Sonalde Desai
The writer is professor of sociology, University of Maryland and professor and centre director NCAER-National Data Innovation Centre.
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Sonalde Desai writes | India in 2023: The challenge and opportunity of being the most populous country
Sonalde Desai writes: The size of our labour force is constrained by the absence of women from the workforce. Only about 30% of women aged 15 and above are employed either in wage work on family farms and businesses.
Tue, Jul 12, 2022
Education should be priority, not banning of hijab
Sonalde Desai writes: It is time for us to focus on empowering all women, including Muslim women, by ensuring their access to education, employment, and public safety.
Sat, Feb 26, 2022
With India’s demographic transition, come challenges
🔴 Sonalde Desai, Debasis Barik write: The demographic dividend is smaller, but will last longer due to regional variation in the onset of fertility decline. As southern states struggle with the growing burden of supporting the elderly, northern states will supply the workforce needed for growth.
Thu, Dec 02, 2021
Lessons from the death of the ease of doing business index
Sonalde Desai writes: The economic consequences and political benefits associated with it encouraged many countries to try and “game” the system by making superficial improvements on indicators being measured and, when that failed, by putting explicit pressure on the World Bank research team.
Wed, Oct 06, 2021
Why China’s about-turn shows restrictive population policy doesn’t work
India’s policy must move beyond the language of the past that restricts maternity leave and election eligibility
Sat, Jun 05, 2021
Make room for women in the new normal
The pandemic may have limited our ability to connect with the external world, but for several Indian women, isolation isn’t unfamiliar or new
Tue, Mar 09, 2021
Reluctance to take Covid-19 vaccines could hinder achieving herd immunity sooner
The beginning of the vaccination programme suggests that the end is in sight. How quickly we reach the goal post depends on how well prepared we are as we enter the race.
Thu, Jan 28, 2021
A social registry linking Aadhaar to residence info can target aid to the vulnerable during a pandemic
Aadhaar linkages of individuals and bank accounts already exist. If residential information in the Aadhaar database can be efficiently structured, this would allow for geographic targeting.
Sat, Nov 28, 2020
Economic policy needs to address those who have seen the greatest distress during lockdown
The urban poor is still finding it difficult to return to work. Targeting social safety nets towards them is necessary as the economy struggles to recover.
Tue, Oct 20, 2020
PM-KISAN is not reaching all farmer households as intended
Given this uncertainty over the reach of PM-KISAN and its targeting, the relevance of the scheme needs to be carefully evaluated during this period.
Mon, Aug 03, 2020
Telephone survey shows high understanding of social distancing, support for lockdown
When asked about how many people they had come in contact with outside the house over the preceding 24 hours, over 50 per cent responded that they had not come in contact with anyone.
Mon, Apr 20, 2020
Decline in women work participation rates can be traced to poor quality of data collection processes
In our concern with ostensibly declining women’s work participation, we have missed out on identifying sectors from which women are excluded and more importantly, in which women are included. It may be time for us to count women’s work rather than women workers.
Tue, Mar 17, 2020
Don’t dismantle, reform
There is evidence to suggest that with a few modifications, MGNREGA can dent poverty.
Thu, Nov 12, 2015
The new young
Exposure to television and digital media grew by leaps and bounds between 2005 and 2012.
Wed, Aug 27, 2014
Cereal indiscretions
The food security act is inadequate to meeting the malnutrition challenge.
Mon, Jun 23, 2014When incomes grow,but jobs elude
The latest NSSO data also underlines the increasing absence of women from the labour market
Wed, Jul 03, 2013Like flowers and chocolates
Setting up women-only banks overlooks the reasons for their exclusion
Mon, Mar 11, 2013