Financial inclusion has been at the heart of the Indian Government’s economic policy for decades. In spite of this however, there continues to exist a very significant portion of this demographic which has been left unserved. In this, small and marginal farmers (SMF) are significant constituents. Data shows us that irrespective of the… Continue reading Financial Inclusion and a version of ‘space-time’ reality
Photo by Tricky_Shark A year back, we received our admission to the BIRF (Bharat Inclusion Research Fellowship). At that time, though there were rumours of the country going into lock-down, its suddenness and totality were unanticipated. So also did we not reckon with loss of jobs and technology zooming (forgive the pun) and making up… Continue reading Early Insights from A Survey of 4000 Individuals
Have you ever wondered why two people who are eating the same diet and living a similar lifestyle have different impacts on their body? How different foods affect your weight, skin and even sleep? Every individual’s body reacts to the same food differently. The food that we consume has an impact on our nutritional… Continue reading Precision Nutrition — Steering India towards a Healthy Lifestyle
Image by wong yu liang on Shutterstock For my next story, I dial the number for Altaf. His caller tune is a popular Bollywood song of the 90s: ‘Chand tare tod laun, saari duniya par me chaaun, bas itna sa khwaab hai’ (I dream of possessing the moon and the stars; to be on… Continue reading People of Bharat: Altaf, Chhindwara
Financial products often have shrouded attributes – that is these attributes are hidden and, therefore, it is difficult for consumers to understand them, or ask questions about them. If consumers don’t ask the right questions, they don’t get the right answers. The study introduces a financial education video that helps consumers ask the right questions.… Continue reading Unshrouding Product-Specific Attributes Through Financial Education
Image by Sumit Saraswat on Shutterstock Offering a third model of radio broadcasting — in addition to commercial and public broadcasting — community radio is local people producing and broadcasting their own programmes, who also participate in operating the station. Usually a short-range, not-for-profit radio station or channel, it caters to the information needs of people… Continue reading Community Radio — Its Evolution and Effectiveness in Rural Development
Image by PRASANNAPIX on Shutterstock I dial Aniket’s number who had asked me to call up any time after 8 p.m. As I listen to the recorded message reassuring the callers on the latest COVID-19 vaccine, a thought flashed through my mind about these fraught times. Before I could examine it closely, I hear… Continue reading People of Bharat: Aniket Diwan, Ambala
Image by Skorzewiak on Shutterstock Social Credit Systems And Platform Economies China’s social credit system has been instrumental in enabling public behavior to be in sync with what the government needs it to be for a post-covid economy. Part of the reason citizen monitoring and incentive design has been relatively easier to implement in the… Continue reading De-centralised Data Economy and its Implications
I meet Imli in the backyard of the house where she lives alone — in a one-room kutcha house in Ambikapur, a small town in Chhattisgarh. We sit on the stairs in the courtyard to talk. Imli is short and dark; her round face is braced with a smile when she tells me that… Continue reading People of Bharat: Imli, Ambikapur
Photo by Hari Mahidhar on Shutterstock In our previous blogs for this series, we explored the potential for meso-level insurance through the lens of sector experts. We also explored the attitudes of private insurers for administering such a product and finally looked at the benefits of meso-level risk management for Farmer Producer Organizations(FPO) acting as aggregators.… Continue reading Improving Agricultural Credit-Linkages through Meso-Level Risk Management
Image by Justinvijesh via Wikimedia For years, the fabrication cluster that had grown around the Trichy unit of the public sector behemoth Bharat Heavy Electricals had been following the same business model. Bhel was the main customer or the only customer for most of the small businesses. Bhel was set up by the government in the… Continue reading How Trichy MSMEs came together to cut costs and find opportunities
Image by Johnny110 on ShutterStock I walk by a noisy, narrow street in Lucknow where the size of the shops compliment the space; shops that were built here years ago, some of them during colonial times. The area is called Chowk — a strategic intersection in a busy market area where one can find… Continue reading People of Bharat: Baiju Lal, Lucknow