The research methodology course (RMC) was conducted with an objective of enhancing the theoretical understanding and research writing skills of the research scholars to engage with contemporary debates in the field of social sciences.  The 10-day RMC covered qualitative research approaches to contemporary issues. Besides the exposure to theories on different subjects, the programme emphasised knowledge sharing acquired from fieldwork and real-time experiences by experts. An open interactive method adopted throughout the course added practical value to the training by inviting the participants to discuss their research interest. A total of 36 research scholars from nine different disciplines attended the course. A total of 17 resource persons (7 from outside Gujarat, 6 from the state of Gujarat and 6 from Ahmedabad) gave lectures. The programme received positive feedback and appreciation from the participants.

In the first part of the event Dr. Kingshuk Sarkar and Dr. Amrita Ghatak presented the inferences drawn from the study entitled "Complexities in determination of minimum wages for domestic workers in India. Using inferences from NSS 68th round unit level data on employment and unemployment (2011-12) and data collected through primary survey in two cities namely Ahmedabad and Kolkata this study makes an attempt to depict the status of domestic workers in India. Findings from the data from these two contrasting cities do validate the vulnerability of domestic work as an occupation and lack of legislative protection. Despite few dis-similarities the basic findings are in conformity with primary characteristics of domestic work in India. The study indicates that there is a need for a comprehensive legislation for domestic workers to regulate conditions of work and terms of employment. Having drawn inferences from field in Ahmedabad and Kolkata it has discussed implications for policy formulation aiming toward well-being of domestic workers. Further, it would be prudent to be a bit flexible in fixing minimum wages and might consider hourly minimum wage regime determined by the type of task.

A panel discussion on "domestic workers in the informal work-space: Wages and working conditions" was organized in the second part of the event. Prof. Sebastian Morris, IIM Ahmedabad, Prof. Indira Hirway, CFDA Ahmedabad, Prof. Niti Mehta,  SPIESR Ahmedabad and Ms Shalini Trivedi, SEWA Ahmedabad served as panelists. Prof. Keshab Das, GIDR Ahmedabad chaired both the sessions. The discussion addressed the fact that the domestic space has, over the years particularly since the implementation of neo-liberal economic policies, became the dominant work space. There has been large-scale decentralisation, disintegration of production process such that factory system of production is slowly giving way to home-based production structure. In such a changing context, slowly but steadily there is a recognition of domestic space being the work space. The speakers have raised that the issue of recognition of domestic workers as workers and their needs to be covered under protective legislation. While Prof. Sebastian Morris discussed the discourse of development having influence the status of domestic workers in Kolkata as compared to what is experienced in Ahmedabad, Prof. Niti Mehta has drawn an account of the consumer expenditure and poverty issues in India. Prof. Indira Hirway complimented the researchers for taking up an academic research on a topical subject.  She added further points to substantiate the study with inferences from time-use records of women in the informal sector. Ms. Shalini Trivedi shared her practical experience about negotiating terms of employment of domestic workers with their employers. She also raised the challenges that remain as bottlenecks for the well-being of domestic workers.

The event was attended by over 30 participants from various organizations in Ahmedabad such as MGLI, IIT, IIM, Ahmedabad University, SPIESR and CUG. Dr. Ayanendu Sanyal from MGLI made remarks on the overall social security schemes for workers in the informal sector.  Prof. Amita Shah suggested the researchers to emphasize on the role of informal institutions, norms and practices in understanding the well-being of domestic workers particularly in Ahmedabad. Prof. Dinesh Awasthi criticized the sample design of the study. The researchers have addressed all the remarks with adequate explanations. Overall the programme was thought provoking and a success. Prof. Keshab Das summed up the session at the end with a remark that further works would enrich this subject for this is a less-explored area of research.    

A half-day regional workshop titled One Decade of MGNREGA in Western India:  Pointers from an Assessment Study was held at GIDR on 5th December 2018 to discuss the major findings of the study that the institute has carried out in collaboration with the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD & PR), Hyderabad to assess the working on the Act in western India. Professor Tara Nair and Dr. Rudra Narayan Mishra, the principal researchers who undertook the study, presented the trends and patterns that emerged from the research that used mixed methods to collect data from 14 and 19 gram panchayats respectively from Gujarat and Rajasthan. The assessment was aimed at re-examining the extant understanding of the implementation of the Act, while trying to gauge the management of demand side dynamics of MGNREGS in the two states. Despite the many worrying trends observed by the study such as limited awareness about the Act, poor functioning of panchayati raj institutions, and lack of institutional mechanisms for demand mobilisation, the study found NREGA to hold significant promise to the assetless and socially marginalised households who struggle to balance their precarious livelihoods on a daily basis.

The workshop was chaired by Dr. Jyothis Sathyapalan, Professor, Centre for Wage Employment, NIRD and PR and attended by representatives of the Commissionerate of Rural Development (Government Gujarat), State Institute of Rural Development (SIRD), Ahmedabad University, Human Development Research Centre (HDRC), Patheya Consultancy Services, and Area Networking for Development Initiatives (ANANDI), apart from faculty members of GIDR.  A few MNREGA workers from Godhra also participated in the workshop and shared their experiences and suggestions.  

In order to discuss and disseminate the interim findings of the ICSSR sponsored project (2017-19) on Impact of Financialisation on Household Economies: Enquiry in the Context of Select Indian States) a discussion meeting was organised at GIDR on 26th July 2018.  The study, being undertaken in collaboration with the French Institute of Pondicherry attempts to understand to what extent poor households are impacted by the process of financialisation. The increasing role of financial motives, financial markets, financial actors and financial institutions in the operation of the domestic and international economies is described in the literature as ‘financialisation’.  Broadly, financialisation has resulted increase in financial transactions – purchase of services hitherto available free or through government provisioning; increased use of debt to finance household needs, while new needs are created that require such financing; emergence of new financial institutions, credit disciplining and regulatory instruments and  programmes; advent new financial instruments – credit and debit cards, and new financial products – varieties of insurance, mutual funds and other products linked to capital market as also new financial technology - mobile banking, internet banking, online purchases, digital money, and changed mode for sending and receiving remittance.
The researchers involved in the study in different states - Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Maharshtra - presented the findings based on field research in the meeting.   Isabelle Guerin (Institut de recherche pour le développement, Paris) and Venkatasubramanian G., French Institute of Pondicherry, presented the insights from the financial diaries placed with select households in Tamil Nadu/ Pondicherry.   Rudra Narayan Mishra (GIDR), who carried out household survey in Odisha and Krushna Chetty (School of Social Sciences, Central University of Gujarat), who is part of the research team that interviewed households in Wardha, Maharashtra also presented their overall findings.  In addition, presentations were also made by Mayank Trivedi (Indian Institute of Public Health, Gandhinagar) on ‘Financialisation and Health of the Poor’ and by Sejal Dand (Area Networking for Development Altenatives, Ahmedabad) on ‘Collectivising to Resist Financialisation’.  Tara Nair (GIDR) summed up the discussions and presented the insights from the field research in Gujarat.

An Orientation Workshop on Gender and Labour Issues was held at GIDR, March 26-28, 2018.  It was jointly organised by V.V. Giri National Labour Institute, Noida and GIDR, Ahmedabad. The programme aimed at enhancing the understanding of the participants on gender and labour issues. It aimed at acquainting the participants with the various inequalities prevalent in the labour market and various developmental issues related to employment and social protection. The programme aimed to provide an overview of various labour legislations pertaining to women workers and the labour market intuitions and identify emerging areas for research on labour issues from a gender perspective. Nearly 29 participants mainly students, researchers from universities and research institutions, members of trade unions, professionals in government organisations and representatives of voluntary organisations from India  attended the programme. The programme was designed with interactive sessions that involved group activities and role playing. The workshop was very well received by the participants as evident from their feedback. The programme was coordinated by Dr. Jharna Pathak.

The programme of the Capacity Building of Social Science Scholars in Research Methodology was held at GIDR, March 05-14, 2018. Supported by Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), this workshop focused on young scholars pursuing their doctoral work or planning to engage in research work in social sciences. Out of the 65 scholars who had applied for the programme 31 were selected and 24 attended the workshop. The participants were from both universities and research institutions located in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Haryana, Assam, Delhi and Bihar. The workshop was organised around three modules: (1) Philosophical Foundations of Research, (2) Introdu ction to Methods of Quantitative Research, and (3) Introduction to Methods of Qualitative Research. The participants were introduced to various data sources on the Indian economy, issues in research writing and ethics in social science research. Apart from the GIDR faculty members, who handled most of the sessions, a few external experts – Prof. P.M. Kulkarni (JNU, New Delhi) Prof. Hargopal (Visiting Professor, National Law School of India University, Bangalore), Prof. Ghanshyam Shah (Former Professor, JNU), Prof. Chengappa (Former Vice Chancellor of University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore), Prof. Niti Mathur (SPIESR, Ahmedabad), Dr. Gurram Srinivas, Dr. Madhumita Sengupta (IIT, Gandhinagar), Dr. Parvathi Iyer (Central University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar), Dr. Sudeep Basu (Central University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar), Dr. Navdeep Madhur (IIM, Ahmedabad and Dr. Madhusudan Raj (Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, Surat) were also invited to interact with the young scholars. The workshop was well received by the participants. The programme was coordinated by Dr. Jharna Pathak.

The positive externalities of adopting Micro Irrigation systems (MIS) have been appreciated in India since the early 1980s when the GoI started promoting MIS under a subsidy scheme, wherein, both the Central and State governments have equally supported the farmers (75% to marginal and small farmers and 25% to the rest of farmers) to adopt the scheme. Nevertheless, the rate of adoption continued to be abysmally low until early 2000s across states. Based on the recommendation of the task force on micro-irrigation set up in 2004, the GoI had launched another centrally sponsored scheme on MI in 2006, and this was further revised in 2010 with the announcement of the ˜national mission on micro-irrigation (NMMI). The task force recommended subsidizing farmers capital cost and also suggested to provide greater flexibility to states in terms of designing subsidy policies and institutional arrangements for promotion and scaling up of MI systems.

In Gujarat, the state adopted a differential subsidy policy along with regulations in agricultural power connections insisting on a mandatory shift towards adoption of MIS especially in the dark zone (with state of groundwater development being over exploited and/ or critical levels) talukas. The state government had set up a special purpose vehicle (SPV), called the Gujarat Green Revolution Company limited (GGRC) in 2004-05, which has been acting as a nodal agency for promoting adoption of MI across the state. Under its differential financial subsidy scheme operationalised under different institutional arrangements, the state government has made significant achievements in enhancing the area expansion under MIS especially amongst small and marginal farmers belonging to different social groups (SC/ST) across geographical locations, agro-ecological and water stressed regions.

In this backdrop, Gujarat Institute of Development Research (GIDR) has undertaken a research study on “Will Climate Change Adaptation Enhance Farm Productivity? A Study of Micro-Irrigation Systems (MIS) in Gujarat, India, supported by the South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE), Kathmandu, Nepal. The proposed Workshop aims at presenting some of the important findings as emerge from the study and to discuss about some potential challenges and possible pathways of research on MIS within the broader national context taking cues from the present study and other recent studies undertaken by scholars.

The Workshop is envisaged to offer a platform to share the findings from the GIDR study and also interact with experts, policy makers, civil society members, etc.

By Dr. Richard Rossow, Senior Fellow, Wadhwani Chair in U.S-India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

An Orientation Workshop in Social Science Research, for Research Scholars from SC/ST/OBC and Religious Minorities was held at GIDR, August 02-04, 2016. Supported by Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), this workshop focused on young scholars pursuing their doctoral work or planning to engage in research work in social sciences. Out of the 51 scholars  who  had  applied  for  the  programme 31  were  selected  and  29  attended  the  workshop.   The participants were  from both universities and research institutions located in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Bihar. The workshop was organised around three modules:Philosophical Foundations of Research, (2) Introduction to Methods of Quantitative Research, and (3) Introduction to Methods of Qualitative Research. The participants were introduced to various data sources on the Indian economy, issues in research writing and ethics in social science research.  The  workshop  was  very  well  received  by the participants as evident from  their feedback.  The programme  was coordinated by Dr.  Jharna   Pathak.

The importance of cottage and rural industries in the economic and social development has been long acknowledged not only in preserving and promoting traditional craft-based enterprises but also as important sources of local employment and income, especially in the rural areas and small and medium towns. Recognising emerging challenges of growing passivity in and decline of the handicraft sector in the state, the Government of Gujarat (GoG) had emphasized the strong need to redesign and rethink policy strategy. Towards contributing to the GoGs efforts at formulating a new policy for the cottage and rural industries, particularly focusing on the handicraft sector, GIDR had been assigned to undertake a policy-oriented evaluative research study on the handicrafts sector in Gujarat. The study aimed at promoting a competitive and inclusive strategy that would address issues in creating gainful employment; preserving crafts; broad-basing skills; expanding market access; and preparing to address changing nature of consumer demand, both domestic and global.

In the initial phases of the study, a consultative workshop was held at GIDR which was essentially a brainstorming exercise involving diverse stakeholders. The workshop included a detailed presentation by Keshab Das and N. Lalitha (Project Leaders of the study) on the handicraft sector in the state and was followed by a Panel Discussion chaired by Ashoke Chatterjee, Former Honorary President, Craft Council of India. The panelists were: Pushpaben Lavjibhai Soni (Artisan), Ranjan Shanti (Artisan), Judy Frater (Somaiya Kala Vidya, Kutch), R.D. Vaidya (Gujarat Matikam Kalakari & Rural Technology Institute, Gandhinagar), Bhavin Kothari (National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad), Jay Thakkar (CEPT University, Ahmedabad) and R.R. Yadav (GRIMCO, Gandhinagar). Other important participants who livened the discourse included Shilpa Shroff (FabIndia), Rajesh Gupta (EDII), Villoo Mirza (SEWA) and Binoy Acharya (Unnati).

This formed an important forum to deliberate upon various challenges facing the handicraft sector in the state. The richness of the discussions was mainly due to the participation of a wide variety of stakeholders including craftspersons, government officials, academics, practitioners and civil society representatives.

The Gujarat Institute of Development Research (GIDR), Ahmedabad organized an Inception Workshop on February 20, 2015, as part of launching the SANDEE supported research study on "Will Climate Change Adaptation Enhance Farm Productivity? A Study of Micro-Irrigation Systems (MIS) in Gujarat, India", undertaken by Chandra SekharBahinipati and P.K. Viswanathan. The objective was to present the context and contents of the study and seek suggestions from researchers, policy makers, civil society members, etc. The event had two Technical Sessions. Initially, Mr. Chandra SekharBahinipati and Dr. P. K. Viswanathan presented the proposed research plan of the study. The preliminary investigation reports three major findings. First, the Government of Gujarat (GoG) has constituted a nodal agency in 2005, Gujarat Green Revolution Company Limited (GGRC), to promote micro-irrigation (MI) in the state with providing subsidies, which differ with respect to social groups, geographical location and size of landholdings. Second, ever since the launching of the scheme, the adoption rate had continuously increased in Gujarat. Third, the state policy on promotion of MI also insists that the farmers in the dark zone areas (54 talukas consisting of 4102 villages and towns) should adopt MI as a sustainable groundwater management strategy. There was a spurt in the adoption of MI in these areas since 2011. In the context of the changing policy regime, the study poses two research questions: (i) does subsidy matter for rapid diffusion of MI in recent years, especially in the dark-zone talukas?, and (ii) does this technology help the farmers to save water and energy? (Theoretically, this technology aims to achieve water and energy security, offering as a "sustainable adaptation" strategy).

The second Technical Session included three special lectures related to implementation of MIS in Gujarat. While the first two lectures by Mr. DhimantVyas (Gujarat Water Resource Development Corporation) and Mr. Chirag S. Vankar (GGRC) briefly highlighted the major interventions undertaken by the GoG towards promotion of MI in recent years, the last lecture by Prof. Peter Mollinga, titled, "Technology and Management: Micro-Irrigation in Canal Irrigation" touched upon the political economy dimensions of diffusion of irrigation technologies, particularly MI, across different states of India.

As part of launching the SANDEE supported research study on Will Climate Change Adaptation Enhance Farm Productivity? A Study of Micro-Irrigation Systems (MIS) in Gujarat an inception workshop was organized at the Institute on February 20, 2015. The study is undertaken by Chandra Sekhar Bahinipati and P.K. Viswanathan. The objective was to present the context and contents of the study and seek suggestions from researchers, policy makers, civil society members; etc. The event had two technical sessions. The preliminary findings of the study were presented by Bahinipati in the first session. The initial analysis revealed that adoption of micro irrigation (MI) has increased consistently in the state, including the 54 talukas that form the dark zone, since launching of the scheme to promote MI. There was a spurt in the adoption of MI in the dark zone talukas since 2011. In this context, the study poses two research questions: (i) does subsidy matter for rapid diffusion of MI in recent years, especially in the dark zone talukas?, and (ii) does this technology help farmers save water and energy? Conceptually, MI technology aims to achieve water and energy security, offered as a sustainable adaptation strategy).

The second technical session included three special lectures related to implementation of MIS in Gujarat. While the first two lectures by Dhimant Vyas (Gujarat Water Resource Development Corporation) and Chirag S. Vankar (GGRC) briefly highlighted the major interventions undertaken by the Government of Gujarat towards promotion of MI in recent years, the last lecture by Peter Mollinga, titled, Technology and Management: Micro-Irrigation in Canal Irrigation touched upon the political economy dimensions of diffusion of irrigation technologies, particularly MI, across different states of India.

The Convention formed part of the activities planned by GIDR to commemorate its 25 years of academic association with the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR). It was designed to be a platform for researchers, especially, young researchers, to discuss and deliberate on themes that have a bearing on the inter connections among resources, institutions and development.

The Convention began with the keynote address of Bina Agarwal, Professor of Development Economics and Environment, University of Manchester, UK who spoke on ˜Governing South Asias Forests: Does Women's Presence Make a Difference?. This was followed by six technical sessions and two panel discussions spread over two days. The sessions covered themes such as livelihood issues of marginalized communities; states responses to development challenges; sectoral perspectives on development; institutions for managing natural resources; human development potentials and concerns; and issues in environment and development. In all, 26 papers were presented across sessions.

The two Panel Discussions debated on the themes, (i) ˜Growth in Globalizing India: What have We MissedSo Far? and (ii) ˜Sustainable Development: Natural and Human Capital Dimensions. The panelists included Amitabh Kundu (CSRD, JNU), P.M. Kulkarni (CSRD, JNU), Ashwini Deshpande (Delhi School of Economics), Ravindra Dholakia (Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad), R. Nagaraj (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai), M.K. Ramesh (National Law School of India University, Bangalore), Kartikeya Sarabhai (Centre for Environment Education, Ahmedabad), Apoorva Oza (Aga Khan Rural Support Programme) and Sunil Parekh (Strategic Corporate Advisor).

GIDR jointly with PRAYAS and Action Aid had organised a Regional Consultation on Sustainable Fisheries Policy on January 5, 2015. The multi faceted challenges as well as policy and institutional dilemmas surfacing the fisheries sector in Gujarat had been the focus of the event. The Consultation was attended by representatives from few NGOs such as Utthan, Anandi, Janpath, Machimari Adhikar Sangharsh Sangathan (MASS), Kutch who have been working among the fishermen communities, especially, women fisher folk as well as salt pan workers (Agariyas). E. Vivekanandan, the noted scientist and consultant based at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) delivered the keynote address. He highlighted the need for a paradigm shift from the existing ‘command and control regime to a ˜bottom up participatory approach. In this regard, it was highlighted that the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) can offer a potential blue solution for sustainable fisheries in the Indian context. The deliberations included presentations on issues of fishermen communities in Kutch. The specific themes of presentations were: appraisal of occupational hazards; entrepreneurial capacity and decision making role of women in coastal communities; socio-economic status of traditional salt farmers in Gujarat; participatory fisheries governance; dynamics of inland fisheries management in respect of reservoir fisheries; etc. The Consultation reiterated the need for further consultations at the national level towards framing a Comprehensive National Fisheries Policy for India.

Download SAM CGE training workshop document.

An internal consultation workshop was co-organised by GIDR and the Gujarat Social Infrastructure Development Society (GSIDS) at the Institute on July 25, 2014 as part of the GSIDS-sponsored project relating to the preparation of modules on Human Development. These modules would form the basic material for training government functionaries at the district, taluka and panchayat levels in the concept and measurement of human development. GIDR has proposed to prepare six modules (1) Human Development: Concept and Measurement; (2) Poverty; (3) Health; (4) Education; (5) Gender; and(6) Security. Based on the key presentation made by Tara Nair, Rudra Narayan Mishra and Chandra Sekhar Bahinipati of GIDR on ‘Approaches, Concepts and Measures of Human Development: HDRs in Perspective’, the workshop discussed the format and content of the modules. The event was attended by GSIDS representatives, faculty members of the Institute and a few invited guests.

Panel Discussion on Competition and Regulatory Issues in Private Healthcare in India, organized by Gujarat Institute of Development Research and Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) Jaipur, and held at Gujarat Institute of Development Research

GIDR & International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Regions and Tropics (ICRISAT) co-organised National Workshop on “The Future of MGNREGA in the Emerging Context of Rural India: Learnings from Selected States”, GIDR.

This workshop was organised at GIDR to disseminate the findings of the study carried out in the two states of Chhattisgarh and Gujarat. Renowned academicians, subject experts and civil society members and the main stakeholders themselves i.e. the tribals were invited to participate and share their experiences and opinions on the research. The principal investigator of this project Dr. Madhusudan Bandi made presentation on the research findings and shared his rich experience from the field. The interaction between the researcher and the audience especially the activist was lively and informative. Overall, the inputs received from the learned audience were made note of to improvise the proposed presentation that would be carried out to the policy makers for the benefit of the forest dependent people at large not only in Chhattisgarh and Gujarat but in the country.

In collaboration with the UNICEF, Gandhinagar, GIDR had organised the workshop as a culmination of a study undertaken at GIDR wherein the central objective was to assess the achievements in MDGs in the state and projecting them for 2015. The study was supported by UNICEF, Gandhinagar. The main purpose of the event was to share the results of the study with academics, civil society representatives and policy makers to reflect collectively on some of the important aspects of MDGs such as: the genesis and underlying rationale, the evolution, and the way forward beyond 2015. Following opening remarks from Ms. Veena Bandyopadhyay, an interesting keynote address was presented by Biswajit Dhar, Director-General of RIS, New Delhi. Biplab Dhak (GIDR), the principal author of the report and coordinator of the workshop, made a detailed presentation on the progress and prospects of MDGs in Gujarat. The latter part of the workshop included a Panel Discussion on ‘Social Sector and Developmental Challenges in Gujarat’ to discuss issues of social, economic, and political importance which would have implications for achieving MDGs in the state. The panelists included Debi Prasad Mishra (IRMA), Sanjay Prasad (GoG), Binoy Acharya (UNNATI), Leela Visaria (GIDR), Keshab Das (GIDR) and Amita Shah (GIDR).

The workshop was organized by GIDR with the support of UNICEF, Gandhinagar to share the key findings from the recent Housing Census and Population Census of Gujarat. The aim was to generate discussions and create awareness among the state and district level officials of Gujarat for informed policy initiatives.A number of academicians and those associated with NGOs were invited to familiarize them with the wealth of information available in the Censuses conducted in India. The workshop aimed at informing the participants about using Census data for development and policy leads.Presentations were based on key findings from the recent Censuses of Gujarat on issues such as trends in gender composition and sex ratio, urbanization, gender and spatial differentials in literacy and education and analysis of infrastructure and amenities.In addition to Professor Leela Visaria, external experts included Mr. Prakash Gurnani, Unicef, Gandhinagar, Mr. Manish Bharadwaj, Census Office, Gujarat, Professor Darshini Mahadevia, CEPT University, Professor Meera Mehta, CEPT University, Professor Dinesh Mehta, CEPT University, Ahmedabad, Professor P. M.Kulkarni, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Dr. Sanjay Mohanty, IIPS, Mumbai and Dr. M. M. Gandotra,CORT, Vadodara.

The Workshop was organised jointly with the South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE) and the Indian Society for Ecological Economics (INSEE), with financial support from the ICSSR Western Regional Centre, Mumbai. The Workshop was focused on the three critical aspects of Ecology and Environmental Economics, viz., Ecosystems Management, Economics of Climate Change, and Policies and Instruments for Green Growth. The twin objectives of the Workshop were to: (a) give orientation to young scholars and PhD students on the foundations of ecological economics and domains of interdisciplinary research; (b) provide practical guidance to the scholars for pursuing the specific Research issues identified by them. The external resource persons for the Workshop included Dr. Pranab Mukhopadhay, SANDEE and Department of Economics, Goa University, Goa; Professor K.S. Kavikumar, Madras School of Economics, Chennai; Dr. Jagdish Krishna swamy, Suri Sehgal Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bangalore; Dr. Nilanjan Ghosh, INSEE and Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd., Mumbai; and Dr. Seema Purushothaman, Azim Premji University, Bangalore. The Workshop had a judicious mix of technical sessions comprising 11 lectures by the resource persons and presentations by the 30 participants about their ongoing research pursuits.

The ICSSR supported Workshop was attended by 28 young scholars pursuing research in disciplines like Economics, Sociology, Political Science, Education and Geography. These were selected from among 182 applicants. The workshop aimed at orienting young social science researchers in the methods of research analysis and of structuring and writing publishable research outputs. There were four main modules in the workshop: (1) Philosophical Foundations of Research; (2) Introduction to Methods of Scientific Research;(3) Methods of Qualitative Research; and (4) Research Writing and Publishing. Apart from the interactive class room lectures, the participants were also given the opportunity to closely interact with the faculty members of the Institute to receive personal guidance in the preparation of research papers.In addition to the GIDR faculty, the invited external experts included Mr. Jai Prasad, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, Professor Indira Hirway, Director, Centre for Development Alternatives, Ahmedabad,Professor Sebastian Morris, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and Professor Ghanshyam Shah,formerly of the School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Organized by GIDR the Training Programme was meant for PhD students in their early stage of research and the young faculty members. There were four major components of the programme: Introduction to philosophies of research in social sciences; Quantitative and qualitative techniques of research; Introductionto various official and unofficial data sources; and Training in SPSS package. The programme was attended by 24 candidates from various parts of the country and Gujarat, including the four PhD students registered with the Institute. These candidates were from Agricultural University, Dantewada, CEPT University, Ahmedabad Law College, B.K. Majumdar Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and Goa Institute of Management, Panaji. A total of 40 sessions of teaching were conducted during the training programme. Practical sessions were twelve mostly for econometric methods to analyze data using SPSS package.

The three-week programme drew faculty from both GIDR and outside. Professor Indraneel Dasgupata from CSSS, Kolkata introduced students to major philosophical thoughts in social science research infour sessions. Professor G.S. Gupta (formerly of IIM Ahmedabad) introduced students to various econometric techniques through 15 sessions. The classroom teaching was followed by practical session using SPSS package in the computer lab of the institute. Dr. U.S. Mishra, Associate Professor, Centrefor Development Studies, Trivandrum, took classes on methods of data collection and different techniques for fixing sampling strategy to meet the objective of the study. Dr. Himani Joshi from Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar took classes on public finance. Dr. Dipti Govil from Institute of Health Research and Management, Jaipur introduced students to analysis of qualitative data using NVAO package. Professor Indira Hirway, Director, Centre for Development Alternatives, Ahmedabad introduced students to analysing data from employment and unemployment surveys of theNational Sample Survey Office. Professor Sudarshan Iyenger, Vice Chancellor, Gujarat Vidyapeeth, Ahmedabad gave a special lecture on Gandhian thought and its relevance to the present day development process. Professor Jeemol Unni, Director, Institute for Rural Management, Anand gave a special lecture on database on Indian economy. Ms. Jayanti Ravi, Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Government of Gujarat presided over the valedictory function and distributed course completion certificates to all the participants.

This inception workshop concerned a study that seeks to understand the policies, processes and the initial outcomes of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, the implementation of which has been fraught with hurdles at various stages.  One important issue has been the lack of awareness as well empowerment of the forest dwellers themselves.  A closer understanding of the proximate as well as larger sets of factors influencing the outcomes of FRA thus assumes critical importance. Sharing of experience and learning by a group of academics, practitioners, and field activists was valuable to inform the approach and content of the study.

Panel Discussion organized jointly with the Indian Academy of Social Sciences, Allahabad

The main objective of the Seminar was to understand and discuss the lessons learnt from the wide-spread adoption of Bt cotton across different states with diverse ecological conditions and farmers with diverse socio economic backgrounds. Given that India has been growing Bt cotton for the past one decade, it was quite timely to explore if the scaling up of the technology all across the country poses risks and if so does India have clear policies, institutional strategies and adequate risk management systems in place? Seventeen research papers presented discussed these issues in detail based on the state level trends in status of adoption, performance and challenges emerging from the wider adoption of Bt cotton in India. A panel discussion on, ‘Bt Technology and Changing Facets of Indian Agriculture: A Move Towards or Away from Inclusive Growth?’ was also organised during the seminar. About 25 eminent scholars from various organizations in India, including researchers, scientists, entomologists, activists working on various aspects of Bt cotton/ GM crops attended the Seminar.

Prominent organizations/institutions represented at the seminar include among them include: Dr. Keshav Kranthi, Central Institute of Cotton Research, Nagpur; Dr. Anupam Barik, Directorate of Cotton Development, Mumbai; Shri Kartikeya Sarabhai, Centre for Environmental Education, Ahmedabad; Professor Sudarshan Iyenger, Gujarat Vidyapeeth, Ahmedabad; Professor Harish Padh, SP University, VallabhVidyanagar and Dr. A.R. Pathak, Navsari Agricultural University; Dr. O.M. Bambawale, National Centre for Integrated Pest Management, Mumbai; Dr. V. Kumar, Navsari Agricultural University, Surat. Other organizations/institutions represented at the seminar include Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore; Jawaharlal Nehru University; Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad; Indian Statistical Institute New Delhi; Department of Economics, Punjabi University, Patiala; Loyola Institute of Business Administration, Chennai; Department of Economics, Alagappa University, Karaikudi; Gujarat Vidyapith; PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore; Jatan Trust for Organic Farming, Vadodara; Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai; and Punjab Agricultural University.

This National Seminar was co-organised by the Chronic Poverty Research Centre, GIDR and XIMB. Notwithstanding being the state with high incidence of poverty sustained over a long period of time, Orissa has started showing semblance ‘dynamism’ in the recent period. Besides the multinationals showing keen interest in exploring the rich mineral resources the `dynamism’, apparently, is manifested in terms of urban growth, proliferation of institutions of higher education, and expansion of the service sector. All these, no doubt, seem to have injected afresh flux of optimism and euphoria especially in a society and economy, which has experienced long spells of stagnancy and at times, deterioration in the well being of its large segment of chronically poor population. At the same time the aforesaid dynamism has triggered a deepersense of concern, if not pessimism, among a fairly agile civil society and other socially concerned groups including some academics who fear that the apparent dynamism is a symptom of deepening of the neo-liberal growth processes that are likely to further marginalise the poor and the other vulnerable communities who have already been bypassed by the processes of economic growth in the rest of the country till now.

The major issues covered in the seminar included: 1) An Overview of the Contemporary Scenarios of Development, Policies, and Emerging Class-formation as well as Aspirations; 2) Persistent and Multidimensional Poverty: Extent and Causes; 3) People’s Mobilisation and Resistance: Orissa Holding the Torch? and 4) The Way Forward. About 70 participants including scholars and eminent representatives from civil society organisations and senior bureaucrats participated in the day-long discussions.

This event, organized by GIDR, formed part of an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded research network on ‘Rising Powers and Global Standards’, based at the University of Manchester, UK. A great deal of interest has been generated in both policy and academic circles worldwide in trying to understand and analyse the emergence of India as a new and important player on the global economic and political stage. Two decades of economic reforms and efforts at globalizing the Indian market, driven by both the state and an ebullient corporate sector, have often been credited with high and sustained economic growth during this period. Indian firms have been in the news for mergers and acquisitions across the globe in sectors as varied as automobiles, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, tea, spirits and food processing. There has also been a phenomenal rise in inward foreign direct investment (FDI) to India in various sectors, including mining, infrastructure, education and high-tech areas such as aeronautics, automobiles and electronics.

At the same time, the size of the Indian middle classes has grown rapidly, with new demands and growing material aspirations amongst Indian consumers. Despite these pointers of economic and market ‘dynamism’, persistent concerns remain with regard to stark poverty and inequality within the country. As the vast bulk of Indian manufacturing, including much of export manufacturing, takes place in the informal sector, poor households still form the majority of consumers, leading to distinct low-end market segments.

While much of this is known, the dynamic changes that have taken place in India over the past two decades – at the level of the state, the corporate sector, and amongst consumers, raise interesting questions on the ways in which India would continue to engage on the world stage, politically, socially and economically. One key feature of global trade over this period has been the growing importance of labour, environmental, food safety and social standards. Standards have often become critical to market access and essential to sustained competitiveness. At the same time, standards have come to define some of the ‘new rules of trade’ and social and political realities. This has a clear impact on the manner in which both global and Indian businessis conducted and is likely to shape up in the future. It also underlines the need for a new area of enquiry that addresses the following questions: How are Indian public and private actors, the state, Indian firms, local consumers and civil society influencing, and being influenced by, such standards?

We have limited knowledge about the challenges faced and strategies pursued by these key domestic actors, both public and private. How have been they able to drive these processes 31 and what are the consequences of these changes for the Indian economy, other emergen teconomies and for the rest of the developing world? In particular, what are their implications for the wider Indian society, especially on concerns with informality, inequalities and the conditions of the poor? The aforesaid formed the core of deliberations that had excellent presentations by expert scholars, who with an inter-disciplinary approach addressed conceptual/theoretical issues on the theme. Additionally, there were two Panel Discussions on “Consumers, Retail Growth and Standards” and “Reforms, Labour and Societal Concerns.

Seminar organised jointly with the Centre for Social Studies, Surat and Sardar Patel Institute of Economic and Social Research, Ahmedabad

Workshop on ‘Assessment of Krishi Mahotsav in Gujarat: Preliminary Results’.

Professor K. K. Subrahmanian (who left us on October 16, 2009), apart from his seminal work on technology, investment, trade and industrial development, had grappled with numerous other local and international development issues.  Throughout his long and productive academic career, he remained a positive influence for the academic and policy world through his writings and other interventions. In addition, he inspired a whole generation of young researchers to undertake rigorous academic research on wide ranging issues. Many have benefited from his academic brilliance and a very warm emotional support.

This formed part of the on-going collaborative research project on “Innovation Systems for Inclusive Development: Lessons from Rural China and India” (SIID), sponsored by the International Development Research Centre, Canada. This workshop had the objective of deliberating with diverse professional experts regarding the driving forces and functional dynamics of innovation systems in rural MSME clusters in India to critically assess if these have been inclusive/pro-poor, mainly in terms of access to available options in progress in innovation be that technological, organizational, market-related and institutional.

In addition to the Inaugural Session, there were two Technical Sessions on ‘Rural Innovations: Lessons and Reflections’ and ‘Experiments in Innovations in Rural Clusters’. The concluding session was a Panel Discussion on ‘Technology Policy and Rural Industrialisation’.

Gujarat Institute of Development Research (GIDR) had organised a workshop on Development of Tribal Communities and Areas in Gujarat and Maharashtra on February 8-9, 2010. The workshop had an innovative approach – it focused on Development of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Poverty and Human Development, Provisioning of Basic Amenities, Conflicts, Social Movements and Migration and Administrative and Governance Systems mainly in two states namely Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The convention was supported by the Chronic Poverty Research Centre as part of the preparation for writing a Chronic Poverty Report for India, as well as UNIFEM and the Indian Council of Social Science Research. It had an innovative approach – it focused on three key issues for inclusive growth such as, agriculture, employment and governance and the growth experiences of four states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Tamil Nadu, which gave a range of issues in policy practice. The thematic sessions brought out new analytical insights into various issues and also dealt with these in a comparative perspective. It was attended by senior researchers, senior government officials, and a range of other researchers and practitioners.

During November 24-25, 2008, GIDR had organised and conducted sessions of the Annual Review Monitoring Workshop for STAWS, STARD, SYSP & NI Programmes under the Science and Society Division, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, New Delhi. The event was held at the Sardar Patel Institute of Economic and Social Research, Ahmedabad.
 

The project is funded with a grant from the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute and will last two years from May 1, 2008 to May 1, 2010. The theme is “Community Natural Resource Management Institutions and Their Impact on Poverty in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.” There are four collaborating institutions involved: the Development Support Centre (DSC), Ahmedabad, the GIDR, Ahmedabad, the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal and the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver. The research consists of three visits to 35 villages in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The first visit was for the purpose of deciding if the village should be included in our sample, through the application of various criteria. The second visit was for the purpose of a focus group discussion with the resource management leadership of each village. The third visit, being undertaken currently, is to carry out an extensive household survey with field investigators.

The inception workshop, held at GIDR on October 20-21, 2008, focused on the issue of poverty in rural India.

This workshop, held on September, 18-19, 2008, was coordinated by ICRISAT, organized by WASSAN and ForWaRD (GIDR being a partner institution) and held in New Delhi.

 

Two workshops, held on July 5, 2008 and December 9-10, 2008, were organized by SEWA-GIDR sponsored by UNIFEM; the first was to discuss the conceptual framework and the second to discuss the results of the survey. The study introduces a new concept of social income which includes the proposition that people everywhere receive several forms of income. SI is the individual’s total social income including OP self-production (whether self-consumed, bartered or sold), W money wage received from work, CB value of benefits or support provided by the family, kin or the local community, EB amount of benefits provided by the enterprise in which the person might be working, SB value of state benefits, in terms of insurance benefits or other transfers, and PB private income benefits, gained through investment, including private social protection. The composition of the total varies according to a person’s social and work status. The composition also indicates the degree of a person’s socio-economic security is likely to be linked to his or her sense of well-being.

 

The workshop, held on April 11, 2008, was organised by and held at GIDR to discuss the status of the development of tribal areas of Gujarat. Papers presented by scholars included the following themes: i. Employment and Unemployment; ii. Education; iii. Higher and Technical Education; iv. Health, Livelihood and Income Generating Activities; v. Agriculture and Irrigation; vi. Marketing linkages for Tribal Development; vii. Tribal Finance; and viii. Governance.

 

This workshop was jointly conducted with the National Institute of Science Technology and Development Studies (NISTADS), New Delhi, and GSBTM, Ahmedabad.

 It was conducted jointly with the Tribal Development Department, Government of Gujarat.

This seminar was jointly organized by GIDR and CFDA. Apart from the presentation on the Mundra Port SEZ by Adani Group and discussions on various theoretical and conceptual issues concerning the SEZ, it also focused on the core issue of diversion of agricultural land under the Land Acquisition Act and its repercussions upon the farmers.

The workshop was organised jointly with Water Aid India, New Delhi keeping in mind the increasing emphasis on IWRM the world over from various quarters. Professionals and practioners in the field of water management, policy makers, academicians as well as people from international agencies attended it and exchanged their views on various issues concerning IWRM

In this conference GIDR was invited to be the knowledge partner. The conference was organised by SAKET projects Ltd and supported by many other organisations including the Ministry of Power, Government of India. Divya Bhaskar and DNA MONEY were the media partners in the conference. The panelists included academicians, government officials and industry representatives among others. 

GIDR was invited to be the knowledge partner for the conference that was organised by SAKET Projects Ltd, Water Management Forum, Gujarat Institute of Civil Engineers and Architects and supported by UNESCO, IWMI-TATA and IWRS. Prof. R. Parthasarathy of GIDR presented a paper (written jointly with Ms. Jharna Pathak of GIDR) and Ms. Jharna Pathak presented the rapporteur’s report at the end.

GIDR has been invited by the Government of Gujarat to prepare the Health Accounts for the State of Gujarat for the year 2005-06.  A workshop was organized in this regard to discuss the methodology that has been adopted by the Government of India and the State Governments of Andhra Pradesh, Kartanaka and Madhya Pradesh. People who have undertaken the tasks to prepare the health accounts were invited to share their experiences and provide inputs.

This seminar was held in order to discuss the various chapters of Gujarat State Development Report (SDR) sponsored by the Planning Commission, Government of India. It was inaugurated by Mr. B M Yugandhar, Member, Planning Commission. A half-a-day session on the approaches to the XI Plan also took place, that was co-organised by Centre for Development Alternatives (CFDA), Ahmedabad.

This seminar was organised for a discussion on the findings of the studies carried out in the two countries i.e. India and Bangladesh. In this seminar, GIDR and its collaborators from Bangladesh presented their major findings of the study. The focus of the study has been on the institutions and management of the open water inland fisheries. GIDR has carried out a study on TAWA in Madhya Pradesh

This workshop was organised to discuss the issues relevant for monitoring and evaluation of the tribal development programmes. Scholars from various institutes of Gujarat participated and expressed their concern on the lack of importance given to the monitoring system and the quality of data thereby pointing out the unreliability and lack of integrity in it.

This workshop was organised to discuss the issues relevant for monitoring and evaluation of the tribal development programmes. Scholars from various institutes of Gujarat participated and expressed their concern on the lack of importance given to the monitoring system and the quality of data thereby pointing out the unreliability and lack of integrity in it.

This workshop was organized at Maison Del Sciences Homme, Paris. Presentations were made by Dr. Alenka Guzman, Dr. N. Lalitha and Dr. Samira Guennif providing the perspectives on Latin American countries and India in their access to AIDS medicines. The purpose of the workshop was to create a network of people interested in looking at the issues mentioned above with specific focus on India, Latin America and Africa. It was also decided that the issues identified could be submitted to suitable agencies for research support.