Policy Briefs & Reports

So that local people can use and understand the laws regulating development and the environment of India’s coast, Namati has created a Coastal Regulation Zones booklet that covers all the information available in the complex official document, but it is presented in a way that ordinary people can...

India is undergoing structural urban and economic transitions and has set ambitious policy targets to meet its rising energy needs for development. Expanding coal and renewables are two important pillars of this undertaking and, since 2008, climate protection is of increasing concern. India’s int...

India for long has been a provider of economic support as well as capacity building assistance to Maldives. It has also acted as a security provider to the island nation with one prominent instance being the coup in 1988. Even till recently in 2012, India was at the forefront when it came to prov...

Analytical studies on rural local government finance are few and far between in India. The paucity of reliable data and the lack of transparency in Panchayat finances and associated difficulties in accessing data are important reasons for this. These data gaps are well known and successive Financ...

Between May 2011 and August 2011, the PAISA team went to around 1300 schools in 9 districts spread across 7 states to do a detailed PAISA study on elementary education financing. The study focused on tracking the flow of funds from their point of origin (Central and State Governments) to their f...

The ecologically unique but fragile Mundra region in the western Indian state of Gujarat has seen ferocious industrial expansion over the last decade and a half. A range of multipurpose ports, coal-handling facilities and thermal power plants have been granted approval under various environment r...

Historic blackouts across India in July 2012 revealed the severity of India’s energy crisis. Looking ahead, scaling up energy efficiency promises to be the fastest, cheapest, and cleanest way to help meet India’s energy demands. As the country experiences rapid urbanization and its building- occu...

This report is based on research and analysis undertaken with the objective of deepening the understanding of CCAs in India, primarily to achieve two goals. Firstly, to bring to light the unknown conservation efforts undertaken in India and secondly, to attempt an action plan that would cater to ...

Blackouts across India in July 2012 revealed the severity of India’s energy crisis. Looking ahead to 2017, India must increase its energy production by 6.5 percent annually from 2011 levels to maintain a 9 percent growth rate. This growth rate will result in rapid urbanization—India’s building-oc...

In July 2011, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) relocated its Washington, D.C. office to a new space designed with a focus on energy efficiency and sustainability. NRDC is an international nonprofit environmental organization committed to protecting the world’s natural resources, public he...

Between October and November 2012, PAISA went to 14,591 government run elementary schools across India to ask the following questions: Did you get your money? When did you get your money? Did you spend the money? And if so, what was the output of that expenditure? The PAISA survey is conducte...

Speaking at a recent summit, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to India as a bright spot in the global economy. India’s rapid domestic growth and growing integration with global trade, technology and financial flows support his assertion; yet, all this is not translating into peak ...

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...

In this study, any practitioner that served as a primary point of contact for the diagnosis and treatment of general illnesses was classified as a medical provider, regardless of their qualifications. This also includes public sector paramedical staff such as ANMs, ASHA workers and MPWs.

India has the second-fastest growing economy in the world and is committed to minimizing the impacts of climate change. The nation has adopted a National Action Plan on Climate Change to guide its efforts in building a low-carbon economy. Strong energy efficiency measures—in buildings of all type...

Do schools get their money? Between October and November 2010, PAISA went to 13,021 government run elementary schools across India to ask the following questions: Did you get your money? When did you get your money? Did you spend the money, if so what was the output of that expenditure? This PAIS...

Efficiency is everywhere, but it is an invisible resource and often underutilized. Energy efficiency is the fastest, cleanest, and cheapest way to meet energy needs— India alone could save $42 billion each year by largely improving energy efficiency in buildings, which currently consume more than...