This month on CPR Perspectives — our flagship interview series commemorating the Centre for Policy Research’s 50th anniversary — we bring you a conversation with Rahul Verma, a Fellow at CPR, where he leads the Politics Initiative. Verma is a political scientist who earned his PhD from the University of California – Berkeley, with a focus on the role of political parties, ideology and dynastic families in Indian politics. His book, Ideology and Identity: The Changing Party Systems of India,...

This month on CPR Perspectives — our flagship interview series commemorating the Centre for Policy Research’s 50th anniversary — we bring you a conversation with Mekhala Krishnamurthy, a Senior Fellow at CPR where she built the State Capacity Initiative. Krishnamurthy has spent the last 15 years engaging with questions of how the state interacts with markets and the broader economy, and what the actual lived experiences of those on the frontlines of these intersections can tell policymakers...

This month on CPR Perspectives — our flagship interview series commemorating the Centre for Policy Research’s 50th anniversary — we bring you a conversation with Arkaja Singh, a Fellow at CPR, who has worked across a whole range of topics broadly converging around the idea of ‘administrative coherence. Having studied at the National Law School and SOAS, Singh spent a decade in development sector consulting and research before joining CPR. She has conducted research across a wide span of...

We have a particularly special edition of CPR Perspectives – our flagship interview series commemorating the Centre for Policy Research’s 50th anniversary. This month officially marks 50 years since the Centre was founded, back in 1973, as an institution that would work to produce field-defining research and vital policy insights relevant for both the country’s decision-makers as well as an informed public.  To mark the occasion, this edition of CPR Perspectives features a conversation with...

This month on CPR Perspectives — our flagship interview series commemorating the Centre for Policy Research’s 50th anniversary — we bring you a conversation with Neelanjan Sircar, a Senior Fellow at CPR, who has brought a combination of data analysis and qualitative research to a wide range of subjects including India's political economy, urbanisation and climate change. Following degrees in Applied Mathematics and Economics, Sircar received a PhD in political science from Columbia...

This month on CPR Perspectives — our flagship interview series commemorating the Centre for Policy Research’s 50th anniversary — we bring you a conversation with D Shyam Babu, a Senior Fellow at CPR, who has over the years worked on subjects as varied as nuclear non-proliferation and national security as well as socio-economic mobility among Dalits and the societal impacts of liberalisation.  Shyam Babu was first associated with CPR in 1989, after which he spent time as a journalist and then...

This month on CPR Perspectives — our flagship interview series commemorating the Centre for Policy Research’s 50th anniversary — we bring you a conversation with Mukta Naik, a Fellow at CPR, whose work focuses on informal housing, internal migration and what these subjects can tell us about India's urban transformation. Naik is an architect and urban planner, who works with the Initiative on Cities, Economy & Society at CPR. Prior to joining CPR, she worked with a social enterprise –...

This month on CPR Perspectives — our flagship interview series commemorating the Centre for Policy Research’s 50th anniversary — we bring you a conversation with KP Krishnan, an Honorary Research Professor at CPR. Krishnan spent three and a half decades in the IAS, retiring in 2019 as Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. Over his years in the civil services, he served at positions in the government of Karnataka and the Union Government, as well as a stint at the...

This month on CPR Perspectives – our flagship interview series commemorating the Centre for Policy Research’s 50th anniversary – we bring you a conversation with Avani Kapur, a senior fellow at CPR, where she also leads the Accountability Initiative. The Accountability Initiative focuses on conducting cutting-edge research on India’s public service delivery systems and leveraging this information by ensuring it reaches government officials, academics and citizens with the aim of promoting...

This month on CPR Perspectives – our flagship interview series commemorating the Centre for Policy Research’s 50th anniversary – we bring you a conversation with Partha Mukhopadhyay, a senior fellow at CPR, where he also leads the Initiative on Cities, Economy and Society. Mukhopadhyay is one of the foremost experts on urbanisation, although his expertise extends well beyond the subject. He has been at CPR since 2006, after having been on the founding team at the Infrastructure Development...

To mark CPR’s 50th anniversary, we are delighted to present a brand new interview series called CPR Perspectives. Every month we plan to bring you a flagship conversation, with Rohan Venkat interviewing a faculty member on their research, policy practice and engagement with the most critical questions of our age. Over the past five decades, the Centre for Policy Research has played a unique role in India’s policy landscape, tackling concerns as varied and vital as climate change and...

In the third episode of Road to COP27, a special series as part of India Speak: The CPR Podcast, Navroz K. Dubash speaks to Rachel Kyte, Dean of The Fletcher School at Tufts University on the geopolitical context for COP27 and its implications. This series will bring leading experts in the lead up to Conference of the Parties (COP) 27, being held from 6-18 November 2022 at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. They discuss the Inflation Reduction Act, the new climate legislation passed by the United...

In the second episode of Road to COP27, a special series as part of India Speak: The CPR Podcast, Navroz K. Dubash speaks to Saleemul Huq, Director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) in Bangladesh, on the loss and damage debate that is expected to play a substantial role on the agenda. This series will bring leading experts in the lead up to Conference of the Parties (COP) 27, taking place from 6-18 November 2022 at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. They discuss the...

CPR is delighted to launch a new series titled, Road to COP27 as part of India Speak: The CPR Podcast. Hosted by Navroz Dubash (Professor, Initiative on Climate, Energy and Environment, CPR), this series will bring leading experts in the lead up to Conference of the Parties (COP) 27, taking place from 6-18 November 2022 at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. In the first episode of the series, Dubash speaks to Harald Winkler (Professor in PRISM, School of Economics at the University of Cape Town) on...

In the sixth episode of CPR's series titled, Spotlight South Asia, we analyse the developments in Bangladesh. Hosted by Senior Fellow, Sushant Singh, this series features leading experts from India's neighborhood to make sense of the political, economic and social developments in these countries and what they mean for India. Our guest for this episode is Syed Akhtar Mahmood, an economist and former lead Private Sector Specialist in the World Bank Group where he worked on private sector...

In the fifth episode of CPR's new series titled, Spotlight South Asia, we analyse the developments in Afghanistan. Hosted by Senior Fellow, Sushant Singh, this series features leading experts from India's neighborhood to make sense of the political, economic and social developments in these countries and what they mean for India. Our guest for this episode is Mirwais Balkhi, a visiting scholar at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Services. From 2018 to 2020, he served as the minister...

In the fourth episode of CPR's new series titled, Spotlight South Asia, we analyze the developments in Bhutan. Hosted by Senior Fellow, Sushant Singh, this series features leading experts from India's neighborhood to make sense of the political, economic and social developments in these countries and what they mean for India. Our guest for this episode is Tenzing Lamsang, the Editor of The Bhutanese, a private newspaper in Thimphu, Bhutan. He is also the President of the Media Association of...

In the third episode of CPR's new series titled, Spotlight South Asia, we analyse the developments in Nepal. Hosted by Senior Fellow, Sushant Singh, this series features leading experts from India's neighborhood to make sense of the political, economic and social developments in these countries and what they mean for India. Our guest for this episode is Amish Raj Mulmi, an editor and writer based out of Kathmandu in Nepal. He is the author of the book, “All Roads Lead North: Nepal’s Turn to...

In the second episode of CPR's new series titled, Spotlight South Asia, we analyse the developments in Pakistan. Hosted by Senior Fellow, Sushant Singh, this series features leading experts from India's neighborhood to make sense of the political, economic and social developments in these countries and what they mean for India. Our guest for this episode is Mosharraf Zaidi, a Pakistani public policy professional and the Founder and CEO of Tabadlab, an Islamabad-based policy think-tank....

CPR is delighted to launch a new series titled Spotlight South Asia as part of its podcast, India Speak. Hosted by Senior Fellow, Sushant Singh, this series features leading experts from India's neighborhood to make sense of the political, economic and social developments in these countries and what they mean for India. In the first episode of this series, we analyse the developments in Sri Lanka. Our guest is Dilrukshi Handunnetti, an international award winning investigative journalist...

In the final episode of CPR's special series as part of Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav on the Indian Civil Services (ICS), our host, Yamini Aiyar (President and Chief Executive, CPR) speaks with Dr KP Krishnan (Honorary Research Professor, CPR and Former Civil Servant) about the relationship between Indian democracy and the civil services and the changing dynamics between the politician and the civil servant. Aiyar and Krishnan discuss the politicisation of the bureaucracy and how it can be made...

In the third episode of CPR's special series as part of Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav on the Indian Civil Services (ICS), our host, Yamini Aiyar (President and Chief Executive, CPR) is joined by Dr KP Krishnan (Honorary Research Professor, CPR and Former Civil Servant) to discuss the ailing framework of India's steel frame and the implications of economic transitions on the direction of ICS reforms. Aiyar and Krishnan discuss the frame of reference within which the discourse of reform has taken...

In the second episode of CPR's special series as part of Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav on the Indian Civil Services (ICS), our host, Yamini Aiyar (President and Chief Executive, CPR) is joined by Dr KP Krishnan (Honorary Research Professor, CPR and Former Civil Servant) to discuss the shifts in the design of the ICS, whether explicitly through policy changes or implicitly, in adapting to the complex social and political challenges of the country. Aiyar and Krishnan discuss the impact and...

In a special episode of India Speak: The CPR Podcast, Patha Mukhopadhyay (Senior Fellow, CPR) is joined by Rohan Samarajiva (Chair, LIRNEasia) to discuss the ongoing Sri Lankan economic crisis. Samarajiva sheds light on the current situation and the factors that led to it, shedding light on whether the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict became the last straws in contributing to this crisis. They also discuss the inherent strengths of the Sri Lankan economy and polity and...