Institutions and Society

The Pollution Map developed at the Centre for Development Finance (CDF) endeavours to support more meaningful tracking of environmental change by creating a repository of pollution monitoring data to capture and disseminate information to civil society in asystematic and user-friendly … Read More

Forest conservation through REDD projects can achieve a measure of success by giving ownership rights and economic incentives to indigenous communities. This brief examines the policy and implementation framework for such an approach, provides recommendations for the way forward.

With nearly 70% of India’s population living in rural areas, many households still do not have access to affordable and reliable sources of electricity. This lack of access hampers households income generation capacity as well as their ability to use … Read More

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is a comprehensive plan to provide free education to all children in the age group 6-14 years. It was launched in 2001 with an initial outlay of Rs.7000 crore. This brief presents the salient features of … Read More

Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY) is an employment generation programme that provides income-generating assets through a mix of bank credit and government subsidy. In 1999, SGSY replaced Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP), the government’s flagship programme on rural development, integrated … Read More

Sampoorna Grameen Rojgar Yojana (SGRY) provided wage employment and food security, by undertaking labour-intensive work in rural areas and contributes to the creation of durable community assets. Wages were paid as a combination of foodgrains and cash. In 2008, the … Read More

The National Rural Health Mission, launched in 2005, is the largest primary healthcare programme run in the world and reflects the Government of India’s commitment to increase public spending on health to 2-3 percent of GDP. It aims provide effective … Read More

A flagship programme of the UPA government, the NREGS was announced in 2005. It was introduced in 200 of the country’s most backward districts in 2006 and was expanded to cover all 615 rural districts across India in 2008. Today, … Read More

One of two flagship programmes initiated to achieve the goal of Education for All, India’s Mid Day Meal (MDM) scheme is the largest school lunch programme in the world. It currently reaches 12 crore children in 9.5 lakh schools across … Read More

ICDS is a comprehensive programme designed to ensure the holistic development of children. It is one of the largest childcare programmes in the world and has been in operation for more than three decades. This scheme brief examines the salient … Read More