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31. The Belt and Road Initiative Still Afloat in South Asia

Author:
Sudha Ramachandran
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
China Brief
Institution:
The Jamestown Foundation
Abstract:
South Asian governments are becoming increasingly discontent with Belt and Road Initiative projects. In August, Pakistan’s new government expressed interest in reviewing the CPEC contracts that they perceive to be over-priced, unnecessary, or excessively in the favor of PRC companies (Dawn, September 11). Similar sentiments have been expressed by the new Maldivian government, which is reviewing BRI contracts signed during the rule of former President Abdulla Yameen (Economic Times, November 26). Such actions raise questions as to whether South Asian states might scale down or even cancel BRI projects.
Topic:
Development, International Trade and Finance, Treaties and Agreements, Infrastructure, and Soft Power
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, South Asia, India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Maldives

32. Infrastructure development in the Northeast: Hydropower, natural resources, legal and institutional frameworks and compliance

Author:
Manju Menon
Publication Date:
05-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:
In 2000, the central government declared Northeast India as India’s hydropower hub. Over 165 large dam projects were proposed to come up in the region. These projects were held as crucial to India’s energy and environmental security as well as the economic development of the country’s marginalised northeastern borderlands.However, nearly two decades on, this proposal to regulate the region's water resources remains unimplemented. In addition, the projects have generated a lot of public opposition in Arunachal Pradesh where most of these dams are supposed to be situated, and in the downstream Brahmaputra valley of Assam. This article will look into the government's hype and failure to construct hydropower dams in the Northeast region. It points to the need for a reflexive political decision on water resource management from the BJP-led governments in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and at the Centre.
Topic:
Development, Energy Policy, Government, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure
Political Geography:
South Asia, India, and Asia

33. Closing the Enforcement Gap: A community led groundtruthing of the expansion of a National Highway Project in Uttara Kannada

Author:
Centre for Policy Research
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:
Linear projects like highways have the potential to change existing land use of large areas. These changes are not limited only to the stretches made for transportation of vehicles. The effects of construction are also visible on landscapes on both sides of highways. This study presents the findings of a two-year long groundtruthing study carried out between June 2016 and August 2018 along 187 kilometres of National Highway 66. The study is a collaborative effort of the Centre for Policy Research-Namati Environmental Justice Programme and communities from towns and villages situated between Karwar and Kundapur, especially the 27 Panchayats, in the district of Uttara Kannada in Karnataka. The study presents evidence of non-compliance of environmental safeguards resulting in social, economic and health impacts on the local communities in the project areas. It also highlights several aspects that were not taken into account in the project’s impact assessments. The study includes a broad assessment of the project’s scale of direct impacts. During the course of the study, the following types of non-compliance were identified: Permissions for blasting, groundwater and river water withdrawal were not taken; Dumping soil on wetlands and creeks caused flooding and salt water intrusion; The construction caused soil erosion and landslides along embankments; Non-submission of six-monthly compliance reports by the project proponent; Non-compliance of other laws and compensation agreements; The report includes a case study of a stone crusher unit operating in Bogribail village and causing water and dust pollution.
Topic:
Development, Environment, Infrastructure, Law, Social Policy, and Pollution
Political Geography:
South Asia, India, and Asia

34. Indian Development Cooperation Regains Momentum: 7 Main Takeaways from India’s 2019-20 Union Budget

Author:
Rani Mullen
Publication Date:
07-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:
Since the turn of the century, India has continued to enlarge its development cooperation allocations and become a globally significant development cooperation partner. This brief analyzes India’s 2019-20 Union Budget for its development assistance allocations and, using IDCR’s development cooperation database, finds seven main trends in India’s development assistance allocations.
Topic:
Development, Government, Foreign Aid, Budget, and Banks
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

35. National Rural Drinking Water Mission (NRDWM)

Author:
Vastav Irava and Avani Kapur
Publication Date:
07-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:
In FY 2017-18, the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) was expanded and is now known as the National Rural Drinking Water Mission (NRDWM). It is Government of India’s (GoI) flagship rural drinking water mission to provide safe and adequate water for drinking, cooking, and other domestic needs on a sustainable basis. Using government reported data, this brief reports on: Allocations for NRDWM, Releases and expenditures, Component-wise trends, and Progress on coverage.
Topic:
Development, Water, Infrastructure, Budget, Rural, and Sanitation
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

36. Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)By AVANI KAPUR and RITWIK SHUKLA

Author:
Avani Kapur and Ritwik Shukla
Publication Date:
07-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:
The Integrated Child Development Services is the Government of India’s (GoI’s) flagship programme aimed at providing basic education, health, and nutrition services for early childhood development. This brief uses government data to analyse ICDS performance along the following parameters: Allocations, releases, and expenditures; Component-wise trends; Human and physical resources; Coverage, and Outcome.
Topic:
Development, Education, Government, Health, Budget, and Children
Political Geography:
South Asia, India, and Asia

37. Beyond Poles and Wires: How to Keep the Electrons Flowing?

Author:
Navroz K. Dubash and Ashwini K. Swain
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:
India’s move to electrify every village and household in the country has been lauded as a success. Building on decades of targeted programmes and public investments by multiple governments, the country completed 100% village electrification in April 2018; a year after, it has electrified nearly all ‘willing’ households. Despite the time it took to get here, these achievements are important milestones in India’s development trajectory. But does connecting households to the electric grid resolve the electricity access challenge? The answer depends on whether electrons flow through the wires and whether all consumers are served equally and adequately.
Topic:
Development, Government, Infrastructure, Investment, and Electricity
Political Geography:
South Asia, India, and Asia

38. Building on Digital ID for Inclusive Services: Lessons from India

Author:
Alan Gelb and Anit Mukherjee
Publication Date:
09-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
India has emerged as a leader in building on its biometric digital ID (Aadhaar) to reform service and program delivery. It moved quickly to consolidate the rollout of Aadhaar, and then to embed the unique Aadhaar number into program databases. A range of applications, including digital signature and payments, was then constructed on top of the Aadhaar foundation (the India Stack). Together with partners, the Center for Global Development is analyzing the effects of Aadhaar-based reforms. India offers lessons for many other countries as their focus evolves from rolling out an ID system towards using it to improve the efficiency and inclusivity of service delivery. Some programs using Aadhaar are federally administered but others are implemented at state level. It is already clear that some states and sectors are reforming better than others, generally because of better design of the digital reforms or stronger capacity to implement them. The three programs we discuss below high- light achievements as well as challenges that need to be overcome for greater efficiency and inclusion.
Topic:
Development, Governance, Identities, and Digitalization
Political Geography:
India and Asia

39. Inequalities in the Gendered Labour Market: What can be Done?

Author:
Santosh Mehrotra
Publication Date:
07-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Sustainable Employment, Azim Premji University
Abstract:
Globally, research has shown that, there is a high correlation between the level of per capita income and the rate of female labour force participation. At the same time the agency and autonomy of women in a country improve with the level of female labour force participation. Sen (2000) has argued that the autonomy and agency of women in a society and their empowerment is enabled by four conditions in their lives. First the higher the education level of women, the more empowered they are likely to feel. Second, if they are working outside the home, they are likely to feel a sense of autonomy and empowerment. Third, they should also have an independent source of income from that of the significant other in their household. Finally, their empowerment can be usually enhanced if they own assets and have access to them. One can see from this analysis that the first three requirements for women’s’ empowerment are related to each other and to some extent co-dependent. We will keep these considerations in mind as we analyse labour markets and how women engaged with them in different parts of the world.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Education, Gender Issues, Labor Issues, Women, Employment, and Inequality
Political Geography:
India

40. Development of Sri Lanka’s East Container Terminal Port: Japan & India’s Regional Cooperation in South Asia Shaping Up

Author:
Monika Chansoria
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Japan Institute Of International Affairs (JIIA)
Abstract:
Signing the Japan-India Vision Statement in Tokyo on 29 October 2018, the Prime Ministers of Japan and India reviewed cooperation on development of connectivity via quality infrastructure and capacitybuilding carried out bilaterally, as well as, with other partners. More so, the need to do this in an open, transparent and non-exclusive manner based on international standards, responsible debt financing practices, and in alignment with local economic and development strategies and priorities was highlighted.1 The synergy finds embodiment in collaborative projects between Japan and India in the Indo-Pacific region, especially in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Africa. In slightly over six months since this statement, Sri Lanka recently announced on 28 May 2019, its decision of entering into a trilateral partnership with India and Japan to develop a deepsea container terminal. The state-run Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) said a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) had been signed between the three countries to jointly develop the East Container Terminal (ECT) of the Colombo Port next to a $500-million Chineserun container jetty in Colombo harbor.
Topic:
Development, Regional Cooperation, Infrastructure, and Trade
Political Geography:
Japan, South Asia, India, and Sri Lanka