Issue Briefs

The Juvenile Justice System in India: A Brief Overview

ABSTRACT  The Indian legal system has long established a rehabilitative response to juvenile crimes. However, with the passing of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015, a shift was made towards a  more punitive approach for effectively curbing juvenile crimes. The 2015 Act allowed for children between the ages of 16 to […]

Examining the Economic Consequences of Immigration: The Indian Context

Examining the Economic Consequences of Immigration: The Indian Context

ABSTRACT  For millennia, people have migrated in search of better economic opportunities and quality of life across the world. While international migration has tended to generate positive social and economic outcomes for both source and destination nations, it has also led to a surge in anti-immigrant sentiments and violent contestations between communities. The recent surge […]

The Unnoticed Challenges Surrounding Higher Education in India

The Unnoticed Challenges Surrounding Higher Education in India

ABSTRACT  According to the World Bank, India has the third-largest higher education system in the world followed by the United States of America and China. However, the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in higher education in  India is merely 26.3%. In this context, this issue brief brings to fore the unnoticed challenges surrounding higher education in […]

India’s Urban Transition: Identifying the Contours of Migration

ABSTRACT This is the second in SPRF’s series of issue briefs on India’s urban transition. Taking up the process of migration, one of the most important determinants of urbanisation, this brief attempts to understand the prominent trends in the movement of people across India over the last two decades, particularly into cities. It looks at […]

One Nation, One Election : What it Could Mean for India

ABSTRACT  The concept of ‘One Nation, One Election’ suggests the conduction of simultaneous elections for the Lok  Sabha and the state assemblies once in five years. Currently, there are about 5-7 elections to the State  Assemblies every year, a situation which ends up adversely impacting the processes of development and governance. Continual elections and the […]

Indian Agriculture: The Transition to Sustainability

CONTEXT Since the Brundtland Commission report (1987) defined its broad contours, sustainability and sustainable development have been integral to the global processes and understanding of production and growth. Rooted in the concept of shared responsibility, the Brundtland report defined Sustainable Development as: “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of […]

India’s Urban Transition: Defining the Urban

ABSTRACT  The first in the Issue Brief Series on India’s Urban Transition, ‘Defining the Urban’ highlights the definitional issues with available data on urbanisation, with a special focus on Census Towns and the impact these ambiguous definitions have on the growth potential of these semi-urban spaces.   CONTEXT India’s rapidly expanding urban population (see Figure 1) […]

Global and National Perspectives on Ayushman Bharat Yojana Healthcare Scheme

Global and National Perspectives on Ayushman Bharat Yojana Healthcare Scheme

Authored by : SPRF Research Team EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Ayushman Bharat Yojana is the latest health insurance scheme funded by the Government of India. This scheme has been designed to be more comprehensive in terms of the beneficiaries covered and services delivered, especially compared with past schemes such as Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana. In fact, Ayushman […]

Forest Rights Act, 2006: Past, Present and Future

Forest Rights Act, 2006: Past, Present and Future

Authored by: Isha Tyagi EXECUTIVE SUMMARY For those who belong to urban spaces, and might have visited forest areas as tourists, the picture above would invoke the pristine beauty of nature, accompanied with a lamenting concern to preserve this beauty and biodiversity. This, in the words of John Berger, is understood as a “way of […]

Status of Education in India

Status of Education in India

Authored by: SPRF Research Team SUMMARY India has the third-largest education sector in the world, with a market share of $91.7 Billion. Over the past decade, the number of schools, colleges and universities has seen a  substantial increase. The Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act,  2009, has further assisted in bringing primary education to […]

Challenges to Internal Security in India

Challenges to Internal Security in India

Authored by: SPRF Research Team EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Internal Security of a nation-state can be understood as a concept relating to the apparatuses involved in securing its territorial boundaries and protecting its sovereignty. Given the multitude of religious, ethnic, regional and linguistic identities in India, internal security is a sine qua non.  The  Ministry of […]