Researchers Publication

While India has made progress in installed capacity for renewable energy sources, power generation from renewables remains low. In this post, Chaudhuri and Rath content that renewable energy budgets of several states continue to be limited, with only a few states demonstrating a strong commitment to sustainable energy transition. They recommend balancing capital and revenue...   Read More

Transport systems are vital for connecting people, goods, and services, forming the backbone of global socio-economic progress. Among various modes, aviation has revolutionized connectivity by offering unmatched speed, safety, and reliability. The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has identified India as one of the fastest-growing aviation markets worldwide, with its passenger traffic showing a significant...   Read More

Women form close to 42% of farm workers. Skilling schemes specifically designed for women is imperative to not only raise their productivity but also to empower them. India’s agriculture stands at a critical crossroads. On the one hand, rapid technological transformation — from drones and digital platforms to precision farming — is reshaping how crops...   Read More

India’s economic trajectory has seen an impressive run over the last few decades, but concerns are rising over the country’s ability to productively engage a large and growing working age population. Recent increases in employment are primarily due to the rise in self-employment, while transition to a skilled labour force has been slow, highlighting the...   Read More

The 30 ‘critical minerals’ pose different risk levels. India’s critical minerals strategy stands at a crossroads. In June 2023, the Government of India released a list of 30 critical minerals through a systematic three-stage assessment process evaluating economic importance, strategic value, and import dependencies. Yet two years later, policy implementation treats all 30 minerals with...   Read More

Rather than viewing employment generation solely through the lens of large industry or government programmes, policy must confront the reality that employment generation is tied to improving the productivity of its smallest enterprises The recently announced new labour codes are likely to transform the employment landscape of India. The discourse on employment, however, primarily centres...   Read More

Private consumption, constituting nearly 60% of India’s GDP, remains the cornerstone of economic momentum, powered by rising disposable incomes, digital adoption, and an aspirational middle class. Manufacturing contributes about 17% to GDP with aspirations to reach 25% by 2030.

An NCAER survey shows that Indian firms seemed to have weathered the US tariff storm, for now Amidst the international uncertainty caused by rapid announcements of US trade policies balanced by rationalisation of GST rates, business sentiments as measured by the NCAER Business Confidence Index (BCI) had eased in the second quarter of 2025-26. The...   Read More

The continent’s bid to rebalance global finance  Could there be a moratorium on further studies diagnosing what ails African development? The continent has been examined, measured and prescribed to exhaustion – yet the patient deteriorates. Since 2000, multilateral institutions have catalogued the same barriers: mispriced capital, unsustainable debt, illicit outflows, and governance asymmetries. What Africa...   Read More

Real-time digital hiring signals, analysed through AI, offer India a powerful new way to anticipate and close emerging skill gaps India’s debate on skills often concentrate on curriculum reforms, institutional capacity, and the widening gap between education and employer needs. However, a more fundamental challenge concerns our ability to interpret the labour market almost in...   Read More

Though the incidence of son preference in Indian families has fallen, there is still little preference for daughters. Instead of asking parents, just count their children to get a sense of what India genuinely values. From 1.33 males for every girl at the first birth to 1.43 at the second and 1.51 at the third,...   Read More

NCAER News is a monthly digest where you can learn about NCAER's research outputs, its latest events, and offerings.