Researchers Publication

The establishment of a national expert group for Covid-19 vaccine distribution and Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN) to track and manage vaccine stocks and storage is welcome. However little attention has been directed towards the last-mile challenges in vaccine distribution. Three challenges deserve particular attention. Twice is Nice First cold storage requirements make it impossible...   Read More

The importance of credit to an economy cannot be over-emphasised. The NCAER Quarterly Reviews of the Economy (June & September) has detailed out the tsunami like effect of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) on the Indian economy. Unlike the contraction in year-on-year (y-o-y) growth shown by majority of indicators like Index of Industrial Production exports imports...   Read More

International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD): The WHO estimates that more than one billion people - about 15% of the world's population - experience some form of disability Not many of us are aware that we celebrate about 173 “international days” every year which as per the United Nations “serve as an indicator of...   Read More

NCAER’s Mid-Year Review of the Indian Economy (MYR) presents the most comprehensive, independent assessment of the Indian economy. The 2020-21 Review has been published in a longstanding partnership with the India International Centre (IIC), New Delhi. This year, the COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the global economy and India is no exception....   Read More

This is part of a series of Measurement Briefs from the NCAER National Data Innovation Centre based on the findings from the Delhi Metropolitan Area Study. This particular Brief on health insurance suggests that despite rising insurance coverage in recent years, individuals are not often aware of their entitlements and do not avail of the...   Read More

This is part of a series of Measurement Briefs from the NCAER National Data Innovation Centre. Based on the findings from the Delhi NCR Coronavirus Telephone Survey, Rounds 1 and 2, this particular Brief is set in the backdrop of the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent loss of incomes and livelihoods...   Read More

Do agglomeration-based spillovers impact firms more than the technical know-how obtained through inter-firm collaboration? Quantifying the effect of these treatments on firm performance can be valuable for policy-makers as well as managers/entrepreneurs. I observe the universe of Indian MSMEs inside an industrial cluster but with no collaboration (Treatment Group 1), those in collaboration with other...   Read More

Aadhaar linkages of individuals and bank accounts already exist. If residential information in the Aadhaar database can be efficiently structured this would allow for geographic targeting. The US Congress acted expeditiously in late March to provide relief on account of the COVID-19 to poor and middle-class individuals and to stimulate the economy by enacting a...   Read More

No one would have ever thought or anticipated that Covid-19 would shake the world to such an extent that it is impacting and perhaps changing and re-defining every aspect of our lives. It also proved that no country is invincible no matter how developed rich and powerful and it demolished the notion that these nations...   Read More

Our goal should be to achieve a low cost of capital for Indian firms which calls for liquid and efficient markets accessible to all investors Many firms require capital in tiding over the pandemic. In recent months large amounts of portfolio capital have come into the country helping to fill this need. This includes an...   Read More

Cutting logistics costs and complying with exacting European product standards will go a long way in boosting shipments India is the EU's ninth largest trading partner with 2.4 per cent of the bloc’s overall trade. Bilateral trade (in both goods and services) touched €115 billion in 2017. EU exports to India have grown from €24.2...   Read More

A Retrospective on H1: 2020-21. In the September Quarterly Review of the Economy NCAER had forecasted that GDP would contract in H1: 2020-21 although the rate of contraction would moderate in Q2: 2020-21 compared to Q1: 2020-21.   In such times cost-cutting is a common response of firms.  These typically take two forms — (i) layoffs:...   Read More