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72. Tracking Finances under Rashtriya Kishore Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK)
- Author:
- Accountability Initiative
- Publication Date:
- 04-2021
- Content Type:
- Case Study
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- The Rashtriya Kishore Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) is an adolescent health Programme within the ambit of the National Health Mission (NHM). This study focusses on the expenditures and fund flows of RKSK in Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh (UP). It uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis.
- Topic:
- Health, Finance, and Accountability
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India
73. Compensatory climate governance in Indian federalism
- Author:
- Aditya Valiathan Pillai and Navroz K. Dubash
- Publication Date:
- 04-2021
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- It is on the precarious and ever-shifting terrain of Indian federalism that a modern edifice of climate governance must be built. Where is the firm ground? Are there enduring characteristics of centre-state relations that let us arrive at a relatively stable description of Indian climate governance? In this working paper, we arrive at a synthetic account of the constant forces shaping climate governance in India’s federal architecture, building on descriptions of environmental federalism and state actions in climate policy. We argue that the highly asymmetric nature of Indian federalism — a federal government holds the reins of state finances and constitutes the bulk of planning and bureaucratic capacity — makes compensatory relations between centre and states inescapable in climate governance. Emergent practices have involved the use of institutional channels of fiscal transfer and federally mandated planning processes to help catalyse climate activity across India’s states. States have taken fragments of the national agenda and adapted them to local political contexts that are hitherto innocent of ‘climate’ politics phrased as such. They play the role of marrying broader mitigation and adaptation concerns to local development. In the process, they contribute to the compensatory dynamic by creating a stream of policy ideas that then come to define the national response through channels of federal diffusion.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Governance, and Federalism
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India
74. Water and Federalism: Working with States for Water Security
- Author:
- Srinivas Chokkakula, Avani Kapur, and Arkaja Singh
- Publication Date:
- 12-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- India’s poor water security indicators are partly a result of the poor translation of federal spirit in governing its water resources. The limited scholarship on the subject recognizes the vacuum in federal water governance and the weak articulation of Centre’s role to work with states in pursuing India’s long-term development and security goals. Besides, coherent federal responses are critical to address the new governance challenges and emerging risks such as those linked to climate change, floods, dam safety, etc. Yet the national discourse on water federalism is dominated by interstate river water disputes. The study breaks new grounds by going beyond the narrow frame to engage comprehensively with the idea of water federalism in India. It explores the range of policy, institutional, legal and financial instruments for improved water governance. Conceptualised as the Centre’s leverage, the study investigates into these instruments to explore opportunities for the Centre to work with states for improved outcomes. Using mixed methods of qualitative and quantitative approaches, the study looks at the transforming Indian federal state from two contrasting viewpoints: the shifting stakes of the Centre and states in water resources development; and the converging forces of development goals and security concerns. The analysis is supported by case studies of Maharashtra, Punjab and Karnataka states revealing the diverse territorial imaginations and priorities of water resources development and, their implications for national water security. It also examines the experiences of central schemes through intergovernmental fiscal transfers and federal water governance practices internationally to incentivize states’ progressive pathways in water resources management. Identifying federal consensus-building about the Centre’s role and autonomous institutional architecture for data as the two foundational pillars, the study makes concrete recommendations to improve federal governance for long-term development and water security.
- Topic:
- Security, Development, Water, and Federalism
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India
75. Lessons from the Covid Care Centers in West Bengal
- Author:
- Jishnu Das, Patrick Agte, Abhijit Chowdhury, Parthasarathi Mukherjee, and Satyarup Siddhanta
- Publication Date:
- 12-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- With the continuing emergence of Covid-19 variants, there is underlying concern in all countries, including India, that another surge will occur in the coming months. In case of a surge like that experienced with the Delta variant, a strategy that deserves further attention for the provision of care in rural areas is the use of off-hospital sites for patients who are not severely ill. We discuss one such effort from the state of West Bengal, the lessons from which may be relevant for the management of surge cases for generalized pandemic planning. In March 2021, India experienced a large surge in Covid cases and the spike in patients led to a shortage of hospital beds and oxygen cylinders around the country. Following a notification by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare that allowed organizations to set up care centers for the treatment of Covid-19 patients outside the hospital setting, the Liver Foundation and the Covid Care Network established eight Covid Care Centers in rural West Bengal. These centers were operational between May 2021 and September 2021, which coincided with the post-peak phase of the second Covid-19 wave in India. This report describes the project, summarizes the performance of the centers, and discusses the challenges faced during the project. We conclude that temporary facilities like the Covid Care Centers can be a viable option to provide urgent care during health emergencies.
- Topic:
- Health Care Policy, Crisis Management, Public Policy, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India
76. Strengthening India’s Ambient Air Quality Standard-Setting Process
- Author:
- Bhargav Krishna
- Publication Date:
- 12-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- The National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) provide the basis for assessing air quality nationally, determining pollution control priorities, and defining what we consider to be acceptable air quality to protect public health. They are framed and issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) under the Air Act (1981). In August 2021, the CPCB announced that a revision of the NAAQS would be undertaken over the next year under the leadership of faculty from IIT Kanpur, with representatives from other institutions. The wide-ranging remit for this committee includes revisiting the existing standards for criteria pollutants, potentially expanding the base of pollutants being measured, determining the effects of air pollution on human health and vegetation, designing, and setting up of monitoring networks, and reviewing the air quality index. These revisions to the NAAQS will serve to define the discussion around air pollution for the next decade in India. Making the standards more ambitious will be based on our understanding of risk associated with exposure and how that has evolved over time. It will have implications for how that risk is communicated by the government to citizens through the Air Quality Index (AQI) and will provide a basis for regulating certain point sources. More ambitious standards can also provide a useful benchmark against which to measure the progress of our initiatives to improve air quality. Given the import of these standards as a means of protecting public health, engaging in risk communication, and tracking progress against our air quality goals, it is essential that the process followed by the NAAQS revision committee is clearly laid out and guided by a series of fundamental principles. These include ensuring their relevance by committing to predefined periodic reviews, basing policy decisions on a solid foundation of science by engaging a broad range of experts, centering health in air quality policy making, and building trust with civil society and other stakeholders. Reinforcing institutional processes are a long-term challenge, and we recognize that significantly altering the parameters of work of a committee whose work is already underway may not be possible. The principles and actions laid out in this framing note can form the basis for future work in this area by the CPCB. In our recommendations, we also outline several immediate actions that can be taken by the CPCB and the NAAQS committee as they proceed with the revision of the NAAQS.
- Topic:
- Regulation, Public Health, and Air Pollution
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India
77. Airing Differences? Reading the Political Narrative on Air Quality Management in India
- Author:
- Santosh Harish, Mandakini Chandra, and Sahithi Uppalapati
- Publication Date:
- 11-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- Air pollution exposure is a year-round, nation-wide public health crisis in India. This paper presents a careful reading of nearly eleven hours of discussions on air pollution that took place in the upper and lower Houses of Parliament in November 2019. The discussions provide unique insight into the emerging political narrative around air quality governance in India. The parliamentarians constructed an overly peak-oriented and Delhi-centric view of the problem. Contrary to the long-held scepticism of the environment ministry, parliamentarians across political parties cited global evidence on the adverse health impacts of air pollution exposure, especially on children. In addition, they drew on themes like intergenerational responsibility, equity, and Indian cultural heritage while signaling the need to act with urgency. As the discussions were dominated by crop residue burning, the Delhi government received significant criticism for blaming farmers, and parliamentarians across the board expressed solidarity with farmers as they proposed various alternative interventions to penalties. Legislators highlighted a variety of institutional, legal, and financial opportunities to strengthen Indian air quality governance, but demonstrated relatively limited engagement with the nuances of sectoral mitigation measures. Reflecting on an issue of growing political salience in India, this paper also offers insight into significant developments and gaps in the political discourse on air pollution in the two years since these discussions, and into the present day.
- Topic:
- Governance, Crisis Management, Public Health, and Air Pollution
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India