Center for New Economics Studies

Interviewed by: Ishani Sharma and Jatin Tatia

In this episode of InterLinked's sub-series, Kitabon ka Karwaan, Ishani and Jatin conducted a book interview with Prof Tripti Bhushan on her book "Looking into the Question of Terrorism in India: Through the Prism of International Law". Prof Bhushan began by discussing her motivation behind choosing terrorism as the point of focus and inculcating the perspective of international law as well. She also talked about the history of terrorism in India and how it evolved over time, giving an insight into how factors such as globalisation and technology impact the nature of terrorism in India. Prof Bhuan also discussed the role of international law in addressing terrorism and how it can contribute towards counterterrorism measures. She also emphasised the role of media in shaping public perceptions towards terrorism and discussed the importance of engaging with local communities in counterterrorism efforts. The conversation concluded with Prof Bhushan talking about the way forward for terrorism and giving her take on what steps can India take to effectively counter terrorism.

Image Source: https://www.thequint.com/news/india/india-counter-terrorism-policy

Interviewed by: Jatin Tatia

The podcast starts with understanding the motivation behind the Author's drive to create this book. The converstaion entailed the experience of the professor which is collected and propogated through his book. The podcast highlights the key insights of the book. we discussed that the initial step towards personal growth is to cultivate grit, a quality that involves persevering through challenges and setbacks. In addition to this, it is important to develop the ability to tolerate boredom, as it can be a necessary precursor to creativity and learning. The second practice centers around using insights from behavioral economics to steer yourself towards making better decisions. Another key practice involves embracing intellectual humility and recognizing the limits of your own knowledge. The podcast also highlights the value of cross-disciplinary thinking and the power of combining ideas from different fields to generate new insights. it's also important to recognize the value of interdisciplinary thinking. By exploring and integrating insights from different fields, you can gain a more nuanced understanding of complex problems and develop innovative solutions. This approach can be especially valuable in the corporate ecosystem, where companies increasingly seek out employees with diverse skill sets and perspectives. By embracing an interdisciplinary mindset, you can position yourself for greater success and growth within your career. The podcast also gives a take on mindful choices. Given the constant barrage of distractions and misinformation in modern life, it is crucial to be selective in the choices you make and focus on what truly matters to you. Finally, the last practice involves adopting an entrepreneurial mindset and proactively seeking out opportunities to achieve your goals.

Professor Priyank Narayan is a seasoned entrepreneur and an educationist who brings with him rich experience in organization building. He is an alumnus of AIM, Manila, and IIM Ahmedabad, and is currently a visiting faculty at IIT Delhi, Department of Management Studies. Being the Founder of IndiaPreneurship, which identifies Indian entrepreneurial opportunities to the world, he is adept at giving incredible insights for entrepreneurial success which finds application in the broader sense of life as well. Professor is also the Founding Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship at Ashoka University, a leading liberal arts university. Priyank teaches courses on Design Thinking, Innovation Management, and Developing an Entrepreneurial Mindset.

Image source: https://www.inc.com/john-rampton/15-ways-to-increase-productivity-at-work.html

In developing countries, a large section of women is vulnerable and marginalized due to a lack of education, access to resources and employment opportunities. In India, the self-help group (SHG) movement is among the most effective incubators of female resilience and entrepreneurship in rural regions. It is a great tool for changing the gender social construct in communities. SHGs are a unique model for India, and they also face a distinctive set of problems, including a lack of a formal manufacturing chain, linguistic and technological obstacles, and others.

To have a meaningful conversation in this regard, the team Swabhimaan is in conversation with Ms Smriti Lamech who’s a journalist, a writer and an entrepreneur. She is also the founder of The Smritsonian which was launched during the pandemic to provide employment/marketing assistance to local women’s sewing self-help groups and charitable trusts that were impacted by the Covid-19-mandated lockdown.

Interviewed by: Bilquis Calcuttawala

We begin our discussion with the team by providing a quick overview of MAKAAM and the Feminist Policy Collective, who worked together on this project. This helps us to better understand why this particular research topic was selected. The focus then shifts to how women farmers define the workplace and the various forms of violence they experience as agricultural workers in various sectors, whether it be from migrant workers, single women from families where suicide has occurred, sugarcane workers, or single women asserting their land rights. We conclude our conversation by discussing the impact of the pandemic and the redressal mechanisms that can be used by these women.

This is a study conducted as a partnership between the Feminist Policy Collective (FPC) and Mahila Kisan Adhikaar Manch (MAKAAM), with the generous support of Society for Health Alternatives (SAHAJ), Area Networking and Development Initiatives (ANANDI), and Society for Promoting Participative Ecosystem Management (SOPPECOM).

Access the report here

Image Source: Neetu Singh/Gaon Connection

Interviewed by: Bilquis Calcuttawala

We begin our discussion with the team by providing an overview of the ASER report 2022. We go on to tackle questions about learning and reading ability (as discussed in the report), and then delve deeper into the infrastructure facility, or more so the lack thereof and how this affects the quality of education received. Additionally, we talk about some of the projects the ant has undertaken to improve the situation in Assam, some of them include Project LEAP, Shiksha, Dolphin, amongst several others. Finally, we end our conversation with policy considerations that the government must come up with to handle the situation at hand better.

Dr. Sunil Kaul, Founder Trustee who is currently the Managing Trustee, formerly the CEO based in the ant’s campus in Rowmari, is a public health doctor who has consulted on malaria, T.B , Maternal and Child Health and other public health issues with national & international agencies; has over 10 years experience in the Army as a medical doctor and associated with Development Sector for over 25 years.

Image source: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/education-plus-development/2020/05/14/covid-19-in-india-education-disrupted-and-lessons-learned/

In this episode of Vichaar, the team is in conversation with Mr. Ashutosh Bhardwaj, the author of the book, 'The Death Script: Dreams and Delusions in Naxal Country.’ We look into how the actions of the Naxals have provided some support to the Adivasis, particularly in terms of protecting their land rights and fighting against exploitation by outside groups. However, the Naxals' use of violence and the targeting of security forces have resulted in retaliation and further violence against Adivasi communities, leading to displacement and human rights abuses. Vichaar helps in understanding the complexity of the relationship between the police, Naxals, and the Adivasis in central India and how the government's lack of effective governance in the region has contributed to poverty, inequality, and a general sense of marginalization among the Adivasi communities. 

The Parliament took 16 years to implement the directions issued by the Supreme Court of India in 1997, in the landmark case of Visakha vs. the State of Rajasthan(“Visakha Guidelines”) to enact a law for the prevention of sexual harassment of women at the workplace. The Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act, also referred to as the PoSH Act or the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act of 2013, played a crucial role in establishing a safer workplace. Every workplace must establish an Internal Complaints Committee ("IC") in accordance with the provisions of the Act and the Regulations in order to receive and investigate complaints of sexual harassment. Yet fundamentals like the right to dignity and a secure workplace remain a long way off. Many issues, including lack of knowledge, an understaffed committee, ambiguity during hearings, societal stigma, etc., provide significant obstacles to executing the Act's core principles. This is why Swabhimaan reached out to Ms Rhoma Bhatia, the Executive Director at the Spherule Foundation, an NGO based in Pune, which has a presence in 15 states across India and in 18 Thematic Areas of Sustainable Development Goals as prescribed by UNESCO. With over 16 Years of Corporate experience in various Industries currently a Certified PoSH Enabler and External Member on IC panels in various organizations across India. 

This interview entails a discussion on the aspect of ‘Gender and Mobility’ where Mitali Nikore, founder of Nikore Associates and an economist and gender policy specialist speaks of the barriers women face when it comes to their participation in the workforce and the role of public transportation systems and public spaces in facilitating the participation.

Interviewed by: Shreeya Bhayana and Ishani Sharma

In this episode of Interlinked’s sub-series, Kitabon ka Karwaan, we hold a book talk that explores a recent report published by the ILO on the “Deficits in Decent Work: Employer perspectives and practices on the quality of employment in domestic work in urban India”. For this podcast, We are joined by Dr Neha Wadhawan from the International Labour Organisation and Dr Divya Ravindranath and Ms Rashee Mehra from the Indian Institute for Human Settlements. The authors of the report take us through the methodology they adopted and give us a brief into their findings around the factors that determine the nature of domestic work in India from the perspective of employers. Dr Neha also provides valuable insight into the reasons ILO commissioned such a report and they hope the organisation has for exploring domestic work in the future, both in India and globally,

You can find the report here.

Dr Neha Wadhawan is a National Project Coordinator with the International Labour Organisation and is a political scientist by training. Her research interests centre around issues of mobility, gender, labour and citizenship in South Asia. Rashee Mehra is part of the School of Human Development at IIHS. Her research focuses on the issues of inequalities and activism, urban planning, informal work, social protection and gender. At IIHS, she works on creating research on social movements to support the work of activists and practitioners who engage with marginalised urban geographies. Dr Divya Ravindranath studies informal work, social protection, gender and urban health. She has worked with several not-for-profit organisations in urban and rural India, where most of her work focussed on issues of common pool resources, urban infrastructure and livelihoods.

Image Source: https://theleaflet.in/situation-of-domestic-workers-in-india-what-needs-to-change/ 

Interviewed by: Ishani Sharma

In this episode of InterLinked's sub-series, Kitabon ka Karwaan, we hold a book talk on the book "Social and Economic Transitions in China and India: Welfare and Policy Changes" with two of the book's editors, Prof Keerty Nakray and Prof John Clammer. The guests first gave a glimpse into the book and the rationale behind choosing the social and economic transition in China and India as the point of focus for their book. Following this, Prof Clammer discussed in depth the role played by religion and religious institutions in social policy. Prof Nakray shed light on the different approaches adopted by China and India in addressing the issues related to their ageing population along with talking about the importance of artisanal production in India and the struggles faced by the community. Concludingly, the guests gave their views on the way forward for the socio-economic trajectory of India and China. 

Dr Nakray is a professor at the Jindal Global Law School and has edited multiple books along with publishing in leading journals on gender budgets, child-sensitive budgets and comparative social policy. She maintains a keen interest in research ethics and establishing linkages between academic research and policy. Dr Clammer is a Professor of Sociology at the Jindal School of Liberal Arts and Humanities. Prior to that, he was a Professor of Comparative Sociology and Asian Studies at Sophia University, Tokyo and then professor and advisor to the Rector at the United Nations University. He currently works mainly on the interface of culture and development, the sociology of the arts, and issues of sustainability.

Image Source: https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-3323-a-tale-of-two-economies-india-and-china.html