Type: Working Papers

Financial inclusion represents a fundamental human rights imperative, linking economic access to dignity and opportunity. India’s decade-long journey toward universal financial inclusion offers crucial insights into how digital public infrastructure can overcome traditional barriers to financial access. Through the strategic deployment of the India Stack, comprising digital identity (Aadhaar), universal banking (Jan Dhan Yojana), and …

Read more “Financial Inclusion as a Path to Equality: Lessons from India”

The Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2023-24 delivers an uncomfortable truth India can no longer afford to ignore: tobacco consumption is rising fast, spreading wider, and embedding itself deeper into the lives of poorer households – just as the state expands publicly funded healthcare. This collision of trends is not accidental, and it carries serious …

Read more “Rise in Tobacco Consumption and Policy Implications”

India has witnessed unprecedented infrastructure development over the past decade. A cornerstone of this transformation is the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (PMGS-NMP)1, launched in October 2021, which adopts an integrated, multimodal approach to infrastructure planning aimed at generating strong growth multipliers. Within this framework, high-quality mass transit systems—particularly metro rail corridors—have emerged as a …

Read more “Golden Decade of Infrastructure Development in India with Special Reference to Metro Rail Network”

Expenditure on durable goods (such as transport equipment and household appliances) is a useful indicator of economic well-being and living standards of households. Consumption of durable goods is also reflective of the future utility to households (and improved productivity) from the use of such goods. This study compares the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023–24 with …

Read more “Changes in Durable Goods Ownership in India”

Large number of process reforms have been done in recent years- including simplification of administrative processes, changes in regulations and legislations, removing obsolete laws, closure of outdated government entities and so on. Even if these changes appear small in many cases, they have led to significant efficiency gains in the overall system. In this paper, …

Read more “HOW TO DO PROCESS REFORMS?: CASE STUDY OF VOLUNTARY LIQUIDATION IN INDIA”

We compare the growth and transformation of Uttarakhand (UK) economy to that of Himachal Pradesh (HP) over a period of two decades [2000-2020]. In particular, we examine the changes in the industrial sector output, particularly in view of the Concessional Industrial Package (CIP) for the Hill States announced by the central government in January 2003. …

Read more “The Great Convergence: A Case Study of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh (2000 to 2020)”

Recent remarks by leaders of corporate India have sparked an interesting public debate. Their general point is that if India wants to become a developed nation, people will have to work 70 hours a week or more. Assuming a six-day work week, this translates to 700 minutes per day on employment-related activities. So far, the …

Read more “Time Spent on Employment-Related Activities in India: A Note”

The female labour force participation rate (LFPR) is a crucial indicator of women’s economic empowerment and overall economic inclusiveness. This research paper presents econometric analysis highlighting a significant resurgence in female LFPR across Indian states, especially in rural areas, since 2017-18. There are three broad themes for the empirical analysis: (1) Recent trends in female …

Read more “Female Labour Force Participation Rate”

To become an international player in the knowledge economy, India needs to take global IPR treaties more seriously as these agreements create the framework for the country’s R&D ecosystem to align with global best practices and accurately benchmark our performance with international peers. In this EAC-PM Working Paper, we explore 4 such international agreements and …

Read more “India and Global IPR Treaties”

Despite being a tropical country, India has not been able to unlock the full potential of agroforestry. India’s agroforestry sector remains under-utilised and stifled by regulation. According to a study published in the journal of “Environment, Development and Sustainability”, as of 2021, the area under agroforestry (defined as tree cover per cent greater than 10 …

Read more “AGROFORESTRY: MISSING TREES FOR THE FOREST”

Most papers regarding economic performance of states deal with the real and nominal growth rates of states over time. In this paper, we have focused exclusively on the relative performance of states, measured using two indicators- (1) Share in India’s GDP and (2) Relative per capita income.The state’s share in India’s GDP is calculated by …

Read more “Relative Economic Performance of Indian States”

Significant changes are unfolding in India’s food consumption pattern, with serious implications for our national agriculture, health, nutrition, and overall welfare policies that target poorer sections of society. The changing consumption basket of Indians will also impact the calculation of the Consumer Price Index in the future. A comprehensive analysis of the Household Consumption Expenditure …

Read more “Changes in India’s Food Consumption and Policy Implications”

Compulsions of climate change commitments, caprices in oil prices coupled with a rapid acceleration of battery technologies have together led to a sharp increase in electric mobility worldwide. In the Indian context, a slew of measures – on the demand side as well as on the supply side have been announced from time to time. …

Read more “Igniting the Bright Spark Through the Looking Glass on Electric Mobility in India”