6 July 2018: Panel discussion on Interpreting the 2019 elections: Settling a research agenda

Speakers:
Ashutosh Varshney, Brown University
Pradeep Chhibber, UC Berkeley
Vandita Mishra, Indian Express
Aditi Phadnis, Business Standard

Abstract:
The run up to the general elections in 2019 have already generated heated political debate. As political activity gains momentum, researchers and observers of Indian politics face the formidable task of interpreting and analysing the implications of these activities both on the immediate elections as well as on democratic practice in the long term. In these polarised times, when debates on politics have become increasingly partisan, building a research agenda to understand the elections becomes even more critical.

This third edition of the CPR-TPCD dialogues on Indian politics will bring together a panel of formidable academics and political journalists to discuss the broad contours of the research agenda for 2019. In order for us to meaningfully contribute to understandings of the shifting dynamics of political life in India, what are the questions that we should be asking and how should we orient our research?

Date: July 6, 2018
Time: 03:30 P.M.

Venue:
Conference Hall
Centre for Policy Research,
Dharma Marg, Chanakyapuri,
New Delhi–110021(INDIA)

Note:
Please RSVP at president.cpr@cprindia.org to reserve a seat for you.

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2 July 2018: Launch of World Bank Regional Flagship Report- "South Asia's Hotspots: The Impact of Temperature and Precipitation Changes on Living Standards"

Keynote Speaker:
Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Advisor, Government of India

Abstract:
South Asia is highly vulnerable to climate change. Given that many of the poor live in areas prone to climactic shifts and in occupations that are highly climate-sensitive, such as agriculture and fisheries, future climate change could have significant implications for living standards. At the same time, the effect of climate change will vary significantly depending on the level of exposure and the inherent adaptive capacities of individuals, households, and communities. It is therefore important to understand how climate varies spatially and over time at a relatively granular level and to better understand the corresponding spatial effects of climate change on living standards. This report will aid in the development of targeted policies to improve resilience of the people, especially the poor and vulnerable, to future climatic shifts. Using historic and projected climate and household survey data, this study investigates the historic spatial patterns of climate change across South Asia at the district level, the effect of changes in long-term average climate on living standards at the household level, and where the future hotspots may be. The analysis complements studies that have investigated effects of extreme climate events and finds that projected future temperature and precipitation changes could create a significant challenge for certain geographic areas and populations, which could reduce gains in increases to living standards that have taken place over the past decades.

Date: July 2, 2018
Time: 10:15 A.M.

Venue:
Jacaranda Hall,
India Habitat Centre,
Lodi Road,
New Delhi 110003

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26 June 2018: Workshop on Predicting 2019: How many census towns will there be?

Shamindra Nath Roy
Kanhu Charan Pradhan
Centre for Policy Research

Abstract:
India’s rural landscape is dotted with numerous villages where people do not work on the farm. The 2011 census highlighted the enormous growth of such areas, with new census towns (CTs) accounting for more than one third of the urban population growth during 2001-2011. The process of urban transformation in India is therefore not much about movement of people from rural to urban areas, rather it is about ‘morphing of places’ from rural to urban. Since the rural-urban identification process in India is ex-ante, using the past census data, this talk seeks to estimate the number of CTs that will be identified in 2019 for the 2021 census. It does so to ask whether the large increase in the number of CTs from 2001 to 2011 census was a one-off phenomenon or part of a longer process of rural-urban transformation. Since such prognosis requires a detailed review of the census methodology of determining CTs, it will also clarify certain challenges that arise during such identification. Along with this methodological review, this talk will present the regional distribution of CTs on the basis of last two censuses and the upcoming predictions; and offer insight on their spatial characteristics in relation to the larger cities and attempts to throw light on their economic characteristics in the broader context of rural-urban transformation. A better appreciation of this transformation is necessary to contextualise how well the policy framework is placed to manage and govern these areas, not only in the present but also in the future.

Date: June 26, 2018
Time: 03:45 P.M.

Venue:
Conference Hall
Centre for Policy Research,
Dharma Marg, Chanakyapuri,
New Delhi–110021(INDIA)

Note:
This workshop is free and there is no registration required.

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4 July 2018: When Should We Trust Artificial Intelligence

Vasant Dhar
Stern School of Business, New York University

Discussant:
Anna Roy, NITI Aayog, Government of India

Abstract:
Modern day artificial intelligence machines learn and improve themselves based on ever-increasing amounts of data that humans and machines generate with each passing day. This happens largely through supervised learning which is a major branch of Artificial Intelligence. But such machines also make mistakes.

In the Seminar, speaker will walk us through various situations in our everyday lives – investing, playing sports, riding in driverless cars, using social media platforms – to encourage us to question the faith we put in technology. He proposes methods to inform executive and policy makers in evaluating the risks associated with data infrastructure initiatives, such as those proposed in his recent Hindustan Times editorial.

Date: July 4, 2018
Time: 04:00 P.M.

Venue:
Kamalnayan Bajaj Conference Room
Brookings India
No. 6, Second Floor,
Dr. Jose P. Rizal Marg,
Chanakyapuri,
New Delhi-110021

Note:
Please RSVP: psharma@brookingsindia.org and contact nmehta@brookingsindia.org for media inquiries.

Location:

24 May 2018: Panel discussion on 'Future of Governance'

Speakers:
J Satyanarayana, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
Ananth Padmanabhan, Carnegie India
Chinmayi Arun, National Law University
Vrinda Bhandari - Advocate

Chair:
Justice BN Srikrishna, Chairman, Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC)

Abstract:
The aim of this panel is to bring clarity to concepts like receptive technology, glacial government, response of regulators to the pace of technological advancements, era of blockchain and bitcoins, artificial intelligence, big data and forecasting.

Date: May 24, 2018
Time: 06:30 P.M.

Venue:
Deshmukh Auditorium,
India International Centre
Max Mueller Marg,
New Delhi - 110003(INDIA)

Note:
Sign up for the event at this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScUy-N8QRgtfpEmwTZ4d8z4dEnf-OROPTeM38E5V4VTwprE7A/viewform.
This is necessary given seating requirements.

Location:

25 May 2018: Political Economy of Market Development: Why India's Equity Market Reforms Have Succeeded While Its Corporate Debt Market Has Not

John Echeverri-Gent
University of Virginia

Abstract:
India’s equity markets have been transformed from the backwaters of the global market with outdated trading technologies and regulatory institutions to world class institutions using cutting edge technology. At the end of 2017, National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange had the ninth and tenth largest domestic market capitalization in the world, and they operated settlement and regulatory standards at the global cutting edge. At the same time, India’s market for corporate bonds lagged far behind global standards. In 2013, the value of Indian corporate bonds as a percentage of GDP was only 5.4% trailing far behind not only economic powerhouses like Republic of Korea (77.5%), Singapore (37%), Hong Kong (31.4%), and China (13%), but also less successful economies like Malaysia (43.4%) and Thailand (15.9%). More than 94% of corporate debt was raised through private placement rather than on the open market. This talk develops a political economy approach to explain why India’s equity markets have rapidly developed and its corporate debt market has not.

Date: May 25, 2018
Time: 04:30 P.M.

Venue:
Conference Hall, Ground Floor
R&T Building
National Institute of Public Finance and Policy,
18/2 Satsang Vihar Marg, Special Institutional Area,
New Delhi-110067(INDIA)

Note:
Those who are interested may please confirm your participation at latha.balasubramanian@nipfp.org.in

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11 May 2018: A panel discussion on ‘Power plants as a source of Air Pollution in India’

Panellists:
Vinuta Gopal, Asar Social Impact Advisors
Priyavrat Bhati, Centre for Science & Environment
Ritwick Dutta, Legal Initiative of Forest & Environment

Moderator:
Shibani Ghosh, Fellow, Centre for Policy Research

Abstract:
We now turn to a fourth significant source of air pollutants in the country – coal-based thermal power plants. They are responsible for the dramatic rise in pollutants such as SO2 and NOx in the country, particularly in industrial hotspots.

Power plant-specific emission standards for PM, SO2, NOx and mercury, introduced by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change in 2015, were to be complied with in two years. By some estimates these could have reduced emissions from power plants by 70-85%. However, the Ministry moved the Supreme Court to relax its own deadline by five years, claiming that the standards were not attainable in two years.

As coal-based power plants generate about 75% of India’s electricity, regulation of emissions from power plants needs urgent attention. The panel will explore various aspects of this issue: what is the nature and scale of the problem; what is the governing regulatory eco-system; and what was the process of formulation of the 2015 emission norms? It will also deliberate the key challenges – political, economic and technical – in reducing power plant emissions and what is the role of the courts, particularly the Supreme Court, in regulating pollution from power plants.

Date: May 11, 2018
Time: 04:00 P.M.

Venue:
Conference Hall
Centre for Policy Research,
Dharma Marg, Chanakyapuri,
New Delhi–110021(INDIA)

Note:
Please RSVP at climate.initiative.cpr@gmail.com

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