Policy Briefs & Reports

This report highlights the scope and functions of a dozen tree laws implemented in different states in India. The implementation of these laws has come to public focus in recent years due to the growing number of cases of large-scale tree felling in Indian cities. The government use of mechani...

The rapid increase of users on social media platforms has shifted political debates and communication channels between citizens and states. While a decade ago governments may have tried to connect to citizens through their own platforms, now, many do so through social media. But what has been cre...

The pandemic made digital healthcare an integral part of our lives in various forms, including teleconsultations, exchanging digital records and now linking health outcome (vaccination) to identity, anywhere, anytime, through the Co-WIN site, which can also, inter alia, be accessed through the Aa...

As a vulnerable developing country with a low per-capita historical contribution to climate change, India’s climate commitments are situated within the context of its multiple development objectives, which highlights the need for adopting multiple co-benefits approaches to lowering its emissions ...

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of social security for protecting workers against economic shocks, and for smoothing consumption during downturns. As forces such as technological advancement and climate change continue to upend lives and livelihoods, social security is critic...

The NITI Aayog released the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) in July 2021 (NITI Aayog 2021) as part of a pool of innovative and alternative financing sources expected to fund about 15 to 17 per cent of the National Infrastructure Pipeline, which is targeted at `111 trillion over five years, i...

At the culmination of Swachh Bharat Mission – Gramin (SBM-G) Phase I in 2019, rural India had declared itself Open-Defecation Free (ODF). However, ODF is only the first step in India’s journey toward the Sustainable Development Goal 6 of ensuring ‘availability and sustainable management of water ...

In the absence of an enforceable substantive right to housing, communities living in slums and other informal settlements have mobilized over the years, using both courts and political advocacy to try and protect themselves from eviction. This has resulted in a series of judgments, policies, and ...

Europe appears to be experiencing a ‘we are all in this together’ moment in the face of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine with an unprecedented show of solidarity towards asylum seekers. For sure, it ticks several political boxes for Europe: from presenting a unified front against Russia an...

The Policy Brief Series is prepared under the research programme, Scaling City Institutions for India (SCI-FI) funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). As part of its research programme on urban sanitation, SCI-FI has been undertaking studies since the launch of the NFSSM Policy on...

India’s urbanization is on the rise, but the country is predominantly rural with 833 million (~70%) residing in villages. Odisha, with a rural population share of 83%, reported toilet access among rural households to be merely 14% in 2011. Since 2014, under SBM-G, the state has built 6.6 million ...

The sustained economic growth and structural transformation of the Indian economy has resulted in increased growth of cities and towns. However, lack of investment in basic infrastructure and the low state capacities together deepens the vulnerability of marginalised communities in these urban ar...

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 national lockdown in March 2020, India saw the mass movement of an estimated 11.4 million migrants back to their home states. Many more remained stranded at worksites and destination cities, and experienced hunger, indebtedness and sickness. The vulnerability of m...

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 national lockdown in March 2020, India saw the mass movement of an estimated 11.4 million migrants back to their home states. Many more remained stranded at worksites and destination cities, and experienced hunger, indebtedness and sickness. The vulnerability of m...

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 national lockdown in March 2020, India saw the mass movement of an estimated 11.4 million migrants back to their home states. Many more remained stranded at worksites and destination cities, and experienced hunger, indebtedness and sickness. The vulnerability of m...

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 national lockdown in March 2020, India saw the mass movement of an estimated 11.4 million migrants back to their home states. Many more remained stranded at worksites and destination cities, and experienced hunger, indebtedness and sickness. The vulnerability of m...

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 national lockdown in March 2020, India saw the mass movement of an estimated 11.4 million migrants back to their home states. Many more remained stranded at worksites and destination cities, and experienced hunger, indebtedness and sickness. The vulnerability of m...