Archives: Event

DataTalk: A Conversation about Measuring Learning in India

NCAER’s National Data Innovation Center hosted the 7th edition of DataTalk. The conversation delved into the complexities of measuring children’s learning outcomes in India. With school enrollment rates having increased, the focus had shifted from merely getting children into schools to understanding what they were learning. However, this brought forth a challenging question: How do we accurately assess these learning outcomes?

The panel included experts from diverse backgrounds, including Akashi Kaul from the Central Square Foundation, Sridhar Rajgopalan, an Educational Entrepreneur, Abhijit Singh from the Stockholm School of Economics, and Wilima Wadhwa, the director of the ASER Centre. They discussed different methodologies, from school-based assessments like the National Achievement Survey to citizen-led evaluations such as the ASER Report, highlighting the importance of using data effectively to influence educational practice and policy.

During the discussion, we explored various approaches to educational assessments, the biases and challenges associated with them, and their implications for policy-making. The session aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current state of educational assessments in India and how they could be improved to ensure all children receive quality education.

Boosting Financial Skills of Young Managers: Role of Financial Education as a Safety Network for Investor Protection

The Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA), Ministry of Corporate Affairs and the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), New Delhi, in collaboration with Jagan Institute of Management (JIMS), Rohini successfully conducted a comprehensive workshop aimed at “Boosting Financial Skills of Young Managers: Role of Financial Education as a Safety Network for Investor Protection” on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, at JIMS, Rohini, New Delhi.

The workshop was highly engaging with a gathering of over 400 participants and brought together prominent speakers including financial sector expert, Government representative and claim settlement expert, academician and Fintech expert. This initiative is a part of the continuous efforts by IEPFA and NCAER to empower the budding youth with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the financial landscape effectively and securely.

In her welcome address, Director Dr. Pooja Jain, expressed her delight and highly appreciated the collaborative effort for excellence in practical learning and stressed that such workshops provide real-world knowledge and skills that are crucial for every youth.

Dr Harvardhan Halve, Director General, JIMS lauded the first ever collaborative efforts between IEPFA, NCAER, and JIMS, Rohini, expressing enthusiasm for future joint initiatives aimed at enhancing financial literacy among youth.

Ms. Anita Shah Akella, CEO of IEPFA and Joint Secretary in the Ministry Corporate Affairs, in her message, conveyed that investor education and protection is on the national agenda and highlighted IEPFA’s efforts in creating a more informed, protected, and empowered community of investors. Through her message, she encouraged the students to actively participate, engage with IEPFA initiatives and take this opportunity to enhance their understanding and promote advocacy of investor rights and education. Ms Akella called for involvement of the youth in driving the progress IEPFA aims to achieve in safeguarding the interests of investors across the nation.

Dr. CS Mohapatra, through his highly interactive manner moderated the session and stated that in today’s fast-paced and complex financial landscape, equipping young budding managers with robust financial skills is essential for ensuring sound financial decision-making and fostering investor protection. Financial education plays a pivotal role in this context, serving as a safety network that empowers young professionals to navigate the intricacies of finance with confidence and prudence. By mastering these concepts, young managers can develop strategic financial plans, optimize resource allocation, and ensure sustainable growth.

He also highlighted that well-informed managers are better equipped to identify and mitigate potential financial risks, safeguarding the interests of investors. Education on regulatory frameworks, ethical practices, and market operations will help young managers adhere to best practices and avoid fraudulent activities. By understanding the nuances of different financial products, FinTech and their associated risks, they can diversify portfolios, optimize returns, and manage market volatility effectively, he stated. By promoting ethical financial practices, trust and credibility in financial markets can be built, ensuring that budding investors feel secure and confident in their investments.

The panel discussants — Lt. Col. Rajesh Kumar, General Manager, IEPFA, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India, Dr SD Vashishtha, Professor, Dean and Head, Faculty of Commerce and Management, MD University Rohtak, Mr Rakesh Sharma, Former Chief General Manager, PFRDA and Mr Harsha Bhowmik, Director- Digital Economy and Fintech, Ministry of Finance, Government of India discussed the importance of financial literacy rigorously and different initiatives taken by the Government as well as regulators, including IEPFA, in promoting financial literacy and financial inclusion.

Lt. Col. Rajesh Kumar, General Manager, IEPFA, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India emphasized IEPFA’s dedication to fostering a secure and informed investment environment for every citizen. He highlighted the organization’s ongoing efforts in ease of doing business, efficient claim settlements and the promotion of financial awareness, aiming for swift and lasting improvements in these areas. He also called on participants to collaborate with IEPFA in its mission to protect investor interests and enhance financial literacy nationwide, showcasing his strategic insight and commitment to the organization’s mandate.

Mr Rakesh Sharma stated that during the last decade public participation in financial markets has grown substantially. However, emerging market realities require that the prospective investors are protected against fraudulent activities. While Regulators are providing and disseminating necessary information through multimedia, such workshops are the best platform to educate the young and future leaders in various aspects of emerging market realities and how to guard against the unscrupulous elements.

Dr SD Vashishtha highlighted that such programmes are hugely fruitful for spreading financial education talent, ability and skills among the young managers and other interested people. Directly or indirectly, NCAER, IEPFA and MCA are contributing in making capital market more inclusive, savings conversion in investment which will further help in achieving targeted economic growth.

Mr Harsha Bhowmik emphasized that one of the critical enablers for the development and empowerment of people is technology-led economic transformation. India’s digital public infrastructure (DPI) – digital identity, fast payment system along with consent-based data sharing – has demonstrated how 1.4 billion individuals can access socio-economically important services in the field of finance, health, education, e-Governance, taxation, skills etc. He highlighted huge achievements including Aadhaar enrolments, Unified Payment Interface (UPI) transactions and DPI enabled direct benefit schemes.

India Policy Forum 2024

NCAER, India’s oldest and premier economic think tank, hosted its prestigious annual brainstorming session, India Policy Forum, during July 2-3, 2024 at its premises in New Delhi.

In the past two decades, the Forum has engaged in policy conversations that have contributed to a profound transformation of the Indian economy and society. Since its inception in 2004, the IPF has been a platform carrying forward NCAER’s mandate of ensuring quality, relevance, and impact. It has enabled honest conversations among world-class researchers using evidence-based research and has emerged over the years as a leader of ideas and a unique forum for driving policy.

Every year, IPF provides an intense scholarship-policymaker engagement through commissioned papers presented at the Conference, which are subsequently published in a journal. In addition, the IPF features lectures and panel discussions on key issues.

The 21th edition of the IPF was attended by a galaxy of eminent policymakers, economists, academics and researchers, who deliberated on four research papers, covering a range of diverse sectors and subjects, including the need for changing social safety nets, impact of presence of women in boards and top management on a firm’s performance, Punjab’s low growth trap and the opportunity cost of keeping high foreign exchange reserves. 

Agenda and Papers

The first paper presented at the IPF 2024 was on “Rethinking Social Safety Nets in a Changing Society”, authored by NCAER’s Prof Sonalde Desai and others. Using data from three rounds of the India Human Development Survey (IHDS), collected during 2004-5, 2011-12, and 2022-24, the paper shows that as the economy grows, households face considerable transition in and out of poverty. Historically, India’s approach to social safety nets has involved identifying the poor and providing them with priority access to various social protection programmes that include both in-kind and cash assistance.

But the churn in households’ economic circumstances makes it difficult to precisely identify and target the poor. It says traditional approaches to identifying the poor through provision of Below Poverty Line (BPL) cards, now dubbed priority cards, tend to focus on chronically poor households that usually come from poor regions or have enduring characteristics that predispose them to poverty (e.g. belonging to Scheduled Castes and Tribes). The IHDS data show that with a decline in chronic poverty, transient poverty begins to dominate. This suggests that our approach to social protection must pay greater attention to circumstances of life that push people into poverty rather than circumstances of birth associated with social identity or region of birth.  The paper discusses a variety of approaches to providing safety nets and examines the success of some key programs in reaching the poor.

The authors of the second paper titled “Female Leadership in Corporate India: Firm Performance and Culture” bring out how the ‘female director mandate’ under the Companies Act (2013) positively impacted the performance of the firms and their overall culture. Within a year, the percentage of listed firms without women on board plummeted from 53% to less than 10%. Despite this progress, India still lags in women’s participation in middle and senior management roles.

Interestingly, the paper finds that firms, on average, were appointing more women than mandated by the Act. At the same time, newly appointed women were younger and more educated than their male counterparts and their average directorship “stretch factor” increased significantly compared to men. Combining personnel-level data from NSE-listed firms with firm performance data, it finds that having at least one woman on board is associated with higher economic performance, financial stability, and lower financial risk. Additionally, using almost 400,000 employee reviews, it finds that higher share of women in board positions correlate positively with employee ratings and sentiment scores.

Another paper presented at the IPF 2024 was on “India’s Foreign Reserves and Global Risk”, which dwells on the opportunity cost of keeping higher reserves. India’s current reserves comfortably surpass conventional thresholds for adequacy used by the International Monetary Fund and others and is set to act as a bulwark against any adverse geo-strategic and geo-economic factors. Additions to reserves reduce the economy’s exposure to global financial risk.

The paper says the precautionary benefits of reserves could well increase as India becomes further integrated to international financial markets. Estimates of the costs of holding reserves give evidence that increases in the reserves to output ratio reduce the risk premium on reserves, so that the sovereign interest rate spread overestimates the marginal cost of reserves.

“Global financial turbulence and foreign monetary policy shocks are significant drivers of foreign capital outflows from India. Additional reserves can significantly reduce large outflows. The precautionary benefits of reserves could well increase as India becomes further integrated to international financial markets,” says the paper authored by Prof Chetan Ghate (Indian Statistical Institute and Institute of Economic Growth), Prof Kenneth Kletzer (University of California) and Mahima Yadav (Indian Statistical Institute).

“The empirical analysis of India’s external portfolio capital flows finds that reserves lower outflows in the event of global financial distress. Reserve holdings reduce the volatility of portfolio debt flows,” says the paper.

The fourth paper presented at the IPF 2024, was titled “Economic Development of Punjab: Prospects and Policies”. It says Punjab needs to shed its mono-culture farming, scrap subsidies like free power and water and reorient its industries and services to overcome slow economic growth, high debt, societal challenges like the drug menace and environmental degradation. The state’s over reliance on the Centre’s food procurement policy makes it heavily agricultural and, that too, in a narrow manner. It needs to diversify its cropping pattern beyond wheat and rice as a first step.

The authors- Prof Lakhwinder Singh (Institute of Human Development), Prof Nirvikar Singh (University of California), and Prof Prakarsh Singh (Plaksha University)—attribute the state’s high debt and strained public finances to lack of agricultural diversification and agro-processing industries besides high power and water subsidies. They find a “disconnect between the current situation and the state’s vision for the medium and long terms”.  “Lack of desirable employment and social problems such as drug and alcohol abuse all seem to stem from Punjab’s lock-in to the agricultural system created by the Green Revolution and an outdated national food procurement policy,” says the paper.

The authors say that “agriculture based on unprocessed food grains provides little opportunity for tax revenue” and the problem is compounded by huge power and water subsidies. Making a strong case against free power, they point to excessive depletion of groundwater which raises the spectre of desertification.

Arguing for support from the Centre for the state to make a farming switch, the paper says the procurement policy offering unlimited purchase of maize and pulses at MSP if farmers switch from paddy or wheat may not be enough for Punjab and “additional payments may be required, which could be justified politically as compensation for past contributions to national food security”.

In addition to the four papers, the India Policy Forum Conference of 2024 also featured lecture the TN Srinivasan Memorial Lecture on “Cracks in the System: How Geo-economic Fragmentation is Reshaping the World”, delivered by IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas with NCAER Chairman Nandan Nilekani in the Chair. There were also panel discussions on issues like “Digitalisation and Development”; “States’ Fiscal Challenges”; “Employment Challenges in India and Beyond”; and “The Middle-Income Trap”.

The IPF 2024 concluded with a panel discussion on “India’s Economic Prospects in a Turbulent World” for which the main speaker was Martin Wolfe, Chief Economics Commentator, Financial Times. The panel included Barry Eichengreen (University of California), who is currently visiting Distinguished Professor at NCAER; Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Advisor to Government of India; IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas; and Swaminathan Aiyar, Editor, Emeritus, The Economic Times.

For any queries, please contact ipf@ncaer.org

The role of adaptation in the vulnerable Coastal India

NCAER hosted an online lecture titled “The role of adaptation in vulnerable Coastal India” presented by Dr. Sweta Sen (Assistant Professor at MSE) and discussed by Dr. Saudamini Das (Full Professor at IEG), as part of its Virtual Dialogue Room Webinar Series moderated by Dr. Isha Dayal and chaired by Dr. Souryabrata Mohapatra on Friday, 26 July 2024, at 4:00 pm IST.

 Abstract:

The changing climate has heightened the intensity of cyclonic disturbances and increased vulnerability. Projections indicate at least one severe cyclonic storm will occur over the Bay of Bengal each year until 2050. Our findings reveal that the vulnerable population grows by more than 15% with each tropical cyclone. Particularly, impoverished and vulnerable communities, such as fishermen, require more focused attention and incentives. A critical question arises: Why can the vulnerable population not adequately prepare? We examine various strategies adopted by coastal households, specifically coping and adaptation mechanisms. Using Cumulative Prospect Theory, we provide evidence of loss aversion behaviour, which contributes to a vulnerability trap. Individual behaviour significantly influences household adaptation strategies. Therefore, promoting and incentivising ‘Lifestyle for Change,’ which supports behavioural change for a sustainable lifestyle, is essential for mitigating climate change in coastal India.

For information, see: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103834

Speaker quotes

  •  “There is a need to change the adaptive behaviour of the households in Coastal India to transform them into a sustainable livelihood. Incentivising vulnerable communities, especially fishers, to adapt strategies, especially if any cyclonic disaster occurs at a micro-level, should be prioritised.”—says Dr. Sweta Sen
  • “Ex-ante cyclone preparedness should include livelihood protection along with lives and properties. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana can be extended to loss of livelihood assets, including fishery.”—says Dr. Saudamini Das

Short bios:

1 Dr. Sen is an Assistant Professor at the Madras School of Economics (India), specialising in the economics of coastal disasters, environmental and ecological economics, development and behavioural economics. She has a keen interest in remote-sensing satellite data and GIS, which is evident in several of her research outputs. Her work has been published in esteemed journals such as Empirical Economics (ABDC A), International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction (ABDC A), Journal of Social and Economic Development, World Development Perspectives, and GeoJournal (×2). Dr. Sen has received very positive feedback from peers by presenting her research findings at renowned academic events, including those organised by the American Geophysical Union. In addition to her research, she presently teaches fundamental and advanced Microeconomics and a course on Sustainable Development at the postgraduate level. Following her PhD, Dr. Sen worked as a Sr. Researcher at the Institute of Economic Growth—IEG on a G-20 project. She has been involved in numerous projects focusing on financial inclusion, food insecurity, and the impact of the MNREGA scheme.

2 Dr. Das is a full professor in the Indian Economic Services (IES) Section of the Institute of Economic Growth (IEG) and was the Institute’s NABARD Chair Professor from 2016-21. She is a fellow of the South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE, Kathmandu) as well as the Indian Society for Ecological Economics (INSEE) and has worked as a Mälar Scholar (2011-12) at the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (Stockholm). She is a Senior Research Fellow of the Centre for Research on the Economics of Climate, Food, Energy, and Environment (CECFEE) at the Indian Statistical Institute (Delhi) and the global network Environment for Development (EfD) at the University of Gothenburg (Sweden). Her research areas are Climate change adaptation, assessment of loss and damage to livelihood due to climate change, valuation of ecosystem services, coastal vulnerability analysis, mangroves, and evaluation of public policy. She is presently an Editor for the Elsevier journal Ecological Economics and Cambridge University Press Journal Cambridge Prism: Coastal Futures.

Promoting Financial Literacy and Investor Education for Effective Protection

The IEPFA, Ministry of Corporate Affairs and the NCAER, New Delhi, in collaboration with Pardada Pardadi Educational Society, Anupshahr, Uttar Pradesh organised an insightful workshop for school girls on “Promoting Financial Literacy and Investor Education for Effective Protection” on Friday, July 19, 2024, at Pardada Pardadi Educational Society, Anupshahr, Uttar Pradesh. The workshop had a highly interactive gathering of around 400 school children aimed to foster financial literacy and investor education among rural school children and the wider community. This initiative was a part of the continuous efforts by IEPFA and NCAER to empower individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the financial landscape effectively and securely.

In his welcome address, Principal of PPES Shri K K Sharma expressed his delight on IEPFA and NCAER for organising this workshop which is going to be very useful for the students of PPES as it will not only impart valuable financial education to them but also encourage faster financial inclusion in general. Citing the large number of students of PPES, he hoped to get opportunity for more workshops of similar nature in near future.

Ms. Anita Shah Akella, CEO of IEPFA and Joint Secretary in the Ministry Corporate Affairs, in her message, conveyed that investor education and protection is on the national agenda and highlighted IEPFA’s efforts in creating a more informed, protected, and empowered community of investors.

Through her message, she encouraged the students to actively participate, engage with IEPFA initiatives and take this opportunity to enhance their understanding and promote advocacy of investor rights and education. Ms Akella called for involvement of the youth in driving the progress IEPFA aims to achieve in safeguarding the interests of investors across the nation.

Dr. CS Mohapatra emphasized the importance of financial literacy as the foundation for economic empowerment and financial security. He discussed how educating school children about money management can lead to a more financially responsible generation and preparing school children to understand the complexities of the financial world from a young age.

Dr. Mohapatra highlighted various educational initiatives that can be implemented in schools to teach students about saving, budgeting, and investing, ensuring they develop good financial habits early on. Making informed decisions will protect themselves from financial risks in the future and improve their financial well-being, he stated. Explaining the key financial concepts such as budgeting, saving, investing as also do’s and don’ts of financial investment, including how to be safe from cyber frauds, he emphasized that a culture of imparting financial knowledge and prudence from early stage is immensely beneficial to society.

The panel discussants — Mr Sumit Aggarwal, AGM, IEPFA, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Ms Himani Lath, Former Manager, NSDL, Financial Literacy Expert and SMART Trainer, SEBI, Mr Naveenchandra Bansal, Former Senior Manager, PNB and Financial Literacy Counsellor, and Mr Himanshu Yadav, Chief Manager (Deposits and Value-Added Services), State Bank of India discussed the importance of financial literacy rigorously and different initiatives taken by the Government as well as regulators, including IEPFA, in promoting financial literacy and financial inclusion.

Mr. Sumit Aggarwal eloquently highlighted the IEPFA’s remarkable achievements over the past years and shared an inspiring vision for the future. He passionately encouraged everyone to engage in IEPFA’s initiatives, emphasizing that true transformation begins at the grassroots level.

Ms. Himani Lath interacted with the students and briefed them about the structure of capital markets and the role of SEBI in educating the masses and the initiatives taken for making the capital market transparent and secure for the investors. She also explained about how to start investments in stocks and mutual funds.

Mr. Naveenchandra Bansal drawing from his experience as a financial literacy counsellor, highlighted the importance of interactive and engaging educational methods. He demonstrated how tailored educational efforts can significantly improve students’ financial understanding and behaviour and Government initiatives and programme to promote financial inclusion.

Mr. Himanshu Yadav discussed the banking sector’s initiatives to promote financial literacy among young people. Mr. Yadav emphasized the importance of building trust and transparency in banking services, and how educating students can enhance their confidence in the financial system, thereby contributing to their financial well-being and overall financial sector development.

This proactive educational effort is expected to yield immense long-term benefits for the economy and society as a whole. By equipping students with essential basic financial literacy and investor education, we are not only preparing them for their personal financial futures but also, in long term, contributing to the overall financial health and stability of our nation.

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