Shruti Jargad analysis the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party’s recommendations for the 15th five year plan—covering 2026 to 2030.

A Policy Brief in support of APF Canada's November 25, 2025, India-Canada Track 1.5 Dialogue on Critical Minerals and Supply Chain Resilience in New Delhi, India.

This commentary examines how recent events, including shifts in development aid and trust in global institutions, create both challenges and opportunities for the Global South to reshape health governance.

This blog has been adopted from Renu Kohli “Climate Shocks, Food Supply, and Prices: Do We Need to Rethink Macroeconomic Policies?” CSEP Working paper, October 3, 2025

This paper by Rajat Verma and Ganesh Sivamani seeks to simulate the impact of this cess on greenhouse gas emissions and GDP, using an environmentally extended input–output table.

This blog by Anindita Sinh and Sabine Karer examines the drivers behind the transformation within the relationship from hydrocarbons to critical minerals, Russia’s domestic policy ecosystem for critical minerals, a history of India and Russia’s energy cooperation, followed by the opportunities to further this collaboration.

This paper provides one of the first comprehensive mapping of India’s international partnerships on critical minerals and systematically analyses its domestic policymaking architecture.

Priyanka Tomar and Neethi Rao outline priorities on what India can both champion on the global stage at COP30 and pursue through domestic action, ensuring that international commitments and healthier lives at home.

This blog is based on a study by Janak Raj and Rakesh Mohan titled, 'Climate Finance Needs of Nine G20 EMEs: Well Within Reach'

This report explores four interconnected themes that are critical for the effective design and implementation of India’s climate finance taxonomy. The study shows that India has the opportunity to learn from international experiences while creating a taxonomy that reflects domestic priorities, supports green innovation, and expands ...

This contributory paper analyses the global and domestic challenges facing India’s mineral economy and outlines how, with a strategic shift, India can not only secure its own critical mineral needs but also become a key player in global mineral supply chains.

This blog has been authored by Renu Kohli and Kritima Bhapta and offers research highlights on India’s private investment paradox.

This contributory Executive Policy Brief urges policy advocates, civil society, and the bureaucracy to prioritise visible, electorally attractive initiatives that bridge supply-demand gaps and reiterate the importance of quality.

This blog is based on the study by Janak Raj and Rakesh Mohan, ‘An Assessment of Climate Finance – Nine G20 Emerging Economies’ it examines the climate finance requirements of nine EMEs from 2022 to 2030.

This study follows a bottom-up approach to assess climate finance requirements purely on account of transition to a low-carbon economy over and above the investment needed in business-as-usual (BAU) scenario.

In this blog Abhinand Siddharth talks about how celective sanctions on India expose the growing weaponisation of trade law in global energy politics.

This paper reviews the second round of Odisha distribution privatisation in detail to draw broader lessons and insights to help the process of structural reforms at the state level.

This paper examines the roles of India, the United States, Japan and Australia, both bilaterally and through the Quadrilateral partnership in driving port infrastructure development and enhancing shipping connectivity in the Bay of Bengal region.

This paper seeks to understand the recent trends in the RFLFPR in India as well examines whether there was a significant increase in the operations of MGNREGS and DAY-NRLM.

This blog by Neeraja Kulkarni offers a survey of the past three India-Africa Forum Summits while contextualising them within the broader scope of India-Africa relations discourse.

India's digital ecosystem holds immense promise, but fragmented governance may impede progress. Deepak Maheshwari elaborates in this blog.

This blog by Anindita Sinh examines how India’s longstanding energy ties with Gulf nations are entering a new era, one in which traditional oil partnerships are expanding to include joint efforts in the critical minerals sector.

The paper examines the convergence of recent climate shocks, which have created a unique and protracted inflationary episode, thus posing difficult questions about the adequacy of existing agricultural, trade, and macroeconomic policy frameworks.

This report helps provide a clear understanding of the institutional landscape to assess how future-ready the Indian digital ecosystem is for fostering innovation and serving the needs of a diverse society and rapidly growing economy with ever-evolving aspirations.

Authors Shreekant Gupta, Bishwanath Goldar, Shubham Dang, and Omer F. Baris ask whether financial markets distinguish between backsliding – a deterioration in environmental performance – and persistent underperformance.

A key challenge in evaluating QCOs has been the lack of systematic mapping between QCO regulations and their corresponding Harmonized System (HS) codes. To address this gap, an exercise was undertaken to map QCOs to unique HS codes. This blog by Prerna Prabhakar provides a snapshot ...

This paper examines the impact of QCOs on India’s exports and imports for the affected products, drawing on insights from industry stakeholder consultations.

The digital divide persists, especially along gender, geographic and generational lines. By combining the convening power of the public sector with private sector entrepreneurship, well-designed and executed public-private partnerships (PPPs) may bridge such gaps says Deepak Maheshwari.

This study evaluates the introduction of a theoretical carbon tax in India and assesses how to balance economic growth, equity considerations, and emissions reduction.

This study evaluates whether incremental RE can meet aggregate demand growth, examining time-of-day variations, asking if this can avoid higher fossil fuel use.

Response to the Department of Economics Affairs’ Public Consultation on the Draft Framework for India’s Climate Finance Taxonomy.

This paper seeks to decode India’s engagement in climate triangular cooperation (TrC) by exploring the role that triangular engagements play within India’s climate diplomacy, motivations that drive India and its partners to increase engagement in TrC and India’s policy options for expanding the impact and significance ...

This study explores Chinese narratives on South Asia with critical insights into how China perceives and communicates its role in the region. The paper uses discourse analysis to examine and interpret hundreds of mostly Chinese-language texts.

Constantino Xavier shares three broad learnings from his collaborative work with Jabin Jacob from a project over the past three years; the 2023 report 'How China Engages South Asia: Themes, Partners and Tools' to the 2025 report 'How China Engages South Asia: In the Open and ...

This blog by Pooja Ramamurthi and Tejal Atul Karad compares the national climate policies and goals set by the two countries and explores differences in governance and implementation models pursued by India and China.

This report provides a comprehensive examination of the copper sector in India, highlighting its current status, strategic importance, and emerging vulnerabilities throughout the supply chain.

This blog is based on Janak Raj and Rakesh Mohan's latest study "India’s Climate Finance Requirements: An Assessment”.

This study follows a bottom-up approach to estimate the climate finance requirement of four key sectors—power, road transport, steel, and cement – accounting for over half of India’s carbon emissions.

This commentary, emerging from the Regional World Health Summit in New Delhi (April 2025), examines how countries in South and Southeast Asia are responding to these pressures through enhanced regional cooperation. The authors identify five key pathways for strengthening collective health governance.

This blog by Sushovan Chakraborty and Roya Sinha examines the evolving state of implementation of border fencing with India’s neighbours – an issue that remains an understudied but crucial aspect of border management.

This study empirically analyses the impact of bank infrastructure financing on NPAs, investigating whether public sector banks (PSBs) are involved in poor lending decisions and exploring the structural risks inherent in infrastructure projects.

This study uses a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model to evaluate the macroeconomic and fiscal effects of the CBAM on India, with a focus on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) impact, sectoral competitiveness, exports, fiscal revenue, and household welfare.

This study uses a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model to evaluate the macroeconomic and fiscal effects of the CBAM on India, with a focus on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) impact, sectoral competitiveness, exports, fiscal revenue, and household welfare.

This blog by Sushovan Chakraborty and Roya Sinha suggests four ways that New Delhi can prepare for a functional connectivity with Dhaka.

India remains a marginal player in global automobile exports. While its cars are affordable and capable, they do not reach far-flung markets. This paradox, of world-class potential constrained by an inward-looking industrial strategy, raises important questions about incentives, trade policy, and the role of the state, ...

The paper examines the potential impact of servicification on employment in India’s manufacturing sector, with empirical analysis to show a positive association between the two.

There is gap highlights how rapidly Japanese capital can shift toward business-friendly environments and how India’s policy frictions can undermine its market advantages, Chandler Compton explains in this blog.

To win back Japanese capital, India must pursue a policy agenda that addresses the specific regulatory friction and supply chain challenges that drove Japanese manufacturers to ASEAN, while leveraging Japan’s unique strengths in technology and infrastructure development explains Chandler Compton in this blog.

The study addresses how current net metering rules influence system sizing, payback periods, and adoption likelihood across consumer categories and the resulting financial impacts on Discoms.

Examining India’s current position in the global green goods market, its comparative advantages, and its tariff policies provides a good starting point to assess the country’s readiness to emerge as a global leader in this vital space. This blog by Nancy Gupta and Prerna Prabhakar attempts ...

This is the second report in a multi-year research project on China’s expanding influence in South Asia, from Afghanistan to Myanmar and Nepal to Sri Lanka. It offers a comprehensive framework to understand the range, methods, and implications of China’s rising influence which has profound implications ...

OTP Please delves into the wondrous new world of electronic commerce by connecting diverse stories and perspectives gathered across South Asia, from Peshawar to Patna and Colombo to Kathmandu.

This policy brief by Riya Sinha and Giulia Tercovich examines how the EU’s Global Gateway and India’s regional connectivity vision can be aligned to advance shared priorities in the Indo-Pacific.

What does ‘quality education’ truly mean, and how can we ensure it is accessible to all children, regardless of their background? This book delves into these pressing questions, offering a comprehensive exploration of the challenges and opportunities within India’s education system.

This book offers a comprehensive analysis of India’s healthcare challenges and the pathways to achieving universal health coverage. It critically examines the current healthcare landscape, highlighting persistent issues such as under-nutrition, demographic transitions, and pandemic vulnerabilities.

Sambandh conducts data-driven research to map infrastructure and connectivity links between South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Bay of Bengal and the larger Indo-Pacific regions. The initiative was launched in 2020.

This paper examines key issues surrounding capex in India, focusing on central- and state-level practices, transparency and reporting challenges, alignment with international standards, adjusted capex estimates and actionable policy recommendations.

This paper examines the current shifts in global geopolitics and their implications for India, particularly the impact of the Trump administration’s new policies.

Based on an analysis of evolving global trade contours, this paper delineates key trade policy measures for India.

This article by Anindita Sinh explores the evolution of the India-Japan economic relationship, Japan’s domestic and international policies in the critical minerals sector, the evolution of India and Japan’s critical minerals cooperation, and the pathways for enhancing this partnership.

In this blog, Priyadarshini Singh argues that the slew of initiatives on health and education in Karnataka over the last several months are limited in significantly improving the uptake of government's primary healthcare and elementary schooling. She makes policy recommendations to enable the emergence of new ...

In this blog, Laveesh Bhandari explains the burning questions from his and Amaresh Dubey's discussion paper, India at Work: Employment Trends in the 21st Century

This discussion paper examines the increasing prominence of health in global climate discourse and action and goes on to analyse India’s role in this context. It calls for further research into India’s policy effectiveness, financing strategies, and governance mechanisms, ensuring that its climate-health initiatives are both ...

The Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) is delighted to share the Annual Report for 2024-2025.

The paper examines economic outcomes such as GDP before and after Publicly Available Digital Infrastructure (PADI) adoption, using the UPI launch as a proxy for one of the most visible PADI interventions.

Published in the Indian Public Policy Review journal, this paper extends the methodologies developed in earlier papers to critically examine capital expenditure (capex) reporting practices in India.

The paper employs a novel approach, which focuses on the total number of those employed rather than unemployment rates across different demographic and employment segments, while also disregarding subsidiary employment, allows us to draw definitive conclusions about changing employment patterns.

The paper employs a novel approach, which focuses on the total number of those employed rather than unemployment rates across different demographic and employment segments, while also disregarding subsidiary employment, allows us to draw definitive conclusions about changing employment patterns.

The paper explores alternative policy approaches to the expansion of quality medical education through the scaling-up of existing medical educational institutions.

This paper examines the affordability of healthcare—who can afford it and how much is affordable—for households in the third and fourth quintiles in India, taking into consideration the aspect of willingness to pay. Based on the affordability analysis, it attempts to identify reform options for UHC.

For India, it is imperative to address core competitiveness issues—not only to face emerging challenges but also to seize potential opportunities, write Prerna Prabhakar, Sanjay Kathuria, and TG Srinivasan in this blog.

This paper examines the affordability of healthcare—who can afford it and how much is affordable—for households in the third and fourth quintiles in India, taking into consideration the aspect of willingness to pay. Based on the affordability analysis, it attempts to identify reform options for UHC.

In this blog, Shyamasis Das and Rahul Tongia talk about the importance of tracking Vehicle Kilometres in detail.

This paper examines the core issues that have prevented India from achieving manufacturing competitiveness and suggests policy priorities to overcome these challenges. The authors take a novel approach by modifying the well-known Porter’s Diamond Model (PDM) to do so.

What is driving the making of state-level initiatives? Why and when does a state make new initiatives for its health and education systems, irrespective of whether the initiatives end up improving the systems or not? Priyadarshini Singh explores these questions in her blog.

This paper examines the core issues that have prevented India from achieving manufacturing competitiveness and suggests policy priorities to overcome these challenges. The authors take a novel approach by modifying the well-known Porter’s Diamond Model (PDM) to do so.

This paper is part of a three-state study on the drivers of state-level initiatives in primary healthcare and elementary education in urban areas during the last decade, from 2014 to 2024.

This paper is part of a three-state study on the drivers of state-level initiatives in primary healthcare and elementary education in urban areas during the last decade, from 2014 to 2024.

Can India balance growth in electricity demand purely from Renewable Energy (RE)? This analysis demonstrates that India’s 2030 RE targets, even if achieved, will likely fall short of meeting projected electricity demand growth, particularly when considering the critical challenges of ToD balancing and storage limitations.

Can India balance growth in electricity demand purely from Renewable Energy (RE)? This analysis demonstrates that India’s 2030 RE targets, even if achieved, will likely fall short of meeting projected electricity demand growth, particularly when considering the critical challenges of ToD balancing and storage limitations.

What drives state growth? This paper establishes two fundamental growth axes: state level attributes and key economic centres (KECs).

In the last decade, India has engaged with archaeology and conservation at various sites in other countries. The attached novel database of sites can pave the way for future research about India’s heritage diplomacy, writes Aleksandr Kuzmenchuk

India and Australia have intensified their engagement on critical minerals, recognising their strategic importance for economic and energy security, technology development, and industrial resilience, writes Anindita Sinh.

This paper examines the impact of EV uptake on three tax streams: Excise and Value Added Tax (VAT) losses from fuel switch to electricity, revenue forgone from concessional GST rates and Compensation Cess exemptions; and state losses from Motor Vehicle tax exemptions.

This paper examines the impact of EV uptake on three tax streams: Excise and Value Added Tax (VAT) losses from fuel switch to electricity, revenue forgone from concessional GST rates and Compensation Cess exemptions; and state losses from Motor Vehicle tax exemptions.

The policy brief focuses on regional cooperation mechanisms, including the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and the Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem Project (BOBLME), write Pooja Ramamurthi & Riya Sinha for the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies.

India has committed to ambitious targets, aiming to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070; however, this transition away from fossil fuels presents significant fiscal and institutional challenges, that warrant careful examination.

It is hoped that policymakers will take note of the urgent needs of cities, especially of the urban poor, write Indrani Gupta and Alok Kumar Singh in this blog.

Since 2020, the government has also introduced sector-specific production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes to drive manufacturing growth further. However, despite these efforts, the sector’s contribution remains well below the targeted levels writes Prerna Prabhakar in this blog.

The pace of change in Asian geopolitics is accelerating. What role will India play in a rebalanced Asian system? - Shivshankar Menon writes for the Lowy Institute.

This paper examines the growing challenges of urban health in India, focusing on the disparities between the urban poor and non-poor populations. The analysis compares urban and rural areas, emphasising inequalities across wealth quintiles and highlighting the increasing vulnerability of urban slum dwellers.

This paper examines the growing challenges of urban health in India, focusing on the disparities between the urban poor and non-poor populations. The analysis compares urban and rural areas, emphasising inequalities across wealth quintiles and highlighting the increasing vulnerability of urban slum dwellers.

The paper provides a comprehensive overview of India’s evolving framework for climate change governance, assessing India’s federal structure and proposing strategies for enhancing institutional support and coordination for climate action.

From the Maldives to Myanmar and Vietnam to Indonesia, India’s claim to civilisational power is driving efforts to conserve heritage sites abroad write Aleksandr Kuzmenchuk & Constantino Xavier.

As New Delhi looks to diversify its Critical Minerals partnerships, the multidimensional relationship between India and the SADC must be honed further to establish resilient supply chains, Veda Vaidyanathan and Anika Vijapur write.

Based on new evidence, this paper offers policy recommendations for an Indian critical minerals strategy in Africa. It aims to explain why, where, and how India can build strategic collaborations with mineral-rich countries in the region.

Based on new evidence, this paper offers policy recommendations for an Indian critical minerals strategy in Africa. It aims to explain why, where, and how India can build strategic collaborations with mineral-rich countries in the region.

The Union Budget 2025-26 has emphasised reforms in the mining sector. To ensure requisite availabilities of critical minerals, customs duty rates on 12 critical minerals have been brought down to zero along with cobalt powder, waste and scraps of lithium, lead and zinc, Rajesh Chadha and ...

As India aims for UHC through a health insurance model, this paper addresses a crucial question which emerges: How can India achieve UHC while effectively addressing the population’s health needs, especially those of the poorest segment?

As India aims for UHC through a health insurance model, this paper addresses a crucial question which emerges: How can India achieve UHC while effectively addressing the population’s health needs, especially those of the poorest segment?

This paper proposes a comprehensive strategy for India to address CBAM challenges and position itself for a sustainable future in the global export market.

This paper analyses the landscape of demand-side health financing in India, focusing on its progress, challenges, and potential pathways towards achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

Ashwini Chitnis, Aparajita Nair Dmonty & Daljit Singh examine the financial situation of Delhi’s discoms and draw lessons about the role of the regulatory commission in shaping these outcomes.

India’s efforts in this area have seen some progress in recent years, but the gains have been insufficient to unlock the true potential of cross-border railways as a game-changer for regional trade, writes Riya Sinha.

This study analyses the causes of bottlenecks in the global supply chains that affect mineral access to all countries. It also highlights methods adopted by different countries to ensure resilient supplies and evaluates supply chain challenges for India that need strategic policy actions.

This study analyses the causes of bottlenecks in the global supply chains that affect mineral access to all countries. It also highlights methods adopted by different countries to ensure resilient supplies and evaluates supply chain challenges for India that need strategic policy actions.

This report is a collaborative effort by Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP), Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation (SSEF).

Addressing safety, social networks, training, and hiring discrimination can help break barriers to women’s employment in South Asia, but shifting social norms remains crucial for lasting change.

This paper investigates the persistent slowdown in India’s private consumption expenditure, examining the underlying factors and exploring prospects for revival.

This paper was published in the Asian Economic Policy Review (AEPR), edited by Takatoshi Ito, Kazumasa Iwata, Colin McKenzie and Shujiro Urata. AEPR is the journal of the Japan Center for Economic Research.

This paper was published in the Asian Economic Policy Review (AEPR), edited by Takatoshi Ito, Kazumasa Iwata, Colin McKenzie and Shujiro Urata. AEPR is the journal of the Japan Center for Economic Research.

This paper explores the reasons behind India’s slow urbanisation and its broader implications for economic growth, governance, and sustainable development. It also outlines critical policy actions needed to address these challenges.

Based on a data-driven analysis, the research insights have brought to light why or why not India’s electricity grid is turning cleaner fast enough and the possible challenges to materialise the decarbonisation plan.

This paper validates and reconstructs India’s energy balance using official sources, complemented by more disaggregated data to establish a new framework for assessing policy impacts on the energy flows and emissions.

This paper identifies how subsidy spending has been accounted for in India and explains the resultant data gaps that render such fiscal data inconsistent and incomparable across levels of government.