order to understand criminal legislation, one needs to refocus from criminal legislation to its most modern form, the code ─ by turning one's historical attention to the significance of cri...

by Chowdhury Irad Ahmed Siddiky | On 27 Apr 2006

Critical Legal Conference: The Law of the Law in the Age of Empire

Description of the Streams and Workshops

by NALSAR University of Law | On 27 Apr 2006

Public health, Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights: Report of the Commission on Intellectual Property Rights,Innovation and Public Health

On April 3, 2006, an independent commission on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), innovation and public health presented its report to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The report was commissioned...

by | On 14 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

Restructuring Public Sector Hospital Services: Marginalising the Poor

The paper examines the state of public sector hospitals, how they are being compelled to transform into profit churning units through reforms, and in the process alienating poor and the underprivileg...

by Bijoya Roy | On 31 Mar 2006

Constituting Development: Encountering the deprivation of the ‘poor’ under the ‘reform’ apparatus in India

The paper addresses three main issues: The nature of economic reforms and how growth is segregated within the sectors; secondly, limitations of the poverty line approach to estimate the development of...

by Saji M. | On 31 Mar 2006

Changing Practices in/of Science: The Context of Intellectual Property Rights in India

Changes in the practices and norms of research have changed the dynamics of creation of knowledge. Issues of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and proprietary information and knowledge have begun to...

by Sambit Mallick | On 29 Mar 2006

Editorial: Union Budget: Securing its Legacy

Union Budget 2006-07 breaks new ground in many areas, and continues on the path of modernizing the tax system. It also gives deserved recognition to key allocation priorities. But its legacy will be...

by Mukul Asher | On 05 Mar 2006

Widening of Tax Base and Evasion of Tax: Thirty-third Report of the Standing Committee on Finance (2005-06)

The challenge to the tax system to expand both the revenue base and progressively bring into the net larger number of taxpayers remains as daunting as ever. The object is not to ignore the generally...

by Standing Committee on Finance | On 26 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

Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research on Human Subjects

Central Ethics Committee on Human Research (CECHR) was constituted under the chairmanship of Honourable Justice Shri M.N. Venkatachaliah by the then Director General, Dr. G.V. Satyavati to consider ...

by Indian Council of Medical Research | On 08 Feb 2006

Transition to Market and Normative Framework of Fiscal Federalism

This paper deals with the challenges of fiscal federalism in planned economies. Planned economies through their various policy instruments to control the resource allocation introduce several source...

by M.Govinda Rao | On 06 Feb 2006

Medico Friend Circle Bulletin, 313-314, October 2005-January 2006

Contents Why we do not need to give Hepatitis B Vaccine for all newborns 1 Cost and Quality Issue in Hospital Care - Anant Phadke 4 Local Production of Oseltamivir (Tamiflu): Options - D. G. Shah 6...

by Medico Friend Circle | On 20 Jan 2006

Irrigation, Agrarian Change and Local Politics: in South Telengana, 1960-1996

This paper deals with the impact of irrigation on agrarian change and local politics in the period, 1960 to 1996 in the irrigated region of South Telengana, Andhra Pradesh. The article is based on a p...

by V. Anil Kumar | On 17 Jan 2006

Recent Social Security Reforms In Selected Asian Countries

Power Point presentation. In countries such as China, transition (and legacy) issues are a major challenge. This is also the case with civil service reforms in countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Mal...

by Mukul Asher | On 12 Jan 2006

Agrarian Reform for a Liberal Pattern of Society? Karnataka's Land Policy and the New Dispensation

It is puzzling how much the discourse of development has backed away from the seemingly central question of rural poverty: land. Elaborate rules concerning its distribution, rights, regulation, prot...

by Ronald Herring | On 12 Jan 2006

The Right to Education Bill, 2005

It is also imperative to improve the present delivery system of elementary education by, inter alia, greater decentralization of its management, and making it sensitive to the needs of children, esp...

by Department of Education DoE | On 12 Jan 2006

The Mystery of China’s Sinking Stocks

The article exposes the shortcomings of China’s stock markets and examines the failed attempts by the government to introduce meaningful stock-market reform. China has largely avoided major policy blu...

by Weijian Shan | On 07 Jan 2006

Sexual Assault Evidence Kit: Institutionalising a Model for Addressing Care and Evidence-Linked Issues

There is sufficient evidence to show that early and good quality documentation of evidence is associated with positive legal outcome and hence this area of reform in medico-legal services need to be a...

by Amita Pitre | On 20 Dec 2005

Pharmaceuticals, WTO/TRIPs and Women

This paper looks at the effects of WTO/TRIPS and pharmaceuticals on women. The focus is on the poor and women. The first part of the paper tries to show the linkages between the idea of intellectual p...

by S Srinivasan | On 27 Nov 2005

Dictatorship, Democracy and Institutions: Macropolicy in China and India

We explore the hypothesis that macroeconomic polices are influenced by political structure, through a systematic comparison of reform period macroeconomic policy choices and outcomes, in China and Ind...

by Ashima Goyal | On 23 Nov 2005

Policy Processes and Policy Advocacy

The development process in the present context where economic and governance reforms are emphasized tends at times to by-pass the concerns of the marginalized and the voiceless. It is precisely to bri...

by V. Anil Kumar | On 19 Nov 2005

Trends and Issues in Tax Policy and Reform in India

The Indian tax reform experience can provide useful lessons for many countries due to the largeness of the country with multilevel fiscal framework, uniqueness of the reform experience and difficult...

by M.Govinda Rao | On 10 Nov 2005

A sustainable and scalable approach in Indian pension reform

India is making sound progress on poverty elimination for those who can work. Poverty amongst the elderly will then become the dominant form of poverty in India, since the elderly do not work and thu...

by Ajay Shah | On 08 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

Private (Occupational) Pensions in China: A Note on Recent Developments

China, as the most populous country in the world, is ageing rapidly. Against the background of dramatic demographic changes in this century, China’s current pension system is badly structured, and not...

by Yu-Wei Hu | On 22 Oct 2005

Banking on Limited Freedom

Successive finance ministers have been calling the public sector banks “to brace for a wave of consolidation” to become global players. However, calling for world-beaters does not produce them; vision...

by Aruni Mukherjee | On 22 Oct 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

September 2005

Minimum Employment at less than Minimum Wages Indo-US Nuclear Deal: Dancing with the US Devil Nanavati Report: Getting Away with Murder Bihar: EC order on NBWs Bombay Floods West Bengal Land Refo...

by CPI (ML) | On 16 Sep 2005

NAC Concept Paper-A Note On Agriculture And Irrigation

This note highlights the main issues and outlines the proposed action plan in respect of the following five major areas in Agriculture and Irrigation: (1) Augmentation of water resources for irrigati...

by C.H. Hanumantha Rao | On 09 Sep 2005

LIBERATION September 2005

Editorial:Minimum Employment at Less than Minimum Wages commentary: Dancing with the US Devil. Nanavati Commission Report: Getting Away With Murder EC Must Deter Criminals, and not Disenfranchise...

by CPI (ML) | On 03 Sep 2005

American Psychological Associaltion Code Of Ethics:Psychologist, Psychotherapist, Marriage And Family Counsellor

The Ethics Code is intended to provide standards of professional conduct that can be applied by the APA and by other bodies that choose to adopt them. Whether or not a psychologist has violated the Et...

by American Psychological Association | On 01 Sep 2005

The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Bill, 2005: LOK SABHA DEBATE

The National Common Minimum Programme of the Government, among other things, seeks to give complete legal equality for women in all spheres, by enacting a new legislation that gives equal rights of ow...

by Lok Sabha | On 31 Aug 2005

Property Rights Of Women: Proposed Reforms Under The Hindu Law --174th Report

The recommendations contained in the Report are aimed at suggesting changes in the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 so that women get an equal share in the ancestral property. With a view to giving effect...

by Law Commission India | On 31 Aug 2005

Seventh Report On The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Bill, 2004

The earliest legislation bringing females into the scheme of inheritance is the Hindu Law of Inheritance Act, 1929. Subsequently, the Hindu Women's Right to Property Act, 1937 brought significant chan...

by Parliamentary Standing Committee Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice | On 31 Aug 2005

The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Bill, 2004

Introduced in the Rajya Sabha Monsoon Session, 2005. Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 deals with devolution of interest of a male Hindu in coparcenary property and recognises the rule of d...

by Minister Law and Justice | On 31 Aug 2005

The Future Of Democracy

This paper examines the future of democracy in Nepal against the current debate on political reforms, referred to in popular discourse as ‘restructuring the state'

by Krishna Khanal | On 29 Aug 2005

Is Maharashtra Performing Worse Than Other States? A Comparive Study of Public Finances of Indian States

Second Generation Reforms (SGR) has become the new buzz-word around policy circles. In fact, a few governments (Central government included) have gone ahead and proclaimed that they have already initi...

by Anonymous | On 19 Aug 2005

Economic Reforms, Electrol Politics A Welfare

The introduction of economic reforms often hurts entrenched vested interests, which had prospered under state-led evelopment. For the ruling political party that introduces reforms, alienating such in...

by Ajit Karnik | On 19 Aug 2005

Protecting Intellectual Property

The importance of IPR in the Indian economy will have to be understood properly. Tomorrow’s wars will be fought not by conventional weapons, guns, missiles and so on, but in the knowledge markets with...

by R A Mashelkar | On 08 Aug 2005

Gender, Caste, Class, and Health Care Access

The research discussed in the report revisits the notion of access to health care in Koppal, an economically disadvantaged district in northern Karnataka. This issue is important to households experie...

by Aditi Iyer | On 08 Aug 2005