Working Papers

While about 70% of Indian electricity is carbon-based, a quarter of the nation’s consumption goes into agriculture, to extract groundwater for irrigation. Improving the energy efficiency of Indian agriculture is thus a critical issue for the world at large, from both a climate change and energy s...

There should be equality of opportunity for all citizines in matter relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State. No citizen shall, on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them be uneligible for or discriminated in respect of, ...

The Centre for Policy Research has, during the previous years conducted a number of examinations for assisting various public undertakings in finding suitable candidates to fill in posts both at the clerical and officers' level. the Centre also conducted entrance examinations for various universi...

India claims to be undertaking a thorough transition to low-carbon electricity, stepping up renewable energy and energy efficiency efforts. Yet, two puzzling paradoxes weigh upon this dynamic. First, although energy efficiency measures offer high collective returns, at least as high as those for ...

This paper explores ideas of regulatory diffusion and transplant. I suggest that the existing literature, which focuses on channels of diffusion and macro-contextual variables of sectors and countries, insufficiently accounts for how the nature of institutional outcomes are shaped by the way regu...

Interstate water disputes in India often prolong over long periods and tend to recur. The Cauvery dispute tribunal was constituted in 1990 and the final award was given in 2007, after 17 years. The 2nd Krishna water dispute tribunal, constituted in 2004, gave its final award recently in December ...

How have India's Supreme Court judges behaved towards minorities detained under anti-terror laws? Do judges make distinctions between the religious and political affiliations of the accused in anti-terror cases? If so, why, and under what conditions? The paper investigates these questions through...

This paper argues that as a step towards improving Indian corporate response to climate change, it is worth exploring an appropriate disclosure-based regulation system. It sets out reasons why Indian companies need to improve their responses to climate change; and compares and contrasts disclosur...

This working paper is an effort to trace the landscape of citizen-led efforts to hold the state accountable in India. It first offers an analytical narrative of the evolution of thought and practice in public accountability till the current emphasis on citizen-led accountability initiatives, and ...

Public discourse in India has been dominated by a heated debate on how to address the endemic corruption in India’s public institutions. The agitation for the Lok Pal bill and the ensuing discussions has brought the role of anti-corruption institutions and accountability mechanisms to the heart o...

This paper documents the Andhra Pradesh experience of institutionalising social audits into the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), and uses it to analyse the social audit process. It draws on empirical work aimed at measuring the effectiveness of social audits ...

This working paper is an effort to trace the landscape of citizen-led efforts to hold the state accountable in India. It first offers an analytical narrative of the evolution of thought and practice in public accountability till the current emphasis on citizen-led accountability initiatives, and ...

Public discourse in India has been dominated by a heated debate on how to address the endemic corruption in India’s public institutions. The agitation for the Lok Pal bill and the ensuing discussions has brought the role of anti-corruption institutions and accountability mechanisms to the heart o...

This paper documents the Andhra Pradesh experience of institutionalising social audits into the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), and uses it to analyse the social audit process. It draws on empirical work aimed at measuring the effectiveness of social audits ...

This paper discusses domestic politics around climate change in India as an entry point to understanding India’s role in global climate negotiations. I suggest there is broad agreement within India on three issues: India is being unfairly labelled a “major emitter”; India has a considerable ongoi...

This paper discusses domestic politics around climate change in India as an entry point to understanding India’s role in global climate negotiations. I suggest there is broad agreement within India on three issues: India is being unfairly labelled a “major emitter”; India has a considerable ongoi...

The paper describes the estimation exercise, i.e. the Urban Infrastructure Per Capita Investment Cost estimation and projection of urban finance requirements for the period 2006-2031 referred to as the 2006-2031 Urban Infrastructure Finance Estimation Exercise (2006-2031 UIFEE). The 2006 – 2031 U...

1 August 2009 The paper describes the estimation exercise, i.e. the Urban Infrastructure Per Capita Investment Cost estimation and projection of urban finance requirements for the period 2006-2031 referred to as the 2006-2031 Urban Infrastructure Finance Estimation Exercise (2006-2031 UIFEE). Th...