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Academic Themes
Academic Themes Archive
Notes on my research, book reviews and discussions on social sciences
This section contains articles on some of my main areas of academic interest including economics, development studies, collective action, social policy, governance and the right to food. A few articles look software and utilities that would be of interest to researchers. If you are interested in any of these in particular, please click on the subtopic on the menu to your right.
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People without a crisis
Posted on April 8, 2013 |Some people are in a crisis and others are enjoying prosperity...who should the government help? A serious policy debate. -
Understanding Tamil Nadu’s commitment to public services
Posted on August 9, 2012 |My doctoral dissertation on Tamil Nadu's extensive commitment to providing basic public services -
Coupons and cash transfers give people a choice unlike the PDS
Posted on August 9, 2012 |This is a part of a series of articles on the proposal to shift from PDS to coupons or cash transfers. To see the introduction, click here. Another strong argument for coupons or cash is that the recipients will have the choice to spend it on what matters most to them. Proponents of reform have argued that the Indian policymakers tend to be paternalistic, and often argue that if the government gives cash instead of grains, poor people may misuse it, including by drinking it away. They have argued that it’s important to trust poor people to make choices that matter... -
Combatting corruption with mobile phones
Posted on August 9, 2012 |A project for proactive transparency using mobile phones -
Mind-maps for organising the layout of a chapter, article or dissertation
Posted on August 9, 2012 |This is a part of the series, diary of a doctoral student with stories on politics, emotions and other things that determine our research beyond the research methods. One challenge that I faced while writing my dissertation was that every time I started a new chapter, I had to deal with multiple ways of organising it. For example, there were times when I could have narrated my story village by village. Alternatively, I could have organized the layout based on themes or chronology of events that would cut across each village. There was merit in organising the chapter in each of these... -
The art & craft of academic writing: Interviews & talks
Posted on August 9, 2012 |Unlike a lot of people, writing does not come to me naturally. It has been a slow and difficult learning process, and I had to contend with massive writing project as I started the dissertation. As it turned out, writing the dissertation was fun, but not always. It took me an year and a half to write the dissertation after the fieldwork, and in the process, it helped me to know what other writers had gone through. A lot of that advice came from the committee and from my peers at the University, and some of it came from webcasts on... -
The best software, tools & services I used as a student (mostly free)
Posted on August 9, 2012 |Productivity tools that can make student life more efficient and even more fun -
The politics of PDS “reforms”
Posted on May 9, 2012 |This is a part of a series of articles on the proposal to shift from PDS to coupons or cash transfers. To see the introduction, click here . Some scholars have pointed out that the motivation to dissolve the PDS comes from the ideological belief that the government should not be engaged in providing public services, and of course the material appeal this has for the rich. The quest for PDS reform started in the context of India’s liberalization and globalization. Pushed by multilateral agencies, the PDS was converted into a targeted system in 1997. The motivation of these reforms was not... -
Poverty-line debate: Time for Montek to criticize Montek
Posted on March 23, 2012 |India’s Planning Commission fixed the poverty-line at Rs. 29 per person per day (around ½ USD at today’s rate) attracting severe criticism that the amount is unreasonably low. The Commission’s Vice Chairperson, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, mounted a spirited defence of the poverty-line in CNN-IBN recently. He argued that the poverty line is used only to measure the trends in poverty over time, and it does not indicate the level of poverty, and so the level of poverty-line does not really matter. In other words, this number is only a benchmark based on which we can find out whether the number of people... -
Lessons from India’s Right to Food Campaign
Posted on September 9, 2011 |Brief review of the right to food litigation in the Supreme Court of India.
