Dr. Kurien – a doyen of our times

Today is the 96th birth anniversary of Dr. Verghese Kurien. In many ways, Dr. Kurien changed our lives - the milk supply that we take for granted in Indian cities, Amul - a brand that invokes instant and affectionate recognition, and institutions that he built in his image - Anand Milk Union Limited, Gujarat Cooperative …

Beyond rationalisation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes

In August this year, the Government of India approved the recommendations made by the Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Rationalisation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS). The rationalisation plan would first prune the existing 66 CSSs to 28, and then further divide them into three categories – six ‘core of the core’ schemes, 20 core schemes, …

Judith Tendler, and learning from ‘good government’

On 24th July 2016, Judith Tendler, former Professor at the Department of Urban studies and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston, passed away. She was 77. A Ph.D from Columbia University, Judith Tendler spent several years at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), before a long career as a Professor …

Cash as a response to humanitarian distress

In the context of the subsidies regime in India, there is an ongoing debate on the suitability of cash transfers. With the much talked about JAM trinity – the Jan Dhan zero-balance bank accounts, Aadhar and mobile phones, it certainly appears that the state-sponsored welfare system is set to see a significant shift. While this …

The challenge of Doing Development Differently

I attended the first Doing Development Differently (DDD) workshop organised by the BSC gang at Harvard CID and ODI; read more about the workshop here. See Day 1 summary; and Day 2 summary. Some thoughts, over time: DDD is the big picture: DDD is about the details and and the beauty of innovation and creativity on the ground. But …

A pro-poor agenda

India’s new Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has just unveiled his union budget – that in addition to continuing the policies of the previous government, pays heed to the poll promises made by the Bharatiya Janata Party. There is plenty to analyse in this budget, but I want to draw attention to a possible boring, but …

Why am I against Narendra Modi as Prime Minister?

Written originally eighteen months back, unsurprisingly, every word sounds true. Self-fulfilling prophecy? Fair enough I guess. *** The debate around Narendra Modi has been quite toxic and no one will concede that the other is unbiased. I think we also forget that it is ok for us not to agree on each other's political choices. …

The federal roll-back

In my latest column for livemint, I highlight what I think was the most significant aspect of the 2014-15 union budget presented by Finance Minister, P Chidambaram. By announcing the intention to increase the plan assistance to states almost three-fold, the Government of India has made a major move towards empowering state governments and also …

Competitive politics and local governments

Last month, we celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the landmark legislation on Panchayati Raj Institutions in India. The sweeping reforms were commended for their scale of ambition. However, as with any other reform idea aimed at overhauling the political system, local governments should not be seen as a panacea. Implemented wrong, local governments can lead …

Competing approaches to social accountability

My latest Mint column is up - this one is on understanding Social Accountability, looking at a couple of approaches and the assumptions that underlie them. The point about a mix of hypotheses, or theories of change, is an important one for me - they aren't entirely different, but are distinct enough for practitioners to ensure that …