26 February 2016: Luncheon Roundtable on U.S. Presidential Elections & Implications for India

Senator Larry Pressler

Anchored by:
Shivshankar Menon, Distinguished Fellow, Brookings India

Abstract:
With two anti-establishment figures, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, leading the race as Republican and Democrat candidates for U.S. Presidential elections, American politics is poised at a game changing moment. U.S. domestic politics is undergoing a major shift which has significant implications for the rest of the world. What does the U.S. Presidential Election mean for Indian political and business interests? What implications do the American Presidential elections have for U.S. foreign policy? Should we be worried? Senator Pressler and Ambassador Menon will address some of these issues at the roundtable. 

Organised by:
Brookings India

Date: February 26, 2016
Time: 01:00 P.M.

Venue:
Private Dining Hall
India International Centre (IIC)
Indian International Centre
40, Max Mueller Marg,
New Delhi-110003(INDIA)

Location:

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Note:
Please confirm your participation to Shruti Godbole at sgodbole@brookingsindia.org

2 March 2016: Thinking about Tax Administration

Michael Keen
International Monetary Fund

Date: March 2, 2016
Time: 03:30 P.M.

Venue:
NIPFP Auditorium (Ground Floor)
National Institute of Public Finance and Policy,
18/2 Satsang Vihar Marg, Special Institutional Area,
New Delhi-110067(INDIA)

Location:

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22 February 2016: WTO, State and Legal Capacity Building: A Unique Indian Model

James Nedumpadam
Jindal Global Law School

Abstract:
This is an attempt to examine the background of the key WTO disputes which triggered a policy shift in India towards the State playing a more proactive role in encouraging the building of trade-related legal capacity. In particular, the talk will focus on the features of the unique trade-related capacity model chosen by India and how it differs from the alternate models established by other major developing countries that have an active profile in WTO dispute settlement. By undertaking such an analysis, the speaker seeks to explore as to how the Indian model is more geared towards hybrid policy making in contrast to other trade-related legal capacity models.

Date: Febraury 22, 2016
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)

Location:

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25 February 2016: Unlocking the land assets: Empowering citizens, updating land records, reducing corruption

Barun Mitra
Liberty Institute

Chair:
Vijay S Madan, Secretary, Land Resources

Abstract:
Land has emerged at the top of the political agenda. The political pendulum has swung from gross abuse of eminent domain to severe restrictions on scale and scope of land acquisition. However, the poor quality of land records and various land laws, including ceiling, zoning and taxations, have grossly distorted the land market. This has resulted in an artificial scarcity of land on the one hand. On the other hand, it has greatly limited the ability of land owners, particularly farmers, to capitalize their assets appropriately and diversify away from agriculture.
Hernando de Soto, the Peruvian economist, had identified a similar problem in his path breaking book, “The Mystery of Capital” (2001), and estimated hundreds of billions of dollars locked up in assets that cannot be legally capitalised.
In India today, high transaction costs, and regulatory restrictions, have created a mismatch between supply and demand for land. This has created a nexus between the rich and powerful securing access to land, and fuelling enormous corruption. At the same time this led to displacement and dispossession, reflecting in land alienation and growing protests, which has now built up a social and political coalition against such arbitrary intervention.
Now there is a window of opportunity to leverage the social unrest, political realization, and administrative desire to drastically reform the land laws, regulations and records. While the administration is digitizing the land records, many citizens and communities are engaged in documenting the ground situation using GPS and satellite images. A complementary relationship between the two efforts would rapidly help in updating the land records. The social and political convergence, aided by greater access to technology, including blockchain, could lead to rationalizing the laws and regulations governing land, steps towards a viable land market, with lower transaction cost, eliminate both land alienation and scarcity, thus greatly reduce corruption.
Such a transparent and participative approach would empower the citizens and create a sense of community, with secure property ownership. It will also stimulate credibility and mutual trust between the people and the administration. In the process unimaginable value of assets will be unlocked and become available for more productive use. Poverty, after all, is primarily a reflection of people’s inability to capitalize whatever little assets they may possess.

Date: Febraury 25, 2016
Time: 05:00 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)

Location:

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19 February 2016: Delivery Innovation as a Means of Fixing Healthcare

Ateev Mehrotra
Harvard Medical School

Chair
Shamika Ravi, Brookings India

Abstract:
Low access to healthcare in the U.S inspite of high spending, and the role innovation can play in expanding access both in the U.S and India.

Discussion Focus
Dr. Mehrotra will talk about the impact of innovative service delivery on healthcare access, quality and affordability in the U.S. Innovations include for e. g telemedicine, retail clinics and symptom checkers

Dr. Shamika Ravi, Fellow, Brookings India, will lead a discussion on how these innovations can apply to India, particularly in the context of recent initiatives taken by the Modi government.

Organised by: Brookings India

Date: February 19, 2016
Time: 04:00 P.M.

Venue:
UChicago Centre
DLF Capitol Point
Baba Kharak Singh Marg
New Delhi, India 110001

Location:


Note:
Please confirm your participation to info@brookingsindia.org

10 February 2016: Middle East and Emerging Islamism

Daniel Pipes, Middle East Forum 

Chair:
Dr. Pinak Chakravarty and Dr. Manoj Joshi, Observer Research Foundation (ORF)

Abstract:
Islamism has emerged as a powerful force in the politics and security paradigm of the world. The rise of the Islamic State in the Middle East may have come as a surprise to some, but was the culmination of a process that had been around through most of the 20th century. New tensions, exacerbated by the Shia-Sunni divide have now formed another layer of complexity to the issue, which could well take unexpected directions in the future and have implications not just for the Middle-East but the world. The panel discussion is an effort to understand some of these issues and their implications.

Date: February 10, 2016
Time: 03:00 P.M.

Venue:
ORF Board Room
Observer Research Foundation
20 Rouse Avenue Institutional Area
New Delhi-110002(INDIA)

Location:


Note:
Please confirm at prashantkumar@orfonline.org

8-12 February 2016: Lecture Series on "The Public Economics of Health Policy in Developing Countries"

Jeffrey S. Hammer
Princeton University

Abstract:
This talk presents the basic principles of public economics as it applies to the health sector in developing countries. It identifies the characteristic market failures related to health and healthcare, examining three broad categories of policies: 1) public goods, preventive and promotive services 2) primary, curative, health care and 3) hospital based care or insurance. Going somewhat beyond standard economics, it compares the potential welfare improvement of the different categories of interventions to their relative difficulty of implementation to discuss priority setting given practical constraints. While general in scope, most examples are drawn from Indian experience and research.

Date: February 8-12, 2016
Time: 03:00 P.M.

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

Location:

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Note:
Please confirm your participation at bins.sebastian@nipfp.org.in

5 February 2016: An experimental evaluation of IFMR Rural Channels financial education programme

Karuna Krishnaswamy
GIZ

Abstract:
In recent years there has been rising interest among financial service providers, NGOs and policymakers in educating customers and potential customers to enable them to make informed decisions on the use of financial products. However, many open questions remain. In this paper, we study IFMR Rural Channels (IRCS) short duration financial education intervention, the Master Trainer Programme, to find out if there is a business case for a financial services provider to incorporate provider-neutral financial education programmes into its operations as envisaged by Indian regulators. This short-duration programme consists of a 45 minute group presentation on financial awareness followed by individual one-on-one visits if requested by the participant. One of the goals of the programme was to promote optimal take-up of products among (especially inactive) customers. We conducted two randomized controlled trials to (1) gauge the impact of the intervention on financial awareness, financial behaviour and usage of products (2) gauge the correlation between awareness and product usage.

Date: February 5, 2016
Time: 11:30 A.M.

Venue:
Seminar Room 2
Indian Statistical Institute Delhi Centre,
7, S. J. S. Sansanwal Marg,
New Delhi-110016 (INDIA)

Location:

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