The current care-giving model is overwhelmingly informal and family-based, with little to no state or institutional support. In the quiet routines of everyday Indian households, an invisible yet indispensable workforce is at play, one that fuels the nation’s social fabric through everyday acts of care. Whether it is a grandmother helping with child-care, a father... Read More
Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research is a peer-reviewed bi-annual journal published jointly by NCAER & SAGE International. Volume 19, Issue 1, May 2025 includes the following papers- The Earnings and Conversion Gaps for Persons with Disabilities: Evidence from India - Ajay Mahal, Anup Karan, Marie Ishida, Fairlene Soji, Suhaib Hussain, Sara Varughese, Nathan Grills,... Read More
Once defined by its growing population, India now faces a quieter but deeper demographic shift. According to the Sample Registration System (SRS) 2023, the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of the country has reached 1.9 children per woman, below the replacement rate of 2.1. In urban India, the TFR stands at 1.5, while rural India is... Read More
India has made significant progress in its Biofuel Mission over the last 10 years. The commitment to biofuel production, promotion and its usage as part of a global alliance was reinstated in India’s launch of the Global Biofuel Alliance at the G20 Summit of 2023. On the Bioethanol front, the country has achieved the target... Read More
Law will remain powerless, unless women speak up. The Constitution guarantees equality, dignity, and protection from violence, and the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (2005) provides a legal framework. Yet, when women do not name their suffering, these protections lose their power. Until women can speak up fearlessly — in homes, workplaces, and... Read More
Such reform can make India's infrastructure spending equitable apart from being efficient. Summary Public infrastructure evaluations often overlook intangible benefits like improved health and social stability. Traditional metrics focus on direct outputs, missing the broader impacts on welfare and productivity. Integrating social indices and participatory metrics can lead to more informed policy decisions and equitable... Read More
The focus of agricultural reform must be to bridge the gaps between men and women, traditional and modern practices, unpaid labour and entrepreneurship. The paradox in the agriculture sector is glaring — the share of agricultural GVA (crops and irrigation) in All-India Gross Value Added (GVA) in2022-23 was 10 per cent whereas the share of... Read More
The most immediate and striking observation is the prevalence of the tertiary sector, which consumes the largest share of time for the overall population’s paid work, but it is overwhelmingly dominated by urban population. India’s vast and diverse economy is driven by the time and toil of millions. But beyond headline figures like GDP and... Read More
NCAER News is a monthly digest where you can learn about NCAER's research outputs, its latest events, and offerings.
The IHDS Forum is a monthly update of socio-economic developments in India by the IHDS research community, based on the India Human Development Survey, jointly conducted by NCAER and the University of Maryland. While two earlier rounds of the survey were completed in 2004-05 and 2011-12, respectively. Fieldwork for the third round was undertaken in... Read More