NCAER in the News

Opinion: C S Mohapatra. Enhanced financial inclusion and financial literacy are crucial in empowering individuals to navigate financial systems, access credit, and leverage digital platforms effectively. Financial inclusion in India has traditionally been equated with the expansion of banking networks and the proliferation of bank accounts among the underserved. However, complete and effective financial inclusion...   Read More

Opinion: Ashish Desai and Rudra Sensarma. To become a Lakhpati Didi, a critical skill is digital financial literacy — financial knowledge and the ability to take effective decisions On our way to Kolhapur, we stop at a tea stall-cum-convenience store run by Savita tai (name changed), who greets us with a smile. While sipping tea,...   Read More

Opinion: Manish Sabharwal and Kartik Narayan. India aims to reduce agriculture's 'self-exploitation' through non-farm jobs. This requires addressing problems with job laws, promoting direct benefit transfer, improving infrastructure and human capital, and reforming social security and labor codes. In 1918, B R Ambedkar wrote, 'If we succeed in sponging off our labour in non- agricultural...   Read More

Opinion: Palash Baruah and DL Wankhar . While opening of bank accounts has increased over the years, the wide gender gap in availing credit needs a policy response. The following facts have emerged from the spread of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, introduced in August 2014. It has led to greater financial inclusion in...   Read More

Opinion: Barry Eichengreen. The Federal Reserve’s actions alone don’t explain the rise and fall of inflation but they were far from irrelevant. For precisely three years now, the economics profession has been collectively fixated on inflation. February 2021, 36 months ago, was the last time consumer-price-index inflation in the United States (all items, 12-month percentage...   Read More

Opinion: Barry Eichengreen. Critics of the Federal Reserve argue that the acceleration of US inflation in early 2021, and the rapid disinflation of recent months, had nothing to do with monetary policy, because the sources of above-target price growth were all on the supply side. This view is both right and too simple. BERKELEY –...   Read More

Opinion: Chetna Choudhuri and Sanjib Pohit. The interim Budget 2024-25 has emphasised on efforts to achieve net-zero emission by 2070. The proposed expenditure for the New and Renewable Energy Ministry has increased significantly — from ₹17,729.46 crore in Budget 2023-24 to ₹26,376 crore in Budget 2024-25. The major increase is for the Solar Power (Grid)...   Read More

Opinion: Poonam Gupta. Gujarat has consistently ranked among the fastest growing States in India. According to the World Bank's income group classifications, the state is on the verge of achieving high middle-income status. Three key features characterize Gujarat’s remarkable growth process. First, growth in the State has been diversified across sectors. Instead of being confined...   Read More

Opinion: Sonalde Desai. The population dialogue in India has been dominated by concerns about population explosion. However, it is time for us to move these fears and learn from the experiences of other countries. In her speech, while presenting the 2024 budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman promised a committee to study India’s population growth to...   Read More

Opinion: Nandan Nilekani. Nyaya Setu, being built to ensure reach of legal services till the last mile, will put together all legal knowledge in finger tips, in the language of people’s choice and it is built using GPT and AI models, says the founding chairman of UIDAI Nandan Nilekani, the founding chairman of the Unique...   Read More