SPRF
Introduction There is a certain assurance in repetition. The otherwise macabre seems to dwindle beneath successive layers of (un)remembering. The eyes learn to adjust, to look away from the portrait of human misery. To live within this recurring reign of terror, to experience it not as an interruption of ordinary life but as one of […]
Every day since summer began, Manju Kadam walks through the narrow lanes from her tiny home made out of corrugated tin sheets in Mangalwar Peth, an urban slum in Pune city. She carries her youngest child in her lap, sweating in the scorching afternoon heat, fatigue clearly visible on her face. She braves the indoor […]
Executive Summary Menstrual health is now seen as an important part of adolescent health, gender equality, and school participation. In India, even though more young people have improved access to menstrual hygiene products, many still face stigma, misunderstandings, and few chances to talk openly about menstruation. To help address these issues, the Social Policy Research […]
Background A quote often attributed to a Russian author, Dostoevsky, and quoted as a closing statement for prison reform and correctional facilities discourses, stands at the center of how prisons reflect on society. Fyodor Dostoevsky, in The House of the Dead (1862), states, “The degree of civilisation in a society can be judged by entering […]
Introduction Closing 2025, the central government announced the implementation of the 4 labour codes, effective from 21st November, 2025. In an overhaul of the existing national labour regulatory system, the new labour codes rationalize 29 existing labour laws into 4 codes – the Code on Wages, 2019; Industrial Relations Code, 2020; Code on Social Security, […]
Industrial Geography of Indian States: Comparing the Organized Manufacturing Sector of Maharashtra & Uttar Pradesh – Background & Rationale Regional disparity in economic performance for a country like India, whose individual states fare larger than entire countries, is a truism. Debates abound whether these divergences are organically linked in the manner of ‘core’ and ‘periphery’ […]
Abstract The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme (MGNREGS) is the world’s largest social protection programme (World Bank, 2012). Enacted in India in 2005, it guarantees 100 days of employment, in a year, to poor families, keeping the local government at the centre of the implementation of the program. The 73rd Amendment recognizes the village […]
Introduction At the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People in August, human rights activist and environmentalist Joan Carling declared, “People are not sitting down; people are taking action. And women are at the forefront of these actions.” Her words highlight an often-overlooked truth in the fight against climate change: although women are significantly underrepresented […]
The government of India, in November 2022, announced that it would discontinue the Maulana Azad National Fellowship for students pursuing higher studies. MANF, launched in 2009,aimed to provide financial assistance to students from six minority communities pursuing an M.Phil. or a PhD for five years. It was implemented by the Ministry of Minority Affairs. Since […]
Throughout India, there are several instances of women leaders at the margins- affecting change and driving leadership in critical policy and governance areas in their local communities. The SPRF Grassroots Women’s Tracker outlines a collection of such women, who have driven crucial policy changes from the bottom, in sectors such as education, local governance, sanitation, labour, livelihoods and justice.
PPP allows us to understand and make comparisons between two countries about the price of the same goods and services in both countries. Thus, a PPP analysis shows the price of the same goods and services in different economies, adjusted for parity. A high PPP implies that a basic set of essential goods and services […]
Abstract The paper delves into the persistent issue of manual scavenging in India. Manual scavenging, an abominable practice, is deeply rooted in the country’s societal fabric despite legislative efforts to eradicate it. This paper examines the socio-economic complexities sustained through the practice and highlights the loopholes in the present system that allow for continued exploitation […]
India is many things – among others, it is often critical to remind oneself that we speak about a subcontinent with heterogeneous and distinct identities, cultures, languages and priorities. Even as we come together as one people, we remain in many ways subject to far too many interpretations, hence often easily misunderstood. Unlike multiple other […]
Introduction The Indian pharmaceutical sector holds a significant position in the global pharmaceutical industry, ranking among the top providers of generic medicines globally. It stands as the world’s third-largest pharmaceutical industry in volume and the fourteenth-largest in value. In the previous year, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman emphasised India’s recognition as “the global pharmacy” due […]