NCAER in the News

Opinion: Jyoti Thakur. Is attaining gender parity in STEM education sufficient? In the recent budget speech, the finance minister proudly declared that India now stands among the leading nations worldwide in terms of women’s enrolment in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education. This significant milestone is a clear testament to the concerted efforts of...   Read More

Opinion: Sonalde Desai and Pallavi Choudhuri. Instead of debating the cause of the fall and the rise in the proportion of women farmers and family helpers, we should look to expand women’s opportunities outside of agriculture, which are better paying. Arguably, the debate around trends in Indian women’s employment is only outclassed by a similar...   Read More

Opinion: Debasis Barik and Sonalde Desai. Janani Suraksha Yojana, launched in 2005, has helped reduce maternal and neonatal mortality by promoting institutional delivery. But the utilisation of antenatal care has been low. Creating government programmes to incentivise desired behaviour has a long history in development planning. Unfortunately we have no guidance on when success can...   Read More

Opinion: C S Mohapatra. Enhanced financial inclusion and financial literacy are crucial in empowering individuals to navigate financial systems, access credit, and leverage digital platforms effectively. Financial inclusion in India has traditionally been equated with the expansion of banking networks and the proliferation of bank accounts among the underserved. However, complete and effective financial inclusion...   Read More

Opinion: Ashish Desai and Rudra Sensarma. To become a Lakhpati Didi, a critical skill is digital financial literacy — financial knowledge and the ability to take effective decisions On our way to Kolhapur, we stop at a tea stall-cum-convenience store run by Savita tai (name changed), who greets us with a smile. While sipping tea,...   Read More

Opinion: Manish Sabharwal and Kartik Narayan. India aims to reduce agriculture's 'self-exploitation' through non-farm jobs. This requires addressing problems with job laws, promoting direct benefit transfer, improving infrastructure and human capital, and reforming social security and labor codes. In 1918, B R Ambedkar wrote, 'If we succeed in sponging off our labour in non- agricultural...   Read More

Opinion: Palash Baruah and DL Wankhar . While opening of bank accounts has increased over the years, the wide gender gap in availing credit needs a policy response. The following facts have emerged from the spread of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, introduced in August 2014. It has led to greater financial inclusion in...   Read More

Opinion: Barry Eichengreen. The Federal Reserve’s actions alone don’t explain the rise and fall of inflation but they were far from irrelevant. For precisely three years now, the economics profession has been collectively fixated on inflation. February 2021, 36 months ago, was the last time consumer-price-index inflation in the United States (all items, 12-month percentage...   Read More

Opinion: Barry Eichengreen. Critics of the Federal Reserve argue that the acceleration of US inflation in early 2021, and the rapid disinflation of recent months, had nothing to do with monetary policy, because the sources of above-target price growth were all on the supply side. This view is both right and too simple. BERKELEY –...   Read More

Opinion: Chetna Choudhuri and Sanjib Pohit. The interim Budget 2024-25 has emphasised on efforts to achieve net-zero emission by 2070. The proposed expenditure for the New and Renewable Energy Ministry has increased significantly — from ₹17,729.46 crore in Budget 2023-24 to ₹26,376 crore in Budget 2024-25. The major increase is for the Solar Power (Grid)...   Read More