The India Observatory

17  Aug  2020  

LSE India Observatory International Conferences

LSE IO/ARC Fellows Conference 2020

POSTPONED

LOCATION: NEW DELHI

The LSE India Observatory (IO) together with Asia Research Centre (ARC) over the past ten years have hosted, supervised and supported capacity building of over 200 early-mid-and-senior researchers working on multidisciplinary economic and social development issues related to Asia.

The LSE-IO/ARC Fellows Conference 2020 will bring together these past Fellows providing them with an opportunity to present their ongoing research and activities and share knowledge as well as take time to discuss common areas of interests and develop relevant networks and enable collaboration for future research and engagement.

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16  Jul  2020  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

POSTPONED Evidence-based Policy for Palliative/End-of-life Care

Hosts: India Observatory and LSE Care Policy and Evaluation Centre

Organisers: Linda Hantrais, Visiting Professor, LSE India Observatory, Chair, Academy of Social Sciences’ International Advisory Group, in conjunction with the Royal Trinity Hospice

Venue: London School of Economics

This half-day seminar on evidence-based policy will serve as a forum at which participants from different national and disciplinary backgrounds can exchange ideas and experience about community and hospice palliative/end-of-life care with a view to informing and advancing policy. The seminar will take the form of conversations between researchers, professionals, practitioners, policy advisers and policymakers, followed by guided group discussions.

In the context of accelerated population ageing, more people have been living longer, and much progress has been made in encouraging active and healthy ageing, and in improving long-term social care. Less attention has been paid to end-of-life care, and consensus has been more difficult to achieve regarding the provision of palliative care, and preparation for achieving a good death. The global coronavirus pandemic created a unprecedented challenges. The hospice movement and other providers of specialist palliative care were called upon to play a prominent role in bringing together public, private and voluntary sectors to support end-of-life care. The seminar participants will adopt multi-disciplinary, cross-sectoral and international perspectives to consider longer-term issues for societies and governments as providers of quality end-of-life care, and to explore opportunities for policy learning.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

4  Jun  2020  

External Event

E-launch of World Sustainable Development Summit 2021

Thursday 4th June 2020, 4.30pm to 6pm (IST)

Speakers: Nicholas Stern, Prakash Javadekar, Ugo Astuto, Hans Jacob Frydenlund, Jan Thompson, Woochong Um and Ajay Mathur

Given the current global health crisis and its close inter linkage with climate impact, TERI’s annual flagship event, the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) 2021 will be held under the umbrella theme of ‘Redefining Our Common Future: Safe and Secure Environment for All’. Discussions at the platform will focus on the current crisis and the roadmap that nations need to adopt enroute a greener recovery.

TERI have planned for a series of virtual dialogues between now and February 2021. The first virtual dialogue will be hosted on the eve of the World Environment Day 4th June 2020, 4.30pm to 6pm IST. On the occasion, the hon'ble Indian Minister for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, Mr Prakash Javadekar will be the Chief Guest. The occasion will also mark the launch of a very special initiative underlining the role of youth, 'Youth Unite for a Safe and Secure Environment for All'.

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For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

19  Feb  2020  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Political Economy of Crime and Vulnerability in India

Malvika Tyagi (Sir Ratan Tata Fellow 2019-20)

Wednesday 19th February 2020, 11.30am to 1pm, Room 32L.G.15, 32 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, LSE

Chair: Dr Ruth Kattumuri, Co-Director, LSE India Observatory.

Discussants: Dr Johann Koehler, Department of Social Policy, LSE and Professor Tirthankar Roy, Department of Economic History, LSE.

Motivated by earlier research on state-level crime rate in India, its determining factors and household vulnerability, this research explores possible differences in conviction rates based on social group and attempts to identify factors that might determine these differences. This is done through an analysis of state-level panel data compiled mainly from National Crime Records Bureau, the Census of India and the National Sample Survey Office. A further dimension of this research is to get a preliminary sense of the extent of underreporting in India, for which district-level National Crime Records Bureau Data is compared with the India Human Development Survey, which captures household vulnerability, which is then examined through the lens of population composition.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

11  Feb  2020  

External Event

Pre-LSESU India Forum Event

Nitin Paranjpe (Unilever)

Tuesday 11th February 2020, 5.30pm to 6.30pm, Room CLM.4.02, Clement House, LSE

Organised by the LSESU India Forum and the LSESU Entrepreneurs Society.

Nitin Paranjpe is the Global COO of one of the largest companies in the world - Unilever. In his current position, he is responsible for leveraging synergies, building future capabilities, and accelerating the digitisation of the organisation - exploiting old norms and creating New Norms.

Through his experiences, Mr. Paranjpe can offer immense intuition into how SMEs are considered from the perspective of one of the largest FMCG companies in the world. He also spearheaded Unilever's point of view on Profit Vs. Planet - an idea that is becoming more prominent every year. With Unilever's clear stance, explained by the "warning of selling brands that hurt the planet or society", will come an unparalleled, insightful conversation.

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

16  Jan  2020  

External Event

South-South and Triangular Trade and Investment for Development

Thursday 16th January 2020, 2pm to 3.30pm, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex

The rising prominence of South–South and triangular trade and investments has generated interest as a pathway to sustainable economic development.

Bringing together diverse experiences, this exciting panel discussion will consist of academic researchers, industry experts, and development practitioners from the UN and the WTO – to debate the challenges for the practice of South-South and triangular trade and investment programs. There will be a focus on knowledge exchange and technology transfer, and towards developing an inclusive and sustainable approach for South-South development programmes.

The panel will specifically address the question: “What best practice is there for South–South and Triangular trade and investment programmes?”

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

8  Oct  2019  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Hydro Power and The Power of People in India

Subrat Kumar Sahu

Tuesday 8th October 2019, 5pm to 6pm, Room CBG.2.03, Centre Building, LSE

Introduction: Ahaan Gupta (LSE India Society)

Panellists: Ruth Kattumuri (Co-Director, LSE India Observatory) & Architesh Panda (Grantham Research Institute)

Chair: Joana Setzer (Grantham Research Institute)

Subrat Kumar Sahu will introduce his new documentary "A Mountains Agonised" on the impacts of hydroelectric dams on people's livelihoods in Himachal Pradesh, India.

Link to EventBrite information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

11  Sep  2019  

IG Patel Lecture

Social Contracts for the 21st Century

Minouche Shafik (Director, LSE)

Wednesday 11th September 2019, 6pm to 7:30pm, Mumbai University Convocation Hall

This is the 7th lecture in honour of Dr Indraprastha Gordhanbhai (IG) Patel who was the ninth director of LSE from 1984 to 1990.

The question of how to create a fair society based on a well understood social contract that defines the rights and obligations of citizenship has been at the centre of many of the collaborations between India and LSE in recent decades. What should a citizen expect and what do we owe each other as citizens? What is the role of the state relative to families, communities and the private sector? How has this social contract changed over time and what should happen in future? Many of the tensions in today’s world – in particular the rise of divisive politics and populism – are blamed on globalisation and nationalism. I would argue they are rooted in the failure of our social contracts to adapt to new economic and social realities. In advanced economies, the tensions in the social contract are caused by technology and the changing role of women. These forces are changing the nature of work, the way families care for the young and the old, and the risks that individuals must manage over the course of their lives. As a result of these massive changes, we see anxiety about the future and increasingly polarized politics. In India, the social contract is undergoing rapid change as incomes rise, urbanisation occurs and the state is increasingly called upon to deliver on citizens’ demands for jobs, housing, education and healthcare. In all countries, a new social contract better attuned to new realities is an essential part of rebuilding social cohesion. The solutions will require some radical thinking about what we owe each other as a society.

This event is free but registration through Eventbrite is required to attend. View Video

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21  Aug  2019  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

The Making of Innovation (by invitation only)

21st - 22nd August 2019, London School of Economics

Organised by Dr Ulrich Hilpert, FAcSS

Hosted by Dr Ruth Kattumuri, Co-Director, LSE India Observatory

An interdisciplinary workshop on understanding the processes that make innovation and studying the policies that drive creative forces in the techno-industrial opportunities in diverse social and economic conditions, changing contexts and windows of opportunity with the aim of analysing the drivers of diversities in innovation.

Participants: Connie L. McNeely (George Mason University), Helen Lawton Smith (Birkeck & Oxford University), Desmond Hickie (University of Chester), Michaela Trippl (University of Vienna), Walter Scherrer (Universität Salzburg), Francesco Domenico Sandulli (Complutense University, Madrid), Roel Rutten (Tilburg University).

Attendance is by Invitation Only

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

21  Aug  2019  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Diversities of Innovation

Ulrich Hilpert (Friedrich Schiller University Jena)

Wednesday 21st August 2019, 6pm to 7.30pm, Room 32L.G.03, 32 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, LSE

Innovation is often understood exclusively in terms of the economy, but it is definitely a result of human labour and ingenuity, and of the relationships among individuals and social groups. Some societies and governmental structures are clearly more successful than others: they act in divergent ways, fostering innovation and employment, and they utilize varied opportunities from different fields of research, from new products and from their educational systems.

At this book launch the editor and several of the contributors will present the key themes of the book, followed by a panel discussion on the major issues that it addresses.

This event is free but registration is required to attend. Please email india.observatory@lse.ac.uk to register.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

24  Jun  2019  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Lived experience of Land Reforms in Karnataka

Soundarya Iyer (Sir Ratan Tata Fellow (2018-19))

Monday 24th June 2019, 1pm to 2pm

Room 32L.3.05, 32 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, LSE

Chair: Dr Ruth Kattumuri, Co-Director, LSE India Observatory.

Discussant: Dr Jens Lerche, Department of Development Studies, SOAS.

Tenancy reform has recently re-appeared on the policy agenda with the NITI Aayog Vice Chairman arguing in favour of transparent land leasing laws in 2015 and the release of the report of the expert committee on land leasing in 2016. In this context, it is relevant to ask how post-Independence land reforms in India have impacted rural land, lives and livelihoods. What does it mean to live in relationship to land in rural India one generation after land reform? Looking beyond success and failure which have been measured in terms of overall economic productivity and inequality, this paper focuses on the political economy of the agrarian economy and its restructuring after land reforms. This paper is based on a household survey of 800 households in three villages in Karnataka in 2013-15 that were earlier surveyed by the Census of India 1961 in the Village Survey Monographs. Apart from the survey, interviews with next generation kin of households that lost or gained land in land reforms were carried out. This research finds that a uniform ‘land to the tenant’ based land reform in Karnataka’s regionally diverse agrarian systems resulted in unintended effects; tenant priests of village mathas (monastery) acquired temple land from ‘landlord’ Gods, poor Dalit land owners lost land to better-off dominant caste tenants, and Konkani Christian tenants acquired land while erstwhile landlords continue to maintain the shrines of bhutas (spirits) associated with land.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

8  May  2019  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Emerging Nature of Labour Market in India

KS Hari (Subir Chowdhury Fellow (2018-19) from Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics)

Wednesday 8th May 2019, 12.30pm - 2pm, Room 32.LG.11, 32 Lincoln's Inn Fields, LSE

Chair: Dr Ruth Kattumuri, Co-Director, India Observatory.

Discussant: Professor Tirthankar Roy, Department of Economic History, LSE.

India has been evolving as a knowledge economy in recent years through an increasing use of technology in manufacturing and service industries. Consequently the nature of the labour market has been undergoing some changes. Simultaneously, the government of India has been trying to improve employability of youth through scaling up education and skilling programmes since 2007. These policy initiatives have enabled higher enrolment of youth in diplomas, graduate and other higher education programmes. The present study attempts to examine whether this has resulted in any improvement in the employability of youth. For this we use the unit level data from National Sample Survey Organisation 2004-05, 2011-12 and Labour Bureau on Employment and Unemployment in India 2015-16. We examine the emerging nature of demand and supply of labour markets in India over the period 2004 to 2015-16. We explore whether there might be any mismatch between educational levels and type of occupation. We also try to understand whether there are adequate opportunities for people with higher education in the job market as well as whether there are people with adequate qualifications according to the requirements of the labour market.

An analysis of any mismatches and adequacy between skills and occupation could provide insights regarding the current relation between education level and labour market in India, which would help to explore possible ways to address this issue.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

15  Apr  2019  

External Event

How lives change: Palanpur, India and Development Economics

Monday 15th April 2019, 12.15pm to 13.15pm, University of Warwick

Speakers: Nicholas Stern (India Observatory and LSE) and Peter Lanjouw (Professor in Development Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

Disscussants: Anne Case (Princeton University) and Pramila Krishnan (University of Oxford)

Chair: Fabien Postel-Vinay (UCL)

Royal Economic Society Annual Conference 2019: Plenary Session 1

The core question of development is “how lives change”? Yet development economics focuses attention on this question all too rarely. This plenary gives a detailed examination of this issue by focusing on Palanpur, a poor village in Uttar Pradesh in North India by drawing on surveys covering every household and individual in the village for every decade since independence.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

8  Apr  2019  

External Event

How Lives Change: Palanpur, India, and Development Economics

Nicholas Stern (India Observatory and LSE)

Monday 8th April 2019, Columbia University, New York

Speaker: Nicholas Stern (India Observatory and LSE)

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

22  Nov  2018  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

How Lives Change: Palanpur, India, and Development Economics

Thursday 22nd November 2018, 6.30pm to 8pm, Old Theatre, Old Building, LSE

Speakers: Nicholas Stern (India Observatory and LSE), Himanshu (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and British Academy Visiting Fellow, STICERD, LSE) and Peter Lanjouw (Professor in Development Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

Discussants: Oriana Bandiera (Director, STICERD, LSE), Michael Lipton (Sussex University)

Chair: Tim Besley (Professor of Economics of Political Science and W. Arthur Lewis Professor of Development Economics, LSE).

The event marks the launch of a book that gives special insights into the fundamental question of development economics, “How lives change”. This is the title of the book which uses a unique data set consisting of seven full (100%) surveys of one Indian village, one for every decade since Independence. The book, published in August 2018 by OUP, is by Himanshu, Peter Lanjouw and Nicholas Stern; the two previous OUP books on Palanpur will be simultaneously re-issued as paperbacks. The panel, including the Director of the LSE, consists of some of the leading scholars and practitioners of economic development of our times. The book reflects on the past, present and future, both of India and of development economics, seen through the experience of Palanpur in the years since Independence.

This event is free and open to all with no ticket or pre-registration required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis. View Video | Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

1  Nov  2018  

External Event

How Lives Change: Palanpur, India and Development Economics

Thursday 1st November 2018, 5pm to 6.30pm, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton

Speakers: Nicholas Stern (India Observatory and LSE) and Himanshu (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and British Academy Visiting Fellow, STICERD, LSE)

Chair: Alasdair Smith (ex-VC and Emeritus Sussex Economics Professor)

How lives and livelihoods change over time and the forces behind those changes is key to understanding Development Economics and addressing the issues of the Sustainable Development Goals.

In a recently published book “How Lives Change: Palanpur, India and Development Economics”, authors Himanshu, Peter Lanjouw and Nicholas Stern examine data spanning seven decades, on Palanpur, a small, village in Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh in India. Those involved lived in the village for long periods, examining society, politics and institutions as well as economics, providing a unique opportunity to examine these issues in depth.

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

23  Oct  2018  

External Event

Modi's India, Erdogan's Turkey, and the Crisis of the Secular State in the Non-Western World

Sumantra Bose (Department of Government, LSE)

Tuesday 23rd October 2018, 6.30pm to 8pm, Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE

LSE Department of Government Event

Chair: Chandran Kukathas (Head, Department of Government, LSE)

This lecture marks the publication of Sumantra Bose's new book, Secular States, Religious Politics: India, Turkey, and the Future of Secularism.

This event is free and open to all with no ticket or pre-registration required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis.

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

27  Aug  2018  

External Event

How Lives Change

Nicholas Stern (India Observatory and LSE)

Monday 27th August 2018, 4.45pm to 5.45pm, Baillie Gifford Main Theatre, Edinburgh International Book Festival

The Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Event

Can we really measure social mobility and changing life circumstances? Nicholas Stern, with his co-authors Himanshu and Peter Lanjouw, sought to answer key questions about development economics in a 70 year study of Indian village Palanpur. They documented it in their book How Lives Change, and Stern is here to share his experience of using a real-life 'laboratory' to chart discoveries about human development. Chaired by journalist and broadcaster Liz Leonard.

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

12  Jun  2018  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

Seven Decades of Independent India

Tuesday 12th June 2018, 6.30pm to 8pm, Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House, LSE

Speakers: Vinod Rai (former Comptroller Auditor General of India & Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore), Amitendu Palit (Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore), Duvvuri Subbarao (former Governor of Reserve Bank of India & Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore) and Robin Jeffrey (Australia India Institute, University of Melbourne & Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore).

Discussant: Dinesh Patnaik (Deputy High Commissioner of India in UK)

Chair: Ruth Kattumuri (Co-Director, LSE India Observatory)

Has democracy in India fulfilled aspirations of its people? Have institutions delivered? Have public policies succeeded in making substantial differences to living standards? Is the country secure on its external borders? Would the country become an economic powerhouse? And can India be a leading power in the years ahead? Seven Decades of Independent India reflects on the India of yesterday, today, and tomorrow, by gathering rare and candid insights from some of the most distinguished experts, practitioners and scholars on India.

This event is free but registration through Eventbrite is required to attend. Please click on the link below to register. View Video | Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

4  Jun  2018  

External Event

The best of centuries or the worst of centuries? Leadership, governance and cohesion in an interdependent world

Nicholas Stern (India Observatory and LSE)

Monday 4th June 2018, 6pm to 8pm,

Auditorium, Bush House, King's College London

The Eighth Fulbright Legacy Lecture Series will be given by Lord Stern of Brentford.

The world has changed dramatically in the last three decades. We have seen the rise of China and emerging market economies redraw the international division of labour and the balance of economic power, and the global commons have come under intense pressure. The international economic order, which William Fulbright helped to build after the second world war, served fairly well for much of the second half of the last century. It must be re-cast for our increasingly interdependent world if we are to avoid the grave risks we face, including climate change, pandemics and conflict. If we do, and this will require both leadership and collaboration, we could create a very attractive future, the best of centuries. If not, the destruction which could follow, could take us to the worst of centuries.

In collaboration with the US-UK Fulbright Commission, the Fulbright Association presents the annual Fulbright Legacy Lecture Series featuring prominent speakers in international relations.

This event is free but registration through Eventbrite is required to attend. Please click on the link below to register.

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

30  May  2018  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

India Observatory Fellows Seminar

Wednesday 30th May 2018, 1pm to 5pm, Room 32L.3.05, 32 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, LSE

Speaker: Dr Abodh Kumar is the Sir Ratan Tata Fellow from the Central University of South Bihar.

Weak Institutions and Persistence of Slums in Bihar

Speaker: Dr Muhammad Ramzan Sheikh is a Visiting Fellow from Bahauddin Zakariya University.

Determinants of Trade in ECO Region: A Panel Data Analysis Using the Gravity Trade Model

Speaker: Dr Rachita Gulati is the Subir Chowdhury Fellow from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee.

Governance compliance and banking stability: Evidence from India

Discussants: Dr Konstantinos Baltas, Department of Finance. Professor Athar Hussain, Former Director, Asia Research Centre. Dr Sunil Kumar, Department of Social Policy. Professor Tirthankar Roy, Department of Economic History.

Chair: Dr Ruth Kattumuri, Co-Director, India Observatory.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

29  May  2018  

External Event

Governance and governed: multi-country perspectives on state, society and development

Ruth Kattumuri (LSE India Observatory)

Tuesday 29th May 2018, 12pm to 2pm, University of Portsmouth

Dr Ruth Kattumuri is an editor of the book 'Governance and governed: multi-country perspectives on state, society and development' which she will discuss.

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

6  Mar  2018  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

The New Wealth of Nations

Surjit Bhalla (Observatory Group and Oxus Research & Investments)

Tuesday 6th March 2018, 6.30pm to 8pm, Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House, LSE

Chair: Nicholas Stern (IG Patel Chair and Director, LSE India Observatory)

Discussant: John Hills (Co-Director, LSE International Inequalities Institute)

At this event, Surjit Bhalla will be discussing from his recent book The New Wealth of Nations. He argues that today, over 70 per cent of the world’s middle class reside in the erstwhile poor countries; world income inequality is down to levels last observed in 1870; and that there has been a large reduction in absolute poverty. What accounts for such rapid development and catch-up? Surjit offers a short answer - the spread of education. Whilst acknowledging the advancements made by the developing world, The New Wealth of Nations also investigates the challenges for the explosion of education and technology, and why countries, rich and emerging, will have to explore options like basic income and negative income tax, so that a new welfare order, appropriate for the changed - and changing - 21st century can emerge.

Surjit Bhalla is a Senior India Analyst for the Observatory Group, a New York based macroeconomic policy advisory firm, and Chairman of Oxus Research & Investments. He has taught at the Delhi School of Economics and worked at the Rand Corporation, the Brookings Institution, World Bank, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank. He is on the governing board of National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), Delhi. He is a contributing Editor to The Indian Express. His first book, Between the Wickets: The Who and Why of the Best in Cricket (1987), developed a model for evaluating performance in sports.

This event is free but registration through Eventbrite is required to attend. Please click on the link below to register. Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

12  Jan  2018  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

Role of Trade and Investment in Driving Sustainable and Inclusive Growth

Suresh Prabhu (Minister for Commerce and Industry, Government of India)

Friday 12th January 2018, 2pm to 3.30pm, Old Theatre Old Building, LSE

Chair: Nicholas Stern (IG Patel Chair and Director, LSE India Observatory)

Indian High Commissioner in London, YK Sinha, will also participate.

Shri Suresh Prabhu will discuss the importance of trade and investment in driving sustainable growth and inclusion. He will also reflect on the future of India-UK collaborations in a changing world.

Prior to his current role he was Minister for Railways during November 2014 – September 2017. He is a Chartered Accountant and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India; has a Law degree; and is pursuing two PhD programs in climate change and economics, in Germany and in Mumbai.

Minister Prabhu is visiting London for a meeting of the India-UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee. He has been strategically leading the agenda for the future of multilateral trade at the recent WTO talks in Buenos Aires and beyond.

This event is free and open to all however a ticket is required to attend. Please click on the link below for details on how to obtain a ticket. View Video | Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

16  Oct  2017  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

India’s economy @ 70: A life and review

Monday 16th October 2017, 6.30pm to 8pm, Room CLM.6.02, 6th Floor, Clement House, LSE

Speaker: YV Reddy (Former Governor, Reserve Bank of India)

Chair: Nicholas Stern (IG Patel Chair and Director, LSE India Observatory)

Discussant: Charles Goodhart (Emeritus Professor of Banking and Finance with the LSE Financial Markets Group)

As governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Dr YV Reddy presided over a period of high growth, low inflation, stable rupee and ample foreign exchange and is credited with saving the Indian banking system from the sub-prime and global liquidity crisis of 2008. Based on his recent book Advice & Dissent, which reviews his influential life in public service and experiences, his talk will provide insights from his ringside view of India’s growth and change across the seven decades since independence and the emergence of the country as a key player in the global economy.

Dr Y V Reddy was the 21st Governor of RBI and has been Chairman of the 14th Finance Commission in 2013-14. He was an Executive Director at IMF, Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Principal Secretary Government of Andhra Pradesh among various key positions held by him. He is a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan and is an Honorary Fellow of the London School of Economics.

This event is free but registration through Eventbrite is required to attend. View Video | Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

5  Jul  2017  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

Ecosystem for Impact Investing in India

Wednesday 5th July 2017, 2.30pm to 4pm, Room 32L.LG.04, 32 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, LSE

Speaker: Mr Rana Kapoor (Founder, Managing Director & CEO of YES BANK)

Chair: Professor Lord Nicholas Stern (IG Patel Chair and Director, LSE India Observatory)

India has emerged as the third-largest startup ecosystem with about 4,200 tech startups alone. This entrepreneurship initiatives are also transcending into the social arena which along with ‘new-age’ financing models like ‘Impact Investing’ is expanding the grown of social entrepreneurs. Globally, Impact Investing has seen total Assets under Management (AuM) approximately 77.4 Bn, with India witnessing approximately 5.4 Bn of investments including Development Finance Institutions until 2015. Impact investments as a fraction of philanthropy is higher in India (about 9-12%) than globally (about 2%), and the investments have been made in about 300 Social Enterprises, with CleanTech and Financial Inclusion covering 90% of the ecosystem.

The government spent 6.7% of GDP on social sector in Financial Year 2015 and the recent policy impetus such as SIDBI Samridhi Fund (430 crore social venture capital fund). Thus India has the potential to be a $18-20bn market by 2020. With StartUp India, and StandUp India and other schemes (facilitate loans to Women and other disadvantaged groups) and through innovative frameworks like ‘Impact Investing’ that can help to boost the entrepreneurial spirit, it is now possible to concerted efforts toward overcoming India’s myriad societal challenges.

This event is free but registration through Eventbrite is required to attend. View Video |Podcast (MP3)

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

5  Jul  2017  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Skilling for Youth Empowerment: Partnering for Inclusive Development

Wednesday 5th July 2017, 6pm to 7.30pm, Room 32L.LG.04, 32 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, LSE

Speakers: Yogesh Chauhan (Director Corporate Sustainabillity, Tata Consultancy Services), Anant Jani (Asha for Education), Radha Kapoor Khanna (Founder & Executive Director, Indian School of Design & Innovation)

Chair: Ruth Kattumuri (Co-Director, LSE India Observatory)

India’s youth population is estimated to reach 464 million by 2021. With its working age population estimated to be 28% of global working population by 2020, empowering this population and enhancing human capital is a key priority for the development of the country.

The UK has sought to address its challenges of educational and income inequality and low productivity by focusing on skills for its youth.

To facilitate these processes, both India and the UK have invested in major initiatives, such as the Skill India program in India and T-levels and formal apprenticeships in the UK, to empower their citizens with technical and vocational training. Equipping people with the required skills, and enabling for and with relevant opportunities necessitates multi-dimensional and multi-sectoral engagement. It calls for coordination between public, private and non-profit organisations and private corporations.

This panel discussion brings together narratives, field experiences and analyses on initiatives for skilling youth in India and the UK. Participants from diverse sectors will discuss opportunities and partnerships to enhance skills and employability for inclusive and sustainable development in both the countries.

This event is free and open to all but pre-registration through Eventbrite is required to attend. This event will be followed by a reception. View Video | Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

3  Jul  2017  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Should India Be Designing Emissions Trading?

Anwar Sadat (Sir Ratan Tata Post-doctoral Fellow (2016-17) from the Indian Society of International Law)

Monday 3rd July 2017, 3.30pm to 4.30pm, Room 32L.LG.03, 32 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, LSE

Chair: Dr Ruth Kattumuri Co-Director of the LSE India Observatory

Discussants: Professor Athar Hussain Institute of Global Affairs and Professor Tirthankar Roy Department of Economic History

India has been adhering to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities during climate change negotiations. India has now moved beyond this principle and follows the policies of co-benefits, a policy that meets climate change goals and delivers developmental benefits.

India is the second highest supplier of CDM credits to international markets and has launched energy-efficiency certificate markets in nine of its energy-intensive industries under the programme ‘perform, achieve and trade’, which demonstrates India to be a notable carbon market.

The following developments of the last decade underline that India should start contemplating emissions trading on a pilot basis: (i) trade-related implications of the growing number of countries joining emissions trading (ii) energy-related disputes at WTO weaken India’s policy to rely heavily on renewable energy programme (iii) emergence of 2 degree Celsius setting the cap on India’s emissions, which could become the foundational norm with legal implications. Further, in order to achieve the goal for a stable climate future, India will most likely be required to mitigate its carbon emissions. This paper recommends that India is in a strong position to expand its emissions trading portfolio.

This event is free and open to all with no ticket required. Entry is on a first come first served basis.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

27  Jun  2017  

External Event

British Academy President's Lecture 2017

Janet Yellen (Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System)

Janet Yellen is an American economist. Sworn in on 3 February 2014, she is Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System – having served as Vice Chair from 2010 to 2014. Previously, she was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco; Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers under President Bill Clinton; and business professor at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business. She was a lecturer at the London School of Economics, 1978-1980. She was elected an Honorary Fellow of the British Academy in 2016.

Lord (Nicholas) Stern of Brentford is IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government, London School of Economics, and has served as President of the British Academy since 2013.

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

7  Jun  2017  

External Event

A Village, a Country and the Discipline: economic development in Palanpur over seven decades

Nicholas Stern (India Observatory and LSE)

Hosted by the International Inequalities Institute, Gender Institute and the Eva Colorni Memorial Trust

What can insights from seven decades of research in Palanpur tell us about economic development, inequality and prospects for India?

This event is the Eva Colorni Memorial Lecture.

Professor Amartya Sen participates as Discussant. Chaired by Professor Naila Kabeer. Download Paper View Video | Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

25  May  2017  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

An SVAR Approach to Evaluation of Monetary Policy in India: Solution to the Exchange Rate Puzzles in an Open Economy

Soumya Bhadury (National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER))

3pm to 4pm, Room 32L.2.04, 32 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, LSE

Chair: Athar Hussain

This seminar is based on the speaker’s paper with William Barnett and Taniya Ghosh.

Following the exchange-rate paper by Kim and Roubini (J Monet Econ 45(3):561–586, 2000), we revisit the questions on monetary policy, exchange rate delayed overshooting, the inflationary puzzle, and the weak monetary transmission mechanism; but we do so for the open Indian economy. We further incorporate a superior monetary measure, the aggregation-theoretic Divisia monetary aggregate. Our paper confirms the efficacy of the Kim and Roubini (J Monet Econ 45(3):561–586, 2000) contemporaneous restriction, customized for the Indian economy, especially when compared with recursive structure, which is damaged by the price puzzle and the exchange rate puzzle. The importance of incorporating correctly measured money into the exchange rate model is illustrated, when we compare models with no-money, simple-sum monetary measures, and Divisia monetary measures. Our results are confirmed in terms of impulse response, variance decomposition analysis, and out-of-sample forecasting. In addition, we do a flip-flop variance decomposition analysis, finding two important phenomena in the Indian economy: (i) the existence of a weak link between the nominal-policy variable and real-economic activity, and (ii) the use of inflation-targeting as a primary goal of the Indian monetary authority. These two main results are robust, holding across different time period, dissimilar monetary aggregates, and diverse exogenous model designs.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

10  May  2017  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Energy Poverty: Concepts, Measurement and Impacts on Quality of life

Hippu Salk Kristle Nathan (Subir Chowdhury Fellow (2016-17) from National Institute of Advanced Studies)

11.30am to 1pm, Room TW2.9.05, Tower 2, LSE

Chair: Ruth Kattumuri

Discussants: Ehtisham Ahmad, Athar Hussain

This talk highlights the missing priority of energy poverty in energy research and the lack of consensus whether to consider energy as resource or capacity, output or outcome, and quantity or service. Invoking the three approaches in literature to measure energy poverty—economic, engineering, and access-based—the study critiques the economic measure by arguing against the notion of income poverty line, which suffers from arbitrary categorisation of people as poor and non-poor. Under the engineering approach, the study develops a framework with availability, affordability, and acceptability of energy services, devices, and carriers. The study finds the access-based approach for measuring energy poverty as the most suitable to the conventional understanding of poverty.

This research uses the 68th round of national sample survey data and proposes a novel method by introducing a transitional group between energy-poor and non-poor. It considers depth and severity as complements to poverty incidence, rather than substitutes. It defines poverty gap as the proportion of energy consumption in a household from non-efficient energy sources. It evaluates energy poverty among states of urban India and explores the relationship between urban household energy poverty and quality of life expressed in terms of deprivations in nutrition, education, and income.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

30  Jan  2017  

IG Patel Lecture

Inclusive Prosperity: Making it possible

Tharman Shanmugaratnam (Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies in Singapore)

This is the 6th lecture in honour of Dr Indraprastha Gordhanbhai (IG) Patel who was the ninth director of LSE from 1984 to 1990.

Inclusive growth has to be at the centre of our agenda, if we are to avoid the continued unravelling of the social compacts that have underpinned an era of open economies. It will require new strategies, redefining the role of government and reinvigorating the politics of the centre. There is also something to be learnt from international experience. View Video | Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

16  Jan  2017  

External Event

Policy Issues Affecting the Bank of England: Inflation control and social choice

Mark Carney (Governor of the Bank of England and Chairman of the Monetary Policy Committee, Financial Policy Committee and the Board of the Prudential Regulation Authority)

Organised by the Department of Economics and Centre for Macroeconomics

A lecture by Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, followed by a discussion and Q&A with Amartya Sen, Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University, chaired by Professor Lord Stern. Download Paper View Video | Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

1  Dec  2016  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

Ten Years After the Stern Review: Economics, climate change and biodiversity

Nicholas Stern (India Observatory and LSE)

Co-organised with Government of Maharashtra and Sanctuary Nature Foundation

Discussion on the threats and prospects for development in an era of climate change.

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

28  Oct  2016  

External Event

The Stern Review +10: new opportunities for growth and development

Organised by Grantham Research Institute

The one-day event was held at the Royal Society in London, where ‘The Stern Review’ was officially launched in October 2006. It took stock of the extraordinary changes taking place in the global economy and sought to guide the research and policy that will deliver the global agenda created by the Paris Agreement (December 2015) and Sustainable Development Goals (September 2015).

The meeting featured a keynote lecture from Lord Stern, followed by three sessions, on Low-Carbon and Resilient Cities, Sustainable and Resilient Energy and Infrastructure, and Institutions and Policies for Development, Mitigation and Adaptation. Download Paper View Video

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

27  Oct  2016  

External Event

Growth and Sustainability: 10 years on from the Stern Review

Nicholas Stern (India Observatory and LSE)

Organised by Grantham Research Institute

What do we know about innovation, investment, cities and the global agenda, a decade after publication of The Stern Review? Download Paper View Video | Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

16  Jun  2016  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

Maximizing the development outcomes of remittances: the role of multi-stakeholder approaches

About 250 million migrant workers live outside of their home countries. A significant majority of them send money home, impacting on average 4.5 people each in their countries of origin. Adding together all the millions of transactions involved, the World Bank estimates that these remittances surpassed US$450 billion to developing countries in 2015 and reached over a billion people.

Remittances increase the household income and living standards of those receiving them, providing additional funds for health, education, housing and investment. They now play a key role in the development agenda with the international community seeking to reduce costs (for example through the Sustainable Development Goal framework via target 10.c) and maximize the impact they can have on the individuals, communities and countries that receive them.

In recognition of this, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) proclaimed 16 June as the International Day of Family Remittances. To mark the day, this event will bring together speakers to discuss the potential of multi-stakeholder approaches – across sectors such as migration, banking, money transfer and development – in facilitating reliable and low-cost remittances, ensuring policy coherence and maximizing the outcomes of remittances.

Speakers will include Mohit Davar, Laura Hammond, Tauhid Pasha, Dilip Ratha and Carlos Vargas-Silva

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

16  Jun  2016  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

Dr Ambedkar’s Relevance Today and in the Future

Key Guest Speaker: Nobel Laureate and Bharat Ratna, Economist and Philosopher, Professor Amartya Sen

The Federation of Ambedkarite and Buddhist Organisations UK (FABO UK) in collaboration with the Inequality and Poverty Research Programme, Department of Anthropology at the LSE and the India Observatory at the LSE, are hosting an International Conference to mark the Centenary of Dr B R Ambedkar joining the LSE.

The aim of our Conference is to bring together academics, economists, business leaders, equality champions, politicians and women leaders to highlight the relevance of Dr Ambedkar’s work on the economic and social reforms in India and beyond; and to remove him from the pigeon-hole of ‘Leader of the Depressed Classes’ only.

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

14  Jun  2016  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

India Observatory Seminar

2pm to 4.30pm

Room TW2.9.05, Tower 2, LSE

Speaker: Shalina Susan Mathew (Sir Ratan Tata Post-doctoral Fellow (2015-16) from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras)

Changing Dynamics of Women’s Employment in Kerala, India: A Study of Labour Market Participation Decisions.

Speaker: Swapnendu Banerjee (Subir Chowdhury Fellow (2015-16) from Jadavpur University, Kolkata)

Trade liberalization and Quality Innovation: A Theory and Some Evidence.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

17  May  2016  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Multi-level Finance and the Euro Crisis: Causes and Effects

Speakers: Ehtisham Ahmad and Giorgio Brosio

Representing a unique contribution to the analysis and discussion of the unfolding Eurozone crisis in terms of the relationship between central and local government, this book addresses a number of important fiscal and political economy questions. To what extent have local and regional governments contributed to the crisis? To what degree have subnational services and investments borne the brunt of the adjustments? How have multi-level fissures affected tensions between different levels of government from the supranational to the local? This volume covers these and many other critical issues that have been largely ignored despite their relevance. Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

10  May  2016  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

Rethinking the Global Monetary System

Raghuram Rajan (Professor of Finance at Chicago Booth)

The global financial crisis has shaken up the international financial architecture. Regulatory changes and unconventional monetary policies have mainly served the interests of advanced economies. Raghuram Rajan, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, would like to see more coordination to reduce volatility and a more effective "global safety net" to protect those most vulnerable. Organised with IGA, South Asia Centre and the High Commission of India. View Video

Watch video of event:

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

4  May  2016  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Other Regarding Principal and Moral Hazard: A Microeconomic Analysis

Swapnendu Banerjee (Subir Chowdhury Fellow (2015-16) from Jadavpur University, Kolkata)

2pm to 3.30pm, Room 32L.LG.02, 32 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, LSE

Chair: Ruth Kattumuri

Using the classic moral hazard problem with limited liability we characterize the optimal incentive contracts when first an other-regarding principal interacts with a self-regarding agent. The optimal contract differs considerably when the principal is ‘inequity averse’ vis-a-vis the self-regarding case. Also the agent is generally (weakly) better-off under an ‘inequity averse’ principal compared to a ‘status seeking’ principal. Then we extend our analysis and characterize the optimal contracts when both other-regarding principal and other-regarding agent interact.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

14  Apr  2016  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

A More Sustainable Energy Strategy for India

Montek Singh Ahluwalia

An important achievement of the UNFCCC meeting in Paris was that for the first time all countries, including developing countries, submitted the actions they proposed to take to reduce emissions in the form of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). Download Paper

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

19  Mar  2016  

External Event

LSESU India Forum 2016

Organised by LSESU India Society

LSE SU India Forum (LIF) is the largest India-focused student run conference in the UK. It is a platform for discussion and debate on India’s most pressing economic, social and political issues.

Previously known as the Economic Forum for India at LSE (EFIL), LIF is the first of it's kind conference in the UK, involving keynote speeches and panel discussions by industry stalwarts across a variety of fields. Our mission is to provide our audience of students and professionals alike a platform to discuss contemporary issues and hear from and engage with inspiring leaders.

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

22  Jan  2016  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Developments in Relations Between Pakistan and India

Zahid Hussain (The Times of London and The Wall Street Journal)

6.30pm to 8pm, Room TW1.G.01, Ground Floor, Tower One, LSE

Chair: Athar Hussain

Following the election of a new government in India and recent increased high-level contact between the two countries, Zahid Hussain will discuss challenges and current prospects for change in Pakistan and India’s bilateral relations.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

27  Oct  2015  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

ADB Report - A Smarter Future: Skills, Education and Growth in Asia and the Pacific

Juzhong Zhuang (Asian Development Bank)

1.30pm to 2.30pm, Room TW2.9.04, Tower 2, LSE

Chair: Athar Hussain

The ADB report shows that developing Asia has done well in expanding access to education. But continued economic transformation requires the region to focus more on the quality of education, and to ensure that its workforce has the full complement of skills - cognitive, non-cognitive, and technical - needed for sustained growth. To achieve this goal, developing Asia must base public financing on measurable educational outcomes; design curricula that are well matched to student capabilities and labour-market needs; make sure that curricula are delivered well; and ensure that the disadvantaged receive high-quality education. Above all, decisions in these areas must be guided by robust data metrics for better monitoring, performance evaluation, and accountability.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

14  Oct  2015  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

India: The Sustainable Green Growth Challenge

Jairam Ramesh (Former Minister of Environment and Forests, Government of India)

The debate on whether to privilege economic growth over ecological security is passé. Environmental considerations must be at the heart of economic growth, especially for a country of 1.25 billion people destined to add another 400 million by the middle of the century. Jairam Ramesh's new book Green Signals: Ecology, Growth, and Democracy in India chronicles the ‘1991 moment’ in India’s environmental decision-making, telling the story of how, for the first time, the doors of the environment ministry were opened to voices, hitherto unheard, into the policy-making process. It details efforts to change the way environment is viewed both by proponents of environmental security and those who prize economic growth at all costs. Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

17  Sep  2015  

External Event

International cooperation and low-carbon technologies

Organised by Grantham Research Institute

The Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics, in collaboration with the Sinergia Research Network, invites you to attend a panel debate on the role of international cooperation in accelerating the development and diffusion of low-carbon technologies. The event will be hosted and chaired by Institute chair Professor Lord Stern of Brentford.

Panellists

Jean-François Gagné, Head of the Energy Technology Policy Division, International Energy Agency

Dr Matthew Kennedy, Chair, Climate Technology Centre Network; Member, UNFCCC Technology Executive Committee

Matthew Knight, Head of Strategy and Government Relations, Siemens

Professor Ambuj D. Sagar, Vipula and Mahesh Chaturvedi Professor of Policy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

3  Jun  2015  

External Event

Why Are We Waiting? The logic, urgency and promise of tackling climate change

Nicholas Stern (India Observatory and LSE)

Organised by Grantham Research Institute and Centre for Economic Performance

Introducing his new book, Why Are We Waiting? The Logic, Urgency and Promise of Tackling Climate Change Professor Stern will argue that the transition to a low-carbon economy and rapid structural transformations to the world economy provide a story of growth and poverty reduction that is attractive and sustainable. View Video | Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

7  May  2015  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Bagri Fellows Seminar

12pm to 2pm, Room TW2.10.01B, Tower 2, LSE

Speaker: Jason Garred (Bagri Fellow)

Access to Raw Materials and Local Comparative Advantage: The effects of India's freight equalization policy

Speaker: Jonathan Colmer (Bagri Fellow)

The Productivity Effects of Labour Demand Shocks: Evidence from India

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

20  Apr  2015  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Formal and Informal Seed Sector in India and Bangladesh: An examination of mechanism and institutions

Saurabh Kumar (Subir Chowdhury Fellow (2014-15) from CUTS International, India)

1pm to 2pm Room TW2.10.01B, Tower 2, LSE

This paper examines policies, mechanisms and institutions related to the formal and informal seed sector in India and Bangladesh. Informal seed trade is defined as the sum of farmers’ seed production and exchange. Seeds produced and traded by farmers at the informal level is still a major part of the seed sector in India and Bangladesh. Although governments in both the countries have tried to replace it with formal seed production and trade, the legislative framework, institutional weakness and constraints in mechanism impose limits to these efforts. In this context, a re-evaluation of the existing scenario is needed to improve seed production and supply in both countries.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

16  Mar  2015  

External Event

The Future of Social Science after the General Election

Organised by Campaign for Social Science

With a general election in May and a government spending review to follow this is a critical time for social science to shout loudly about its value to the UK economy and society. On 16th March at the LSE the Campaign for Social Science will present its new pre-election report The Business of People. We hope for a fruitful dialogue with social scientists at LSE on the current state and future direction of social science in the UK.

Host and chair - Professor Craig Calhoun, Director & President of LSE.

From the Campaign for Social Science - Ceridwen Roberts (Oxford) and James Wilsdon (Sussex) will present the new report The Business of People and the Campaign’s recommendations for the future of social science.

Professor Lord Nicholas Stern, IG Patel Chair of Economics and Government at LSE and Chair of the British Academy, will respond to the report on behalf of LSE.

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

14  Mar  2015  

External Event

The Economic Forum for India at LSE 2015

Organised by LSESU India Society

The Economic Forum for India at LSE (EFIL) is an innovative, exciting and ambitious conference, presented by the LSE Student’s Union India Society, which covers a variety of contemporary themes relevant to India. EFIL will take place on Saturday 14 March 2015 at the Grand Connaught Rooms in London. Speakers include Patricia Hewitt, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Zoya Akhtar, Shaina NC and Jairam Ramesh. There will also be panel discussions and opportunities for networking over lunch and refreshments.

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

4  Mar  2015  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Second Demographic Transition or Competing Aspirations: An exploratory analysis of fertility transition in Kolkata, India

Saswata Ghosh (Sir Ratan Tata Post-doctoral Fellow (2014-15) from the Institute of Development Studies Kolkata)

1.45pm to 3pm, Room TW2.10.01B, Tower 2, LSE

Fertility transition occurred during 1970s in Kolkata (erstwhile Calcutta), capital of the state of West Bengal, India, and remained persistently at the lowest-low fertility level. It currently has the lowest fertility rates (TFR 1.2) in India. This could be a case of second demographic transition (SDT) or pertaining to constrains in childbearing and childrearing, and/or aspirations for children. Using primary data of 600 couples (1,200 individuals), and employing quantitative and qualitative methods the present study found that constraints in childbearing and childrearing; and aspirations for children; have strong negative and significant effect on second and higher order childbearing among couples, particularly among women. In our study there was no strong evidence of decline in the importance of marriage, family and children as posited by SDT. Thus we argue that SDT might have to be redefined in a developing country context. Further research is required to validate this argument.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

25  Feb  2015  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Political Commitment to Public Services in India

S. Vivek (Stanford University)

Most people in Tamil Nadu have access to schools, basic healthcare, water, transport and other basic public services – with remarkable impact on people’s well-being. In this seminar, Dr S.Vivek will examine how Tamil Nadu developed its commitment to services, and how it relates to the politics of public services elsewhere in India.

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

13  Feb  2015  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Strengthening Relations Between Europe and India: Which partnership for the Twenty First Century?

This event, jointly organised by the LSE European Institute, LSE India Observatory and King’s College London India Institute, aims to discuss some aspects of India-EU relations involving academics and policy makers.

The discussions will explore the following themes:

◾ General issues of involvement and engagement, including perceptions and worldviews

◾ Trade and economic cooperation

◾ Security cooperation and strategic issues

◾ India and Europe’s involvement in international forums and global governance.

Analysing European and Indian areas of common interest, complementarities, convergence, priorities and concerns, along with changed geopolitical realities, will be key to imagine the basis of a stronger partnership in the twenty-first century.

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

3  Feb  2015  

External Event

Enriching our lives – why the Humanities and Social Sciences matter now

Organised by Institute of Public Affairs and British Academy

In February 2014 the British Academy published Prospering Wisely, a multimedia resource which explores the nature of ‘prosperity’ in today’s world. It highlights the importance of thinking beyond simple measures such as GDP, showing how humanities and social science research fuels our modern knowledge-based economy, helps sustain our healthy, open democracy and contributes to human and cultural wellbeing and ‘the good life’. At the heart of this contribution is the vital role played by research, epitomised by a renowned centre of research and teaching excellence such as the LSE. As a nation are we investing sufficiently in these drivers of future success and human progress? Are cuts in public expenditure imperilling the UK’s hard-won world-leading status? View Video | Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

9  Jan  2015  

External Event

Financing Local Investments within a Sustainable Development Strategy for China

Friday 9th and Saturday 10th January 2015, Guangzhou

Sustainable and inclusive development has become a matter of extreme urgency for China, as it is for developed and developing countries alike. An international conference to examine the general issues and associated implications for China was held in Guangzhou, China, during January 9th and 10th. The conference was organised with Sun Yat-Sen University. It facilitated an exchange of views between leading international and Chinese academics, Chinese officials, and representatives of international agencies (including the IMF, Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, and United Nations Environment Programme).

Participants Include

Dr Ehtisham Ahmad, LSE Asia Research Centre

Dr Sanjeev Gupta, Deputy Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, International Monetary Fund

Dr Joy Kim, Senior Economist, United Nations Environment Programme

Dr Lili Liu, World Bank

Dr Xubei Luo, World Bank

Professor Jun Ma, Vice President, Sun Yat-sen University

Dr Ying Qian, Director, Asian Development Bank

Mrs Teresa Ter-Minassian, Former Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, International Monetary Fund

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

8  Dec  2014  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

The Book of Gold Leaves: In conversation with Mirza Waheed

Mirza Waheed (Novelist and Journalist)

Acclaimed novelist Mirza Waheed will be introducing his new novel The Book of Gold Leaves: a book of piercing lyricism, a story of the impossible choice between personal duty and romantic love. ‘Waheed writes about war with a devastating and unflinching calm, with the melancholy wisdom of someone attuned to but never hardened by its horrors’ The Guardian ‘Like his great-grandfather's gold painting, Waheed's work will undoubtedly endure’ Financial Times Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

27  Nov  2014  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Climate Change and Indus River System Floods, 2010 - 2014: Faulty institutions and governance deficit

Uzma Hanif (Sir Ratan Tata Post-Doctoral Fellow (2013-2014) from Forman Christian College, Lahore)

12.30pm to 2pm, Room TW2.10.01B, Tower 2, LSE

Chair: Professor Athar Hussain

Across the world extreme climatic events have become more common due to the on-going process of climate change which affects all regions of the world in various ways with none immune. The impact is also felt in Pakistan where, according to forecasts, worse is yet to come.

The Inter-government Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in its fifth assessment report, identifies floods as key climatic events which pose a threat to infrastructure, the built environment and livelihood. This threat is particularly grave in South Asia, which depends heavily on seasonal rains for farming. Within South Asia, Pakistan, the land of five rivers, is especially prone to droughts and floods, both occurring in the same year.

The Indus system is the main source of food, water and energy for Pakistan. The recurrent floods over the past five years have inflicted a heavy toll in human and animal lives and physical damage. This study explains that deficits in constitutional, legislative and administrative structures, an unstable macro-economic environment, and faulty institutions have compounded the damage and loss caused by floods.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

19  Nov  2014  

External Event

The Stamp Memorial Lecture: Poverty and the Pope

Jagdish Bhagwati (Columbia University)

The Occupy Movement has focused the ethical attention of many on the rich. By contrast, the ethical objective has been refocused instead on the poor, most notably by Pope Francis. The focus on the rich reflects usually mankind’s ignoble instincts like envy and jealousy. On the other hand, focus on the poor and on reducing poverty reflects mankind’s noblest instinct: empathy for the poor and the unfortunate among us. While therefore the refocus on the poor is to be applauded, the next question is: how are the poor to be aided?

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

25  Sep  2014  

External Event

Growth, Policy and Institutions: Lessons from the Indian experience

Montek Singh Ahluwalia

Organised by International Growth Centre

India has achieved remarkable progress over the last two decades, a process in which state institutions and reform has had a crucial role. Dr Ahluwalia will reflect on the Indian growth experience to distil his key lessons for growth and development. View Video | Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

22  Sep  2014  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

The Bihar Story: Resurrection of the State, Inclusion and Growth

Jitan Ram Manjhi (Chief Minister of Bihar)

Co-organised with International Growth Centre

In the not so distant past, the Indian state of Bihar was a byword for lawlessness, poverty, and absence of governance. Over the last decade or so, the state has demonstrated a remarkable turnaround and has consistently been amongst the fastest growing states in the country. The Chief Minister of Bihar, Shri Jitan Ram Manjhi, will talk about the process that has led to this transformation and what this means for the people of Bihar. View Video

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

17  Jun  2014  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Bagri Fellows Seminar

1.30pm to 3.30pm, Room TW2.9.05, Tower 2, LSE

Speaker: Johannes Boehm (Bagri Fellow)

Inputs and Productivity in India: The role of institutions and foreign markets.

Speaker: Anokhi Parikh (Bagri Fellow)

Land Assembly in Maharashtra: The myth and muscle of the market.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

8  May  2014  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Dalit Discrimination in Contemporary India and in the UK

Co-hosted with LSE Inequality and Poverty Programme and The Federation of Ambedkarite and Buddhist Organisations UK

Speakers: Santosh Dass, Arun Kumar, Jayaseelan Raj and Clarinda Still. Chair: Alpa Shah.

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

3  Apr  2014  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

Transforming Indian Cities: Challenges and opportunities

Isher Judge Ahluwalia

Co-hosted with International Growth Centre

Urban areas are integral to India’s growth and development, accounting for around two-thirds of the country’s GDP. Yet the country’s cities face severe challenges and are desperately in need of transformation. Isher Ahluwalia has been involved in efforts to make cities and urbanisation more central to the national policy agenda. Her recent book, Transforming Our Cities: Postcards of Change is published by Harper Collins and highlights stories of hope from a diverse range of Indian cities. For this lecture, Isher Ahluwalia will outline insights from her book to offer an analysis of the challenges and opportunities facing Indian cities at this critical juncture.

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

20  Mar  2014  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Visiting Fellows Seminar

2.30pm to 5pm, Room TW2.9.05, Tower 2, LSE

Speaker: Michitaro Oka (Visiting Fellow at the LSE Asia Research Centre from Meiji University, Japan)

Interlinked Credit and Labour Markets in Gujarat: The trustability of the institution of ‘Kayami’.

Speaker: Srijit Mishra (Subir Chowdhury Fellow (2013-14) from Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai)

Technology, Development and Farmers' Suicides in India: A misplaced debate.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

13  Feb  2014  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Social Protection, Economic Growth and Social Change: Goals, issues and trajectories in China, India, Brazil and South Africa

5.30pm to 7pm, Thai Theatre, Room NAB.LG.03, New Academic Building, LSE

Speakers: Francesca Bastagli, Tony Hall, Ruth Kattumuri

Chair: David Piachaud

This highly original and thought-provoking book examines the recent expansion of social protection in China, India, Brazil and South Africa – four countries experiencing rapid economic growth and social change. It documents developments in each country, analyses the impact of government cash transfers and discusses future trends. It shows that social protection has complemented economic growth and supported development efforts. Social protection has been fundamental to promoting equitable and sustainable societies.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

11  Feb  2014  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

India Observatory Seminar

12.30pm to 4.30pm, Room TW2.10.01B, Tower 2, LSE

Speaker: Laura Aumeer (Thailand Government Scholar 2013)

Local Movements in a Globalised World: A study of the impacts and influences of the relationship between the grassroots and the international within Thailand’s civil society.

Speaker: Thiemo Fetzer (Bagri Fellow)

Can Workfare Programs Moderate Violence? Evidence from India.

Speaker: Silvia Masiero (Bagri Fellow)

Imagining the State through Digital Technologies: A case of State-Level computerisation in the Indian Public Distribution System.

Speaker: Francesco Obino (Bagri Fellow)

‘Voice’ and Legitimacy in Post-aid World Politics: International development NGOs and their decentralisation in India.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

20  Jan  2014  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

The New Bihar: Rekindling Governance and Development

6.30pm to 8pm, Old Theatre, Old Building, LSE

Panellists: Daniel Alexander, Karan Bilimoria, Ranjan Mathai, Suhel Seth and NK Singh

Chair: Nicholas Stern

During the 1990s, the state of Bihar in India failed to benefit from the acceleration in India’s economic growth and in fact, slowed compared to the 1980s, principally because of a steep decline in the already low standards of governance. Bihar governance and economic performance changed dramatically after November 2005, when the Nitish Kumar government came to power. Within a short time, major initiatives were launched in improving governance, infrastructure, education especially primary and for girl children, health and agriculture. Significant improvements in law and order presumably induced and allowed a resurgence of economic activity in construction, trade and hotels/restaurants, and this has boosted the prospects for growth and development in this state.

In The New Bihar, N.K. Singh and Nicholas Stern have put together a collection of perspective essays by eminent scholars on the emerging Bihar model of development – its achievements, shortcomings and challenges. Eminent economists analyse the remarkable turnaround witnessed by Bihar – Amartya Sen provides a historical background of Bihar’s distinguished past, Kaushik Basu discusses the decline of Bihar in recent history and the turnaround since 2005. Meghnad Desai, Shankar Acharya and Arvind Virmani document how the state reversed its fortunes toward growth. Isher Judge Ahluwalia argues for a high rate of urbanisation to take the development story forward.

The panel will discuss the economic developments in recent years and future prospects for growth in Bihar.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

5  Dec  2013  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Crop Insurance for Adaptation to Climate Change in India

Mamata Swain (Visiting Commonwealth Fellow and Ravenshaw University, India)

3pm to 4pm, Room TW2.10.01B, Tower 2, LSE

Chair: Ruth Kattumuri

In India, agriculture is inherently a risky venture due to uncertainty in production and volatility in price, and more so in the context of increased climatic aberrations and globalisation. Therefore, there is a great need for crop insurance to provide economic support to farmers, stabilise farm income, induce farmers to invest in agriculture, reduce indebtedness and decrease the need for relief measures in the event of crop failure. Dr Swain critically analyses the two important crop insurance schemes currently under implementation in India namely the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (an area based crop yield insurance scheme) and the pilot Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS) (an area based rainfall insurance scheme). Dr Swain contends that in the context of climate change with increasing agricultural risk, there is a need to redesign insurance products not merely as a risk transfer mechanism but as a potent device to reduce risk and crop loss by inducing desirable proactive and reactive responses in insurance users.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

17  Oct  2013  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

India at a Political Crossroads: The Countdown to the 2014 General Election

Sumantra Bose (Department of Government, LSE)

This event marks the publication of Professor Bose's new book Transforming India: Challenges to the World’s Largest Democracy.

A nation of 1.25 billion people composed of numerous ethnic, linguistic, religious, and caste communities, India is the world’s most diverse democracy. Drawing on his extensive fieldwork and experience of Indian politics, Sumantra Bose tells the story of democracy’s evolution in India since the 1950s - and describes the many challenges it faces in the early twenty-first century.

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

26  Jun  2013  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

An Uncertain Glory: The economic and social condition of modern India

Amartya Sen (Harvard University)

Maintaining rapid as well as environmentally sustainable growth remains an important and achievable goal for India. In this lecture, based on his new book written with Professor Jean Drèze, An Uncertain Glory, Sen will argue that the country's main problems lie elsewhere, particularly in the lack of attention that is paid to the essential needs of the people, especially the poor. One of the biggest failures has been the very inadequate use of the public resources generated by economic growth to expand India's lagging physical and social infrastructure (in sharp contrast, for example, to what China has done): there is a continued inadequacy both of social services such as schooling, medical care and immunization, and of physical services such as the provision of safe water, electricity, drainage and sanitation. Even as India has overtaken other countries in its rate of growth, because of these inadequacies it has, the book shows, fallen behind many of the same countries - often very poor ones - in quality of life.

Because of the importance of democracy in India, addressing these failures will require not only significant policy rethinking by the government, but also a better public understanding of the abysmal extent of social and economic deprivations. The deep inequalities in Indian society tend to constrict public discussion in India's vibrant media to the lives and concerns of the relatively affluent. Dreze and Sen argue that if there is to be more effective democratic practice, there has to be a clearer understanding of the severity of human deprivations in India.

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

18  Jun  2013  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

The Future of Asian Financial Markets in a Changing World

Zhu Min (International Monetary Fund)

Mr Zhu will review broad global trends and argue that globally we may be witnessing a fundamental shift in the direction of change. This shift will be analysed using several perspectives, including clusters and spillovers. Implications on global gravity, deleveraging, and growth will be discussed. Mr Zhu will also focus on the financial sector in Asia. After reviewing the current structure of the financial sector, he will discuss key challenges the sector is facing in Asia, including what the needs of the region are and how the financial sector can meet them, regulatory and supervisory challenges, regional integration, and participation on the global markets. Mr Zhu will conclude with the role of the Fund in helping Asia shape the future of its financial markets. Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

11  Jun  2013  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

Responsible Corporations: Wealth and public good

9.30am to 11am, Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE

In India, business has never been just about wealth creation. Besides being engines of growth, corporations and their founders have long played a role in addressing pertinent social issues of their time. India is set to become one of the world’s leading producers of wealth, and with this has come renewed scrutiny of the role of businesses and their promoters. The adoption of legislation making CSR spending mandatory has also provided both new impetus and new challenges. This roundtable brings together business leaders, practitioners and academics to discuss the business of philanthropy. This discussion marks the launch of Revealing Indian Philanthropy, a new book co-edited by UBS and the India Observatory at the London School of Economics with contributions from leading Indian philanthropists.

Panellists

Mr Mathieu Cantegreil is Knowledge Manager in the Philanthropy and Value-based Investing team at UBS, AG.

Mr Dweep Chanana is Director in the Philanthropy and Value-based Investing team at UBS, AG

Mr S. Gopalakrishnan is President of Confederation of Indian Industry.

Mr Farhad Forbes is Director of Forbes Marshall Private Limited.

Dr Ruth Kattumuri is Co-Director of LSE India Observatory.

Mr Alok Kirloskar is Managing Director of SPP Pumps Limited.

Mr R Mukundan is Managing Director of Tata Chemicals Limited.

Mr Shankar Vanavarayar is President of Kamaraguru College of Technology. Podcast (MP3)

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

10  Jun  2013  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

Revealing Indian Philanthropy

6pm to 7.30pm, Old Theatre, Old Building, LSE

From supporting the establishment of modern India to the innovative work of recent years, philanthropy has played, and continues to play, a critical role in the development of India. As the country is set to become one of the world’s leading producers of wealth it should therefore come as no surprise if it also takes the lead in philanthropy. However, philanthropy in the country remains largely unknown compared to other leading philanthropic nations. To mark the launch of the new book Revealing Indian Philanthropy which is available for download, this event will discuss the imaginative culture of giving in India and explore the influences shaping its future.

Panellists

Mrs Rajashree Birla is Chairperson of the Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development.

Mr Dweep Chanana is Director in the Philanthropy and Value-based Investing team at UBS, AG

Dr Ruth Kattumuri is Co-Director of the LSE India Observatory.

Mr Gautam Kumar is Head, Global South Asia, UBS Wealth Management.

Professor Lord Nicholas Stern is the IG Patel Chair of Economics and Government and Director of the LSE India Observatory. Download Paper View Video | Podcast (MP3)

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

4  Jun  2013  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

India Observatory Seminar

3pm to 5pm, Room TW2.10.01B, Tower 2, LSE

Speaker: Taneesha Mohan (Tata PhD Fellow)

Labour Tying Arrangements: An Enduring Aspect of Agrarian Capitalism? A Case Study of Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

Speaker: Mrutuyanjaya Sahu (Subir Chowdhury Fellow (2012-13) from Jawaharlal Nehru University, India)

Neoliberal Urban Development and Involuntary Resettlement in India.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

29  May  2013  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Development in Caste Society

Avatthi Ramaiah (Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai)

12.45pm to 1.45pm, Room 32L.3.05, 32 Lincoln's Inn Fields, LSE

Chair: Polly Vizard

Development has been defined in more than one perspective. While usually it is understood as economic growth, the UN has defined it as a condition that enables people to lead long and healthy lives, to be knowledgeable, to have access to the resources needed for a decent standard of living and to be able to participate in the life of the community. Thus the core objectives of development are to free people from obstacles that affect their ability to develop their own lives and communities; empower people to take control of their own lives; to express their own demands and to find their own solutions to their problems. In short, freedom becomes central to the debate on development. This seminar will focus on whether the caste system allows such a freedom to individuals and groups within its structure, and what challenges it poses to accomplishing the objectives of development.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

24  May  2013  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Pakistani Election: Outcome & Implications for the Future

12pm to 1.30pm, Thai Theatre, Room NAB.LG.03, Lower Ground Floor, New Academic Building, LSE

Panellists: Ehtisham Ahmad and Athar Hussain

The Pakistani election held on May 11th 2013 is the first time a democratically elected government has been succeeded by another without a military coup. The election comes against the backdrop of substantial decentralisation of powers from central to provincial governments. The election results show a marked regionalisation of politics in Pakistan. Bar some minor exceptions, seats in the National Assembly won by each party are from one province only. As warned by the Taliban, the run-up to the election and the polling day have been marked by targeted killing of candidates and terrorist attacks. However, the election campaign has been lively. The population has shown its fervour for democracy by travelling long distances to polling stations and queuing for hours to cast their votes. Notwithstanding the condemnation of the election as “unIslamic”, women turned out in force to cast their vote. Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N emerged as the single largest party. He is poised to become Prime Minster after 14 years. The furore over vote-rigging will be the least of his troubles. In his campaign, he promised to turn around the ailing economy and end the crippling power shortages. The purposes of the meeting is to discuss the outcome of the election and analyse its implications for dealing with the ills of the economy and the threat of terrorism that hangs over the country.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

15  May  2013  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Regional Economic Integration in South Asia: Trapped in conflict?

Amita Batra (University of Edinburgh)

3pm to 4pm, Room TW2 10.01B, 10th Floor, Tower 2, LSE

Chair: Ruth Kattumuri

The talk will be based on the speaker’s recent book Regional Economic Integration in South Asia: Trapped in Conflict? (London: Routledge, 2012). The talk will examine how South Asia, with historically and geographically proximate countries and exceptional economic dynamism of its largest economy when caught in persistent conflict, demonstrates underperformance of its potential for economic integration.

Giving a background analysis of the economic and trade profile of the South Asian region and the nature and chronology of conflict therein, the talk will present the quantitative estimates of the cost of conflict in terms of loss of trade for South Asia. In particular the multi-dimensional representation of conflict in an augmented gravity model and its econometric estimation with a dataset extending over the time period 1965-2000 will be discussed. The talk will highlight how disputed borders and persistent conflict can debilitate trade relationships and prevent a region from exploiting its trade potential.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

13  Mar  2013  

IG Patel Lecture

India - Macroeconomic Challenges, Some Reserve Bank Perspectives

Duvvuri Subbarao (22nd Governor of Reserve Bank of India 2008 - 2013)

This is the 5th lecture in honour of Dr Indraprastha Gordhanbhai (IG) Patel who was the ninth director of LSE from 1984 to 1990.

Over the five years through 2003-08 leading up to the global financial crisis, India clocked an average annual growth of 8.7 per cent on the back of wide ranging structural and policy reforms and growing integration with the global economy. By the year 2008, India was the fourth largest economy in the world in purchasing power parity terms. For a nation that once believed that the ‘Hindu rate of growth’ was its destiny, this remarkable growth performance became a trigger for setting off aspirations for double-digit growth.

Those aspirations have moderated significantly with growth moderating below trend in the post-crisis period owing to the impact of the global downturn as also a host of domestic policy and operational bottlenecks. The post-crisis period has also been characterised by a large fiscal deficit, historically high current account deficit and inflation persisting above the comfort level. Macroeconomic management during this period has had to contend with balancing between stimulating growth and reining in inflation, dealing with the short-term pressures in external sector without compromising long-term sustainability and returning to a path of fiscal responsibility.

Dr Subbarao, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, will reflect on these challenges from the Reserve Bank perspective and illustrate the dilemmas encountered in making policy choices. View Video | Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

6  Feb  2013  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

India Observatory Seminar

12.30pm to 2pm, Room TW2.10.01B, Tower 2, LSE

Speaker: Luke Swainson (PhD student, Australian National University)

Greening the Economy: Putting theory into practice in Aceh Province, Indonesia.

Speaker: Satyapriya Rout (Sir Ratan Tata Post-doctoral Fellow (2012-13) from University of Hyderabad)

Sustaining Southeast Asia's Forests: Community, Institutions and Forest Governance in Thailand.

Speaker: Scott MacDonald (Thailand Government Scholar 2012)

Solar Photovoltaic Energy in Thailand: An assessment of government support mechanisms.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

17  May  2011  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Colonialism and Welfare - Social Policy and the British Imperial Legacy

1.30pm - 2.30pm, Room CON.H103, Connaught House, LSE

Speakers: Lord Frank Judd (member of the Joint Committee on Human Rights), Thandika Mkandawire (Professor of African Development, LSE), James Midgley (Harry and Riva Specht Professor, University of California, Berkeley)

Chair: David Piachaud (Professor of Social Policy, LSE)

The British Empire covered three centuries, five continents and one-quarter of the world’s population. Its legacy continues, shaping the societies and welfare policies of much of the modern world. In this book, for the first time, this legacy is explored and analyzed. Colonialism and Welfare reveals that social welfare policies, often discriminatory and challenging to those colonized, were introduced and imposed by the ‘mother country.’ It highlights that there was great diversity in rationales and impacts across the empire, but past developments had a major impact on the development of much of the world’s population. Contributions from every continent explore both the diversity and the common themes in the imperial experience. They examine the legacy of colonial welfare – a subject largely neglected by both historians of empire and social policy analysts.

LSE Contributors include Dr Ruth Kattumuri (India Observatory) and Dr Joanna Lewis (Department of International History).

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

25  Oct  2010  

IG Patel Lecture

Towards a New International Financial Architecture

Dr YV Reddy (former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India)

This is the 4th lecture in honour of Dr Indraprastha Gordhanbhai (I.G) Patel who was the ninth director of the London School of Economics from 1984 to 1990.

Hosted by the London School of Economics India Observatory in association with the Administrative Staff College of India. Welcome from Dr SK Rao, Director General, ASCI. Introductory remarks by Sri M Narasimham, Chairman, Court of Governors, ASCI. Lecture by Dr Reddy. Concluding remarks by Professor Lord Stern. View Video

Link to further information

12  Oct  2010  

LSE India Observatory Seminar

Democracy, Development and Decentralisation in India: Continuing Debates

6.30pm to 8.30pm, Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House, LSE

Panellists: Professor Chandan Sengupta (TISS), Professor Anthony Giddens (Department of Sociology, LSE) and Professor S Parasuraman (TISS)

Chair: Lord Meghnad Desai

Economic reforms in India have largely taken place at a time of assertive cultural nationalism and growing pressures for advancement and assertion from within India's subaltern communities.

This book, edited by Chandan Sengupta and Stuart Corbridge, explores the mainsprings, contours and consequences of democratisation, decentralisation and development in India and offers new insights into its contemporary political economy. It considers how and why unequal patterns of economic growth have taken shape within the context of a democratic and decentralising political system, and how and why that system has impacted upon processes of economic development.

The different articles address how competing claims have been negotiated; in what measure has a bias in favour of political decentralisation helped the government push ahead with an economic reform agenda; and who is being left behind in the race for income growth. The book makes some important theoretical contributions to the continuing debate on democracy and development in the Indian context and balances the arguments with good variety of empirical material.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

19  Jan  2010  

IG Patel Lecture

Child Under-nourishment as a Social Predicament

Amartya Sen (Harvard University)

This is the 3rd lecture in honour of Dr Indraprastha Gordhanbhai (I.G) Patel who was the ninth director of the London School of Economics from 1984 to 1990. View Video | Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

26  Oct  2007  

IG Patel Lecture

The Economics of Climate Change

Nicholas Stern (India Observatory and LSE)

This is the 2nd lecture in honour of Dr Indraprastha Gordhanbhai (I.G) Patel who was the ninth director of the London School of Economics from 1984 to 1990.

Link to further information

6  Dec  2006  

External Event

Asia Forum 2006 - Challenging Globalisation: reform, governance and society

The LSE Asia Forum brings together business leaders, policy makers and academic experts to explore strategic developments in this key region of the world. Following the success of the first and second Asia Forums in Bangkok and Hong Kong respectively, we are delighted to host this event in India. The 2006 LSE Asia Forum is dedicated to the memory of the late Dr IG Patel, former Director of LSE and Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be participating and leading discussions, with an opening keynote addressing the overall conference theme.

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

2  Nov  2006  

IG Patel Lecture

Growth and Equity in a Globalising World: Can India meet the challenge?

Montek Singh Ahluwalia

This is the inaugural lecture in honour of Dr Indraprasad Gordhanbhai (I.G) Patel who was the ninth director of the London School of Economics, serving as director from 1984 to 1990.

As the world's largest democracy, India faces the challenges of globalisation in a unique way. It has adopted a strategy of inclusion in its politics and of liberalisation in its economic policy. Yet this combination poses its own problems.

Link to further information

22  Nov  2018  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

How Lives Change: Palanpur, India, and Development Economics

Thursday 22nd November 2018, 6.30pm to 8pm, Old Theatre, Old Building, LSE

Speakers: Nicholas Stern (India Observatory and LSE), Himanshu (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and British Academy Visiting Fellow, STICERD, LSE) and Peter Lanjouw (Professor in Development Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

Discussants: Oriana Bandiera (Director, STICERD, LSE), Michael Lipton (Sussex University)

Chair: Tim Besley (Professor of Economics of Political Science and W. Arthur Lewis Professor of Development Economics, LSE).

The event marks the launch of a book that gives special insights into the fundamental question of development economics, “How lives change”. This is the title of the book which uses a unique data set consisting of seven full (100%) surveys of one Indian village, one for every decade since Independence. The book, published in August 2018 by OUP, is by Himanshu, Peter Lanjouw and Nicholas Stern; the two previous OUP books on Palanpur will be simultaneously re-issued as paperbacks. The panel, including the Director of the LSE, consists of some of the leading scholars and practitioners of economic development of our times. The book reflects on the past, present and future, both of India and of development economics, seen through the experience of Palanpur in the years since Independence.

This event is free and open to all with no ticket or pre-registration required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis. View Video | Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

12  Jun  2018  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

Seven Decades of Independent India

Tuesday 12th June 2018, 6.30pm to 8pm, Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House, LSE

Speakers: Vinod Rai (former Comptroller Auditor General of India & Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore), Amitendu Palit (Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore), Duvvuri Subbarao (former Governor of Reserve Bank of India & Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore) and Robin Jeffrey (Australia India Institute, University of Melbourne & Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore).

Discussant: Dinesh Patnaik (Deputy High Commissioner of India in UK)

Chair: Ruth Kattumuri (Co-Director, LSE India Observatory)

Has democracy in India fulfilled aspirations of its people? Have institutions delivered? Have public policies succeeded in making substantial differences to living standards? Is the country secure on its external borders? Would the country become an economic powerhouse? And can India be a leading power in the years ahead? Seven Decades of Independent India reflects on the India of yesterday, today, and tomorrow, by gathering rare and candid insights from some of the most distinguished experts, practitioners and scholars on India.

This event is free but registration through Eventbrite is required to attend. Please click on the link below to register. View Video | Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

6  Mar  2018  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

The New Wealth of Nations

Surjit Bhalla (Observatory Group and Oxus Research & Investments)

Tuesday 6th March 2018, 6.30pm to 8pm, Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House, LSE

Chair: Nicholas Stern (IG Patel Chair and Director, LSE India Observatory)

Discussant: John Hills (Co-Director, LSE International Inequalities Institute)

At this event, Surjit Bhalla will be discussing from his recent book The New Wealth of Nations. He argues that today, over 70 per cent of the world’s middle class reside in the erstwhile poor countries; world income inequality is down to levels last observed in 1870; and that there has been a large reduction in absolute poverty. What accounts for such rapid development and catch-up? Surjit offers a short answer - the spread of education. Whilst acknowledging the advancements made by the developing world, The New Wealth of Nations also investigates the challenges for the explosion of education and technology, and why countries, rich and emerging, will have to explore options like basic income and negative income tax, so that a new welfare order, appropriate for the changed - and changing - 21st century can emerge.

Surjit Bhalla is a Senior India Analyst for the Observatory Group, a New York based macroeconomic policy advisory firm, and Chairman of Oxus Research & Investments. He has taught at the Delhi School of Economics and worked at the Rand Corporation, the Brookings Institution, World Bank, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank. He is on the governing board of National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), Delhi. He is a contributing Editor to The Indian Express. His first book, Between the Wickets: The Who and Why of the Best in Cricket (1987), developed a model for evaluating performance in sports.

This event is free but registration through Eventbrite is required to attend. Please click on the link below to register. Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

12  Jan  2018  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

Role of Trade and Investment in Driving Sustainable and Inclusive Growth

Suresh Prabhu (Minister for Commerce and Industry, Government of India)

Friday 12th January 2018, 2pm to 3.30pm, Old Theatre Old Building, LSE

Chair: Nicholas Stern (IG Patel Chair and Director, LSE India Observatory)

Indian High Commissioner in London, YK Sinha, will also participate.

Shri Suresh Prabhu will discuss the importance of trade and investment in driving sustainable growth and inclusion. He will also reflect on the future of India-UK collaborations in a changing world.

Prior to his current role he was Minister for Railways during November 2014 – September 2017. He is a Chartered Accountant and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India; has a Law degree; and is pursuing two PhD programs in climate change and economics, in Germany and in Mumbai.

Minister Prabhu is visiting London for a meeting of the India-UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee. He has been strategically leading the agenda for the future of multilateral trade at the recent WTO talks in Buenos Aires and beyond.

This event is free and open to all however a ticket is required to attend. Please click on the link below for details on how to obtain a ticket. View Video | Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

16  Oct  2017  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

India’s economy @ 70: A life and review

Monday 16th October 2017, 6.30pm to 8pm, Room CLM.6.02, 6th Floor, Clement House, LSE

Speaker: YV Reddy (Former Governor, Reserve Bank of India)

Chair: Nicholas Stern (IG Patel Chair and Director, LSE India Observatory)

Discussant: Charles Goodhart (Emeritus Professor of Banking and Finance with the LSE Financial Markets Group)

As governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Dr YV Reddy presided over a period of high growth, low inflation, stable rupee and ample foreign exchange and is credited with saving the Indian banking system from the sub-prime and global liquidity crisis of 2008. Based on his recent book Advice & Dissent, which reviews his influential life in public service and experiences, his talk will provide insights from his ringside view of India’s growth and change across the seven decades since independence and the emergence of the country as a key player in the global economy.

Dr Y V Reddy was the 21st Governor of RBI and has been Chairman of the 14th Finance Commission in 2013-14. He was an Executive Director at IMF, Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Principal Secretary Government of Andhra Pradesh among various key positions held by him. He is a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan and is an Honorary Fellow of the London School of Economics.

This event is free but registration through Eventbrite is required to attend. View Video | Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

5  Jul  2017  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

Ecosystem for Impact Investing in India

Wednesday 5th July 2017, 2.30pm to 4pm, Room 32L.LG.04, 32 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, LSE

Speaker: Mr Rana Kapoor (Founder, Managing Director & CEO of YES BANK)

Chair: Professor Lord Nicholas Stern (IG Patel Chair and Director, LSE India Observatory)

India has emerged as the third-largest startup ecosystem with about 4,200 tech startups alone. This entrepreneurship initiatives are also transcending into the social arena which along with ‘new-age’ financing models like ‘Impact Investing’ is expanding the grown of social entrepreneurs. Globally, Impact Investing has seen total Assets under Management (AuM) approximately 77.4 Bn, with India witnessing approximately 5.4 Bn of investments including Development Finance Institutions until 2015. Impact investments as a fraction of philanthropy is higher in India (about 9-12%) than globally (about 2%), and the investments have been made in about 300 Social Enterprises, with CleanTech and Financial Inclusion covering 90% of the ecosystem.

The government spent 6.7% of GDP on social sector in Financial Year 2015 and the recent policy impetus such as SIDBI Samridhi Fund (430 crore social venture capital fund). Thus India has the potential to be a $18-20bn market by 2020. With StartUp India, and StandUp India and other schemes (facilitate loans to Women and other disadvantaged groups) and through innovative frameworks like ‘Impact Investing’ that can help to boost the entrepreneurial spirit, it is now possible to concerted efforts toward overcoming India’s myriad societal challenges.

This event is free but registration through Eventbrite is required to attend. View Video | Podcast (MP3)

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

1  Dec  2016  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

Ten Years After the Stern Review: Economics, climate change and biodiversity

Nicholas Stern (India Observatory and LSE)

Co-organised with Government of Maharashtra and Sanctuary Nature Foundation

Discussion on the threats and prospects for development in an era of climate change.

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

16  Jun  2016  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

Dr Ambedkar’s Relevance Today and in the Future

Key Guest Speaker: Nobel Laureate and Bharat Ratna, Economist and Philosopher, Professor Amartya Sen

The Federation of Ambedkarite and Buddhist Organisations UK (FABO UK) in collaboration with the Inequality and Poverty Research Programme, Department of Anthropology at the LSE and the India Observatory at the LSE, are hosting an International Conference to mark the Centenary of Dr B R Ambedkar joining the LSE.

The aim of our Conference is to bring together academics, economists, business leaders, equality champions, politicians and women leaders to highlight the relevance of Dr Ambedkar’s work on the economic and social reforms in India and beyond; and to remove him from the pigeon-hole of ‘Leader of the Depressed Classes’ only.

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

16  Jun  2016  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

Maximizing the development outcomes of remittances: the role of multi-stakeholder approaches

About 250 million migrant workers live outside of their home countries. A significant majority of them send money home, impacting on average 4.5 people each in their countries of origin. Adding together all the millions of transactions involved, the World Bank estimates that these remittances surpassed US$450 billion to developing countries in 2015 and reached over a billion people.

Remittances increase the household income and living standards of those receiving them, providing additional funds for health, education, housing and investment. They now play a key role in the development agenda with the international community seeking to reduce costs (for example through the Sustainable Development Goal framework via target 10.c) and maximize the impact they can have on the individuals, communities and countries that receive them.

In recognition of this, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) proclaimed 16 June as the International Day of Family Remittances. To mark the day, this event will bring together speakers to discuss the potential of multi-stakeholder approaches – across sectors such as migration, banking, money transfer and development – in facilitating reliable and low-cost remittances, ensuring policy coherence and maximizing the outcomes of remittances.

Speakers will include Mohit Davar, Laura Hammond, Tauhid Pasha, Dilip Ratha and Carlos Vargas-Silva

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

10  May  2016  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

Rethinking the Global Monetary System

Raghuram Rajan (Professor of Finance at Chicago Booth)

The global financial crisis has shaken up the international financial architecture. Regulatory changes and unconventional monetary policies have mainly served the interests of advanced economies. Raghuram Rajan, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, would like to see more coordination to reduce volatility and a more effective "global safety net" to protect those most vulnerable. Organised with IGA, South Asia Centre and the High Commission of India. View Video

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

14  Apr  2016  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

A More Sustainable Energy Strategy for India

Montek Singh Ahluwalia

An important achievement of the UNFCCC meeting in Paris was that for the first time all countries, including developing countries, submitted the actions they proposed to take to reduce emissions in the form of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). Download Paper

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

14  Oct  2015  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

India: The Sustainable Green Growth Challenge

Jairam Ramesh (Former Minister of Environment and Forests, Government of India)

The debate on whether to privilege economic growth over ecological security is passé. Environmental considerations must be at the heart of economic growth, especially for a country of 1.25 billion people destined to add another 400 million by the middle of the century. Jairam Ramesh's new book Green Signals: Ecology, Growth, and Democracy in India chronicles the ‘1991 moment’ in India’s environmental decision-making, telling the story of how, for the first time, the doors of the environment ministry were opened to voices, hitherto unheard, into the policy-making process. It details efforts to change the way environment is viewed both by proponents of environmental security and those who prize economic growth at all costs. Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

8  Dec  2014  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

The Book of Gold Leaves: In conversation with Mirza Waheed

Mirza Waheed (Novelist and Journalist)

Acclaimed novelist Mirza Waheed will be introducing his new novel The Book of Gold Leaves: a book of piercing lyricism, a story of the impossible choice between personal duty and romantic love. ‘Waheed writes about war with a devastating and unflinching calm, with the melancholy wisdom of someone attuned to but never hardened by its horrors’ The Guardian ‘Like his great-grandfather's gold painting, Waheed's work will undoubtedly endure’ Financial Times Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

22  Sep  2014  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

The Bihar Story: Resurrection of the State, Inclusion and Growth

Jitan Ram Manjhi (Chief Minister of Bihar)

Co-organised with International Growth Centre

In the not so distant past, the Indian state of Bihar was a byword for lawlessness, poverty, and absence of governance. Over the last decade or so, the state has demonstrated a remarkable turnaround and has consistently been amongst the fastest growing states in the country. The Chief Minister of Bihar, Shri Jitan Ram Manjhi, will talk about the process that has led to this transformation and what this means for the people of Bihar. View Video

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

3  Apr  2014  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

Transforming Indian Cities: Challenges and opportunities

Isher Judge Ahluwalia

Co-hosted with International Growth Centre

Urban areas are integral to India’s growth and development, accounting for around two-thirds of the country’s GDP. Yet the country’s cities face severe challenges and are desperately in need of transformation. Isher Ahluwalia has been involved in efforts to make cities and urbanisation more central to the national policy agenda. Her recent book, Transforming Our Cities: Postcards of Change is published by Harper Collins and highlights stories of hope from a diverse range of Indian cities. For this lecture, Isher Ahluwalia will outline insights from her book to offer an analysis of the challenges and opportunities facing Indian cities at this critical juncture.

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

20  Jan  2014  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

The New Bihar: Rekindling Governance and Development

6.30pm to 8pm, Old Theatre, Old Building, LSE

Panellists: Daniel Alexander, Karan Bilimoria, Ranjan Mathai, Suhel Seth and NK Singh

Chair: Nicholas Stern

During the 1990s, the state of Bihar in India failed to benefit from the acceleration in India’s economic growth and in fact, slowed compared to the 1980s, principally because of a steep decline in the already low standards of governance. Bihar governance and economic performance changed dramatically after November 2005, when the Nitish Kumar government came to power. Within a short time, major initiatives were launched in improving governance, infrastructure, education especially primary and for girl children, health and agriculture. Significant improvements in law and order presumably induced and allowed a resurgence of economic activity in construction, trade and hotels/restaurants, and this has boosted the prospects for growth and development in this state.

In The New Bihar, N.K. Singh and Nicholas Stern have put together a collection of perspective essays by eminent scholars on the emerging Bihar model of development – its achievements, shortcomings and challenges. Eminent economists analyse the remarkable turnaround witnessed by Bihar – Amartya Sen provides a historical background of Bihar’s distinguished past, Kaushik Basu discusses the decline of Bihar in recent history and the turnaround since 2005. Meghnad Desai, Shankar Acharya and Arvind Virmani document how the state reversed its fortunes toward growth. Isher Judge Ahluwalia argues for a high rate of urbanisation to take the development story forward.

The panel will discuss the economic developments in recent years and future prospects for growth in Bihar.

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

17  Oct  2013  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

India at a Political Crossroads: The Countdown to the 2014 General Election

Sumantra Bose (Department of Government, LSE)

This event marks the publication of Professor Bose's new book Transforming India: Challenges to the World’s Largest Democracy.

A nation of 1.25 billion people composed of numerous ethnic, linguistic, religious, and caste communities, India is the world’s most diverse democracy. Drawing on his extensive fieldwork and experience of Indian politics, Sumantra Bose tells the story of democracy’s evolution in India since the 1950s - and describes the many challenges it faces in the early twenty-first century.

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

26  Jun  2013  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

An Uncertain Glory: The economic and social condition of modern India

Amartya Sen (Harvard University)

Maintaining rapid as well as environmentally sustainable growth remains an important and achievable goal for India. In this lecture, based on his new book written with Professor Jean Drèze, An Uncertain Glory, Sen will argue that the country's main problems lie elsewhere, particularly in the lack of attention that is paid to the essential needs of the people, especially the poor. One of the biggest failures has been the very inadequate use of the public resources generated by economic growth to expand India's lagging physical and social infrastructure (in sharp contrast, for example, to what China has done): there is a continued inadequacy both of social services such as schooling, medical care and immunization, and of physical services such as the provision of safe water, electricity, drainage and sanitation. Even as India has overtaken other countries in its rate of growth, because of these inadequacies it has, the book shows, fallen behind many of the same countries - often very poor ones - in quality of life.

Because of the importance of democracy in India, addressing these failures will require not only significant policy rethinking by the government, but also a better public understanding of the abysmal extent of social and economic deprivations. The deep inequalities in Indian society tend to constrict public discussion in India's vibrant media to the lives and concerns of the relatively affluent. Dreze and Sen argue that if there is to be more effective democratic practice, there has to be a clearer understanding of the severity of human deprivations in India.

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

18  Jun  2013  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

The Future of Asian Financial Markets in a Changing World

Zhu Min (International Monetary Fund)

Mr Zhu will review broad global trends and argue that globally we may be witnessing a fundamental shift in the direction of change. This shift will be analysed using several perspectives, including clusters and spillovers. Implications on global gravity, deleveraging, and growth will be discussed. Mr Zhu will also focus on the financial sector in Asia. After reviewing the current structure of the financial sector, he will discuss key challenges the sector is facing in Asia, including what the needs of the region are and how the financial sector can meet them, regulatory and supervisory challenges, regional integration, and participation on the global markets. Mr Zhu will conclude with the role of the Fund in helping Asia shape the future of its financial markets. Podcast (MP3)

Link to further information

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

11  Jun  2013  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

Responsible Corporations: Wealth and public good

9.30am to 11am, Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE

In India, business has never been just about wealth creation. Besides being engines of growth, corporations and their founders have long played a role in addressing pertinent social issues of their time. India is set to become one of the world’s leading producers of wealth, and with this has come renewed scrutiny of the role of businesses and their promoters. The adoption of legislation making CSR spending mandatory has also provided both new impetus and new challenges. This roundtable brings together business leaders, practitioners and academics to discuss the business of philanthropy. This discussion marks the launch of Revealing Indian Philanthropy, a new book co-edited by UBS and the India Observatory at the London School of Economics with contributions from leading Indian philanthropists.

Panellists

Mr Mathieu Cantegreil is Knowledge Manager in the Philanthropy and Value-based Investing team at UBS, AG.

Mr Dweep Chanana is Director in the Philanthropy and Value-based Investing team at UBS, AG

Mr S. Gopalakrishnan is President of Confederation of Indian Industry.

Mr Farhad Forbes is Director of Forbes Marshall Private Limited.

Dr Ruth Kattumuri is Co-Director of LSE India Observatory.

Mr Alok Kirloskar is Managing Director of SPP Pumps Limited.

Mr R Mukundan is Managing Director of Tata Chemicals Limited.

Mr Shankar Vanavarayar is President of Kamaraguru College of Technology. Podcast (MP3)

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.

10  Jun  2013  

LSE India Observatory Public Lecture

Revealing Indian Philanthropy

6pm to 7.30pm, Old Theatre, Old Building, LSE

From supporting the establishment of modern India to the innovative work of recent years, philanthropy has played, and continues to play, a critical role in the development of India. As the country is set to become one of the world’s leading producers of wealth it should therefore come as no surprise if it also takes the lead in philanthropy. However, philanthropy in the country remains largely unknown compared to other leading philanthropic nations. To mark the launch of the new book Revealing Indian Philanthropy which is available for download, this event will discuss the imaginative culture of giving in India and explore the influences shaping its future.

Panellists

Mrs Rajashree Birla is Chairperson of the Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development.

Mr Dweep Chanana is Director in the Philanthropy and Value-based Investing team at UBS, AG

Dr Ruth Kattumuri is Co-Director of the LSE India Observatory.

Mr Gautam Kumar is Head, Global South Asia, UBS Wealth Management.

Professor Lord Nicholas Stern is the IG Patel Chair of Economics and Government and Director of the LSE India Observatory. Download Paper View Video | Podcast (MP3)

For further information please contact india.observatory@lse.ac.uk or call 020 7955 7615.