Archives: Event

The Future is Now: Financial Education for Gen-Alpha and Bridging the Gender Gap for Viksit Bharat

NCAER and the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA), Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India, in collaboration with Sapphire International School, organised a workshop on the eve of International Women’s day on the theme “The Future is Now: Financial Education for Gen-Alpha and Bridging the Gender Gap for Viksit Bharat” on March 7, 2026, at SIS Auditorium, Ghaziabad, Delhi-NCR.

Aimed at strengthening investor awareness and nurturing financially empowered youth aligned with India’s vision for Viksit Bharat, the workshop brought together distinguished policymakers, financial experts, and regulators to promote financial literacy, digital awareness, and investor protection among students and housekeepers of the school. The speakers highlighted the importance of gender-inclusive financial empowerment in India’s rapidly digitalising economy. Welcoming the dignitaries and participants, Ms Ekta Soni, Principal, Sapphire International School, emphasised that empowering young learners, especially girls, with financial knowledge and decision-making skills is essential for building confidence, independence, and long-term economic resilience.

Delivering the keynote address, Ms Anita Shah Akella, CEO, IEPFA and Joint Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India, highlighted the rapid growth of digital payments in India and increased exposure to cyber fraud and misinformation. She emphasised that early financial education for Gen-Alpha is essential to build safe financial behaviour and informed digital participation. On the occasion of International Women’s Day, she stressed that empowering young girls with financial knowledge enhances their confidence, enabling their equal participation in the economy.

Moderating the panel discussion, Dr C. S. Mohapatra, IEPF Chair Professor, NCAER, pointed out that traditional financial literacy must evolve to match India’s digital transformation. He noted that young learners today interact with algorithm-driven financial platforms and online payment ecosystems at an early age, making behavioural awareness and understanding of digital risks as important as financial knowledge. Highlighting the gender dimension, he stressed that girls and young women often face gaps in financial confidence, digital access, and opportunities for decision-making, making early and inclusive financial education essential to bridge these disparities. Dr Sonal Tikku, Assistant Professor at Amity University and Former Regional Nodal Officer at Axis Bank, spoke about promoting financial inclusion and responsible financial behaviour. She highlighted the need for practising strong cyber hygiene, such as avoiding suspicious links, protecting personal information, and using secure passwords. Early education about safe Internet behaviour helps in building responsible digital habits. She discussed the common mistakes made by first-time users, underscoring the importance of financial planning and disciplined savings habits. She suggested that financial independence among women begins with awareness and informed financial decision-making. Ms Himani Lath, Former Manager, NSDL; Financial Literacy Expert and SMART Trainer, SEBI, focused on the imperative of empowering participants with essential financial knowledge and practical skills for safe and informed participation in the financial ecosystem. CS Shivam Sharma, Former Chairman, Institute of Company Secretaries of India, Ghaziabad, highlighted the importance of financial ethics, regulatory awareness, and corporate governance in protecting investors.  He stated that informed and aware citizens contribute to stronger and more trustworthy financial systems.

The workshop was extended to housekeeping assistants, where the basic principles of savings, investments, and a need-based approach to managing personal finance were explained in a lucid manner. Participants were also guided on developing productive financial habits and informed about the dos and don’ts of preventing scams and frauds. An interactive Q&A session allowed them to engage with experts on topics such as digital scams, safe online transactions, and financial planning. This was followed by distribution of certificates to participants in the event and in the quiz held as part of the workshop.

GENDER TRANSFORMATION: Insights from the India Human Development Survey (IHDS)

To mark the occasion of Women’s History Month, NCAER hosted a webinar titled, “Gender Transformation: Insights from the India Human Development Survey (IHDS)”. During the webinar, researchers from the IHDS team discussed insights on gender transformations across the country, based on IHDS data emerging from surveying the lives of men and women in over 40,000 households, over the two decades between 2004 and 2024.

Moderated by Professor Sonalde Desai, the webinar, which had over 150 attendees, was also joined by NCAER’s Director General, Mr. Suresh Goyal. The presentations by IHDS researchers Dr Pallavi Choudhuri, Dr Debasis Barik, Dr Ruchi Jain, Dr Dibyasree Ganguly, and Dr Athira Vinod from NCAER and Dr Sharan Sharma from the University of Maryland, and the subsequent discussion focused on several topics of interest and key themes, including survey methodology, changing educational patterns, evolving family expectations, women’s mobility, and the continuing challenges of measuring work and empowerment.

The panel also highlighted practical challenges in interviewing women and emphasised the importance of recruiting and training women interviewers while addressing related barriers and strengthening field protocols to improve data quality.

Enhancing Gender Statistics

The National Data Innovation Centre (NDIC) at NCAER, in collaboration with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), organized a two-day conference on “Enhancing Gender Statistics” on 15th and 16th January 2026 at the NCAER campus in New Delhi.

The inaugural address by Dr Saurabh Garg, Secretary, MoSPI, drew on several flagship government schemes to highlight the importance of gender-disaggregated data in statistical systems. Against the backdrop of increasing policy attention to gender-responsive planning and monitoring, the conference sought to examine how existing data systems can be strengthened to better capture women’s economic and social realities and to inform evidence-based decision-making.

Across five technical sessions and a thematic presentation, chaired by Shri P.R. Meshram (Director General, Data Governance, MoSPI), Smt. Geeta Singh Rathore (Director General, NSS), Dr Shamika Ravi (Member, PM-EAC), Shri Subash Chandra Malik (Additional Director General, SSD, MoSPI) and Dr Sonalde Desai (Professor & Centre Director, NCAER-NDIC), participants drew on survey experience, administrative data, and applied research to guide the discussions.

Organized by a Planning Committee co-chaired by Dr Sonalde Desai (Professor and Centre Director, NCAER-NDIC), Dr Pallavi Choudhuri (Senior Fellow and Deputy Director, NCAER-NDIC) and Shri Subash Chandra Malik (Additional Director General, SSD, MoSPI), the conference brought together policymakers, researchers and statisticians from NCAER, MoSPI and other eminent institutions including Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), World Bank, ILO, IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, Azim Premji University, O.P. Jindal Global University, Population Foundation of India and the United Nations Office for India to deliberate on key conceptual, methodological, and policy challenges associated with the collection and use of data from women and about women.

Key takeaways:

  • Strengthening the integration of survey data, administrative records, and applied research as a key pathway to enhancing the measurement and policy relevance of gender statistics.
  • Improving the measurement of women’s economic empowerment, including labour force participation, livelihoods, access to resources, and participation in skilling and STEM education for the development of future data systems.
  • Opportunities to refine data collection instruments and administrative systems to minimize gender bias and improve the quality of gender-disaggregated data.
  • Systematically incorporate gender perspectives into emerging data dimensions, including innovative survey methodologies and evolving labour market contexts.
  • Advancing gender-responsive monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals through improved indicators and reporting frameworks.
  • The value of sustained collaboration among statistical agencies, researchers, and policymakers to drive methodological innovation and ensure data systems remain responsive to changing social and economic contexts was recognized as critical to impactful change.

The conference provided a platform for cross-institutional dialogue and exchange, fostering shared learning across disciplines and sectors. Overall, the deliberations reaffirmed the central role of high-quality, inclusive, and gender-responsive data in supporting effective policymaking, monitoring progress, and advancing development outcomes.

Read More: https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2215626&reg=3&lang=1

Lessons from the Global Advocacy for Gender Justice in the Population Field: 1975-2025

National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and Feminist Economics Saturday Discussion Group (FESDIG) jointly organized a cconversation with Ms. Judith Bruce, The Population Council, on Lessons from the Global Advocacy for Gender Justice in the Population Field: 1975-2025 on Wednesday, January 7, 2026 at NCAER Campus, 1st Floor Seminar Hall. 

Since the first world conference on the status of women held in 1975 in Mexico City, feminist advocates have struggled to place gender justice at the center of population discourse. Ms. Judith Bruce, a senior advisor based in the Population Council’s New York office, reflected on lessons learned over the past fifty years.

Judith Bruce served as co-chair of the UN Expert Group Meeting on the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl-child. She has been a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and received the Association for Women in Development’s bi-annual award for outstanding contributions to the field. A graduate of Harvard University, Bruce has written and lectured extensively on population policy, the quality of reproductive health services, the status of adolescent girls in the developing world, family and partnership dynamics, and women’s access to and control over resources inside and outside the household.

Through policy analysis, evidence-based intervention design, advocacy, and capacity-building, she has changed the way the world thinks about quality of care from the client’s perspective and about the power and potential of the poorest, most excluded girls. This seminar will draw on her five decades of experience in this field to reflect on the challenges facing it in the coming years and on how lessons learned may energize research and advocacy to overcome new obstacles.

NCAER Reports Launch 2025 : Food Delivery Platform Sector

As part of the NCAER Gig Economy Initiative, on December 18, 2025, the NCAER released two reports on the food delivery platform economy.

This was a three part series where the first report analysed the socio-economic impact of the food delivery platform on workers. The second report assessed the impact of food delivery platforms on restaurants. The third and last report assessed the impact of the food delivery platform economy on GDP, employment and taxes.

 

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