SPRF
ABSTRACT In October 2020, India and South Africa submitted a proposal to the TRIPS Council at the WTO to waive the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights [TRIPS] Agreement for the prevention, containment, and treatment of COVID-19. This set of intellectual property laws, established by the WTO, have historically limited developing countries from accessing […]
ABSTRACT The participation of women in the workforce aids not only their own socio-economic progress, agency, and welfare but also the progress of societies and countries. Despite an improvement in women’s education and health outcomes, India’s formal and informal female labour force participation (FLFP) has declined in the last two decades. While the COVID-19 pandemic […]
ABSTRACT Despite carrying the disproportionate burden of poor Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services, women are often excluded from policy planning and implementation efforts. Policies and programmes in WASH must not only be gender-sensitive, but also challenge gender norms, power inequities, and empower women to drive social transformation. In this context, this paper assesses how […]
ABSTRACT The open incineration of paddy crop residue, or stubble burning, in the north Indian states of Punjab and Haryana has become a recurring issue every winter. As pollution caused by stubble burning contributes to the Delhi Smog, the two events are almost always hyphenated in the public discourse, highlighting the former as primarily a […]
ABSTRACT India accounts for one in every four tuberculosis (TB) cases around the globe. The fact that TB is easily transmitted to people with pre-existing conditions like HIV/AIDS, diabetes, and lung impairment, among other immunity deteriorating factors, is concerning in contemporary times. As India leaps to overcome the USA and become the nation most infected […]
ABSTRACT The Government of India recently invited private sector investments in Indian Railways, citing the need to modernise the Railways and reduce the demand-supply gap in passenger transport. In this context, this paper attempts to analyse the reasons for the Railways’ crisis-ridden present-day reality and whether going down the path of privatisation would proffer a […]
Authored by – Sitara Srinivas Edited by – Kausumi Saha Part 3 of a three-part series on the Ship Recycling Industry In India. Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here. ABSTRACT The next few years are predicted to see a boom in the ship recycling industry, for reasons that include the financial slowdown at […]
ABSTRACT Scheduled Tribes are one of the most disadvantaged, marginalised groups in India. Traditionally dwelling in forests, land is the basis of not just their livelihood, but also their collective cultural identity. However, alienation of tribal populations from lands they have occupied for generations has become a common practice across the country. The development rhetoric […]
ABSTRACT The agriculture sector in India has witnessed continued distress in recent years with net investments in agricultural assets decreasing along with the sector’s share in the economy. Farmers have been grappling with stagnant incomes in the absence of true price realisation at the farmgate level, while paying a high retail price for other commodities […]
In a two-part publication, SPRF looks at sustainability in the fashion industry. Watch our explainer video below. ABSTRACT The fashion industry has seen several cultural changes over the course of history, in line with larger social and political contexts. Currently, fast fashion brands hold a monopoly with consistent growth year after year. There are […]
ABSTRACT With 1.82 million homeless people, India has one of the largest homeless populations in the world. There is no singular all-encompassing definition of homelessness. While it is essential to have some theoretical definition of homelessness in place for the purpose of both recognition and enumeration, its meaning remains fluid, subjective, and elusive. Employing an […]
ABSTRACT In 2005, the Government of India declared that India had eliminated leprosy as a public health issue. However, according to the WHO, 1,25,000 new cases of leprosy continue to be reported in India every year, with 60% of the world’s total new leprosy cases being in India. This paper seeks to bring leprosy back […]
ABSTRACT This paper intends to provide an overview of the RCEP trade deal and look at India’s trade with ASEAN countries to understand how its performance under ASEAN influenced its participation in the RCEP negotiations. The various factors that may have influenced India’s decision to not participate in the RCEP deal are explored. The paper […]
ABSTRACT This paper explores the rise in hysterectomies (a medical procedure to remove a woman’s uterus) among sugarcane labourers in the Beed district of Maharashtra. Employing an intersectional lens, the paper examines how bodies of female labourers in the region are imbued in a complex set of relations shaped by the agrarian crisis, migration patterns […]