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Poverty & Inequality

Poverty is bad – but is vulnerability worse?

  • Perspectives

In-kind transfers: Deadweight losses or gains?

Do in-kind transfers for social assistance lead to ‘deadweight losses’ by restricting consumer choice? This article presents findings from an experiment in Maharashtra, which involved offering low...

  • Articles

In-kind transfers: Deadweight losses or gains?

Do in-kind transfers for social assistance lead to ‘deadweight losses’ by restricting consumer choice? This article presents findings from an experiment in Maharashtra, which involved offering low...

  • Articles

Grain subsidies and junk food purchases among low-income individuals

While governments rely on expensive food subsidy programmes to address malnutrition among low-income communities, their impact is unclear as only self-reported data on food purchase decisions are avai...

  • Notes from the Field
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Poverty is bad – but is vulnerability worse?

Official data reveal that poverty in India has declined significantly over time. In this post, Kamila and Wadhwa make the case for policy discourse to shift towards the phenomenon of ‘vulnerability...

  • Perspectives

In-kind transfers: Deadweight losses or gains?

Do in-kind transfers for social assistance lead to ‘deadweight losses’ by restricting consumer choice? This article presents findings from an experiment in Maharashtra, which involved offering low...

  • Articles

Impact of the Food Security Act on Public Distribution System

‘Leakages’ from the Public Distribution System – that is, grain released by the Food Corporation of India that fails to reach consumers – stood at around 42% in 2011-12 at an all-India level. ...

  • Perspectives

Grain subsidies and junk food purchases among low-income individuals

While governments rely on expensive food subsidy programmes to address malnutrition among low-income communities, their impact is unclear as only self-reported data on food purchase decisions are avai...

  • Notes from the Field

Why are canteens important when 800 million people get free grains?

Over the past decade, canteens have been established in various parts of India to provide subsidised meals and enhance food security. Based on a survey of canteens conducted across three states, Reeti...

  • Notes from the Field

The problem of India’s stagnant real wages

New data from the Labour Bureau and the National Sample Survey Office point to a virtual stagnation of real wages in India over the past decade. In this post, Das and Drèze argue that this trend poin...

  • Perspectives

Rethinking social safety nets in a changing society

This paper was coauthored by Debasis Barik, Pallavi Choudhuri, Bijay Chouhan, Om Prakash Sharma, Dinesh Kumar Tiwari (NCAER) and Sharan Sharma (University of Maryland College Park and NCAER). Histori...

  • Articles

Determining how many Indians are poor today

Poverty debates in India have seen a revival since the release of a fact sheet from the 2022-23 household consumption expenditure survey. In this post, Ghatak and Kumar note that the general consensus...

  • Perspectives

How reforming India’s workfare programme raised private sector earnings

By randomising the rollout of improved, biometric payment infrastructure used to issue National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme payments in Andhra Pradesh, this study found that this reform raised i...

  • Articles

Could job creation be a driver of poverty reduction in India?

While the Indian economy continues to grow, there is a consensus that creating more jobs is vital to reduce poverty. Ejaz Ghani shares trends which suggest that job creation is being driven by cities ...

  • Perspectives

Persistent problems with PDS: An assessment of the Covid-19 ration scheme

This note summarises the findings of a survey conducted by students at IIT Delhi to evaluate the functioning of the PMGKAY scheme across Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab. It reveals that many househo...

  • Notes from the Field

India’s rising ruralisation defies claims of declining poverty

Building on some of the key contributions to the Great Indian Poverty Debate, Dhananjay Sinha assesses the economic transformation in India over the past few decades. He outlines the lack of private c...

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Government of India

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Most Popular Poverty & Inequality Posts

Wealth inequality, class, and caste in India: 1961-2012

The level of wealth inequality in India is close to that of some highly unequal countries in the world. This article assesses the long-term evolution of wealth inequality in the country for the period...

  • Articles

Covid-19: What can be done immediately to help vulnerable population

With over 80% of India’s workforce employed in the informal sector and one-third working as casual labour, Covid-19's spread and subsequent unplanned lockdowns, have created economic havoc in the li...

  • Perspectives

EWS reservation in higher education: Affirmative action or vote bank politics?

The Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act, 2019, provides for 10% reservation for the economically weaker sections (EWS) in higher educational institutions within the general category. In this post, Devi...

  • Perspectives