25 April 2018: Launch of report on "The Anatomy of an Internet Blackout: Measuring the Economic Impact of Internet Shutdowns in India"

Abstract:
Internet shutdowns are a growing occurrence in India. In 2017, the number of Internet shutdowns in India more than doubled from 2016, while the total hours of shutdown increased by 20 percent. Very few studies have attempted to capture the economic loss due to an internet blackout. This study uses both secondary and primary information to estimate the loss of economic activity due to Internet shutdowns, an important consequence to be considered when ordering one.

Date: April 25, 2018
Time: 10:30 A.M.

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

Location:

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26 April 2018: Jobs for Justice(s): Corruption in the Supreme Court of India

Madhav S. Aney
Singapore Management University

Abstract:
We investigate whether judges respond to pandering incentives by ruling in favour of the government in the hope of receiving jobs after retiring from the Court. We construct a dataset of all Supreme Court of India cases involving the government from 1999 till 2014, with an indicator for whether the decision was in its favour or not. We find that pandering incentives have a causal e↵ect on judicial decision-making, where we define pandering incentives as being jointly determined by 1) the salience of the case (exogenously determined by a system of random allocation of cases) and 2) whether the judge retires with enough time left in a government’s term to be rewarded with a prestigious job (since the date of retirement is exogenously determined by law to be their 65th birthday). We also find that authoring judgements in favour of the government is positively associated with the likelihood of being appointed to a prestigious post-Supreme Court job. These findings suggest the presence of corruption in the form of government influence over judicial decisions that seriously undermines judicial independence.

Date: April 26, 2018
Time: 03:00 P.M.

Venue:
Seminar Room (First Floor) 
Department of Economics,
Delhi School of Economics,
New Delhi-110007(INDIA)

Location:

20 April 2018: Roundtable on FinTech

Organised by:
National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi

Agenda

Date: April 20, 2018
Time: 02:00 P.M. to 06:00 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)

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

Location:

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25 April 2018: Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS)

Kashinath Katakdhond
Receivables Exchange of India Limited (RXIL)

Abstract:
The RXIL TReDS presentation will cover what is TReDS, RXIL background, TReDS arrangement, how it works, key benefits for participants, key challenges – regulatory and non-regulatory, road map ahead and new initiatives undertaken.

Date: April 25, 2018
Time: 11:30 A.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

Location:

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20 April 2018: Regulating a Digital Economy

Joshua P. Meltzer
Brookings Institution, Washington D.C.

Discussants:
Avik Sarkar, NITI Aayog
Mudit Kapoor, Indian Statistical Institute
Amb. Asoke Mukerji, former Indian diplomat

Moderator:
Harsha Vardhana Singh, Brookings India

Abstract:
The world is experiencing unprecedented increases in connectivity and global data flows, much of it centred in the Asia-Pacific region. Internet access and maximising cross-border data flows is leading to increased productivity, economic growth and new opportunities for international trade. The economic opportunities from technologies such as cloud computing, big data and the internet of things are also not limited to the IT sector but are economy-wide, including in sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture. India stands to gain from going digital – with scope to create 1.5-2 million more jobs this year and to contribute to $550 billion-$1 trillion to its GDP by 2025. However, governments across Asia are adopting data localisation requirements that restrict cross-border data flows. In many cases, however, there remain ways to achieve these goals with less impact on data flows, economic growth and trade.

Date: April 20, 2018
Time: 04:00 P.M.

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

Note:
Please RSVP: psharma@brookingsindia.org

Location:

13 April 2018: The Brave New World of Low Inflation

Surjit S. Bhalla
Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council and Oxus Research & Investments

Discussant: Sajjid Chinoy, JP Morgan

Abstract:
This talk attempts an answer to the puzzle of low inflation in the Advanced Economies (AE), a phenomenon observed over the last 20 years. Part of the answer is provided by the fact that global supply of college graduates, especially the supply of the rest of the world relative to the supply in advanced economies, has been expanding at a fast rate. This globalisation phenomena helps explain the trend in real wages of college educated labor in the US since the 1980s. The talk will also document the reality that oil prices have ceased to have an impact on inflation, and that the gap between developing economies inflation and AE inflation is close to a historical low, and less than 200 basis points. Bhalla will also discuss the determinants of inflation in India and forecast future trends.

Date: April 13, 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:

12 April 2018: Campaigning for Air Quality: Lessons from Two Decades of Advocacy

Anumita Roychowdhury
Centre for Science and Environment

In conversation with:
Navroz K Dubash, Centre for Policy Research

Abstract:
Anumita Roychowdhury, who has been at the forefront of the clean air campaign in India for more than two decades, in conversation with Navroz K Dubash, will examine the practical considerations around governance of air quality in the country. Based on CSE's long experience, what kinds of strategies have been effective in improving Indian air quality regulation and governance, and what has failed to work? What are some of the lessons to be drawn from these efforts at shaping policy through deep government engagement and work with the courts? Are major challenges better institutions, better policy or better implementation and what is the mix of these? How can we move from predominantly reactive measures to effective long term preventive policies? How can the present public concern about air pollution be mobilised from being episodic and somewhat blinkered to becoming sustained and politically salient in an ongoing way? The conversation will go behind the scenes of policy making and action around air quality, in order to inform future efforts.

Date: April 12, 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

Location:

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