Seeta* is a teenager in rural Uttar Pradesh. Harassment by boys from the village had become an ordinary spectacle that relentlessly continued every day as she traced her steps to school. Despite her fears, a wary Seeta chose to not confide in her parents because she was afraid of being accused of promiscuous behaviour. Her dreams of completing college and securing a decent job also hung in the anvil. Seeta’s hopes were dashed when her parents eventually found out about the
COVID-19 Vaccinations: A Double Whammy for Rural Women in India
As the second wave of COVID-19 hit India and countries across the world, severe oxygen shortages, overloaded hospital beds, and acute shortage of critical medicines resulted in a severe public health crisis. The economic and social fallouts of the pandemic have also affected
Navigating the Research-Policy Interface during Crises Situations: What We Have Learned
As the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic gripped India and the world in early March 2021, discussions about vaccination inequities, and reopening schools and public spaces caught our attention once again. Social media, particularly the Twitterverse, was inundated with debates between epidemiologists, public health experts, economists, and armchair experts. Emily Oster, an economist at Brown University, and a strong advocate for using data to guide the decision of reopening schools in the US, found herself in the middle of
Women’s Collectives and Individual Enterprise: A Livelihoods Model for Rural Women in Central India
This blog presents an example of an existing livelihoods model to undertake a critical evaluation of how entrepreneurship is conceived for rural women in self-help groups (SHGs) in two parts. The purpose of this two-part blog is to show that the dominant construction of entrepreneurs as autonomous economic agents who move with, and towards, opportunities does not necessarily apply to our sample of rural SHG women in Chhattisgarh. Using data from an ongoing impact evaluation study, Part 1 describes the design and
Point of View: LEAD in Conversation with Samik Sundar Das
Introducing our new feature series ‘Point of View’, where we speak with experts from different sectors to unpack some of the complex development challenges that they are working on and learn from their experiences. LEAD has been working in the MSME space for over a decade and a half – looking at questions such as why are small businesses stuck in low productivity traps, and what kind of interventions can help them access capital, technology and build skills in new
Menstrual Hygiene Day 2021: Shifting Norms and Improving Women’s Access to Safe Alternatives
The adoption of the human right to water and sanitation by a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly in July 2010 helped ensure that a human rights perspective is integrated into the design and delivery of water, sanitation and hygiene programming. Global experiences, however, suggest that it has been difficult to fulfil the right to sanitation and uphold equality and non-discrimination as foundational principles of human rights law. In regions where sanitation gaps are highest, severe disparities in access
LEAD’s New Website is Live – Marking our Complete Transition to a New Visual Identity
At LEAD, we believe in the power of communicating knowledge effectively to create impact – at every step in our journey, we have endeavoured to bring out the best possible outcomes for all stakeholders involved. As a leading action-oriented research organisation in the development sector, we also understand the value of timely thought leadership and making insights easily accessible to the broader ecosystem – especially in the current context, as decision-makers are navigating increasing uncertainty and must make informed decisions
The MSME Budget: Will a Rising Tide Lift All Boats?
The Budget for 2021 raises important questions on scheme-wise allocations in the MSME outlay. Kartikeya Bhatotia and Nilanjana Bargotra delve into the fine-print and explain what this year’s Budget really means for the MSME sector.
Valuing Water Quality this World Water Day
The world achieved the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) drinking water target in 2010, well ahead of the 2015 deadline. Even so, a key lesson from the MDG period for the water sector was that access to drinking water is not an effective proxy for the quality or safety of water accessed by households. Globally, waterborne diseases have emerged as a significant public health risk in recent years and are principally linked to contamination of drinking water with fecal matter and
Behind the Numbers: What is Helping Bangladesh get ahead of India in the wake of COVID-19?
In this piece, Research Associate Kartikeya Bhatotia examines the factors that have contributed to Bangladesh’s incredible economic growth story, and draws lessons for India.
