Articles

Anatomy of Cultural Populism – A Global Perspective

Prof Somnath Ghosh, Senior Visiting Fellow, RGICS
This article comes under the theme Constitutional Values and Democratic Institutions. This article is a sequel to the article Painting the Rainbow Brown – The Global Arc of Populism by Prof Ghosh (accessible at https://www.rgics.org/wp-content/uploads/Painting-the-Rainbow-Brown-The-Global-Arc-of-Populism.pdf ) . Both of these articles attempt to discern various facets of populism across various countries to develop an understanding of its ideological underpinnings.
Keywords: Constitutional Values, Democratic Institutions, cultural populism

Why the Constitution Matters – Interview with Shri Dushyant Dave, Sr Advocate and President, Supreme Court Bar Association

Shri Prasanna, Advocate, Supreme Court, on behalf of LiveLaw
This article is a transcript of a speech titled Why the Constitution Matters?’ by Shri Dushyant Dave, Senior Advocate and President, Supreme Court Bar Association. It draws attention to the contemporary crisis of confidence in all the important institutions of democratic governance in our country, as envisaged in the Constitution.
Keywords: constitution, democratic, governance, contemporary, crisis

Interview with Faizan Mustafa, Vice Chancellor of NALSAR University of Law and jurist on Constitutional law

Nikhila Henry in the Huffington Post
This article is on the basic foundation of the Constitution – the definition of Citizenship and the attempt to amend it through the Citizenship Amendment Bill. It first appeared in the Huffington Post in Dec 2019, when the protests against the CAA were at the peak.
Keywords: constitution, citizenship, Citizenship Amendment Bill

Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014: Implementation Bottlenecks and the Covid-19 Crisis

Arnab Bose, Senior Research Associate, RGICS
This article is about one of the rights based legislations enacted during the UPA regime – the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014: Implementation Bottlenecks and the Covid-19 Crisis. It shows that the actual implementation of this progressive legislation is far behind the legislative intent, seven years after enactment. It goes into the reasons why this is so and gives some recommendations on how implementation can be improved.
Keywords: COVID, Covid19, livelihood, street vendors, lockdown

Should Reverse Migration lead to Reversal of Policy Priorities

Mr Vijay Nadkarni, Program Coordinator, RGICS Policy Lab, Chhattisgarh
This article looks at policy lessons from what the migrant workers went through and suggests a number of steps by which such a situation is averted in future. It also carries a succinct powerpoint presentation by Dr Rajesh Tandon of PRIA on a similar topic, in an online National Workshop on Labour Migration: Issues and Way Forward, held on 15th Sept 2020.
Keywords: migrant workers, labour, labour migration

Citizen’s Agenda 2050 For Rebuilding a New India

Mr Ashok Khosla, Mr Vijay Mahajan, Mr Rajesh Tandon
Drawing on the lessons of the Covid crisis, this article lays out a Citizen’s Agenda for 2050, three decades from now but at the same time identifies what needs to be done in the next three months and the next three years. It also emphasises the need for Civil Society institutions, including the Academia and the Media, to play a much more prominent role in rebuilding India around a different vision after the Covid crisis, taking into account both the lessons why many of our constitutional provisions and institutions did not work as designed and the issue which has not been dealt in the Constitution – humans versus the environment.
Keywords: Covid, lockdown, citizen’s agenda, New India, civil society, crisis

Higher Education Fee Hikes: Affordability vs. Sustainability

Dr Sushree Panigrahi, Senior Fellow, RGICS
This article begins by describing the historical context of higher education policy, moving on to highlighting the recent student protests over fee hike in different institutions all over the country and discusses how fee hikes impact higher education and the society at large.
Keywords: higher education, fee hikes, affordability, sustainability, students protests

Commemorating the 70th year of the Indian Constitution

SAHMAT has organised an art exhibition at the Jawahar Bhawan, curated by Aban Raza, (Space Courtesy: Rajiv Gandhi Foundation)
This article is a photo essay using artworks in the exhibition organised by SAHMAT at the Jawahar Bhawan, with text from a review of the Exhibition by the National Herald.
Keywords: Indian Constitution at 70, photo exhibition, Indian Constitution, National Herald

70 Years of Citizenship and the Constitution

Sanjay Hegde, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
This article is the transcript of a speech given by Mr Sanjay Hegde, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India, at the Jawahar Bhawan on 15th February, 2020. The talk was organized by SAHMAT.
Keywords: Citizenship, Constitution, Speech by Mr. Sanjay Hegde, 70 years of Citizenship, 70 years of Constitution

Constituent Assembly Debate on Articles 5 and 6 related to Citizenship: Some Interesting Excerpts

Mr Vijay Mahajan, Director, RGICS, with the support of Ms Vinita Masih
This article gives excerpts from the two and a half days of debates in the
Constituent Assembly (from Aug 10th 1949, afternoon till 12th Aug 1949 end of the day), on Articles 5 and 6 in the Draft Constitution SDGs in South Asia. The excerpts show the extreme divergence of views among the members, yet a very respectful and mutually accommodative manner of debating the issue threadbare from multiple stakeholders’ points of view.
Keywords: Constituent Assembly Debate, citizenship, Article 5, Article 6, Draft Constitution, South Asia

History of constitution making in India

Kaushik Basu, Ela R. Bhatt
Courtesy: The Constitutional and Civic Citizenship Project has been undertaken by the Centre for Law and Policy Research(CLPR), Read
A graphic tracing the history of constitution making in India.
Keywords: Constitution, history of Constitution, Indian Constitution

Crisis also brings opportunity for building a nurturing economy

Kaushik Basu, Ela R. Bhatt
This article is reproduced from The Indian Express. It reminds us to not lose sight of whom the economic and political policies are made for, and point to the Constitutional values as indispensable ingredients of policy making.
Keywords: Covid19, Coronavirus, Corona effects in India, crisis, Indian Economy, economic crisis

Increasing Evidence of Attack and Erosion

Dr Sushree Panigrahi, Senior Fellow, RGICS
This article highlights how there has been an increase in cases of intolerance leading to violence, how state and institutional machinery are under a threat and how the constitutional values of Justice, Equality and Fraternity are being diluted in the present times.
Keywords: intolerance, violence, constitutional values, justice, equality, fraternity

A new political economy for India, to enable all Indians to live in dignity, and with adequate economic security

Arun Maira
This article by Arun Maira, former Member of the Planning Commission argues for a new political economy.
Keywords: Indian Economy, Economy, Political, Political Economy, Economic Security, Economy of India, Covid19, Coronavirus

The Legal Framework to deal with COVID

Kabir Dev, Policy Research Intern, RGICS
This article by Kabir Dev, a young research intern on the constitutional issues arising out of the notifications made by Central and State Governments under certain laws. He describes the scope and intent of these laws and shows how in the process of application they rode roughshod on citizens’ rights & entitlements.
Keywords: Covid19, Legal, Legal Framework, Coronavirus, Constitution, Constitutional Issues, Central Government, State Government, laws

RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005: Examining Key Challenges within India’s Transparency Regime

Arnab Bose
Study on the Right to Information, and the mechanisms to enforce it, which are an important determinant of the transparency and accountability of the Executive. In the absence of information about the policies, programs and specific decisions of the Executive, it becomes difficult, if not impossible to realise many of the rights enshrined in the Constitution.This paper shows, the Courts have long enjoined the Government to enhance its information disclosure both suo moto as well as in response to specific requests.
Keywords: RTI, Right To Information, challenges, government, case study, Constitutional Values, Democratic Institutions

Case Study- Public systems: Health and Education – Save a Mother Foundation

Dr Shiban Ganju
This case study is based on the work of SAM (Save a Mother Foundation). Dr Shiban has been running the Save a Mother Foundation (SAM) working on Maternal and Child Health.
Keywords: Health, Education, Save a Mother Foundation, case study, child health, maternal health

Case Study: The Jallikattu Movement, Tamil Nadu, India

Dr S. Nirmala, Fellow, RGICS
This case study on the Jallikattu movement tries to understand how such an issue could acquire such mass popularity, as it did during the pro-Jallikattu protests in 2017.
Keywords: The Jallikattu Movement, Tamil Nadu, case study, Constitutional Values, Democratic Institutions

The Socio-Psychological Origins of Fascism

Aryan D’Rozario
This article is on Ideology – particularly Fascism, whose contemporary variants are resurgent all over the world. It gives us a psychological analysis of fascism based on the works of William Reich. Reich is of the belief that early childhood and familial atmosphere play a key role in determining fascist tendencies at a psychological level.
Keywords: fascism, Constitutional Values, Democratic Institutions, policy watch

What is India? Gandhi vs Savarkar: Debating Civic and Ethnic Nationalism

Mohd. Tanweer Alam
This article juxtaposes the idea of nationalism as espoused by Gandhi and Savarkar. Gandhi approached Hinduism from a spiritual and philosophical perspective and wanted to build a nation which is inclusive of people across religions, race and ethnicity. Gandhi viewed India’s diversity as an asset. In contrast, Savarkar introduced the concept of Hindutva encompassing the religious, social, cultural, political and linguistic spheres.
Keywords: India, Mahatma Gandhi, Savarkar, Nationalism, Constitutional Values, Democratic Institutions, policy watch

From Policy To Practice: Combatting Human Trafficking In India

Mamta Borgoyary, Charu Singh and Pranjita Borah
This article moves from Ideology to Law and shows how fundamental rights are trampled on for many Indian citizens. Trafficking is the third largest organised crime in the world. In India women and children are the prime targets, especially those belonging to Dalit, minority and tribal groups. The article also speaks of the existing legislation to prevent trafficking in India and the gaps in both policy and implementation.
Keywords: Human Trafficking, fundamental rights, Constitutional Values, Democratic Institutions, policy watch

Progress Report for Rajiv Aajeevika Samvardhan Abhiyan (RASA)- An initiative for Prawasi and Niwasi Workers (August 2020 – November 2020)

Dr Rakesh Malhotra, Senior Visiting Fellow, RGICS
This article is a report on the program named “Rajiv Aajeevika Samvardhan Abhiyan (RASA)”. After analysing several migrant surveys, the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation program launched a program for helping migrant workers who returned to their villages, and existing rural residents to promote livelihoods through microenterprises.
Keywords: Rajiv Aajeevika Samvardhan Abhiyan, RASA, progress report, prawasi workers, niwasi workers, migrants, microenterprises

Progress Report for Rajiv Aajeevika Samvardhan Abhiyan (RASA)- An initiative for Prawasi and Niwasi Workers (August 2020 – November 2020)

Dr Rakesh Malhotra, Senior Visiting Fellow, RGICS
This article highlights a survey on over 400 MSMEs that was carried by an RGICS team led by Sr Visiting Fellow of RGICS, Dr Rakesh Malhotra. See
Keywords: COVID-19, lockdown, impact of lockdown, impact of COVID, MSMEs

Challenges and Ways Forward in the sectors of SMEs, Housing for Industrial Workers and Agriculture in Punjab

Yuvraj Kalia, Fellow, RGICS
This article is a note on contemporary challenges and ways forward for sectors of small and medium enterprises; housing for industrial workers and agriculture in the state of Punjab.
Keywords: SME, Punjab, Agriculture in Punjab, industrial workers, housing for industrial workers

Reviving Urban & Rural India Employment post COVID-19: Introducing the WELL – DONE Framework

M. Rafi, Senior Advisor for Skills Technology and Innovation, RGICS
This paper is based on the novel framework of WELL (Water, Energy, Land, and Livestock)-DONE (Digital skills for rural diversification, Organised interventions, Non-farm opportunities, and E-commerce).
Keywords: COVID, lockdown, urban, rural, India employment, ecommerce

Findings from the Prawasi-Niwasi study consequent to Covid-19 pandemic

Vijay Nadkarni, Rashmi Saxena, Gautam Bandopadhyay and Manoj Mishra
This article is based on a telephonic survey conducted in six states in May-June this year, the study brings out key differences among rural workers and the migrant workers, who returned to the source states, along three dimensions. These are healthcare; livelihoods; and psycho-social aspects of their lives.
Keywords: COVID, lockdown, pandemic, rural workers, migrant workers, effect of lockdown, healthcare, livelihoods

Financing MSMEs for Growth and Employment

Vijay Mahajan, Director, RGICS and Jagmeet Singh, Senior Research Associate, RGICS
This article looks at financing for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). It speaks of the large number of persons employed in the MSME sector – 111 million, second, only to employment in the agriculture sector. This article also shows that Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) has been a limited success, if at all even in credit enhancement, and even less in incremental employment. It traces the cause of this to a faulty design of the PMMY loan products and suggests design improvements including the provision for cash credit in place of term loans and micro-equity in place of loans for startup MSMEs.
Keywords: Enterprises, MSMEs, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, growth, employment, policy watch

Impact of Covid-19 on Artisans and Crafts Enterprise

This article carries key observations and recommendations from a recent study conducted by All India Artisans and Craftworkers Welfare Association (AIACA). The survey was conducted on 59 Craftmark members, including both individual artisans and craft enterprises. Over half the survey respondents possessed more than 9 years of experience in the crafts sector.
Keywords: Covid19, Coronavirus, Corona effects in India, effects of corona on enterprises, corona effect on Artisans, craft enterprise.

Labour Law Reforms – Can they Work

Amirullah Khan, Senior Visiting Fellow, RGICS
This article is on labour laws in light of recent changes brought in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Keywords: Covid19, Coronavirus, Corona effects in India, effects of corona on enterprises, corona effect on Artisans, craft enterprise.

Taxation for Equitable Growth

Prasanth V. Regy, Senior Fellow, RGICS
This article proposes to have progressive taxation policy which will facilitate equitable growth for all and improvement in public services.
Keywords: taxation, growth, public services, employment

For a pro-migrant relief services and urban policy

Mr Navin T., Institute of Livelihood Research and Training, Hyderabad
This article highlights dimensions of the schism between the state and migrant population during the pandemic.
Keywords: Covid19, Coronavirus, Corona effects in India, migrant workers, migrants, urban policy, pro-migrant

Impact of Pandemic on SC and ST Micro Entrepreneurs

Dr Rakesh Malhotra, Senior Visiting Fellow, RGICS
This article is a report of a survey that was done of 100 MSME entrepreneurs belonging to the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.
Keywords: Covid19, Lockdown, Lockdown Impact, Coronavirus, MSME, factories, Micro Enterprise, entrepreneurs

Broken by the Outbreak: The Unemployment Crisis in Tamil Nadu during Lockdown

Dr S. Nirmala, Policy Observatory, RGICS
This article is a report of interviews of a number of workers in the informal sector, those self-employed as well as migrant workers, in the Madurai district. This article gives a report of Unemployment rate in Tamil Nadu and sectors affected.
Keywords: Covid19, Lockdown, Lockdown Impact, Coronavirus, migrant workers, self employment

Coronavirus pandemic has delivered the fastest, deepest economic shock in history

Nouriel Roubini
Brief article from the Guardian, summarising the impact of Covid-19 on the global economy. Moody’s has already indicated the likely implications on the global economy: a degrowth of 0.5%. It has also reduced the growth forescast for the Indian economy, to 2.5% pa for 2020-21.
Keywords: Covid-19, Coronavirus, economy, growth, employment, policy watch

Economic Downturn and Pressures on Incomes and Jobs

Dr Amirullah Khan, Senior Visiting Fellow, RGICS
This article looks at the economic pressures due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on incomes and jobs, it specifically focuses on youth unemployment which was already at a historic peak even before the pandemic and on migrant workers who have suffered greatly due to the pandemic.
Keywords: economy, covid-19, coronavirus, migrants, growth, employment, policy watch

‘‘देश बंदी’’ में देश के खेत-खलिहानों के कुछ जरूरी सवाल और समाधान | Impact of the Covid-19 Lockdown on Agriculture

Dr Rajaram Tripathi
This article deals with the agricultural situation and farmer’s plight. Dr Rajaram Tripathi is a very successful farmer engaged in growing medicinal and herbal plants in Kodagaon, Bastar, Chhattisgarh.
Keywords: Farmer, Agriculture, lockdown, covid-19, coronavirus growth, employment, policy watch

Saving Farmers from Covid-19: States Must Relent on E-NAM

Pravesh Sharma
This article gives suggestions on how to keep the agriculture sector going during the pandemic.
Keywords: Farmer, Agriculture, lockdown, covid-19, coronavirus, growth, employment, policy watch

Easing Life for India’s Farmers, Agricultural and Informal Workers In the Time of Covid-19 – Recommendations for the Government and Banks

Vijay Mahajan, Director, RGICS
This article gives suggestions to address the problem of farmers, the agricultural and the informal sector workers.
Keywords: Farmer, Agriculture, informal workers, lockdown, covid-19, coronavirus, growth, employment, policy watch

Statement On the current lockdown and how the government can help make it better

P Chidambaram
This article is a statement by Shri P Chidambaram on how the government can help make it better on the current lockdown
Keywords: Covid-19, Coronavirus, lockdown, government, growth, employment, policy watch

Finance Minister Announces a Covid-19 Response Package for the poor and migrant workers

P Chidambaram
This article explains the Covid-19 Response package announced by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, for the poor and migrant workers.
Keywords: Covid-19, Coronavirus, Response Package, migrant workers, finance minister, growth, employment, policy watch

The RBI Governor Announces a Covid-19 Response for Banking and Industry

This article explains Covid-19 Response Package announced by RBI for Banking and Industry.
Keywords: Covid-19, Coronavirus, Response Package, migrant workers, banks, RBI, growth, employment, policy watch

Excerpts from Stimulus is less than what it appears to be, govt must do more for farmers

Ajay Vir Jhakar
This article carries excerpts from an article by Ajay Vir Jhakar assessing the adequacy of the measures announced.
Keywords: Covid-19, Coronavirus, Response Package, migrant workers, banks, RBI, farmers, agriculture, growth, employment, policy watch

Restoring Economic Growth in India

Dr Amir Ullah Khan, Senior Visiting Fellow, RGICS
The article gives an overview of the economy – the slowdown in growth and the rise in unemployment – and then argues in favour of investment in human capital, in the form of education as an urgent solution to the impasse.
Keywords: Indian Economy, Growth, Rise in Unemployment, Jobs in India, Poverty, Youth, Education, Human Capital, growth, employment, policy watch

MUDRA: The art of taking credit for credit given by banks in normal course of their business

Vijay Mahajan, Director, RGICS
This article examines how successful the ‘Mudra’ scheme has been.
Keywords: MUDRA, banks, credits, growth, employment, policy watch

Farmer Producer Companies in India: Does Aggregation lead to Prosperity?

Yuvraj Kalia, Fellow, RGICS
This article looks at agriculture – which employs the largest share of the workforce but generates a much lower share of the GDP. The need to stabilise and enhance farmer’s income has been an important concern for policy makers for several years.The experience of hundreds of farmers’ producer companies in several states – Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh was discussed in a Consultation at the RGICS and this has been reported on in detail in this article.
Keywords: Farmers, Agriculture, GDP, consultation, growth, employment, policy watch

Financing MSMEs for Growth and Employment

Vijay Mahajan, Director, RGICS and Jagmeet Singh, Senior Research Associate, RGICS
This article looks at financing for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). It speaks of the large number of persons employed in the MSME sector – 111 million, second, only to employment in the agriculture sector. This article also shows that Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) has been a limited success, if at all even in credit enhancement, and even less in incremental employment. It traces the cause of this to a faulty design of the PMMY loan products and suggests design improvements including the provision for cash credit in place of term loans and micro-equity in place of loans for startup MSMEs.
Keywords: Enterprises, MSMEs, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, growth, employment, policy watch

Employment in India: Structural problems

Prasanth V Regy, Senior Fellow, RGICS
There are structural problems in the Indian economy, which have created a situation where the rate of economic growth continues to be fairly high, but few new jobs are being created. This has led to a situation of jobless growth. This is an immediate and vitally important challenge.
Keywords: Employment, Indian Economy, economic growth, growth, employment, policy watch

Jobful Growth for Rajasthan (2019-2024)

Vijay Mahajan, Director, RGICS and Prasanth V Regy, Senior Fellow, RGICS
The article focuses on how Rajasthan can achieve higher growth along with creating more jobs in the state.
Keywords: Rajasthan, Economic Growth, Employment, Job Creation, Unemployment, Jobs in Rajasthan, growth, employment

Financial inclusion: A long way to go

Prasanth Regy, Vijay Mahajan & Jagmeet Singh, RGICS
This article examines how successful the ‘Mudra’ scheme has been
Keywords: Financial, banks, growth, employment, policy watch

New basics: Livelihoods micro-equity, digi-touch

Vijay Mahajan, Director, RGICS
This article examines how successful the ‘Mudra’ scheme has been
Keywords: Microfinance, Financial, banks, growth, employment

The State of the States in 2020

Vijay Mahajan, Director, RGICS
It was carried in Civil Society magazine (https://civilsocietyonline.com/centreing-the-states/time-for-a-reset-with-more-elbow-room-for-the-states/). This article assesses the state of federalism in India, by looking at three main mechanisms of governance — funds, functions and functionaries – and how these are shared between the Centre and the States.
Keywords: governance, development, state of federalism, mechanisms of governance, funds, functions, functionaries

Impact of COVID19 crisis on migrant workers in Tamil Nadu and the response from civil society

This article is a case study on the efforts made by civil society organisations in Tamil Nadu, to help migrant workers as they tried to get back to their home states from places all over Tamil Nadu after the initial lockdown during the Covid pandemic.
Keywords: governance, development, COVID19, migrant workers, Tamil Nadu, civil society, lockdown

RGICS Snapshot – Digital Education in India and National Education Policy 2020

This article is a snapshot on major developments in the Education sector, with the announcement of the current ongoing shift to digital education within the overall framework of National Education Policy 2020.
Keywords: digital education, education sector, National Education Policy

RGICS Snapshot – National Digital Health Mission

This article is a snapshot on major developments in the Health sector, with the announcement of the National Digital Health Mission.
Keywords: health, health sector, National Digital Health Mission

Vision 2020: Are we getting there or have we lost our way?

This article carries key observations and recommendations from a recent study conducted by All India Artisans and Craftworkers Welfare Association (AIACA). The survey was conducted on 59 Craftmark members, including both individual artisans and craft enterprises. Over half the survey respondents possessed more than 9 years of experience in the crafts sector.
Keywords: Covid19, Coronavirus, Corona effects in India, effects of corona on enterprises, corona effect on Artisans, craft enterprise.

Reimagining Regional Planning and Development: The Samarth Zillas Framework

Yuvraj Kalia, Fellow, RGICS
This article focuses on how regional planning and development needs to be reconceptualised based on the contemporary realities like large scale migration from rural to urban areas, breakdown of livelihood linkages, changing climate patterns amongst few.
Keywords: samarth zilla framework, regional planning, development, migration, rural areas, urban areas, livelihood

Impact of COVID on Women

Population Foundation of India
This article by the Population Foundation of India, touches upon issues pertaining to, violence against women and girls; mental health; and sexual and reproductive health services, during the pandemic.
Keywords: violence against women, domestic violence during lockdown, violence against girls, mental health, health services, lockdown, lockdown effects, Covid19, Coronavirus, Corona effects in India

“Future of India’s School Education in COVID era”

Yuvraj Kalia, Fellow, RGICS
This article is based on an online panel discussion titled “The likely and desirable future of school education in the times of COVID19”, conducted by RGICS in June 2020. A recording of the webinar is on the RGICS website. Watch
Keywords: Covid19, Coronavirus, Corona effects in India, school education in corona, education in corona, online education.

Working with a District Administration during the Lockdown – Some Reflections

Yuvraj Kalia, Fellow, RGICS
This article is a field reportage, on the lockdown and its effects, particularly on migrant workers. Yuvraj Kalia, worked throughout the last three months with the District Administration in Jalandhar, first helping in the relief effort and later in migrant workers’ transportation.
Keywords: Covid19, Coronavirus, Lockdown, Migrant Workers, Covid relief, Jalandhar, lockdown effects, Corona effects, governance and development.

“We just want to go Home!”

Ram Esteves, ADATS
This article is a field reportage, on the lockdown and its effects, particularly on migrant workers. It
is an eye-witness account of the plight of migrant workers as they walked from Bangalore to their home states – contributed by Ram Esteves of ADATS, Bagepalli, located right on the Bangalore-Hyderabad highway.
Keywords: Covid19, Coronavirus, Lockdown, Migrant Workers, Covid relief, Jalandhar, lockdown effects, Corona effects, ADATS, governance and development.

RTE After a Decade: An Assessment of Bottlenecks and Some Ways Forward

Arnab Bose, Senior Research Associate, RGICS
This paper seeks to assess the performance of RTE in order to identify some of the challenges. It begins with a brief inquiry into the notion of education as a right. It then goes on to highlight some of the key issues in the statutory provisions of the Act. Finally, it examines the implementation bottlenecks in both, the supply side and demand side. The paper concludes by providing recommendations to address some of the challenges.
Keywords: RTE, education, school governance, development, governance and development

The Status of Implementation of MGNREG Act, 2005

Arnab Bose, Senior Research Associate, RGICS
The paper begins with a brief introduction of the main provisions of the Act and some concerns that emerged related to the provisions as they were tried to be implemented. Thereafter the paper focuses on the performance vis-à-vis the provisions, in which here are major shortfalls, and the bottlenecks faced in implementation. The paper ends with a number of suggestions for the way forward. This is of great relevance in 2020 as MGNREGA will be a major enabler for providing employment and income to rural people in the post-Covid recovery phase of the economy.
Keywords: MGNREGA, act, governance, development, governance and development

Case Study: Turning around a Government School – The Case of Dhulagori Adarsha Vidyalaya

Somanth Ghosh, Sr Fellow, RGICS with support of Sudip Mitra, Sadbhavana Media Associate, RGF
This study narrates the turnaround of Dhulagori Adarsha Vidyalaya, a government school in rural west Bengal.
Keywords: government school, education, west bengal, governance, development, governance and development, case study

How the Health System Works at the Grassroots in Uttar Pradesh

Dr Somnath Ghosh, Sr Visiting Fellow, RGICS
This article considers only such aggregate data that have significance for identifying intervention areas that the Directorate of Medical Health (DOMH) may consider to bring about improvements in Public Health delivery system.
Keywords: health, health system, uttar pradesh, governance, development, governance and development, study

A Critical Overview of the Health System in India

Yuvraj Kalia, Fellow, RGICS
This article highlights key issues in the system, from policy, access and financing, surveillance and awareness, human resources, and health research in the country with a focus on public sector.
Keywords: health, health system, governance, development, governance and development, policy watch, health system in India

How India must tackle China’s killer bug

Amir Ulllah Khan and Saleema Razvi
This article gives a practical strategy to avoid threats from potential pandemics emanating from coronavirus and the like.
Keywords: covid-19, coronavirus, china, governance, development, governance and development, policy watch

RTE after a Decade: An Assessment of Bottlenecks

Arnab Bose
This article assesses the difference that this legislation has made with a focus on what the bottlenecks are and what can be done to remove them. It is a part of the larger effort to understand the impact the rights based legislations have made in India.
Keywords: RTE, education, governance, development, governance and development, policy watch

Status of School Education Financing in India

This article is a factsheet on financing of school education.
Keywords: school, education, education financing, governance, development, governance and development, policy watch

Samarth Bastar and Preservation of Indigenous Culture

Vijay Nadkarni with inputs from Sushil Pandey, Manoj Mishra, Gautam Bandopadhyay, Sahebpreet Kaur, Pratul Vasishth and Namik Sherpa
Within Samarth Zilla framework developed by RGICS, the progress of implementation in Bastar and a perspective on culture of the region is provided in this article. It is an earnest attempt at understanding what indigenous culture of Bastar is and what can be done to nurture it for the benefit of people there and for human civilization.
Keywords: samarth bastar, culture, preservation, samarth zilla, governance, development, governance and development, policy watch

Samarth Zilla: A Framework for Holistic Governance and Development

Vijay Mahajan, Director, RGICS and Yuvraj Kalia, Fellow, RGICS
The study and the framework is called as Samarth Zilla or ‘Capable District’. It is a district which is capable of supporting the basic needs of its population – for food, clothing, shelter, livelihoods, health, and education in a sustainable manner. Due to various apposite reasons, the Samarth Zilla framework is developed keeping a district as a unit of research, analysis, and development in India. The Samarth Zilla study, largely qualitative, borrows a five capital (natural, human, social, physical and financial) approach from Sustainable Livelihoods Framework.
Keywords: samarth zilla, governance, development, governance and development, study

Educate, Organise & Transform: Tools for Emerging Grassroots Leadership

Nirmala S, Sadbhavana Fellow, RGF & Yuvraj Kalia, Associate Fellow, RGICS
This descriptive case study apprises readers of the phenomenon of grass roots mobilisation in Kambur village panchayat which has led to active participation of people in institutional mechanisms.
Keywords: educate, grassroots leadership, leadership, kambur village, governance, development, governance and development, case study

Sustainable Development Goals: New Wine in Old Bottles?

Suraj Kumar and Nitya Mohan Khemka
This article argues on goals, which not only represent a new strand in thinking about development, they also require a new way of doing which is currently hampered by persistence of old institutional forms and conditioned reflexes that are too bureaucratic, silo-ed and incentivize target-meeting by mere reporting or isomorphic mimicry.
Keywords: development, development goals, governance, governance and development.

Samarth Bastar: An Analysis and Strategy for Bastar, Chhattisgarh

Vijay Nadkarni and Meeth Kumar
This article discuses an analysis and strategy for making Bastar, a Samarth district. After thorough consultations with relevant stakeholders, the authors have identified the constraints in the development and suggest possible measures to overcome these.
Keywords: samarth bastar, bastar, chhattisgarh, analysis, strategy, governance, development, governance and development

Universal Health Care in India: Policy Implications and Governance Issues

Somnath Ghosh
This article focuses on Healthcare in India. The author highlights the present broken condition of the health care system in the country. He analyses the reasons thereof, and suggests policy options, governance mechanisms and development measures to set things right.
Keywords: universal heath care, health care in India, health care, governance, development, governance and development

Forest Commons in Uttarakhand and Subsistence Rural Economy- A Study of Two Panchayats

Jeet Singh, Fellow, RGICS
RGICS launched a multi-state study on degraded Common Property (Natural) Resources and how these can be regenerated. This article is a case study of common property resources (CPRs) in two villages of Uttarakhand, tracing out the history of how this happened when community institutions to manage the CPRs were replaced in the colonial times with state imposed institutions and this trend continued in practice even after Independence.
Keywords: environment, natural resources, sustainability, forests, Uttarakhand, rural economy, case study, common property resources

Environmental Cost of the Char Dham Project

Highlights of the Report of the High Power Committee appointed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court – Chairman Dr Ravi Chopra
This article reproduces observations of the High Powered Committee (HPC) constituted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in pursuance to the direction of the Supreme Court’s order of August 08, 2018. The committee found that the Char Dham Pariyojana was poorly conceptualized and badly implemented and has serious ecological, social, cultural and economic consequences.
Keywords: Char Dham project, environment, High Power Committee, natural resources, environmental

तैरने वाला समाज डूब रहा है

Late Anupam Mishra, a leading environmentalist of India
This article describes the rich culture and traditions of people in Bihar and Nepal to convert overflowing rivers in a few days of Monsoon into a boon for the rest of the year. It further explains how these traditions and culture have been forgotten, often due to misconceived development and relief programs.
Keywords: flood, earthquakes, monsoon, weather, environment, natural resources, Nepal, Bihar

No Stocking Filler

Steve Locket, Mahseer Trust, United Kingdom
This article unveils the unusual threat to the native Mahseer fish in particular and aquatic ecosystem in general. It dwells on conservation strategies in India, specifically, releasing fish bred in captivity.
Keywords: Mahseer fish, environment, environmental, ecosystem, fishes, natural resources

Role of Common Property Resources in the time of COVID-19

Jeet Singh, Fellow, RGICS, and Gautam Bandopadhyay, Environmental Activist, Chhattisgarh
This article discusses the importance of common property resources (CPR) and how their regeneration can help to address ecological, economic and social challenges arising due to the current pandemic. It attempts to highlight that the degradation of common property resources is one of the main causes of distress migration.
Keywords: COVID, lockdown, environment, natural resources, ecological, pandemic, crisis, migration

Degeneration of Resources – Impact on Baigas

Dr Pradeep Bose
This article is an extract from the study conducted by Dr Bose on the lives of and livelihoods of the Baigas, one of the vulnerable tribals in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The article highlights how the lives of these tribals in Shahdol and Annupur districts of the state, have been affected by the degradation of natural resources – Jal, Jangal Jameen, in their areas.
Keywords: degeneration, natural resources, impact on baigas, livelihoods of Biagas, tribals, madhya pradesh, shahdol, annupur, jal, jangal, jameen

Forest Conservation and the Forest Rights Act

Jeet Singh, Fellow, RGICS
This article highlights the issues of forest governance and lack of effective policy implementation given the recent SC order of eviction of nearly 2 million forest dwellers. It also discusses the different approaches of forest preservation and how there is a need to develop an understanding between forest conservationists and its traditional dwellers.
Keywords: forest conservation, forest rights act, forest governance, forest preservation, dwellers, environment

COVID-19 Crisis Calls for Green Recovery – But Are we Learning?

Jeet Singh, Fellow, RGICS
In this article, Jeet Singh recalls the link between environmental degradation, destruction of wild-life habitat and the rise of zoonotic diseases. He goes on to show that even as the world is reeling under Covid and learning the lesson about conserving the environment, jal, jangal, jameen, our Government is wantonly permitting all kinds of projects to proceed which will destroy more of our water, forests and land resources.
Keywords: Covid19, Coronavirus, Environment, Effects of Corona on Environment, Corona Effects, Wild-Life

Biodiversity Loss and Emergence of Infectious Diseases

Sahibpreet Kaur, Research Associate, RGICS
This article attempts to focus on how loss of biodiversity resulted into transmission of various viruses from a wildlife reservoir including Covid-19.
Keywords: covid-19, coronavirus, infection, disease, environment, natural resources, sustainability, policy watch

Climate Change and Water Crisis

Jeet Singh and Sahibpreet Kaur, RGICS
Apart from a brief videos on the topic What caused COVID – Environmental Destruction by us Humans !, this article carry a report of a presentation by David Albert and David Willis, two Gandhian Environmentalists, on ‘Climate Change and Water Crisis’ organized by RGICS and Khudai Khidmatgar
Keywords: covid-19, coronavirus, infection, disease, environment, natural resources, climate, water crisis,sustainability, policy watch

Prepare for Invasion

Steve Lockett, Masheer Trust, United Kingdom
This article focuses on challenges to biodiversity due to invasive fishes in India. I has also highlighted few policy gaps in India responsible for introduction of invasive fishes.
Keywords: invasion, fishes, environment, natural resources, climate, water crisis,sustainability, policy watch

Status of Forest Rights Act in Chhattisgarh

Arnab Bose and Jeet Singh
This article assesses the implementation of Forest Rights Act, 2006 in Chhattisgarh. This article focuses on success, limitation and hindrances at national and state level to implement the Forest Rights Act.
Keywords: forest, forest rights act, chhattisgarh, environment, natural resources, sustainability, policy watch

A Single Strategy to Fight the Post-COVID Job Crisis and Environmental Degradation

Vijay Mahajan, Director, RGICS and Jeet Singh, Fellow, RGICS
This article deals with the jobs and income crisis for a large number of workers in rural areas, already underemployed and those who have migrated back to their villages due to Covid-19 pandemic. The article provides suggestions on how to utilize that workforce and situation by employing them on MGNREGA works aimed at regeneration of natural resources – jal, jangal, jameen (water, forests and land) and also to combat adverse impact of climate change. Thus it is a single strategy for addressing both the goals.
Keywords: covid-19, coronavirus, fight corona, job crisis, environment, natural resources, sustainability, policy watch

Case Study: Jal, Jangal, Jameen- Process Documentation of Rejuvenation of the Ur River, Tikamgarh, M.P.

Vijay Mahajan, Sabibpreet Kaur, Jeet Singh
The state annual budget for 2019-20 of Madhya Pradesh promised to manage effectively demand and supply side of water resources. The budget speech stressed on problem arising due to drying sources of water in the State. To address these problems the government announced rejuvenation of rivers by approaching integrated water management approach. To fund this program, the government is heavily dependent on funds available under MG-NREGA. Tikamgarh is one such district, where some work has already been initiated. The district administration of Tikamgarh has planned to revitalize Ur River that originates from Sudha Sagar a lake located in Tikamgarh district.
Keywords: jal, jangal, jameen, madhya pradesh, UR river, tikamgarh, case study, environment, natural resources

Land Regeneration in India Commitments and Efforts

Jeet Singh, Fellow, RGICS & Sahibpreet Kaur, Junior Policy Associate
This article on India’s commitments and efforts on land regeneration highlights the status of degraded land resources in India and challenges faced by people. It goes into the history of policy and planning of India to reclaim degraded land through various ways. It also highlights the reasons for shortfall in reclamation of degraded land despite several efforts.
Keywords: Land Regeneration, Land Degradation, India, Soil Conservation, environment, natural resources, policy watch

Rural Water Crisis in Madhya Pradesh and Way Forward

Achintya Ghosh & Pratyaya Jagannath, Kabil Foundation and Manas Satpathy, PRADAN
This is based on fieldwork under a research project commissioned by RGICS on water crisis in India. This article gives first hand insight of ground realities and identifies major policy gaps at the village level. It also suggests a comprehensive framework to make policies effective on the ground.
Keywords: Rural Water Crisis, Madhya Pradesh, Betul District, Rivers, Irrigation, Water Management, Water Shortage, Water Scarcity, environment, natural resources, policy watch

Participation Report- International Conference on Climate Change and Disasters: Challenges, Opportunities and Responses

Jeet Singh, Fellow, RGICS
This report is a brief description of a three-day conference organised by the Indian Society for Ecological Economics (INSEE) and Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS).
Keywords: climate change, disasters, environment, natural resources, policy watch

Policy Consultation Report – Methods of Water Harvesting

Jeet Singh and Subhrali Kachari
RGICS and VikasAnvesh Foundation (VAF) jointly organized a policy consultation on ‘Methods of Water Harvesting: Implication for National Strategy’. This consultation began with three presentations on methods of water harvesting. The first presentation by Mr. Nirmalaya Choudhury was on Farm Pond method in Jharkhand. Second presentation on ‘Doha’ model of water harvesting in Maharashtra delivered by Mr. Shashank Deora. Mr. Sanjeev Kumar from the Gram Gaurav Sansthan presented third presentation on ‘Traditional Water and Soil Conservation’ methods in the Dang region of the Rajasthan. This report of the consultation highlights methods of water harvesting presented in the consultation followed by the discussion.
Keywords: water harvesting, soil conservation, environment, natural resources, report, consultation

Case Study- Regenerating Natural Capital: A Workshop on Jal, Jangal and Jameen

Jeet Singh, Fellow, RGICS
The Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies (RGICS) and Indian National Association of the Club of Rome (CoR) conducted a workshop – Regeneration of Natural Capital: Land, Water and Forest’ in collaboration with Water and Land Management Institute (WALMI) in Bhopal. The workshop attempted to reflect on issues related to the degradation of Land, Water and Forest. The workshop also tried to come up with policy recommendations for the regeneration of natural resources in Madhya Pradesh.
Keywords: jal, jangal, jameen, case study, workshop, land, water, forest, environment, natural resources

Making Environmental Issues more Salient in India’s Politics

Vijay Mahajan, Director, RGICS
The article presents a gist of the discussion during the dialogue organized by RGICS in January 2019 on the title. This article draws lessons from the European Green Movement and discusses possible strategies for making environmental issues more central to India’s politics.
Keywords: Environment, Policy in India, European Green Movement, environment, natural resources

India’s Water Crisis: Problems and solutions

Jeet Singh and Jasleen Kaur
This article is an attempt to understand the gravity of the current water crisis in the country and its future risks. The authors analyse the demand-supply gap and offer some policy solutions to maintain a balance between constant supply of utilizable water and increasing demand.
Keywords: Water Crisis India, Water Resources, Water Management, Water Shortage, Water Scarcity, Drinking Water, Water Policy, environment, natural resources

Working Paper: India’s Water Crisis: Challenges, Solutions and Barriers

Jeet Singh and Jasleen Kaur
This working paper is an attempt to understand the gravity of current water crisis, its future risks, policy solutions and major barriers in implementing sustainable policies. Additionally this working paper draws from deliberations by leading expert on water in a conference entitled- ‘Re-Greening India: Water for All’ organized by RGICS along with Indian National Association Club of Rome in Delhi.
Keywords: water crisis, solutions, Environment, natural resources, working paper

Forest Based Livelihood: Potential and Challenges

Jeet Singh, Fellow, RGICS
While the forest has been main source of livelihood for millions of Indians, it also raises genuine concerns related to environment and protection of the forest. Numbers of people, group and institutions have argued that the huge dependency on forest will gradually degrade forests and will lead to an environmental crisis.The article discusses the potential of forest based livelihood and its challenges in India.
Keywords: Forest Rights, Livelihood, Non-Timber Forest Produce, NTFP, Forest Degradation, Environment, natural resources

Case Study: Implementation of the Forest Right Act, 2006 in Chhattisgarh

Jeet Singh, Fellow, RGICS
A Case Study of Rawas and Banspattar Gram Panchayat, Kanker.
Keywords: forest right act, forests, chhattisgarh, kanker, gram panchayat, Environment, natural resources, case study

25 Years of the WTO What India Has Gained from It and What Can We Do to Safeguard Our Interests in the Future?

Advocate Yogesh Sharma
This year was the 25th anniversary of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which has been rather beleaguered in the last few years due to trade wars not only between China and the United States, but many other countries’ attempts at circumventing the WTO regime by using non-tariff barriers such as imposition of localised sanitary and phyto-sanitary standards.
Keywords: India’s place in the world, World Trade Organisation, WTO, China, United States

India – Russia relations -Then and Now

Amb. Divyabh Manchanda, IFS (Retd)
This article focuses on India-Russia relations from the historical times to the present. It describes how the relationship moved closer with visits to each other’s countries by leaders like Nehru, Khruschev, Indira Gandhi, Brezhnev, Rajiv Gandhi and Gorbachev. It also focuses on how the relations between India and Russia went on a lower key since 2000 despite the establishment of the Indo-Russian Inter Governmental Commission (IRIGC).
Keywords: India, Russia, India-Russia relations, Rajiv Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Khruschev, Brezhnev, Gorbachev

The Modi government will find a Biden presidency to be less volatile

Tanvi Madan, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution, Washington DC
This article is reproduced from an article on US election results. It focuses on the triangular relationship between India, China and the US.
Keywords: India, China, US, US elections

India-US Relations: Challenges and Way Forward

Professor Somnath Ghosh, Sr Visiting Fellow, RGICS
This article is a transcript of a Consultation organized jointly by the Foreign Policy Research Centre (FPRC) and the RGICS.The panelists were Dr. Chintmani Mahapatra, Rector and Professor Centre for American Studies, JNU; Maj-Gen Dhruv Katoch, Director, India Foundation; Ms Smita Sharma, Foreign Policy Bylines ETV Bharat/Huff Post/ Ex-Tribune /India Today/IBN; and Mr Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury, Sr. Assistant Editor (Foreign Affairs), The Economic Times, New Delhi.
Keywords: India, US, India-US Relations, US elections, Online Consultation

Restoring India-Nepal Relations: What Steps to Take under Neighbourhood First Series

Summary of webinar was organized by India International Centre
The speakers were Amb. Bekh Bahadur Thapa, former Ambassador of Nepal to India, and Amb. Ranjit Rae, former Indian Ambassador to Nepal. It was moderated by Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Ashok K. Mehta.
Keywords: India, Nepal, India-Nepal Relations, Neighbourhood, Webinar

Does The Quad Have a Future?

Ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar IFS (Retd)
Ashok Sajjanhar asserts that “from contemptuously dismissing the Quad as ‘sea foam’, the Chinese Foreign minister referred to it ‘a so-called Indo-Pacific NATO’. He concludes that the Quad has come of age and its partners should work assiduously to evolve an Indo-Pacific security architecture.
Keywords: Indo-Pacific, Quad, sea foam, India, China, Australia

The India-China Quagmire- How Not to Negotiate from a Position of Weakness

Prof Partha Ghosh, Formerly Professor of South Asian Studies at JNU, Senior Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Social Science
In this article, Prof Ghosh asserts that “no one knows how will the India-China conflict finally end, but we can simply pray that these two Asian giants would not decide to fight to the finish the inevitable consequence of which is mutual destruction.
Keywords: India, China, India China Relations, India China conflict

The New Great Game

Lt General NS BRAR
This article is reproduced with the kind courtesy of The Citizen. Gen Brar asserts “that both sides cannot substantially alter the ground situation and that we can and will hold what we are holding, a bold and open offer can be made by us to settle the boundary along the MacMohan Line in the East and the McCartney-MacDonald Line of 1899 in the West with minor and appropriate adjustments.
Keywords: India, China, British, Russia, First Afghan War, Afghanistan, Tibet, Great Game

India – Russia relations – Then and Now

Ambassador Divyabh Manchanda, IFS (Retd)
This article focuses on India-Russia relations from the historical times to the present. It describes how the relationship moved closer with visits to each other’s countries by leaders like Nehru, Khruschev, Indira Gandhi, Brezhnev, Rajiv Gandhi and Gorbachev.
It also focuses on how the relations between India and Russia went on a lower key since 2000 despite the establishment of the Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission (IRIGC), for identifying and working on strategic issues of interest to both countries.
Lately India has been using platforms like the RIC and the SCO to use its relationship with Russia to open up a dialogue with China.
Keywords: Russia, India-Russia Relations. and Divyabh Manchanda

Painting the Rainbow Brown – the Global Arc of Populism?

Prof Somnath Ghosh
This article attempts to discern various facets of populism across the countries to develop an understanding of its ideological underpinnings. It also provides a quick view of populism in Latin America, United States and Europe, highlighting its various facets, and in the process it attempts to develop the taxonomy of populism on the basis of its severity.
Keywords: populism, taxonomy of populism, Global Arc of poplulism

COVID19 impact on Bangladesh Macro & Micro Economy

Feisal Hussain, Nathan and Think Ahead Consulting
This article is an assessment of the impact of Covid on the macro-economic as well as the household micro-economy of Bangladesh.
Keywords: COVID19, impact of COVID, impact of COVID on Bangladesh, Macro Economy, Micro Economy

Post COVID19 world politics: Implications for Bangladesh-India relations

Humaiun Kobir, Secretary for International Affairs, National Executive Committee, BNP
This article highlights on where do Bangladesh-India relations sit post-COVID19?
Keywords: Bangladesh, India, Bangladesh India relations, COVID19, world politics

From social solidarity to economic solidarity

Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, Dhaka University
Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir writes on the relaxation of shutdown, a three-year recovery plan and the national budget. In this article, he highlights how the Covid crisis is impacting this neighbor of ours.
Keywords: COVID19, lockdown, recovery plan, national budget, COVID crisis, education, universal health care, social security

Eye on China, 23 May 2020

Manoj Kewalramani, The Takshashila Institution
This article describes the ongoing tensions on the India-China border in eastern Ladakh, and delves into the background issues behind these tensions.
Keywords: India, China, India-China border, Ladakh

India-China Trade and Investment: Roadmap for Growth and Employment in India’s Manufacturing Sector

Mona Dikshit, Sr Visiting Fellow, RGICS
This article summarizes a year-long study on China and India’s Trade and Investment relationship, particularly the way forward. It concludes that despite the geo-political rivalry between the two countries, India and China will see increasing levels of bilateral trade and investment.
Keywords: India, China, trade investment, growth, employment, manufacturing sector

SAARC: How to Negotiate the Strategic Trap?

Partha S. Ghosh, Senior Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Social Science
In this article, Partha S. Ghosh writes on SAARC and traces out the unenviable track record of this formation, which he says is marred by strategic incongruity and power asymmetry. He ends by suggesting a possible way to make the formation more effective.
Keywords: SAARC, regionalism, SAARC and COVID19

How India lost out to China, rest of Asia in development race: Interview with Economist Prof Santosh Mehrotra, Jawaharlal Nehru University

Anil Nair
This article is an interview with Dr Santosh Mehrotra, Professor of Economics at the JNU, in which he discusses how starting 1978, when India’s per capita income was higher than China’s, India steadily lost ground. He links it to the economic policies adopted by China and the adroit political management of the transformation of the Chinese economy.
Keywords: India, China, development, economic policies, Indian economy, Chinese economy

India’s Place in the COVID-19 World – An Infographic Essay

Sahibpreet Kaur, Research Associate, RGICS
In this article we carry an infographic collage compiled from various sources.
Keywords: Covid19, Coronavirus, Corona effects in India

How India and China can work together – 1988: Quest for World Peace

Speech delivered by Shri Rajiv Gandhi in Beijing on 19 December 1988

Keywords: speech, India, China, world peace, Rajiv Gandhi, Beijing, India, India’s Place in the World, policy watch

How India and China can work together – 2019

Gautam Bambawale
Speech delivered by former Indian Ambassador to China, Mr Gautam Bambawale.
Keywords: speech, India, China, world peace, Rajiv Gandhi, Beijing, India, India’s Place in the World, policy watch

A Glass Half Full? Policy Priorities for Social Development in South Asia

Nitya Mohan Khemka and Suraj Kumar
This article shows India’s place in South Asia is not a very enviable number 5, out of the 6 countries ranked. It also gives a number of suggestions on how progress towards achieving the SDGs can be accelerated.
Keywords: social development, South Asia, India, India’s Place in the World, policy watch

Consultation on “India’s Soft Power: Challenges and Opportunities”

RGICS Team
This article is a result of a Consultation on “India’s Soft Power: Challenges and Opportunities”, held at RGICS. It is based on a specially commissioned Occasional Paper by the same title by Salil Shetty, former UN Coordinator of the Millennium Development Goals and co-authored by Tara Sahgal of the King’s College, London
Keywords: challenges, opportunities, soft power, India’s Place in the World, policy watch

India’s Place in the World: From Panchsheel to RCEP

Somnath Ghosh
This article traces India’s Place in the World from Panchsheel to RCEP, a grand survey of 70 years of India’s foreign policy, with a focus on China.
Keywords: panchsheel, foreign policy, china, India, India’s Place in the World, policy watch

India-China Trade and Investments

Mona Dikshit, Senior Fellow, RGICS
This article discusses the need to reduce the trade deficit with China and prospects and challenges of Chinese investments in India.
Keywords: India, China, trade, investment, chinese investments

India’s Soft Power: Challenges & Opportunities

Salil Shetty and Tara Sahgal
This paper not only draws on the extensive literature that exists on soft power but also rich conversations with a wide range of experts and practitioners in the world of foreign policy, international relations and global policy-making. It begins with an overview of the concepts of soft and smart power, working under the assumption that the two exist and can be beneficial if utilised effectively.
Keywords: foreign policy, international relations, policy making, India, India’s Place in the World, occasional paper

Verdict 2019: Some International Lessons

Somnath Ghosh
This piece is on the theoretical and action implications of the Global Rise of Right Wing Populism for India.
Keywords: right wing, international lessons, India, India’s Place in the World, policy watch

Feminism under Fascism: In Germany of the 1930s

Ruchira Gupta
This article compares the status of women in Germany in the 1930s with their status in 2019.
Keywords: status of women, Germany, Feminism, Fascism, India, India’s Place in the World, policy watch