This report helps provide a clear understanding of the institutional landscape to assess how future-ready the Indian digital ecosystem is for fostering innovation and serving the needs of a diverse society and rapidly growing economy with ever-evolving aspirations.

Authors Shreekant Gupta, Bishwanath Goldar, Shubham Dang, and Omer F. Baris ask whether financial markets distinguish between backsliding – a deterioration in environmental performance – and persistent underperformance.

In this paper, the authors Shreekant Gupta and Bishwanath Goldar conduct an event study to examine the impact of environmental rating of large pulp and paper, auto, and chlor alkali firms on their stock prices.

A key challenge in evaluating QCOs has been the lack of systematic mapping between QCO regulations and their corresponding Harmonized System (HS) codes. To address this gap, an exercise was undertaken to map QCOs to unique HS codes. This blog by Prerna Prabhakar provides a snapshot ...

This paper examines the impact of QCOs on India’s exports and imports for the affected products, drawing on insights from industry stakeholder consultations.

This brief focuses on green diplomacy within the India-China relationship, which was a central theme of a recent workshop on India-China climate cooperation organised by the Institute of South Asian Studies and the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, New Delhi.

The digital divide persists, especially along gender, geographic and generational lines. By combining the convening power of the public sector with private sector entrepreneurship, well-designed and executed public-private partnerships (PPPs) may bridge such gaps says Deepak Maheshwari.

This study evaluates the introduction of a theoretical carbon tax in India and assesses how to balance economic growth, equity considerations, and emissions reduction.

This study evaluates whether incremental RE can meet aggregate demand growth, examining time-of-day variations, asking if this can avoid higher fossil fuel use.

Response to the Department of Economics Affairs’ Public Consultation on the Draft Framework for India’s Climate Finance Taxonomy.

This paper seeks to decode India’s engagement in climate triangular cooperation (TrC) by exploring the role that triangular engagements play within India’s climate diplomacy, motivations that drive India and its partners to increase engagement in TrC and India’s policy options for expanding the impact and significance ...

This study explores Chinese narratives on South Asia with critical insights into how China perceives and communicates its role in the region. The paper uses discourse analysis to examine and interpret hundreds of mostly Chinese-language texts.

Constantino Xavier shares three broad learnings from his collaborative work with Jabin Jacob from a project over the past three years; the 2023 report 'How China Engages South Asia: Themes, Partners and Tools' to the 2025 report 'How China Engages South Asia: In the Open and ...

This blog by Pooja Ramamurthi and Tejal Atul Karad compares the national climate policies and goals set by the two countries and explores differences in governance and implementation models pursued by India and China.

This report provides a comprehensive examination of the copper sector in India, highlighting its current status, strategic importance, and emerging vulnerabilities throughout the supply chain.

This blog is based on Janak Raj and Rakesh Mohan's latest study "India’s Climate Finance Requirements: An Assessment”.

This study follows a bottom-up approach to estimate the climate finance requirement of four key sectors—power, road transport, steel, and cement – accounting for over half of India’s carbon emissions.

This commentary, emerging from the Regional World Health Summit in New Delhi (April 2025), examines how countries in South and Southeast Asia are responding to these pressures through enhanced regional cooperation. The authors identify five key pathways for strengthening collective health governance.

This blog by Sushovan Chakraborty and Roya Sinha examines the evolving state of implementation of border fencing with India’s neighbours – an issue that remains an understudied but crucial aspect of border management.

This study empirically analyses the impact of bank infrastructure financing on NPAs, investigating whether public sector banks (PSBs) are involved in poor lending decisions and exploring the structural risks inherent in infrastructure projects.

This study uses a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model to evaluate the macroeconomic and fiscal effects of the CBAM on India, with a focus on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) impact, sectoral competitiveness, exports, fiscal revenue, and household welfare.

This blog by Abhinand Siddharth examines India’s decision to put the IWT in ‘abeyance’ and exercise its ‘right to respond’ to terrorist attacks from Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). This analysis concludes that India has strategically engaged international law through implied rather than explicit ...

This dataset by Mohd Danish and Sadan Khan compiles comprehensive electoral data for both state-level legislative assembly elections and national-level general (Lok Sabha) elections in India.

This study uses a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model to evaluate the macroeconomic and fiscal effects of the CBAM on India, with a focus on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) impact, sectoral competitiveness, exports, fiscal revenue, and household welfare.

This blog by Sushovan Chakraborty and Roya Sinha suggests four ways that New Delhi can prepare for a functional connectivity with Dhaka.

India remains a marginal player in global automobile exports. While its cars are affordable and capable, they do not reach far-flung markets. This paradox, of world-class potential constrained by an inward-looking industrial strategy, raises important questions about incentives, trade policy, and the role of the state, ...

The paper examines the potential impact of servicification on employment in India’s manufacturing sector, with empirical analysis to show a positive association between the two.

There is gap highlights how rapidly Japanese capital can shift toward business-friendly environments and how India’s policy frictions can undermine its market advantages, Chandler Compton explains in this blog.

To win back Japanese capital, India must pursue a policy agenda that addresses the specific regulatory friction and supply chain challenges that drove Japanese manufacturers to ASEAN, while leveraging Japan’s unique strengths in technology and infrastructure development explains Chandler Compton in this blog.

The study addresses how current net metering rules influence system sizing, payback periods, and adoption likelihood across consumer categories and the resulting financial impacts on Discoms.

Examining India’s current position in the global green goods market, its comparative advantages, and its tariff policies provides a good starting point to assess the country’s readiness to emerge as a global leader in this vital space. This blog by Nancy Gupta and Prerna Prabhakar attempts ...

This is the second report in a multi-year research project on China’s expanding influence in South Asia, from Afghanistan to Myanmar and Nepal to Sri Lanka. It offers a comprehensive framework to understand the range, methods, and implications of China’s rising influence which has profound implications ...

OTP Please delves into the wondrous new world of electronic commerce by connecting diverse stories and perspectives gathered across South Asia, from Peshawar to Patna and Colombo to Kathmandu.

This policy brief by Riya Sinha and Giulia Tercovich examines how the EU’s Global Gateway and India’s regional connectivity vision can be aligned to advance shared priorities in the Indo-Pacific.

What does ‘quality education’ truly mean, and how can we ensure it is accessible to all children, regardless of their background? This book delves into these pressing questions, offering a comprehensive exploration of the challenges and opportunities within India’s education system.

This book offers a comprehensive analysis of India’s healthcare challenges and the pathways to achieving universal health coverage. It critically examines the current healthcare landscape, highlighting persistent issues such as under-nutrition, demographic transitions, and pandemic vulnerabilities.

Sambandh conducts data-driven research to map infrastructure and connectivity links between South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Bay of Bengal and the larger Indo-Pacific regions. The initiative was launched in 2020.

This paper examines key issues surrounding capex in India, focusing on central- and state-level practices, transparency and reporting challenges, alignment with international standards, adjusted capex estimates and actionable policy recommendations.

This paper examines the current shifts in global geopolitics and their implications for India, particularly the impact of the Trump administration’s new policies.

Based on an analysis of evolving global trade contours, this paper delineates key trade policy measures for India.

This article by Anindita Sinh explores the evolution of the India-Japan economic relationship, Japan’s domestic and international policies in the critical minerals sector, the evolution of India and Japan’s critical minerals cooperation, and the pathways for enhancing this partnership.

This blog by Sukirt Kaur discusses trends in bilateral visits by the Defence Ministers, explores the potential motivations behind these visits, and examines their broader implications for India’s regional interests.

In this blog, Priyadarshini Singh argues that the slew of initiatives on health and education in Karnataka over the last several months are limited in significantly improving the uptake of government's primary healthcare and elementary schooling. She makes policy recommendations to enable the emergence of new ...

In this blog, Laveesh Bhandari explains the burning questions from his and Amaresh Dubey's discussion paper, India at Work: Employment Trends in the 21st Century

Leveraging CSEP’s RTS Model and real-world cost, tariff, and subsidy data, the blog argues that smart meter-side tweaks, not megawatt-scale subsidies, will determine whether India’s 40 GW RTS target soars or stalls.

This discussion paper examines the increasing prominence of health in global climate discourse and action and goes on to analyse India’s role in this context. It calls for further research into India’s policy effectiveness, financing strategies, and governance mechanisms, ensuring that its climate-health initiatives are both ...

The Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) is delighted to share the Annual Report for 2024-2025.

The paper examines economic outcomes such as GDP before and after Publicly Available Digital Infrastructure (PADI) adoption, using the UPI launch as a proxy for one of the most visible PADI interventions.

Published in the Indian Public Policy Review journal, this paper extends the methodologies developed in earlier papers to critically examine capital expenditure (capex) reporting practices in India.

The paper employs a novel approach, which focuses on the total number of those employed rather than unemployment rates across different demographic and employment segments, while also disregarding subsidiary employment, allows us to draw definitive conclusions about changing employment patterns.

The paper employs a novel approach, which focuses on the total number of those employed rather than unemployment rates across different demographic and employment segments, while also disregarding subsidiary employment, allows us to draw definitive conclusions about changing employment patterns.

Alok Kumar Singh offers policy recommendations to ensure healthcare services for middle-income households in this blog.

The paper explores alternative policy approaches to the expansion of quality medical education through the scaling-up of existing medical educational institutions.

This paper examines the affordability of healthcare—who can afford it and how much is affordable—for households in the third and fourth quintiles in India, taking into consideration the aspect of willingness to pay. Based on the affordability analysis, it attempts to identify reform options for UHC.

For India, it is imperative to address core competitiveness issues—not only to face emerging challenges but also to seize potential opportunities, write Prerna Prabhakar, Sanjay Kathuria, and TG Srinivasan in this blog.

This paper examines the affordability of healthcare—who can afford it and how much is affordable—for households in the third and fourth quintiles in India, taking into consideration the aspect of willingness to pay. Based on the affordability analysis, it attempts to identify reform options for UHC.

In this blog, Shyamasis Das and Rahul Tongia talk about the importance of tracking Vehicle Kilometres in detail.

This paper examines the core issues that have prevented India from achieving manufacturing competitiveness and suggests policy priorities to overcome these challenges. The authors take a novel approach by modifying the well-known Porter’s Diamond Model (PDM) to do so.

What is driving the making of state-level initiatives? Why and when does a state make new initiatives for its health and education systems, irrespective of whether the initiatives end up improving the systems or not? Priyadarshini Singh explores these questions in her blog.

This paper examines the core issues that have prevented India from achieving manufacturing competitiveness and suggests policy priorities to overcome these challenges. The authors take a novel approach by modifying the well-known Porter’s Diamond Model (PDM) to do so.

This paper is part of a three-state study on the drivers of state-level initiatives in primary healthcare and elementary education in urban areas during the last decade, from 2014 to 2024.

This paper is part of a three-state study on the drivers of state-level initiatives in primary healthcare and elementary education in urban areas during the last decade, from 2014 to 2024.

This blog by Shruti Jargad examines the relief efforts carried out by China in Myanmar, outlining the activities and institutional channels involved, and the messaging in media.

Can India balance growth in electricity demand purely from Renewable Energy (RE)? This analysis demonstrates that India’s 2030 RE targets, even if achieved, will likely fall short of meeting projected electricity demand growth, particularly when considering the critical challenges of ToD balancing and storage limitations.

Can India balance growth in electricity demand purely from Renewable Energy (RE)? This analysis demonstrates that India’s 2030 RE targets, even if achieved, will likely fall short of meeting projected electricity demand growth, particularly when considering the critical challenges of ToD balancing and storage limitations.

What drives state growth? This paper establishes two fundamental growth axes: state level attributes and key economic centres (KECs).

In the last decade, India has engaged with archaeology and conservation at various sites in other countries. The attached novel database of sites can pave the way for future research about India’s heritage diplomacy, writes Aleksandr Kuzmenchuk

India and Australia have intensified their engagement on critical minerals, recognising their strategic importance for economic and energy security, technology development, and industrial resilience, writes Anindita Sinh.

This paper examines the impact of EV uptake on three tax streams: Excise and Value Added Tax (VAT) losses from fuel switch to electricity, revenue forgone from concessional GST rates and Compensation Cess exemptions; and state losses from Motor Vehicle tax exemptions.

This paper examines the impact of EV uptake on three tax streams: Excise and Value Added Tax (VAT) losses from fuel switch to electricity, revenue forgone from concessional GST rates and Compensation Cess exemptions; and state losses from Motor Vehicle tax exemptions.

The policy brief focuses on regional cooperation mechanisms, including the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and the Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem Project (BOBLME), write Pooja Ramamurthi & Riya Sinha for the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies.

India has committed to ambitious targets, aiming to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070; however, this transition away from fossil fuels presents significant fiscal and institutional challenges, that warrant careful examination.

It is hoped that policymakers will take note of the urgent needs of cities, especially of the urban poor, write Indrani Gupta and Alok Kumar Singh in this blog.

Since 2020, the government has also introduced sector-specific production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes to drive manufacturing growth further. However, despite these efforts, the sector’s contribution remains well below the targeted levels writes Prerna Prabhakar in this blog.

The pace of change in Asian geopolitics is accelerating. What role will India play in a rebalanced Asian system? - Shivshankar Menon writes for the Lowy Institute.

This paper examines the growing challenges of urban health in India, focusing on the disparities between the urban poor and non-poor populations. The analysis compares urban and rural areas, emphasising inequalities across wealth quintiles and highlighting the increasing vulnerability of urban slum dwellers.

This paper examines the growing challenges of urban health in India, focusing on the disparities between the urban poor and non-poor populations. The analysis compares urban and rural areas, emphasising inequalities across wealth quintiles and highlighting the increasing vulnerability of urban slum dwellers.

The paper provides a comprehensive overview of India’s evolving framework for climate change governance, assessing India’s federal structure and proposing strategies for enhancing institutional support and coordination for climate action.

From the Maldives to Myanmar and Vietnam to Indonesia, India’s claim to civilisational power is driving efforts to conserve heritage sites abroad write Aleksandr Kuzmenchuk & Constantino Xavier.

As New Delhi looks to diversify its Critical Minerals partnerships, the multidimensional relationship between India and the SADC must be honed further to establish resilient supply chains, Veda Vaidyanathan and Anika Vijapur write.

Based on new evidence, this paper offers policy recommendations for an Indian critical minerals strategy in Africa. It aims to explain why, where, and how India can build strategic collaborations with mineral-rich countries in the region.

Based on new evidence, this paper offers policy recommendations for an Indian critical minerals strategy in Africa. It aims to explain why, where, and how India can build strategic collaborations with mineral-rich countries in the region.

The Union Budget 2025-26 has emphasised reforms in the mining sector. To ensure requisite availabilities of critical minerals, customs duty rates on 12 critical minerals have been brought down to zero along with cobalt powder, waste and scraps of lithium, lead and zinc, Rajesh Chadha and ...

As India aims for UHC through a health insurance model, this paper addresses a crucial question which emerges: How can India achieve UHC while effectively addressing the population’s health needs, especially those of the poorest segment?

As India aims for UHC through a health insurance model, this paper addresses a crucial question which emerges: How can India achieve UHC while effectively addressing the population’s health needs, especially those of the poorest segment?

This paper proposes a comprehensive strategy for India to address CBAM challenges and position itself for a sustainable future in the global export market.

This paper analyses the landscape of demand-side health financing in India, focusing on its progress, challenges, and potential pathways towards achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

Ashwini Chitnis, Aparajita Nair Dmonty & Daljit Singh examine the financial situation of Delhi’s discoms and draw lessons about the role of the regulatory commission in shaping these outcomes.

India’s efforts in this area have seen some progress in recent years, but the gains have been insufficient to unlock the true potential of cross-border railways as a game-changer for regional trade, writes Riya Sinha.

This study analyses the causes of bottlenecks in the global supply chains that affect mineral access to all countries. It also highlights methods adopted by different countries to ensure resilient supplies and evaluates supply chain challenges for India that need strategic policy actions.

This study analyses the causes of bottlenecks in the global supply chains that affect mineral access to all countries. It also highlights methods adopted by different countries to ensure resilient supplies and evaluates supply chain challenges for India that need strategic policy actions.

This report is a collaborative effort by Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP), Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation (SSEF).

Addressing safety, social networks, training, and hiring discrimination can help break barriers to women’s employment in South Asia, but shifting social norms remains crucial for lasting change.

This paper investigates the persistent slowdown in India’s private consumption expenditure, examining the underlying factors and exploring prospects for revival.

This paper was published in the Asian Economic Policy Review (AEPR), edited by Takatoshi Ito, Kazumasa Iwata, Colin McKenzie and Shujiro Urata. AEPR is the journal of the Japan Center for Economic Research.

This paper was published in the Asian Economic Policy Review (AEPR), edited by Takatoshi Ito, Kazumasa Iwata, Colin McKenzie and Shujiro Urata. AEPR is the journal of the Japan Center for Economic Research.

This paper explores the reasons behind India’s slow urbanisation and its broader implications for economic growth, governance, and sustainable development. It also outlines critical policy actions needed to address these challenges.

Based on a data-driven analysis, the research insights have brought to light why or why not India’s electricity grid is turning cleaner fast enough and the possible challenges to materialise the decarbonisation plan.

This paper validates and reconstructs India’s energy balance using official sources, complemented by more disaggregated data to establish a new framework for assessing policy impacts on the energy flows and emissions.

This paper identifies how subsidy spending has been accounted for in India and explains the resultant data gaps that render such fiscal data inconsistent and incomparable across levels of government.

This note by Renu Kohli and Kritima Bhapta examines the growing mismatch between intended private capex and actual fixed assets creation, shedding a fresh light on the longstanding weakness of private investment in India.

This academic paper investigates the potential economic and social ramifications of the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on the Indian economy.

The paper examines India’s cross-border railway connectivity with South Asia, addressing a key question: Despite the political, economic, and geostrategic incentives driving New Delhi’s cross-border railway initiatives, why has India struggled to sustain momentum in developing cross-border rail networks?

The two nations can build a resilient and diversified supply chain for critical minerals. India’s ambition to become a global manufacturing hub is advancing rapidly, driven by its renewable energy goals. Meanwhile, the U.S. brings technological expertise and significant financial resources to the table, Anindita Sinh ...

In addition to its contribution to India’s energy security, ethanol may also help address environmental issues. However, some important challenges remain, such as food security concerns, inflation etc.

This report by Riya Sinha examines Australia and India’s engagement across various stages of port development in the Bay of Bengal, particularly in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar, extending beyond port construction and including port operations and logistics.

This speech was delivered at a Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) seminar held on August 21, 2024.

Daljit Singh and Ashwini Chitnis argue that, while the MoP framework is a good starting point, it requires significant modifications to effectively address the challenges posed by a rapidly transforming power sector increasingly reliant on RE.

Battery-driven electric vehicles (EVs) hold promise for decarbonising India’s rapidly growing road transport sector. However, achieving significant emission reductions through widespread EV uptake is not a given.

Instead of just worrying about the quantity of finance, we must also worry about the quality of the finance. Too much is labeled climate finance, writes Rahul Tongia.

In this paper, Rajasekhar Devaguptapu examines Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses in detail, breaking the composite AT&C loss figures into constituents to understand if these improvements are sustainable and address the financial problems of DisComs.

The next phase of rapid economic development of the country needs a paradigm change in economic strategy once again, after the successes that have been achieved over the last three decades or so.

While India has not been able to fully exploit its manufacturing export potential, the sunrise sectors, like the solar PV industry, allow it to make its mark in the global export market. To become a competitive player in this segment, India needs to focus on the ...

Anindita Sinh discusses the potential for India and the EU to cooperate towards resilient supply chains for critical minerals given their shared interests and broader economic and geopolitical convergence.

The present paper is concerned with shedding light on the financial viability of setting up public charging infrastructure in a range of implementation situations in an Indian city and the possible role of policies and regulations to make charging business attractive.

The Ministry of Power has notified a formula for “green tariffs” for large (greater than 100 kW) electricity consumers to encourage green power uptake from distribution companies. Our analysis finds that this push to create demand for green power (based on Renewable Energy, or RE) has ...

Riya Sinha writes about the South Asia Regional Infrastructure Connectivity (SARIC) framework for the United States Studies Centre.

This paper examines the economics of producing and using green hydrogen in India, focusing on the 2030 timeframe.

This paper analyses the performance of the electricity distribution sector in developing countries under different ownership models.

This blog series maps and surveys the growing number of India’s international partnerships in the critical minerals space, providing readers with a repository of primary sources.

India must see triangular cooperation as means to an end, of learning to strengthen its domestic cooperation capacity and strategy.

The paper is a reflection on the phenomenon of urbanisation in India as seen within the global context. It touches upon the history of urbanisation, discusses its current state and makes enquiries into its future.

In this EPW article, Shishir Gupta, Nandini Agnihotri and Annie George shed light on the state and dynamics of house prices in India by leveraging a unique dataset that gives house prices over the past 30 years.

This book aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the various ways in which climate change and public health are interconnected.

Despite traditional North-South dynamics in climate finance, triangular cooperation offers a promising alternative, allowing emerging economies like India to leverage their own experiences for climate action in the Global South.

This study explores how replacing current fossil fuel taxes with alternative taxation options—such as carbon taxes, user taxes, and goods and services taxes—could affect economic efficiency, emissions intensity, and equity.

BIMSTEC’s name reflects its original mission, yet this original, flexible, sub-regional, technocratic and economic dimension has gradually withered away. How can it craft a productive cooperative in a difficult regional context?

To secure the copper supply chain, strategic investments, adherence to environmental standards, and robust public-private partnerships are crucial.

With more countries, including the UK, and Australia announcing their intention to implement similar CBAM mechanisms, thoughtful consideration of the potential impacts and trade-offs involved is essential.

The paper evaluates how one can predict and plan India’s future in times of uncertainty. It explores how India can analyse geopolitical trends to develop scenarios for the future, and assess the probability of these scenarios becoming reality.

This paper explores the evolving burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among women in India and assesses the alignment between disease prevalence and health insurance coverage through a case study in Meghalaya.

PMAY-U, India's largest urban housing programme, has sanctioned 11.9 million houses since 2015, but faces challenges including poor coverage of slum households and numerous delays.

This paper reviews India's healthcare policy evolution, revealing progress and persistent challenges, particularly in public health spending and rural-urban disparities.

For India to realise its 2047 Viksit Bharat ambition and pursue its strategies for an increasingly competitive and complex world, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) plays a critical role. Yet as we cautioned in last year’s detailed budget analysis, the MEA’s capacity constraints have been posing significant obstacles.

This paper identifies some of the key gaps in policy design and implementation and reflects on the key insights from comparable countries, which experienced similar challenges to India in the recent decades.

The blog argues that common to most of the analysis on Russia-India relations is the restrictive tendency to focus on three pillars: arms, energy, and China. However, a closer review of the relationship shows how they have been expanding to new areas of co-operation in South ...

If India wants to use GVCs to strengthen its export flows, it will have to liberalise the entry of imported goods, specifically inputs/intermediate goods, by lowering the import tariffs.

The paper examines the issues in adapting flexible inflation targeting (FIT) for emerging markets. This framework is crucial for analysing the evolution and performance of FIT in India.

This paper assesses the feasibility of India achieving its stated objective of getting to net zero carbon emissions by 2070 and outlines a possible strategy for the next 10 years consistent with this goal.

Janak Raj, Rahul Ranjan, Vrinda Gupta and Aakanksha Shrawan assess the role of fiscal transfers from the Union government compared to States’ own revenue in explaining their healthcare spending.

This paper estimates the mineral requirements to manufacture the clean energy technologies needed for India to meet its climate action commitments.

While the determinants of declining consumption of overall cereal and food-related items need further investigation, it is useful to understand how undernutrition varies across income quintiles. 

This paper by Indrani Gupta and Alok Kumar Singh attempts to bring out the challenges of policymaking in the context of urban health.

This paper explores the evolving nature of federal financing for health, including the increase in union transfers through Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSSs) and its implications for state-level health prioritisation and capacities.

Given the immense global challenges of the 21st century, the case for MDB reform is clear and undisputed.

This essay draws from existing proposals to outline a framework for procedural and substantive reforms to the AB, suited to changing institutional needs and allowing for regulatory flexibilities to address emerging climate and developmental concerns for the G20 to consider.

This paper assesses the feasibility of India achieving its stated goal of net zero by 2070 and presents a medium-term strategy for what would be required over the next decade to achieve this objective.

The paper outlines the technical attributes and features of the mathematical modelling programs, such as sectoral coverage, economic growth assumptions, modelling algorithms, optimisation methods, etc., with an emphasis on the usability and scalability of the models.

A new policy brief from the Task Force on Climate, Development and the IMF seeks to improve the RST’s design by taking stock of the early experiences of RST programs.

Given the rise in the government debt level in recent times, this paper aims to examine the effect of an increase in government size on risk premium and its transmission in the economy.

This paper argues that India must prioritise the development of multimodal transportation infrastructure beyond coastal areas to bridge the current gap between maritime and land-based initiatives around the Bay of Bengal and spur the creation of sub regional, regional, and inter-regional economic corridors.

Effective implementation of the CCTS will enable Indian enterprises to demonstrate their commitment to low-carbon production processes using green technologies, which can reduce CBAM costs and expand green energy-intensive export opportunities in the EU market.

Considering experiences across various states, the paper advises caution in prescribing the IBDF model as a “standard” policy solution for loss reduction.

The Indo-Pacific countries should use their domestic capacities optimally and participate in global supply chains with a diverse range of partner countries in mining, processing, assembling, and final-use activities. India is currently discussing trilateral cooperation with France and Japan.

The authors argue that there is a need to extend and facilitate access to the ultimate global financial safety net layer: the IMF. We illustrate that by pointing out how Morocco and Mexico have boosted their defensive power by having access to IMF precautionary lines of ...

The Centre for Social and Economic Progress is delighted to share the Annual Report for the calendar year 2023.

This study reviews the strategic aspects and related ramifications of existing and potential surface trading routes between India and the three South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries: Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan, and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) member country Myanmar.

This study explores the relationship between economic growth and non-income components (health and education) of the Human Development Index (HDI) for 26 Indian states during the period from 1990 to 2019.

In this paper, Jaimini Bhagwati and Shalini Chauhan trace the legacy of India's railway system, its expansive growth, and ongoing challenges.

The book by Om Prakash Mathur "Changing Paradigms of Urbanisation: India and Beyond", consists of papers on urbanisation, urban regional development and planning, urban governance and finance, and urban research. 

As the global trade policy has moved away from World Trade Organisation (WTO) led multilateralism, towards Regional Trade Agreements, this blog tries to understand the evolution of India’s Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) strategy.

This Policy Brief explores how India has transformed into a positive force on the global stage, achieving domestic climate targets and spearheading innovative approaches in climate diplomacy.

Brazil gears up to lead the G20 with a three-point agenda focusing on combating hunger, poverty, and inequality; sustainable development; and global governance reform.

As a part of CSEP's ongoing work on securing critical minerals for India’s green technology and net-zero transition, this analysis incorporates emerging thoughts on Quad-ASEAN cooperation in creating resilient regional supply chains.

Shivshankar Menon explores the shifting tides of diplomacy. This piece examines the evolving landscape of international relations in a changing world.

Daljit Singh's working paper examines the regulatory framework of the Indian power sector, often criticised for contributing to the financial strain of electricity distribution companies.

India must significantly increase its public spending on health and education, and ensure its effective targeting. This would reduce people’s out-of-pocket expenses, allowing them to allocate funds to their other crucial needs and strengthen the interlinkages between human development and economic growth.

Pricing carbon, either directly or indirectly, provides a price incentive to producers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, it is important to examine the impact of such governmental policies on the economy, emissions, and particularly households, who will bear the incidence of such taxes.

This paper focuses on tax buoyancy, which includes discretionary policy changes, to examine how the historical relationship of tax revenues with income may have been disturbed by exceptional shocks.

The study argues for the need to consider multiple factors, including efficiency, equity, sustainability, institutional considerations, and the possibility of reducing expenditures on non-essential goods.

This report has been launched by Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (APF Canada) with an aim to present varied views from APF Canada-affiliated experts on Indo-Pacific Strategy and encourage an understanding of Canada's evolving role in the region.

This research specifically focuses on the uncertainties surrounding the potential impact of CBAM on trade-exposed sectors with high energy intensity, particularly in developing countries like India.

If the world must achieve zero emissions by 2050, it’s impractical and unfair to require all countries to reach that goal simultaneously.

Constantino Xavier's essay offers a policy roadmap to enable Sweden and India to implement joint development cooperation initiatives in third countries in the Indian Ocean region and East Africa.

This working paper attempts to quantify the scale and possible composition of the international financial assistance required to help developing countries fulfill their climate change mitigation and adaption targets and suggests how this might be agreed upon in international negotiations.

Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Utkarsh Patel describe how India could make progress towards meeting its climate change mitigation commitments which involve achieving net zero emissions by 2070.

This paper narrates the story of the evolutionary journey of non-performing assets (NPA) in the Indian banking sector.

In India, existing mine closure legislation lacks provisions to adequately address the socio-economic and cultural aspects, highlighting the need for an improved policy paradigm.

This essay examines India’s energy security in the short and medium term and finds that development needs will drive the country’s energy policy, which balances energy security with the energy transition.

This study tackles the existing research and data gaps regarding pollution generation by incorporating sector-specific data from India’s greenhouse gas inventory.

Madhurima Nundy and Pankhuri Bhatt's paper presents a detailed review and analysis of India’s health insurance landscape, with a focus on voluntary health insurance (VHI).

Shishir Gupta, Nandini Agnihotri and Annie George shed light on the state and dynamics of house prices in India by leveraging a unique dataset that gives house prices over the past 30 years.

Laveesh Bhandari and Aasheerwad Dwivedi study growth in electricity consumption, the key factors affecting it, and its link with economic activity.

The paper highlights the economic importance of mining activities and the need to be environmentally responsible and safeguard the welfare and livelihoods of the local communities.

An increasingly competitive geopolitical context is fragmenting global climate governance and traditional modes of multilateral cooperation. The report maps both what has been done in the past as well as the avenues towards a comprehensive climate strategy built on greater policy coordination and expanded state capacity ...

Rahul Tongia, Aarushi Dave and Utkarsh Dalal study the impacts of times-of-day and seasons on the different types of fuels for generation electricity, their output ramp (swing up or down) rates, daily swings between maximum and minimum output, and relative contributions of each fuel type.

Anoop Singh, Bernard Snoy and Michel Camdessus analyse the need to reform the international monetary system.

Nikhil Tyagi and Rahul Tongia's paper attempts to examine the structure and legacy of electricity distribution in the state with a lens to examine how that impacts the future viability of the distribution companies (DisComs)

The policy brief from the Task Force on Climate, Development and the IMF proposes a ‘loss and damage package’ at the IMF that spans its surveillance, lending toolkit and global policy coordination.

Gulzar Natarajan and V Anantha Nageswaran make the case that poverty alleviation, growth, and climate-related transition, which require both public and private funds, need to be pursued in parallel.

Renu Kohli, Honey Karun and Saumya analyse the non-price policy measures that aim to lower carbon emissions across the G20 countries.

Bhavyanshi Sinha's interview of Sreeradha Datta offers a comprehensive view of the current and future prospects of BIMSTEC as a regional initiative.

For critical minerals, especially those with no known domestic resources, mineral-wise strategies are required to ensure their robust access for India’s manufacturing needs and climate change mitigation ambitions.

The paper argues for a rethink of the existing regulatory and policy requirements pertaining to setting up and, more importantly, scaling up medical colleges, in order to ensure a greater number of seats per college, and for a more equitable distribution of seats.

Rahul Tongia highlights the complexities of green supply and green consumption. More RE is inevitable and welcome. Better accounting and signalling (such as time-of-day and congestion pricing) can help grow RE at lower overall system costs.

While Nepal has experienced significant political and social transformations, the economic conditions and precarity that force Nepali men to migrate in the first place have not changed.

The United States would benefit from working with India to help address the infrastructure needs of smaller South Asian countries, writes Riya Sinha.

This policy brief synthesises insights, relating to key challenges faced in achieving UHC, from six emerging country case studies—Brazil, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Thailand, and Turkey—with varying contexts in their journey towards UHC.

Abhishek Kumar and Divya Srinivasan use data from India (the second-largest steel producer in the world) to estimate the effect of large movements in metal prices during 2011-16.

Shruti Gupta and Kevin James examine the regulatory framework and institutional gaps surrounding off-budget borrowings in India.

This Working Paper examines the key aspects of the relationship between economic growth (EG) and human development (HD) at the all-India and the state-levels.

Rajesh Chadha, Ganesh Sivamani and Karthik Bansal provide an overview of India’s historical, current, and proposed exploration policies, good international practices, issues with the existing system, and recommendations for creating a globally-competitive exploration regime.

Renu Kohli's Discussion Note discusses three significant reasons why the observed tax buoyancy in the recovery year, FY23, must be interpreted with caution.

Anindita Sinh interviews Lopamudra Maitra Bajpai, on her book, "India, Sri Lanka and the SAARC Region: History, Popular Culture and Heritage" and the unorthodox approach to interpreting culture and connectivity in South Asia.

In this paper, Nikhil Tyagi and Rahul Tongia examine the equilibrium of retail pricing, beginning with the question whether prices are in compliance with the Electricity Act 2003 enshrined National Tariff Policy, which states that cross-subsidies should be limited to ±20% of costs.

Shruti Gupta and Kevin James examine the regulatory framework and institutional gaps surrounding off-budget borrowings in India. It attempts to build a comprehensive understanding on the methods used for such borrowings and ascertains their true extent.

The paper demonstrates that a mandatory disclosure law on housing projects can have important, pro-efficiency effects in a developing country, and suggests that such laws may be efficient in a regime of low-state capacity.

In this episode of the Hopkins Podcast on Foreign Affairs, Constantino Xavier discusses India’s foreign policy and its relationship with Russia.

This T20 Policy Brief calls on the G20 governments to recognise the importance of critical minerals and strengthen their supply chains.

Rajasekhar Deveguptapu and Rahul Tongia comprehensively analyse DisCom finances using a long time series that aims to examine and answer pertinent questions on finances and performance.

Based on eight case studies by analysts and scholars from Bangladesh, Nepal, India and Sri Lanka, the report examines China’s growing role in a range of sectors in these four countries, including education, public diplomacy, technology, social media, civil society, party politics, religion, and governance.

Ranjan Mathai, Former Foreign Secretary of India, joins Ganesh Sivamani to discuss what India must do to secure its domestic and international supply chains of ‘critical minerals’.

An assessment of the IMF-led work on climate change with a development centered approach.

An extension of an earlier study with a focus on 43 select critical minerals that emphasizes the need for a national strategy to ensure resilient critical minerals supply chains.

Health as a political priority both for voters and politicians in a democracy is investigated through a survey and pertinent questions are explored.

As we approach the aftermath of the pandemic, the challenge is to reset the pillars of the fiscal architecture and better manage public finances across all levels of government—as the lynchpin of any successful growth strategy in a post-pandemic world.

This is an edited and revised adaptation of remarks by Shivshankar Menon from the E-Launch and Discussion of The State of Southeast Asia: 2023 Survey Report conducted by the ASEAN Studies Centre at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore, on ...

While the Bay of Bengal is located at the fulcrum of the Indo-Pacific, between the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, it continues to act more as a divider than a link between land and maritime neighbours such as India

Constantino Xavier and Riya Sinha comment on the MEA Budget and how India can become a leading power in an increasingly uncertain, competitive and complex international arena.

Marty Shwarz and Rahul Tongia examine the performance of wind power across climatology, technology, and location.

In this edition of Sambandh Scholars Speak, Anindita Sinh interviews Mayumi Murayama on her book, Northeast India and Japan: Engagement through Connectivity, co-edited with Sanjoy Hazarika and Preeti Gill.

Shishir Gupta and Rishita Sachdeva analyse growth performance over a period of 26 years to understand the drivers behind India's economic growth.

Karthik Bansal and Ishita Kapoor's paper discusses three case studies on Jharkhand, Odisha and Karnataka to highlight procedural problems with obtaining licenses and permits for mining.

The paper finds that the availability of greater data makes it possible to assess a large set of crops over a long period of time, and therefore, greater data points can yield highly robust results.

The Sambandh blog looks at new approaches to strengthening trade and revitalising economic links between South Asia and Southeast Asia.

Abstract India’s coal-heavy electricity system is the world’s third largest and a major emitter of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Consequently, it remains a focus of decarbonisation and air pollution control policy. Considerable heterogeneity exists between states in India in terms of electricity demand, generation ...

This analysis provides valuable guidance about the development of the power sector and the costs associated with different development pathways.

The results of this research describe the challenging technological and policy advances needed to achieve the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement.

Riya Sinha interviews Tilak Devasher, Member, National Security Advisory Board of India, and Consultant, Vivekananda International Foundation, on his fourth book, The Pashtuns: A Contested History.

The paper separates motivation as a distinct factor for analysis because, in the absence of strong incentives, not every political opportunity may lead to attention to an issue, and finds that reforms were motivated by a need to gain political legitimacy by an incoming regime, or ...

In this edition of Sambandh Scholars Speak, Nitika Nayar interviews Hazrat Bahar, on his book chapter, “Image of China in Afghan Media."

Health systems in Thailand have been frequently researched since its reforms in early 2000s, especially in the context of  health coverage (UHC).

Sandhya Venkateswaran and Alok Kumar Singh traces the trajectory of health system reform in Brazil, from 1990 to 2019, and analyses the contextual factors that drove the reform process.

Madhurima Nundy and Pankhuri Bhatt analyse systemic transformations and studies the achievements and challenges in reforming health services in Indonesia over the years to the present.

Chapter on "Reinventing Non-Alignment in South Asia:The Foreign Policies of Nepal and the Maldives" by Nicholas Blarel and Constantino Xavier in the book "Routledge Handbook of the International Relations of South Asia".

Rahul Tongia argues about the need to shift the conversation from futuristic Net-Zero ambitions toward practical and equitable emissions trajectories in this year's COP.

The questions this paper answers are: what is the impact of mandatory disclosure of housing quality on prices? Do mandatory disclosures have differential impact across housing sub-markets and income groups?

Rajesh Chadha and Ganesh Sivamani's study results point to policy recommendations for ensuring uninterrupted supplies of critical minerals through enhanced domestic mineral exploration and extraction, along with assured sources elsewhere.

Laveesh Bhandari and Aasheerwad Dwivedi's paper studies three of the many challenges that state governments will face as India transitions away from a fossil fuel–driven economy.

This paper examines the political trajectory of health in five Indian states, in terms of the sociopolitical determinants of attention to health, to understand differences in health status and investments, as well as to gain insights into how health came to be prioritised in some of ...

Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Utkarsh Patel's paper attempts to quantify the scale and possible composition of international financial assistance that might be required to help developing countries fulfil the commitments undertaken in COP26.

This paper investigates the impact of counter-cyclical capital Buffer (CCyB) as a macro-prudential policy, on bank credit risk, during uncertain times, as banking sector stability is crucial in promoting financial intermediation.

The Health System Reforms and Transformation: Insights from Country Studies is a series of six case studies from China, Turkey, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, and Thailand that trace the trajectory of health reforms and draw lessons in understanding key instruments that led to these shifts.

Rajat Verma and Ganesh Sivamani's paper seeks to measure the impact of this cess on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the gross domestic product (GDP) at both the sectoral and national levels.

Abhishek Kumar, Rakesh Mohan and Divya Srinivasan show that nonperforming assets in the banking sector and profit ratios in commodity-sensitive non-financial sectors are highly correlated with global commodity prices.

If South Asia gets connected to Central Asia, three South Asian countries will reap maximum benefits - India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

The paper looks at the key areas in which India needs Public Financial Management (PFM) reforms, building on the provisions of a draft PFM law prepared by an expert group and cited by the Fifteenth Finance Commission.

Anit Mukherjee examines a possibly pernicious effect of a civilian dominated defence ministry and highlights the importance of expertise in enhancing both control and military effectiveness.

Alok Kumar Singh and Sandhya Venkateswaran trace the trajectory of health system reforms, including and prior to Seguro Popular (SP), from 2003 until 2019, and analyses the contextual factors that were instrumental in the reform process.

Sandhya Venkateswaran and Alok Kumar Singh trace the trajectory of health system reform in Turkey, from 2003 to 2019, and analyses the contextual factors that drove the reform process.

Madhurima Nundy and Sandhya Venkateswaran's paper outlines the salient features of health reforms in China and their impact in terms of access, utilisation and equity through a systems framework.

Laveesh Bhandari and Aasheerwad Dwivedi's paper looks at India’s expected energy transition towards a low-carbon future, and studies how government revenues from fossil fuels will be affected over the next two decades.

Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Utkarsh Patel's study shows that there is considerable scope for reducing the volume of emissions through a combination of actions aimed at increasing energy efficiency and shifting progressively to renewable energy to meet the electricity demand.

In this paper, using data from a large emerging economy, Ashima Goyal and Abhishek Kumar identify a structural shock (inflation shock) that explains the maximum forecast error variance of consumer prices

Streamlining a scattered PFM framework in the country by drawing from other countries and proposing reforms in the existing system.

The paper projects India’s mineral needs for green technologies, including renewable electricity generation and electric vehicle manufacturing, in line with the country’s various climate change mitigation objectives over the next two decades.

This paper aims to comprehensively analyse and understand sub-national fiscal marksmanship, with a particular focus on capital expenditure in the social sector.

Jharkhand Mining Summit hosted by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Anchoring Change attempts to answer these and several other such questions, through accounts of organizations from across India, spanning the seventy-five years since independence.

India should aggressively go down the RE path, but not focus on just RE. Energy efficiency, smart systems, energy security, local manufacturing, livelihoods, fiscal balances, etc. are all very important.

The authors use time-varying VAR models to study the effects of option-implied measures of equity and bond market volatilities on the government bond term premium and key macroeconomic variables.

This Discussion Note explores India’s mineral royalty rates, which are among the highest in the world, thus impacting the competitiveness of the mining sector.

The study by Rahul Tongia focuses on ways to encourage the energy transition for developing countries where high costs of capital are a factor in keeping a spread between fossil fuel technologies and non-carbon solutions.

Rahul Tongia's study presents results from the first-of-a-kind model to handle high uncertainty, which uses parametric analysis instead of stochastic analysis for grid balancing based on economic despatch through 2030, covering 30-min resolution granularity at a national level.

Sahil Gandhi, Richard K Green and Shaonlee Patranabis look at the paradox of high vacancy rates and homelessness in Indian cities.

Ganesh Sivamani discusses the Indian mining sector, and how it can become a catalyst for the country’s growth and development with Chanakya Chaudhary, Vice-President (Corporate Services), Tata Steel.

CSEP President and Distinguished Fellow Rakesh Mohan at the Future of Climate & Development, hosted by the Task Force on Climate, Development and the International Monetary Fund.

Political motivation does not always arise by itself, but it is often driven by external factors and stakeholders who contribute to creating or strengthening incentives for political attention, writes Sandhya Venkateswaran, Shruti Slaria and Sampriti Mukherjee.

Social and ecological change in Bangladesh today has been profoundly shaped by colonialism and its legacies, so recognition of this helps us to better understand climate change today.

CSEP Research Associate Ganesh Sivamani presented the paper co authored with Senior Fellow Rajesh Chadha, on critical minerals and green technologies at the 25th Annual Conference on Global Trade Analysis.

India’s power generation is a large source of greenhouse gas emissions. The authors quantify current and future marginal emissions factors for power generation in India across seasons, times-of-day, and states.

What is the import-export trade dynamics of mineable minerals in India, especially after the Atma-Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan? Read the new discussion note by Rajesh Chadha and Ishita Kapoor to know more.

Aashita Dawer's study aims at analysing Judicial efficiency for Supreme Court, high courts and subordinate courts of India. The study uses various regression techniques while highlighting the importance of effective justice delivery.

This paper highlights some of the specificities of other countries and their electricity prices in order to better direct regulatory attention to measures that could be relevant for India, and to gauge where India’s position is when it comes to global electricity prices.

Ishita Kapoor's blog explores the possibility of deep sea bed mining while also safeguarding the fragile ecosystem of ocean beds.

In the first episode of Mining Matters, “Exploration – A Geologist’s Perspective”, Ishita Kapoor discusses various issues relating to exploration, auctions and sustainability, including the environment and affected communities, with Dr Nik Senapati, President of the Australia India Business Council in Queensland.

Rajesh Chadha and Ganesh Sivamani's paper details the construction of India’s hybrid Energy Input-Output Table 2015-16, which has information on the monetary, energy, and emission flows of the economy.

While the first amendments to the Indian Constitution were made to enable the State to redistribute land more equitably, this was followed by land acquisition for developmental projects that displaced Adivasis, Dalits and other vulnerable groups. Read the paper by Kaveri Thara and Ajey Sangai for ...

Asia and the Changing Global Economy: Rebuilding Growth Potential, authored by Anoop Singh, looks at fundamental issues from several perspectives in today’s complex global economy and provides invaluable lessons for what needs to be done to sustain the international framework for global trade and investment.

Comparing expenditure on Solid Waste Management (SWM) and cleanliness performance for 11 municipalities in India, Shishir Gupta and Rishita Sachdeva find out that there is no systematicity between increase in expenditure and improved performance.

The Indo-Sikkim Treaty of 1950 was a recognition of the fact that Tibet’s occupation by China had compromised India’s strategic interests and Sikkim had become of particular relevance to the future security of India.

Shivshankar Menon discusses history in the Indian tradition, the history that is current in India, some common current historical tropes, and why it matters. In the process it seeks to draw some real lessons of India’s history for our national security.

Jaimini Bhagwati, Distinguished Fellow, CSEP, and former Indian Foreign Service officer, talks to Constantino Xavier, Fellow, CSEP about the impact of the Russia-Ukraine crises on India's economic interests in the short and medium term.

Jahnavi Mukul's interview of Sanjoy Hazarika sheds light on the historical perspective and political developments in the North East India by exploring the overarching question of the NER’s difference with the rest of India.

The paper highlights the gaps in the Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas (SVAMITVA) scheme and suggests ways to address them along with proposing an evaluation system to be set in place.

In the first episode of In Dialogue, Shivshankar Menon, Distinguished Fellow, CSEP, and former NSA, talks to Constantino Xavier, Fellow, CSEP, about the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis, India’s stand, and the implications in the Indo-pacific region.

India has experienced considerable progress in health, in outcomes as also infrastructure. However, the task of addressing the health of India’s citizens remains an unfinished task.