Business correspondents (BCs) play an essential role in advancing financial inclusion and bringing financial services and products to unbanked and underbanked populations. RBI clearly recognizes and supports their role as stated in its financial inclusion strategy for 2020-2024 as well … Read More
Publications
Conducting a Systematic Review: Methodology and Steps
Systematic reviews have gained momentum as a key method of evidence synthesis in global development research in recent times. As defined in the Cochrane Handbook on Systematic reviews “Systematic reviews seek to collate evidence that fits pre-specified eligibility criteria in … Read More
Gender in Agriculture and Food Systems: An Evidence Gap Map
The 2007-2008 global food-price crisis disproportionately affected women, particularly smallholder women farmers. The subsequent responses by governments, multilateral agencies and other institutions over the last decade do not seem to have had the intended effect of addressing underlying power imbalances … Read More
Small Size, Big Impact: Employment Dynamics in Microenterprises during Covid-19
The COVID-19 outbreak has had severe repercussions across the economy, particularly on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and their workforce. There is a dearth of literature on the impact of acute crises on microenterprises, and this lack of information … Read More
Women’s Entrepreneurship in India: Harnessing the Gender Dividend
This brief highlights the key challenges in promoting women entrepreneurship in India, including social norms and biases, lack of education, unequal opportunities for affordable financing, and limited networking opportunities. It also outlines recommendations to address these social, economic and technological … Read More
Women Entrepreneurs as the Powerhouse of Recovery
This report brings forth evidence on the impact of COVID-19 on women enterprises in India, and delves into the various factors that inhibit their growth in the current context. It also highlights strategies for promoting women entrepreneurship through an ecosystem … Read More
Building Synergies to Achieve Holistic Digital Inclusion in India
LEAD has contributed a chapter in Volume 7 of A Better World – a magazine published by the Human Development Forum. Drawing on insights from a portfolio of research in the digital and financial inclusion space, the chapter outlines strategies … Read More
Increasing Awareness about Arsenic Contamination
This brief presents preliminary findings from an experimental study that attempts to understand how increasing awareness about water quality influences household behaviour relating to water treatment and use, and leads to positive health externalities.
The Landscape of Climate Finance in India: Issues With Access and Utilisation
This note outlines barriers to the access and utilisation of climate finance in India, drawing on desk review and discussions held during a webinar “The Landscape of Climate Finance in India: Issues with Access and Utilisation” organised by LEAD in … Read More
Phone Surveys and Sensitive Behaviour Reporting: Evidence from a Methods Experiment in India
This report presents insights from a study that examines the efficacy of phone surveys relative to in-person surveys in sensitive behaviour reporting within the Indian context. It also seeks to understand cost variations in phone surveys, relative to in-person surveys.