Tag Search: “technology”

Building state capacity for better programme implementation: Lessons from the Andhra Pradesh Smartcard Programme

Biometric payment systems are posited to reduce leakages in public welfare programmes but there is limited evidence on their effectiveness. This column presents evidence on the impact of the Andhra P...

  • Articles

Do awareness programmes on TV help change prejudices?

Awareness-based TV programmes, such as Satya Mev Jayate hosted by Bollywood film personality Aamir Khan, aim to change deep-seated prejudices of the society. To what extent do such programmes influenc...

  • Articles

Intervention design of Integrated Performance Management System (IPMS) for ICDS

Leakages from the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) have compromised the effectiveness of the programme. The study proposed a new design for an effective monitoring system for the ICDS progra...

  • IGC Research on India

How well does DBT work on the ground?

PM Modi has emphasised fast-tracking roll-out of the Adhaar-based Direct Benefits Transfer programme. In this note, Sweta Trayambak – who has worked with the district administration of Ramgarh in Jha...

  • Notes from the Field

Reconstructing facts in Bt cotton: Why scepticism fails

In disputes around Bt cotton, a “triumph narrative” is alleged to have emerged from researchers - mainly economists - catering to vested interests of the biotech industry, its funding and allied journ...

  • Articles

How innovations in telecom can promote inclusive growth

Applications of Information and Communications Technology, such as mobile banking, have potential to promote inclusive growth and equity. This column analyses conditions under which innovations in IC...

  • Articles

Direct Benefits Transfer: An idea whose time has come

About a year ago, the Government of India launched a Direct Benefits Transfer programme that involves transferring government benefits and subsidies directly to residents through a biometric identifi...

  • Notes from the Field

UID project: Does evidence matter?

The Indian government has been pushing to make UID compulsory, and is now moving towards charging for use of authentication services. This article asserts that the three key selling points of UID – c...

  • Perspectives

Do the poor need genetically modified crops?

Field trials of a few genetically modified crops were recently put on hold by the Environment Ministry. This article asserts that the decision reflects an ideological resistance to and suspicion about...

  • Perspectives

How labels influence the decision to buy genetically modified food

A regulation mandating labelling for all packaged products has been in effect in India since the beginning of this year. This column examines the role of information provided by labels in the decision...

  • Articles

The role of Bt cotton in improving food security

The role of genetically modified crops in the fight against hunger remains disputed. The debate primarily focuses on whether or not these crops can contribute to sustainable increases in food producti...

  • Articles

Food Bill: Neither populist nor unaffordable

Criticism of the National Food Security Bill has led to the government dropping the idea of issuing an Ordinance and instead, saying it would try to get the Bill passed in a special session of Parlia...

  • Perspectives