Archives: Briefs Reports

The South Asia Rural Innovation Capacity Benchmarking Workshop was organised by the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) and the Centre for Research on Innovation and Science Policy (CRISP) together with the LINK initiative (Learning, Innovation, Knowledge) and held in New Delhi on August 19-20, 2009. The event was sponsored by Canada’s International Developmental Research Center (IDRC) and UNU-MERIT. The workshop brought together senior officials within S&T organisations in the region engaged in science, technology and innovation planning, and academics/ researchers/ practitioners involved in rural innovation in South Asian countries as well as Peru and the UK.

This workshop was designed as a policy dialogue — with S&T policymakers and rural development practitioners — on the implications for capacity benchmarking if South Asian countries wanted to move from science and technology policy to a broader innovation policy with the specific goals of rural development. The goal was to identify approaches and priorities relevant to undertaking rural innovation benchmarking exercises.

This report presents the converging views of the workshop participants and puts forward the concerns raised and suggestions made during the ensuing policy dialogue.

In continuation to the Government of Odisha’s landmark initiative of the Odisha Liveable Habitat Mission (OLHM), also known as the JAGA Mission, launched in 2018, and the successful implementation of the Odisha Land Rights to Slum Dwellers Act 2017, basic infrastructure upgradation and delisting of slums emerge as the next critical steps towards transforming these informal settlements into liveable habitats, integrated with the urban area.

Towards this end the Scaling City Institutions for India (SCI-FI) initiative at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) as knowledge partner supported Housing and Urban Development Department, GoO to prepare a ‘Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Participatory Slum Upgradation and Delisting’. The SOP intends to benefit the key stakeholders by laying down the procedure and benchmarks for undertaking participatory integrated slum level infrastructure upgradation and establishing procedure and documentation for delisting of the slum, to integrate it to the rest of the urban area. This SOP will act as an enabler for ULBs partnering with the Slum Dwellers’ Associations to ensure the availability of adequate basic services to mainstream the slums into the city fabric. This SOP lays down the integral steps to realise community-level benefits building on land rights distribution towards achieving the broader vision of a Liveable Habitat for all.

This study is an attempt to provide an in-depth understanding of school education financing in India through an analysis of expenditures incurred across eight states from FY 2014-15 to FY 2017-18.

The 14th Finance Commission’s (FFC) recommendations, accepted by the Union Government in February 2015, set the stage for a radical overhaul of India’s fiscal architecture. The recommendations were designed to enhance the fiscal autonomy of states by increasing the vertical tax devolution of the divisible pool of taxes from 32% to 42% (Finance Commision, 2015). Consequently, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) allocated ₹5.06 lakh crore Revised Estimate (RE) as tax devolution in the FY 2015-16. This was significantly higher than the FY 2014- 15 allocation of ₹3.38 lakh crore. This increase in devolution was accompanied by several changes in the mode of state transfers, including cuts in Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSSs), the Union Government’s primary vehicle for financing social sector investments in the country.

What are the implications of these changes? Did increased tax devolution result in enhancing the fiscal space available to states? Or was this offset by cuts in CSSs and other grants? How have states responded to these changes? Have we seen any changes in the investment patterns of states? Crucially, has the changed fiscal structure resulted in any visible shifts in social sector investments at the state level?

Based on an analysis of 19 state budgets, this brief presents a preliminary evaluation of the impact of the FFC recommendations on state finances and social sector expenditure.

This report titled State of the Nation: RTE Section 12(1)(c) provides an overview of the status of implementation of Section 12(1)(c) of Right to Education Act. Section 12(1)(c) mandates that private unaided schools keep aside 25 percent of their entry level seats for children belonging to economically weaker sections and disadvantaged categories. The clause represents an instrument to increase equity in educational opportunities and create a more integrated and inclusive schooling system. The mandate currently has the potential to impact 1.6 crore children from EWS and DG categories in the next eight years.

This report describes the status of implementation of the constitutional mandate under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (Section 12(1)(c)) for private unaided schools (non-minority) and special category schools to keep aside at least 25 per cent of their seats for children from economically weaker and disadvantaged sections of society at no fee to the children. The report focuses on its application for the private unaided non-minority schools.