Author: cprindia

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO
CPR ECONOMY TECHNOLOGY

Watch the full video (above) of the panel discussion on ‘Creating an Inclusive Economy in a Digital World’ featuring Himanshu Wardhan (Managing Director, Etsy India); Rituparna Chakraborty (Co-founder & Executive Vice President, TeamLease Services); Berges Y Malu (Director, Public Policy & Policy Communications, ShareChat) and moderated by Sabina Dewan (Senior Visiting Fellow, CPR; President & Executive Director, JustJobs Network).

As the 21st-century progresses, India, along with the rest of the world, is witnessing the unfolding of rapid and significant technological change. This Fourth Industrial Revolution, as it is often called, is restructuring our labour markets. Against this backdrop, this panel explored how technology is changing the nature of work, and especially its implications for the workforce participation of women, who constitute half of the working-age population. It is essential to understand how the demand for workers will change and how the productive potential of women can be harnessed if technology has to be leveraged in service of development and growth.

The panel was organised as part of the second edition of CPR Dialogues, held on 2nd and 3rd March 2020 at the India Habitat Centre. Addressing the theme of Policy Perspectives for 21st-century India, CPR Dialogues 2020 provided a window to the India of the future. Experts from around the country and the world engaged with and debated these very significant development and policy challenges that India faces in the coming decade.

ThePrint India was the digital partner for the event.

An article on how India can create an inclusive economy, written by Sabina Dewan in ThePrint can be read here.

Videos of other panel discussions organised as part of CPR Dialogues 2020 can be found below:

CPR Dialogues 2020- Inaugural Address by Hon’ble Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
CPR Dialogues 2020- At the Threshold of a New Decade: Navigating the Emerging Geopolitical Landscape
CPR Dialogues 2020- Rights in Times of AI: Emerging Technologies and the Public Law Framework
CPR Dialogues 2020- What Would Happen if We Were to Believe in Indian Agriculture?
CPR Dialogues 2020- What Would it Take to Build a 21st-century State for India? Launch of CPR’s State Capacity Initiative
CPR Dialogues 2020- Technology and Administrative Reform: Experience from India and the World
CPR Dialogues 2020- Tracking Government Spending: Challenges in Social Policy Financing
CPR Dialogues 2020- The Air Pollution Crisis: Making Political Salience Count
CPR Dialogues 2020- Article 21 and India’s Social and Economic Rights
CPR Dialogues 2020- Challenges in Public Education: Balancing State and Non-State Actors
CPR Dialogues 2020- Emerging Trends in Indian Politics
CPR Dialogues 2020- Are India’s Financial Institutions in Crisis? Understanding India’s Economic Slowdown
CPR Dialogues 2020- The Role of Ideas in Shaping Policy
CPR Dialogues 2020- Indo-US Relations
CPR Dialogues 2020- Land and the Constitution: Solving Land Conflict in India
CPR Dialogues 2020- Political Elites and Local Bureaucratic Capacity

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO
CPR POLITICS

Watch the full video (above) of the panel discussion on ‘Emerging Trends in Indian Politics’ featuring Vandita Mishra (National Opinion Editor, Indian Express); Mukulika Banerjee (Director, South Asia Centre, LSE); Mukund Padmanabhan (Consultant & Former Editor, The Hindu); Gilles Verniers (Senior Visiting Fellow, CPR & Co-Director, TCPD, Ashoka University); presentation by Rahul Verma (Fellow, CPR) and moderated by Neelanjan Sircar (Senior Visiting Fellow, CPR & Assistant Professor, Ashoka Univeristy).

The rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the centre stage of Indian politics is marked by multiple shifts. India is undergoing a massive demographic transition as more members of the electorate are part of the middle class, living in urban areas, more educated, and more exposed to media sources. Furthermore, the BJP’s social base over the past two decades has undergone a transformation. The magnitude of the BJP’s victory in 2019 also restructured the competitive political space. While on the one hand, the BJP seems to be on the back foot in state elections, on the other, the party’s ideological hegemony seems to be at its peak. Rahul Verma from the CPR politics team made a brief presentation on the issue, analysing the emerging contours of Indian politics, followed by reflections and insights from the panellists.

The panel was organised as part of the second edition of CPR Dialogues, held on 2nd and 3rd March 2020 at the India Habitat Centre. Addressing the theme of Policy Perspectives for 21st-century India, CPR Dialogues 2020 provided a window to the India of the future. Experts from around the country and the world engaged with and debated these very significant development and policy challenges that India faces in the coming decade.

ThePrint India was the digital partner for the event.

An article on the changing political landscape in India, written by Rahul Verma, Neelanjan Sircar and Gilles Verniers in ThePrint can be read here.

Videos of other panel discussions organised as part of CPR Dialogues 2020 can be found below:

CPR Dialogues 2020- Inaugural Address by Hon’ble Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
CPR Dialogues 2020- At the Threshold of a New Decade: Navigating the Emerging Geopolitical Landscape
CPR Dialogues 2020- Rights in Times of AI: Emerging Technologies and the Public Law Framework
CPR Dialogues 2020- What Would Happen if We Were to Believe in Indian Agriculture?
CPR Dialogues 2020- Creating an Inclusive Economy in a Digital World
CPR Dialogues 2020- What Would it Take to Build a 21st-century State for India? Launch of CPR’s State Capacity Initiative
CPR Dialogues 2020- Technology and Administrative Reform: Experience from India and the World
CPR Dialogues 2020- Tracking Government Spending: Challenges in Social Policy Financing
CPR Dialogues 2020- The Air Pollution Crisis: Making Political Salience Count
CPR Dialogues 2020- Article 21 and India’s Social and Economic Rights
CPR Dialogues 2020- Challenges in Public Education: Balancing State and Non-State Actors
CPR Dialogues 2020- Are India’s Financial Institutions in Crisis? Understanding India’s Economic Slowdown
CPR Dialogues 2020- The Role of Ideas in Shaping Policy
CPR Dialogues 2020- Indo-US Relations
CPR Dialogues 2020- Land and the Constitution: Solving Land Conflict in India
CPR Dialogues 2020- Political Elites and Local Bureaucratic Capacity

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO
CPR INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

The second edition of CPR Dialogues was held on 2nd and 3rd March 2020 at the India Habitat Centre. Addressing the theme of Policy Perspectives for 21st-century India, CPR Dialogues 2020 provided a window to the India of the future. Experts from around the country and the world engaged with and debated these very significant development and policy challenges that India faces in the coming decade.

The inaugural address for the Dialogues was delivered by Hon’ble Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs, India, on the theme, ‘At the Threshold of a New Decade’.

The text of the full speech can be read here.

ThePrint India was the digital partner for the event.

Media coverage of the address can be found below:

US-Taliban deal was like watching ‘Pakeezah’ after a long wait, says Jaishankar by ThePrint
India monitoring impact of U.S.-Taliban deal: MEA by The Hindu
US-Taliban deal no surprise, it’s like watching ‘Pakeezah’ after trailers: S Jaishankar by New Indian Express
Economic rebalancing started to translate in its political manifestation: EAM Jaishankar by Economic Times
Jaishankar on US-Taliban Agreement: Real Negotiations in Afghanistan Start Now by The Wire
Hope Afghan gains of the last two decades are preserved: Jaishankar by Live Mint
Jaishankar says India needs to fashion appropriate diplomacy to tackle issues of a digitised world by ANI
India’s single-minded campaign brought issue of terrorism strongly at G20: S Jaishankar by ANI
Need to safeguard progress made in Afghanistan: India by Hindustan Times
“Not A Surprise”: Foreign Minister On US-Taliban Landmark Peace Deal by NDTV
India’s single-minded campaign against terrorism has brought issue into sharp focus in key world forums, says S Jaishankar by News On Air
‘Our World Today Is In The Middle Of A Real Transformation’: S Jaishankar At CPR 2020 by Republic
COVID-19 | Virus response a test of integrated governance, says Jaishankar by The Hindu
Pakeezah parallel in US-Taliban deal, real negotiations to begin now: Delhi by Telegraph
India ready for bigger role: S Jaishankar by Times of India
Taliban resumes operations against Afghan security forces by The Week
Videos of other panel discussions organised as part of CPR Dialogues 2020 can be found below:

CPR Dialogues 2020- At the Threshold of a New Decade: Navigating the Emerging Geopolitical Landscape
CPR Dialogues 2020- Rights in Times of AI: Emerging Technologies and the Public Law Framework
CPR Dialogues 2020- What Would Happen if We Were to Believe in Indian Agriculture?
CPR Dialogues 2020- Creating an Inclusive Economy in a Digital World
CPR Dialogues 2020- What Would it Take to Build a 21st-century State for India? Launch of CPR’s State Capacity Initiative
CPR Dialogues 2020- Technology and Administrative Reform: Experience from India and the World
CPR Dialogues 2020- Tracking Government Spending: Challenges in Social Policy Financing
CPR Dialogues 2020- The Air Pollution Crisis: Making Political Salience Count
CPR Dialogues 2020- Article 21 and India’s Social and Economic Rights
CPR Dialogues 2020- Challenges in Public Education: Balancing State and Non-State Actors
CPR Dialogues 2020- Emerging Trends in Indian Politics
CPR Dialogues 2020- Are India’s Financial Institutions in Crisis? Understanding India’s Economic Slowdown
CPR Dialogues 2020- The Role of Ideas in Shaping Policy
CPR Dialogues 2020- Indo-US Relations
CPR Dialogues 2020- Land and the Constitution: Solving Land Conflict in India
CPR Dialogues 2020- Political Elites and Local Bureaucratic Capacity

Comments on draft National Forest Policy 2018
CPR FACULTY SUBMIT THEIR COMMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change put out a draft National Forest Policy 2018 for public comments. Manju Menon, Shibani Ghosh and Kanchi Kohli sent their comments to the Ministry, which can be accessed here.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) granted approvals for the redevelopment of several government colonies in the National Capital Region. The move sparked public protests and debate over various reasons related to environmental justice and degradation.

In a letter to the MoEFCC, Manju Menon and Kanchi Kohli shed light on the serious violations and lacunae in the Ministry’s grant of the environment clearances for the redevelopment of four GPRA (General Pool Residential Accommodation) colonies in New Delhi. Their comments can be accessed here.

In early March, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) issued two notices seeking feedback on a Draft Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Policy (notice dated 9.3.2019) and a Draft Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Regulation (notice dated 10.3.2019). ‘TOD’ is an internationally accepted concept in urban planning to achieve various ends. It has also been part of Delhi’s Master Plan for at least 10 years.

CPR faculty and researchers in collaboration with Moulshri Joshi, Architect and Partner at Space Matters have sent a formal submission to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). They highlighted specific areas of concern and requested for a widespread consultation on the policy before finalisation. In their submission they point to two specific contexts that the drafts ignore. One is Delhi’s multiple environmental crises related to air, water and waste which could be made worse by a proposal to unconditionally ‘densify’ the city. The other is that large parts of Delhi are already dense beyond the levels proposed by the TOD norms and these areas have received no attention from the policy.

The detailed submission can be read here.

LIMITING DEFINITION OF THIRD PARTY TAKES AWAY FROM THE POTENTIAL OF THIS UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

On September 10, 2018, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change issued a draft amendment to the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006. Through this the ministry has acknowledged that the compliance status of implementation of environmental conditions needs to be improved, and to do so it has proposed to include a randomised third party monitoring system. The ministry has proposed to carry out this third party monitoring through government institutions of national repute.

In response to this draft amendment, CPR-Namati Environmental Justice Program made a submission with the ministry. The submission highlights that such a process is still limited to the original two parties involved in environmental compliance i.e. government agencies and project developers. It emphasises on the need for a monitoring framework that addresses impacts and is not limited to routine inspections. To fill this lacuna the submission suggests that affected people be made part of third-party monitoring mechanism. This mechanism should enable them to collaborate with regulators towards better monitoring and compliance with environmental safeguards. It also raises questions regarding the credibility of the government institutions of national repute and urges the Ministry to disclose the funding details proposed for such an amendment. Read the full submission here.

https://india-speak-the-cpr-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-50-confronting-the-crisis-of-air-pollution

PODCAST FEATURING SHIBANI GHOSH, SANTOSH HARISH AND YAMINI AIYAR
PODCAST AIR POLLUTION HEALTH

Listen to the 50th episode of ThoughtSpace (above) featuring Shibani Ghosh, Santosh Harish and Yamini Aiyar.

While air pollution levels are unsafe across the country, all-year round, they spike to dangerously high levels during the winter months in North India. This year, as the country confronts the COVID-19 pandemic, the challenge of air pollution is even more pressing, given increasing evidence of levels and transmission of the infection being exasperated by pollution. How can India solve this public health emergency?

In the 50th episode of ThoughtSpace, Yamini Aiyar, President & Chief Executive of CPR, speaks with Shibani Ghosh and Santosh Harish, Fellows at CPR’s Iniitative on Climate, Energy and the Environment. Ghosh and Harish have closely studied and engaged with this crisis in various capacities. They shed light on crop burning and other sources of pollution, the challenges of governance and state capacity, the new Commission set up to manage air quality, and the need to build a larger public discourse around the environment that views this problem as a social justice issue. The recommend a shift from reactive, political quick fixes to more systematic, long-term, institutional solutions.

You can follow the Centre’s work on air pollution on Twitter or visit www.cprindia.org. You can listen to all the episodes our podcast here.

https://soundcloud.com/cpr_india/episode-7-coping-with-notebandidemonetisation-voices-of-informal-workers?utm_source=clipboard&utm_campaign=wtshare&utm_medium=widget&utm_content=https%253A%252F%252Fsoundcloud.com%252Fcpr_india%252Fepisode-7-coping-with-notebandidemonetisation-voices-of-informal-workers

A CONVERSATION BETWEEN RESEARCHERS MUKTA NAIK, ASHWIN PARULKAR, EESHA KUNDURI, MANISH AND RICHA BANSAL
PODCAST ECONOMY POLITICS

The urban team at the Centre for Policy Research carried out intensive field work over two weeks, where the researchers interviewed workers across categories of informal work in Delhi, such as construction workers, sabjiwalas, dhaba workers, small shopkeepers, industrial contract workers etc., to understand how they have coped with the impact of demonetisation or ‘notebandi’, as it is commonly called.

In the seventh episode (above) of CPR’s podcast, ThoughtSpace, Richa Bansal talks to Senior Researchers Mukta Naik and Ashwin Parulkar and Research Associates Eesha Kunduri and Manish to unpack their findings on informal workers’ strategies of coping with ‘notebandi’.

FULL VIDEO OF THE SEMINAR
SANITATION

Watch the full video (above) of the Community of Research and Practice (CORP) seminar on ‘Malaysia’s Sewerage and Sanitation Sector Regulatory Framework’ featuring Punita Nook Naidu.

The seminar explored insights that underlie processes of regulatory development specifically in faecal sludge management and desludging services in Malaysia. The seminar largely focussed on the eventual change in the desludging framework as well as the current status, funding dynamics of sewerage infrastructure and services in Malaysia and the benefits and challenges of the funding mechanism employed. This was followed by deliberation on practical learnings from experiences of Malaysia which can be used by stakeholders in India in driving the sanitation agenda forward.

The event brought together senior policymakers, technocrats, city and state level implementers, members of the civil society and legal experts to learn from their experience in states and in implementation to initiate a broader discussion on the potential for scheduled desludging framework from the viewpoint of technical configuration.

The session was moderated by Anju Dwivedi, Senior Researcher, CPR.

Punita Nook Naidu is an independent consultant at the national and international level.

The question and answer session that followed can be accessed here.

The presentation made at the seminar can be accessed here.

CORP Seminar Series

This is the 19th in a series of the Community of Research and Practice (CORP) seminar hosted by the Scaling City Institution for India: Sanitation (SCI-FI: Sanitation) initiative with the support of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). This seminar series seeks to provide a platform for discussing the experiences of the researchers and practitioners on urban sanitation.