As NGOs gain traction in public and policy spaces, they face increasing pressure from the political class and citizens to reveal their sources of funding, show impact of their work, and demonstrate who they represent DHAN Foundation in Madurai has had a remarkable run in the southern heartland for over a decade, focusing on livelihoods, water and food security . Its work, particularly in tank-based watershed development, is an exemplar....

Cash transfers are now suggested by many as a silver bullet for addressing the problems that plague India’s anti-poverty programmes. This article argues instead for evidence-based policy and informed public debate to clarify the place, prospects and problems of cash transfers in India. By drawing on key empirical findings from academic and grey literature across the world an attempt is made to draw attention to three aspects of cash transfers...

The current perception that cash transfers can replace public provision of basic goods and services and become a catch-all solution for poverty reduction is false. Where cash transfers have helped to reduce poverty, they have added to public provision, not replaced it. For crucial items like food, direct provision protects poor consumers from rising prices and is part of a broader strategy to ensure domestic supply. Problems like targeting errors...

-The Times of India   An inter-ministerial group (IMG) on inflation has recommended allowing foreign direct investment in multi-product retail as one of the two steps to tame rising prices and cut down the margin between farm gate and retail prices. This is the first formal recommendation by a government panel to allow FDI in the tightly policed and sensitive retail sector. "It is time for India to allow foreign direct investment in...

India has large wheat stocks already yet policy dictates they increase. In states like Punjab, Haryana, UP and Gujarat prices have fallen and are below the minimum support prices. This is a policy-induced outcome. A safe game in grains is fine, given the global politics of grain trade and the great ability of Indian politics to subsidise the wrong man in the vote bank — but how safe is safe? The...