Archives: Event

India’s experience with the adoption of climate-smart agriculture practices

NCAER hosted an online lecture titled “India’s Experience with the Adoption of Climate-Smart Agriculture Practices,” presented by Dr Chandra Sekhar1 Bahinipati1 (Associate Professor at IIT Tirupati), and discussed by Dr Anamika Barua2 (Professor at IIT Guwahati), as part of its Virtual Dialogue Room Seminar Series chaired by Dr Souryabrata Mohapatra on Friday, 14 Jun 2024, at 4:00 pm IST.

Abstract:
Previous empirical studies infer the adoption of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices by farmers in India, but we are still lacking in mapping the CSA measures as well as the determinants of adopting CSA options across the states. Such assessments have policy relevance in the context of designing national and/or state-specific agricultural policies to scale up the adoption of CSA mechanisms. Hence, the objective is to show the evidence of the adoption of CSA options and their determinants on the basis of systematic literature reviews, NSSO’s situation assessment survey of agricultural households in 2013 and 2019, and independent farm household level surveys conducted in various states in India. In doing so, this identifies the gaps in CSA adaptation research in India and will provide avenues for scholarly communities to expand the domains of future research.

Speaker Quotes:

  • “It advocates the requirement of a nationally representative sample for farmers to understand the adoption of CSA practices in India; for instance, NSSO can include additional modules in the farmers’ situation assessment survey.”—says Assoc Prof Chandra Sekhar Bahinipati
  • “CSA remains a technocratic approach that overlooks farmer diversity in caste, class, and gender. For CSA to be successful, it must become more inclusive, acknowledging the varied abilities of farmers to adopt these practices within different social contexts and power dynamics.”—says Prof Anamika Barua

Short bios:
1 At present, I am working as an Associate Professor at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Tirupati (India). Over the years, I have been working on research areas related to the economics of climate change, environmental economics, behavioural economics, natural resource management and development economics. I have published several research papers in peer-reviewed journals like Environmental Development, World Water Policy, Nature Climate Change, Climate Risk Management, Scientific Reports, Ecology, Economy and Society, Food Security, Land Use Policy, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, International Journal of the Commons, Climate and Development, etc. These studies received financial support from various national and international agencies such as ICSSR, SANDEE, OECD, APN-GCR, IGES, JSPS, etc. At present, I have been involved in two Indo-Dutch research projects related to water-related disasters supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) of the Indian Government and the Dutch Research Council (NOW). I am also involved in the DST Center for Policy Research on Energy Transition and Tribal Education, NISER Bhubaneswar (India). I have already served as an EC member on INSEE during 2022-24 and also nominated again for 2024-26.

2 Anamika Barua is a Full Professor at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Guwahati (India) and a Visiting Faculty at AIT (Thailand). With a background in ecological economics, her research explores the complex interplay of political, social, and economic factors in environmental decision-making, focusing on water resources. Her academic interests span climate change and adaptation, the economics of water, ecological footprints, virtual water flows through trade and water governance, including transboundary water governance. Prof. Barua has made significant contributions to academia with numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Regional Environmental Change, the Journal of Cleaner Production, Water Resources Research, the Journal of Hydrology, the Water WIREs, etc. Additionally, she serves on several high-level committees for the Indian Government, including the Technical Advisory Committee for India’s climate communication to UNFCCC and the Department of Science and Technology’s Climate Change Program. In 2020, she played a key role in the drafting committee for India’s water policy under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Towards a sustainable future: Preventing marine plastics and advancing circular economy

NCAER hosted an online lecture titled “Towards a sustainable future: Preventing marine plastics and advancing circular economy,” presented by Dr Joyashree Roy1 (Professor at AIT Thailand), Dr Ekbordin Winijkul2 (Associate Professor at AIT Thailand) and Dr Tanujjal Bora3 (Associate Professor at AIT Thailand), and discussed by in-house faculty Dr Sanjib Pohit and Dr Chetana Chaudhuri, as part of its Virtual Dialogue Room Seminar Series chaired by Dr Souryabrata Mohapatra on Friday, 29 May 2024, at 4:00 pm IST.

Abstract:

This event showcased the collaborative efforts and applied research undertaken within pioneering undertakings: (1) PISCES: Explored the project’s innovative framing in addressing marine plastic pollution; (2) Polyurethane Foam Upcycling: Sharing the catalytic approach employed in upcycling foam waste, particularly from mattresses, and the sustainable solutions proposed by the project; and (3) Marine Plastics Abatement: Highlighted insights into the comprehensive strategies devised by the program to mitigate the impact of marine plastics through cross-disciplinary collaboration and stakeholder engagement. During the event, our distinguished panellists underlined the transdisciplinary research, mutual learning and knowledge co-production processes inherent in these initiatives. By fostering a collaborative learning environment, we aim to accelerate innovation and co-create sustainable solutions that address challenges across the entire waste lifecycle.

Speaker Quote:

  • “Design science-based economic instruments for finance mobilization, infrastructure, maintenance, awareness, and policy incentives for plastic waste handling.” – Prof Joyashree Roy
  • “Prioritize upcycling over recycling for energy efficiency, resource savings, and reduced reliance on virgin materials. Foster technological and social innovations.” – Dr Tanujjal Bora
  • “Implement capacity-building programs, integrating communities, industry, and academia. Allocate resources for innovative recycling, circular economy models, and behavior change strategies.” – Dr Ekbordin Winijkul
  • “Promote bioplastics and biodegradable substitutes through policy interventions like tax/subsidy instruments.” – Prof Sanjib Pohit
  • “With a coastline of more than 7000 km and rising use of plastic in everyday life, India needs to emphasize on marine plastic pollution abatement programs and legislations; and needs to explore innovative research solutions and business models.” – Dr Chetana Chaudhuri

Bios:

1 Joyashree Roy is currently the Distinguished Professor and Founder Director of the Centre on South and South-East Asia Multidisciplinary Applied Research Network on Transforming Societies of Global South (SMARTS) and the Inaugural Bangabandhu Chair Professor at the Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand). She is also the Honorary Professor at the Centre for Disaster and Research at IIT Guwahati (India). She is the Founding advisor of the two multi-year projects at Jadavpur University: The Global Change Programme and the SYLFF-JU program. She is a former Professor of Economics at Jadavpur University (India). She is listed among the world’s top 2% of influential scientists in the Energy field as per rankings published by Stanford University in 2023. She is a national fellow of the Indian Council of Social Sciences Research (ICSSR). She received the 2021 Paradigm Award from The Breakthrough Institute (USA). She was in the IPCC 2007 Nobel Peace Prize-winning panel and Coordinating Lead Author in the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth assessment cycles of WGIII of IPCC. IPCC is also the co-sharer of the Gulbenkian Prize 2022. She has been a chapter author of Global Energy Assessment and is associated with the Stern Review Report and many other global and national subnational reports. She is on the winning team for the 2012 Prince Sultan Bin Aziz Creativity Award for water. She has published over 175 peer-reviewed journal articles and authored and edited books. She is on the Steering/advisory committee of several national and international science-policy interactive platforms and the editorial boards of many international journals. Her research interests are resource and environmental economics, the economics of pollution and climate change, modelling industrial and other sectoral energy demand, economy-wide modelling exercises for deriving policy implications, water quality demand modelling, water-energy-carbon pricing, sustainable development, natural resource accounting, valuing environmental services, developmental and environmental issues relevant for informal sectors, coastal ecosystem service valuation. She features in the documentary Juice: How Electricity Explains the World, which explains how developing countries are trying to bring people out of the dark and to the lights and transform lives.

2 Ekbordin Winijkul is the Head of the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Change (EECC) and an Associate Professor in the Environmental Engineering and Management program at the Asian Institute of Technology. He got his Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering in 2015 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (USA). His research interests are emission inventory, air pollution modelling and monitoring, air quality management, and environmental technology and management. Before joining AIT, Ekbordin was a project coordinator for the World Bank project to reduce air pollution emissions from diesel vehicles in Bangkok. He also worked at Argonne National Laboratory (USA), International Institute for Applied System Analysis (Austria) and Atmospheric and Environmental Research Inc. (USA), focusing on emission inventory development of multiple anthropogenic combustion sources. His research focuses on near real-time air pollution emission inventory development, modelling of impacts of air pollution policies, cost-benefit analysis of air quality control technologies, airborne microplastics and air quality modelling and monitoring using remote sensing data.

3 Tanujjal Bora is the Director of the Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology (CoEN) and an Associate Professor in the Bio-Nano Material Science and Engineering program in the Department of Industrial Systems Engineering at the Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand). His research primarily focuses on nanomaterial-based solutions for energy harvesting, detection and environmental remediations. His other research interests include nanostructured thin film coatings for industrial applications, nano- and biosensors for environmental and health monitoring, nanocomposite materials, optoelectronic devices and green technology development. In 2022, he joined TriNANO Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (India) as a Research Director that provides Nano Coatings for Solar Panels for better power output & reduces O&M costs, hence advancing the performance ratio. He is also a founding member of two research centres at the Asian Institute of Technology, namely “WellTech Center” working in the area of Health & Well-being and “The Centre for South and South-East Asia Multidisciplinary Research Network on Transforming Societies of Global South (SMARTS).” He has 10+ years of experience in teaching and research supervision, and his research is mainly funded by industries from the region, Government funding agencies and international organizations.

Regional Energy Cooperation in South Asia: Scope, potential impact and Challenges of Cross Border Electricity Trade

NCAER organized an in-person lecture on ‘Regional Energy Cooperation in South Asia: Scope, potential impact and Challenges of Cross Border Electricity Trade’, by Dr. Saswata Choudhury, Fellow, TERI on Wednesday, 15 May 2024, 3:00 pm, as part of its Dialogue Room Seminar Series.

Details of the paper being presented and bios of the Speaker, Chair and the Discussants are shared below.

Abstract

South Asian countries, except Nepal and Bhutan, are primarily dependent on imported fossil fuels to meet their increasing energy demand. However, due to lack of domestic reserves, intra-regional trade in conventional energy is limited. At the same time, cross border electricity trade (CBET) has huge potential within South Asian countries especially among Bangladesh-Bhutan-India and Nepal (BBIN) countries. Electrification of end use activities is an important component of decarbonization only when electricity is generated from renewable sources. However, due to inherent nature of intermittency in generation, complete reliability on renewable is a major challenge. Generation variability can lead to grid imbalance, which can be addressed though incorporation of relatively expensive energy storage in the energy supply system. CBET is an effective alternative to address this issue. Moreover, CBET also provides economic benefits to the exporting partner to utilize scale benefit and facilitates the importing country to meet their demand-supply gap without much investment in capacity development. In case of green electricity trade, CBET helps to meet the decarbonization targets in importing countries as well. In the presence of demand-supply complementarity across countries in terms of diversified source of power generation and demand pattern, CBET could be very effective in South Asia. This study has measured the impact of CBET on individual economy and South Asian region in terms of GDP and welfare using GTAP database. The study found that CBET can lead to economic benefits to both trading partners, but level of benefits depends on scale of trade and nature of trading partners. The spillover effect also provides economic benefits to the entire region. The study also found that multilateral engagement is more beneficial than bilateral trade. However, there are several barriers (regulatory, political and infrastructural) which poses obstacles to realize the potential of CBET in South Asia. Regional cooperation in those sectors is required to overcome these challenges and reap the full benefits of CBET in the South Asian region.

Speaker

Saswata Chaudhury is a Fellow and Area Convener of Integrated Assessment and Modelling Area at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi. He received his MPhil and master’s degree in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. With a rich background in impactful research, Dr. Chaudhury has honed his skills at renowned institutions like ICRIER and NIPFP. His expertise spans across energy, trade, and development, with a focus on CGE analysis and NSS data decoding. He also has wide experience in primary survey and multi-stakeholder approaches to research including working with local communities, private sector, and government officials at all levels including the district and block levels. With numerous publications in prestigious national and international journals, he is at the forefront of cutting-edge research. Currently, he leads projects at TERI, delving into energy demand forecasting and CGE modeling in the energy sector.

 Moderator

Chetana Chaudhuri is a Fellow at NCAER. She has a doctorate degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. She is a distinguished researcher, whose expertise spans across a multitude of critical areas. Her research areas include Energy, Environment, Macroeconomics, Employment, and Health Economics. Previously, she has been associated with the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and Institute of Economic Growth (IEG). She has worked on a wide variety of studies pertaining to macro-economic analysis, input-output modelling, social accounting matrix, health financing, labor market analysis, energy analysis of industries and the household sector, analyses of large sample surveys, qualitative and quantitative assessment of government schemes like ESI, PMJAY, PMMVY, and RKVY, etc.; benefit cost analysis, and benefit incidence analysis, among others.

Discussant

Arpita Mukherjee is Professor in Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations. (ICRIER), Delhi. She is a member of government committees and policy panels and also a member of the editorial board of several international journals. She worked closely with the governments and multilateral organizations across multiple geographies such as India, United Kingdom (UK), Australia, European Union (EU) and its member states, ASEAN, and the United States (US). Her expertise spans across Sustainable trade and investment; retail, logistics and food supply chains; nutrition; trade infrastructure including economic corridors and SEZs; services; start-ups and entrepreneurs; e-commerce. She has over 25 years of experience in large project and leadership roles and also has over 75 publications including books, refereed journals, newsletters, government reports.

World Economic Outlook & India: What Lies Ahead

NCAER holds discussion on IMF’s ‘World Economic Outlook & India: What Lies Ahead’  

  • India poised for higher GDP growth based on domestic strengths: CEA
  • Indian economy getting more immune to traditional shocks: NCAER DG

NCAER on Wednesday hosted a discussion on “World Economic Outlook & India: What Lies Ahead”. The three-member panel for the discussion comprised Dr Poonam Gupta, NCAER Director General and Member of Economic Advisory Council to the PM; Dr V. Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Advisor to the Government and Dr Auguste Tano Kouame, World Bank’s Country Director for India. The discussion was preceded by presentations from IMF economists, Dr Mehdi Benatiya Andaloussi  and Dr Nicolas Fernandez-Arias.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Nageswaran said with supply-side investments on both physical and digital infrastructure, Indian economy is better placed to pursue non-inflationary growth and could achieve a GDP growth rate of above 7% this year, based on its domestic strengths.

“We need to recognise the geo-political and geo-economic context. We can achieve moderate to high growth over a long term … Small and medium sector is the backbone. We need them to grow their share in manufacturing. We also need to strengthen the supply-side infrastructure to have longer economic cycles and prevent overheating of the economy every 4-5 years, besides having financial inclusion, skilling, and electricity reforms,” said Dr Nageswaran.

Dr Poonam Gupta said, “The IMF has projected acceleration in global growth and world trade volumes, decline in inflation rates, and oil prices to remain around the current levels.  Based on its domestic strengths and a favourable global outlook, the Indian economy may be expected to grow at 7 plus rate this year and next.”

More importantly, she pointed out that India’s population growth rate had slowed down from 2.1% in the 1990s to almost 1% now, thus, translating GDP growth into bigger per capita income.

Dr Gupta said India’s GDP growth rate has become more resilient due to macroeconomic stability with various shocks, which mattered in the past, impacting it much less now. “With clear electoral verdicts, policy risks have become less; agriculture has become a little bit more decoupled from rainfall; large forex reserves have blunted effect of flight of capital due to any global disruption; and cleaning up of the financial sector has led to faster credit growth,” she said.

Earlier asked about inflation, Dr Nageswaran said, “With above normal monsoons, it is expected to come to the mid-point (4%) of the RBI’s target range. We don’t see at the moment any scope for nasty upside surprises yet there can always be scenarios in geopolitics that cause the inflation to spike.”

Dr Gupta also noted that despite fiscal deficit and public debt remaining high in India, their quality had improved. She suggested that instead of reducing government expenditure, the focus ought to be on enhancing “expenditure efficiency” and increasing revenue.

Dr Auguste Tano Kouamé said the Bank is to soon update its forecasts for FY24 and FY25 wherein the growth rates are likely to be upgraded because the signs are positive. “The uncertainties that were discussed are more due to the global economy and not the Indian economy,” he said.

“If India is able to maintain a growth rate of 6.5-7 percent in this global environment, then under more benign circumstances, it could possibly reach an 8 percent growth rate if the world economy remains stable,” he added.

Media Citations: 

IEPFA-NCAER hold Investor Education and Protection Workshop for Youth

Modernizing Financial Education and Sustaining Investor Confidence through the Investor Protection Framework

The Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA), in partnership with the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and I.T.S Ghaziabad, successfully conducted a comprehensive workshop aimed at modernizing financial education and enhancing investor confidence through effective investor protection frameworks.

The workshop brought together prominent experts from various sectors including financial sector, academia, and cybersecurity. The focus was on equipping the youth with necessary skills and knowledge to navigate through the complexities of the modern financial landscape.

In his welcome address, Dr. V N Bajpai, Director of I.T.S Ghaziabad, welcomed the esteemed panellists and participants and highly appreciated the NCAER- ITS collaborative effort for excellence in practical learning and stressed that such workshops provide real-world knowledge and skills that are crucial for every youth. The inaugural address was given by Mr. Surinder Sood, Director of PR at I.T.S – The Education Group, who also lauded the first ever collaborative efforts between IEPFA, NCAER, and I.T.S Ghaziabad, expressing enthusiasm for future joint initiatives aimed at enhancing financial literacy among youth. He emphasized the value of such partnerships in driving impactful educational programs and looked forward to more such endeavours to further empower young investors.

Ms. Anita Shah Akella, CEO of IEPFA and Joint Secretary in the ministry corporate affairs, emphasized, in her message, that the significance of investor education and protection on the national agenda and highlighted how initiatives like this workshop serve as vital awareness programs to equip individuals, especially budding investors with the knowledge and skills needed to protect themselves from prevalent fraudulent acts and scams. She expressed confidence that the discussions and insights from the workshop would substantially contribute to IEPFA’s efforts in creating a more informed, protected, and empowered community of investors.

Dr. CS Mohapatra, IEPF Chair Professor at NCAER, opened the panel discussion session with insights into the critical need for robust financial literacy in today’s fast-evolving economic environment. He moderated the session in a very engaging and participatory mode emphasizing the importance of foundational financial education to safeguard investor interests and enhance market stability. He highlighted how financial literacy serves as a critical defense against fraud and poor investment decisions. Underscoring the urgency for comprehensive and modernised financial education, he stated, “It’s crucial to equip ourselves with modern knowledge to navigate the complex financial landscape safely and to embrace technology, while recognizing the risks and opportunities it presents.”

Prof Mohapatra presented compelling data showing significant strides in financial inclusion and digital payments in India, with bank account ownership among adults increasing from 53% in 2014 to 78% in 2021. He stressed the need for modernizing financial education, using tools like personalized learning platforms and interactive online courses matching with the speed of financial innovations. He also highlighted the initiatives led by the IEPFA to promote financial literacy through campaigns and collaboration with educational institutions, aiming to instill a strong foundation of financial knowledge from an early age. The key to sustaining investor confidence lies not just in understanding the markets, but having an effective investor protection framework by regulators and government. It’s not just about making money; it’s about individuals making informed decisions that secure our financial future and ability to maximize financial well-being, he stated.

A panel discussion featuring Mr. Abhishek Bondia, Co-founder of SecureNow Insurance Broker Pvt. Ltd, Prof. Amit Kumar Singh, Member of FLC, University of Delhi, Ms. Aprajita Sharma, Assistant Editor at Mint and Mr. Gangesh Varma, Principal Associate in Technology and Policy at Saraf and Partners delved into various aspects of financial education, digital advancements, and investor protection.

Mr. Abhishek Bondia stated that while making an investment or buying an insurance, most individuals focus on return on capital and product features. However, equally important is return of capital in an investment and ability to make a claim in insurance. To protect public interest, regulators have put several safeguards in place. The need of the hour is to educate the masses through accessible and modern knowledge sharing methods. This would ensure that public’s confidence in financial markets remain intact, and they keep coming back to the market for their financial needs.

Prof. Amit Kumar Singh highlighted that wealth and health: Both require mindful investments for lifelong prosperity. Effective financial planning, including exploration of diverse investment avenues like investing in IPOs at the right time and in the right company is paramount and essential for navigating uncertainties and achieving long-term financial stability.

Ms. Aprajita Sharma stated that examples may differ but core for financial education remains the same — compounding wealth over long term, taking into account inflation, present needs and retirement goals. While one must know the process to reclaim funds from IEPF, we should make people aware so that it does not happen with others. Adding nominee details and making your family aware of your investments and insurance will ensure smooth transition. 

Mr. Gangesh Varma emphasized that Data literacy is going to be an essential element of financial literacy and education of the future. Knowing and understanding your data rights under the data protection laws is a good starting point. However, this can be effective only in the backdrop of proper enforcement of the data protection law, more ethical data processing, and improved cyber hygiene practices. He stated that awareness and capacity building will be foundational because consent is the cornerstone of India’s data protection regime, and a well-informed and empowered user is necessary for meaningful consent.

The workshop concluded with a vote of thanks by Shri Sumit Aggarwal, AGM Awareness at IEPFA, who lauded the collaborative spirit of the conference, aligning stakeholders towards the shared goal of enhancing financial literacy and safeguarding investor interests.

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