Policy Briefs & Reports

Across the world, poor communities bear a disproportionate burden of the environmental cost of development. Harmful projects such as polluting industrial units, municipal disposal sites or mining projects are usually situated close to poor neighbourhoods. These communities grapple on a daily basi...

As per the National Sample Survey 2018, nearly 60% of urban India relies on On-Site Sanitation (OSS) systems, like septic tanks and leaching pits, for the management of faecal waste. Augmentation of toilet access over the last five years under the Swachh Bharat Mission has only served to entrench...

Air pollution levels are unsafe across the country, all-year round. While pollution levels spike to dangerously high levels during the winter in north India, those in several parts of the country are poor or worse for large parts of the year. High pollution levels are not restricted to cities; se...

This report has been funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), as part of its Sustainable Development Investment Portfolio (SDIP), being implemented by The Asia Foundation and it’s partners. The goal of the SDIP program is “to increase water, food and e...

This is a compilation of blogs by the authors of 'Mapping Power: The Political Economy of Electricity in India’s States' (Oxford University Press), edited by Navroz K. Dubash (Centre for Policy Research), Sunila S. Kale (University of Washington), and Ranjit S. Bharvirkar (Regulatory Assistance P...

How to continue to fulfill the promise of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, now in its second phase, is an important policy discussion in the country. Three essential tasks remain: extend connections to the entire country, now requiring work among some of the most remote, poor, and disenfranchis...

Janabhivyakti, the Centre for Policy Research-Namati Environmental Justice Program and Oxfam India have jointly conducted a groundtruthing study of environmental violations in the Bodai-Daldali bauxite mine located in the Kabirdham district of Chhattisgarh. A groundtruthing study is the process o...

India is at an important juncture in its development trajectory. From rapid urbanisation to declining agricultural productivity; from weak human capital to the need for creating productive jobs; from new security threats to the need to re-position itself in a changing global order; from growing e...

The Integrated Child Development Services is the Government of India’s (GoI’s) flagship programme aimed at providing basic education, health, and nutrition services for early childhood development. This brief uses government data to analyse ICDS performance along the following parameters: A...

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is a flagship scheme of the Government of India (GoI) which aims to provide at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every rural household that demands work. Using government reported data, this b...

Using government data, this brief reports on trends for SBM Gramin along the following parameters: Allocations and expenditures Physical progress of toilets built Expenditures incurred under Information, Education and Communication (IEC) activities In addition, this brief reports findings f...

About the Report (A Global Pact for the Environment - Legal Foundations) The project leading to this compilation of studies has two purposes. The first is to leave a record of the intellectual discussions underpinning the project of a Global Pact for the Environment, with its many sources, vie...

India’s move to electrify every village and household in the country has been lauded as a success. Building on decades of targeted programmes and public investments by multiple governments, the country completed 100% village electrification in April 2018; a year after, it has electrified nearly a...

Getting approvals under the various building regulations applicable to any particular jurisdiction is often the first step in construction and development. The Report ‘Building Regulations for Faecal Sludge Management: Review of Building Regulations from Indian States’ seeks to understand how the...