Author: cprindia

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO
CPR BUDGET SOCIAL SECTOR SCHEMES

Watch the full video (above) of the panel discussion on ‘Tracking Government Spending: Challenges in Social Policy Financing’ featuring Rathin Roy (Director, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy); Alok Kumar (Adviser, NITI Aayog); Jeffrey Hammer (Senior Visiting Fellow, CPR); TR Raghunandan (Adviser, Accountability Initiative & Former Indian Administrative Service Officer) and moderated by Avani Kapur (Fellow & Director, Accountability Initiative, CPR). The panel marked the completion of ten years of the Accountability Initiative at CPR since it’s founding.

Despite significant investments in social welfare programmes, it is widely acknowledged that implementation is India’s Achilles heel and public service delivery is often plagued by inadequate quality, corruption and accountability failures. Yet, a discussion on the links between design and implementation is often constrained by the lack of evidence on the processes through which policies are translated on the ground.

What are the emerging trends of social policy financing in India? What should be the role of the Union Government in social policy financing in an era of more cooperative federalism? What is the role of technology in enabling a more efficient public finance management system? What is the optimal allocation of functions and capacities required across all levels of government to ensure an outcome-focussed financing system? By placing the current evidence on the processes involved in the delivery of social policies at the front and centre, this session aimed to revisit the current design of social policy financing given the recent changes in India’s fiscal architecture.

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.

Media coverage of the session can be found below:

Civil servants and politicians aren’t worried about outcomes of govt spending: Experts by ThePrint
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- 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

FULL VIDEO OF THE DISCUSSION
ELECTION STUDIES POLITICS

Watch the full video of the third CPR Election Adda discussion on‘Modi and Millennials – Who will India’s Young Voter Choose?’ featuring Snigdha Poonam and Vivan Marwaha, moderated by Rahul Verma.

The 2019 election will see 84 million people vote for the first time. What can we infer about this group’s voting choices? Do they vote along the same issues as their elders or will their aspirations dictate who they choose?

Snigdha Poonam is a journalist with the Hindustan Times and author of Dreamers. Vivan Marwaha is a policy consultant and has a forthcoming book on millennials. Rahul Verma is a Fellow at CPR.

FULL VIDEO OF THE DISCUSSION
POLITICS ELECTION STUDIES

Watch the full video (above) of the fifth CPR Election Adda discussion on ‘Taking Stock: A Mid Poll Evaluation of the 2019 Elections’, featuring Surjit Bhalla, Sunetra Choudhury, Dhananjai Joshi, Philip K Oldenburg and moderated by Rahul Verma.

It has been a long campaign, political parties and their leaders have spent tremendous energies so far to win the confidence of Indian voters and form the next government in Delhi. More than three-fourth of India has voted, and it seems we are in the midst of an election, which has undoubtedly been one of the most polarised so far. The discussion reflected on the 2019 election story, the emerging scenarios possible post-May 23, and what the country has gained or lost in this electoral battle.

Surjit Bhalla is a Contributing Editor at The Indian Express, and Consulting Editor at Network 18. Sunetra Choudhury is the National Political Editor at Hindustan Times. Dhananjai Joshi is the Managing Director at Cicero Associates and Consultants Private Limited. Philip K Oldenburg is a Research Scholar at the South Asia Institute, Columbia University. Rahul Verma is a Fellow at CPR.

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

FULL VIDEO OF THE DISCUSSION
ELECTION STUDIES POLITICS

Watch the full video of the second CPR Election Adda discussion on ‘How to Win an Election’ featuring Abeer Kapoor and Oshin Lakhani, moderated by Rahul Verma.

The strategies and games that govern Indian politics have often been discussed but only very recently have they been ‘gamified’. Abeer Kapoor sheds light on how he modelled his board game ‘The Poll’ on the real life twists and turns that follow an election in India as well as his experience taking the game across India to play in colleges.

Abeer Kapoor is the creator of ‘The Poll: The Great Indian Election Game’. Oshin Lakhani is an Intern at CPR. Rahul Verma is a Fellow at CPR.

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO
CPR BUREAUCRACY

Watch the full video (above) of the panel discussion on ‘What Would it Take to Build a 21st-century State for India?’ to mark the launch of CPR’s new State Capacity Initiative featuring Sanjay Mitra (Former Chief Secretary, West Bengal); T V Somanathan (Secretary, Department of Expenditure, Government of India); Junaid Ahmad, Country Director (World Bank in India) with a presentation by Mekhala Krishnamurthy (Senior Fellow, CPR) and moderated by Yamini Aiyar (President & Chief Executive, CPR).

To mark the launch of CPR’s new State Capacity Initiative, we asked, what will it take for India to build a state that can credibly address the complex, competing and multi-generational challenges that we face in the 21st-century? In particular, we explored the changing roles of the Indian state and how we might balance some of the critical tensions of administrative reform and institutional change. This includes the tension between generalists vs. specialists and the question of knowledge and skills; the tensions between discretion, administrative flexibility, and public accountability; the evolving nature of citizen-state relations, and the tensions and dynamics between the Centre and States in shaping state capacity in democratic and federal India.

At a time of widespread disenchantment with the state, this panel was an effort to collectively re-imagine and re-invest in the possibility of building a genuinely capable, responsive, and accountable Indian state.

More information about the State Capacity Initiative can be found here.

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 Indian state capacity, written by Yamini Aiyar and Mekhala Krishnamurthy in ThePrint can be read here.

Media coverage of the panel discussion can be found below:

‘Lateral entry in civil services vital to state’s ability to deliver to citizens’ by ThePrint
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- 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 ECONOMY SOCIAL SECTOR SCHEMES

Watch the full video (above) of the panel discussion on ‘What Would Happen if We Were to Believe in Indian Agriculture?’ featuring Saurabh Garg (Principal Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmers Empowerment, Government of Odisha); Harish Damodaran (Rural Affairs and Agriculture Editor, The Indian Express); Ajay Vir Jakhar (Chairperson, Bharat Krishak Samaj); Ramesh Chand, (Member, NITI Aayog) and moderated by Mekhala Krishnamurthy (Senior Fellow, CPR).

What would happen if we were to actually believe in Indian agriculture? This panel was an invitation to revisit and revise our assumptions about the vast potential of Indian agriculture, instead of treating it as a residue, a stalled structural transformation, a subsistence industry that requires only income support, or a buffer stock strategy for foodgrains. Here, we seek to place agriculture, its linkages and its multiplier effects at the centre of India’s economic development and to consider therefore the nature and scale of public investment, institutional support, knowledge resources and partnerships needed to transform agricultural outcomes and impact in India.

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 state of Indian agriculture, written by Mekhala Krishnamurthy in ThePrint can be read here.

Media coverage of the panel discussion can be found below:

Link Indian agriculture with global chains, liberalise agro-commodity markets: Experts by ThePrint
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- 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

FULL VIDEO OF THE DISCUSSION
ELECTION STUDIES POLITICS

Watch the full video (above) of the fourth CPR Election Adda discussion on ‘Elections 2019 & the Future of the Indian Party System’ featuring Yamini Aiyar and Rahul Verma.

When can an election be declared a ‘wave’? Is the status quo of politics in India a ‘new normal’ or will we see the political landscape evolve further post the 2019 election result. Watch Rahul Verma and Yamini Aiyar debate these issues and many more in the fourth CPR Election Adda.

Yamini Aiyar is the President and Chief Executive at CPR. Rahul Verma is a Fellow at CPR.

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO
CPR RIGHTS

Watch the full video (above) of the panel discussion on ‘Are India’s Financial Institutions in Crisis? Understanding India’s Economic Slowdown’ featuring B Sriram (Former Managing Director, State Bank of India and IDBI Bank); Upendra Kumar Sinha [Former Chairperson, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)]; Naina Lal Kidwai, Former Chairperson, HSBC India and Senior Adviser, Advent Private Equity) and moderated by KP Krishnan (Former Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India).

The crisis in India’s financial institutions is at the forefront of ongoing diagnosis of India’s economic slowdown. As our government and banking ecosystems have begun to acknowledge some of their deep problems, there has been a scramble for quick diagnosis and remedies. But many of the problems in our financial system defy quick fixes; they will require a reorientation and rethinking of how the government has managed the economy over the last twenty years. Before diagnosis and remedies, we must ask the basic question: what is the state-run financial system good at? And where has it fallen short?

This panel brought together practitioners from government, the private sector, and regulation who have been at the forefront of managing and observing various financial institutions (public sector banks, private banks, regulators, cooperatives, auditors, mutual funds, equity markets etc.). In conversation, they discussed their perceptions regarding what works, what does not work, and what must change in India’s financial institutions going forward.

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.

Media coverage of the session can be found below:

Regulatory lapses & policy uncertainty are pushing infra financing into crisis: Experts by ThePrint
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- Emerging Trends in Indian Politics
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 Capacit

We are happy to share with you the following comments from researchers at the Centre for Policy Research, an independent think tank based in New Delhi, on the Paris Agreement, a new climate accord that was approved by the nations of the world on Dec. 12th.

“Significantly for India, the Paris Agreement firmly anchors ‘differentiation’ for developing countries – the idea that developed and developing countries have different responsibilities and capabilities. It systematically reflects differentiation across the various aspects of climate action – mitigation, adaptation, and support. Developed countries are expected to take the lead on mitigation and support, while developing countries are expected to take actions within the context of their sustainable development and poverty eradication imperatives” said Lavanya Rajamani, Professor at the Centre for Policy Research.
“As a large developing country with little historic responsibility for the problem and considerable energy needs, this was an important outcome for India.”

“As a vulnerable country, achieving a climate deal is important for India,” added Navroz K. Dubash, Senior Fellow and Coordinator of CPR’s Climate Initiative. “Various mechanisms have been put in place to enhance actions by countries over time – systematic updates of country actions every five years, a global ‘stocktake’ and provisions for a review process. While India should certainly do its part, it is important that these mechanisms keep pressure on developed countries for more ambitious actions, to allow countries like India the carbon space to meet our development needs.

“The Paris Agreement kicks off a long-term global process involving every country in the world,” said Radhika Khosla, Fellow at CPR. “It would be in India’s interest to establish a consistent and ongoing process to analyse and update Indian energy and climate policy in order to safeguard our future development and climate interests in the negotiations.”

CPR is holding a discussion on the Paris Agreement on 18th December 2015. Please click here for details and to RSVP.

New Delhi: The Government of India today released India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC). The INDC stated India would reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33-35% from 2005 levels by 2030, backed by several sectoral actions. India will also increase non-fossil fuel sources in electric power capacity to about 40% by 2030. Other goals include increased carbon sinks through forest cover, improved adaptation, mobilizing additional funds and building capacity, including through international support.

“The real benchmark for India’s INDC is whether it avoids lock-in to a high-carbon future,” said Navroz K. Dubash, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research. “By this standard, the most serious component is the detailed list of sectoral actions. This shows that key economic and infrastructure ministries have been closely engaged in formulating climate policy, which is an important break from the past.”

“The emissions intensity target is conservative when benchmarked against modelling studies, and roughly consistent with India’s Cancun pledge for 2020,” he added, referring to CPR analysis (Figure below). “This suggests the intensity number is the floor and the real action lies in the sectoral measures.”

The headline emissions intensity target is supported by a fossil fuel free goal of 40% for 2030 with the help of international support and a short-term domestic renewable energy target of 175 GW by 2022. “India’s INDC target of 40% non-fossil based electricity capacity implies a 10% increase from current non-fossil fuel capacity of 30%. In addition, the domestic 2022 renewable energy target of 175 GW is more ambitious,” said Radhika Khosla, Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research. “If the challenging domestic 2022 renewable target is met, the 2030 fossil fuel free target is likely to be exceeded.”

Since the focus is on a series of sectoral actions, the framework for assessing the effects of these actions for India’s contribution is particularly significant.

“India’s submission of its INDC represents an important milestone on the road to Paris,” said Lavanya Rajamani, Professor at the Centre for Policy Research. “India must now invest its negotiating capital in addressing issues related to the legal character, transparency and review of national contributions on which the effectiveness of the 2015 agreement will hinge.”