News

2019-04-01

Published by Justin

A case for nutrition counselling

Bjorn Lomborg, president of the Copenhagen Consensus Center and Shireen Vakil heads the Policy and Advocacy unit of the Tata Trusts discuss the India Consensus research on Nutrition. The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme is one of the world’s largest programmes for early childhood...

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2019-01-22

Published by Justin

The biggest bang for every buck

Tata Trusts releases an in-depth review of the India Consensus model. The India Consensus approach complements the government’s top-down policy planning model. True to its name, the Consensus brings together a wide range of stakeholders, among them governments, nonprofits, public intellectuals,...

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2019-01-22

Published by Justin

Technology can’t replace teachers in classrooms

Shireen Vakil discusses our research on the smartest education investments. According to a cost-benefit analysis conducted by India Consensus, a partnership between Tata Trusts and the Copenhagen Consensus Center, an investment of Rs1,333 ($21) per student per year, would create a multiplier effect...

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2018-09-26

Published by Justin

The Global Cost of Domestic Violence

Bjorn Lomborg discusses the research findings on the best policies to reduce domestic violence in Andhra Pradesh. In the coastal state of Andhra Pradesh, the Copenhagen Consensus Center recently collaborated with Tata Trusts, one of India’s oldest philanthropies, to identify the best policy options...

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2018-09-12

Published by Justin

Solutions beyond farm loan waivers

Nilanjan Banik, Professor of Economics at Bennett University, and Manorama Bakshi, Senior Adviser to the India Consensus project discuss smart interventions to improve the lives of farmers. Among all the states in India, Rajasthan has one of the lowest farmer suicide rates. However, this does not...

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2018-08-24

Published by Justin

Giving is a Very Serious Business

A new article published in The Economic Times discusses findings from the Andhra Pradesh project in the light of corporate social responsibility. The authors, Prabhat Pani, head of partnerships & technology at Tata Trusts, and Dr. Bjorn Lomborg, president of the Copenhagen Consensus Center,...

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2018-08-02

Published by Justin

Improving state finances by reducing power losses

India’s total energy losses are significantly more than international norms—wastage that state budgets cannot afford, but what are the smartest interventions to improve energy distribution and storage? Two separate research papers written for India Consensus seeks to answer this question...

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2018-07-20

Published by Justin

Education reforms: Getting children into classrooms is no longer enough

New research shows which policies contribute most effectively to enhancing education in Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh is investing approximately 15% of GSDP in education and is now facing the challenge of improving the effectiveness of its spending. To achieve its full potential, it is crucial...

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2018-07-17

Published by Justin

Early childhood is when education makes the biggest difference, calling for quality preschool programmes

New research written by Abusaleh Shariff, Chief Scholar US-India Policy Institute, Washington D. C and Amit Sharma, Consultant, The World Bank, New Delhi this paper examines three key interventions to improve early childhood education in Andhra Pradesh: (1) Hire local teachers to improve pre-school...

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2018-06-28

Published by Justin

Why expenditure on 'Swachh Bharat' is worthy and needs to be increased

Nearly half of global deaths from diarrhoea occur in India – and most of these 800,000 annual deaths are due to a lack of clean drinking water and sanitation, according to a comprehensive global study. But what policies will do the most to help? New research by Bjorn Larsen, Environmental Economist...

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2018-06-27

Published by Justin

Eminent Panel Events Update

We have just completed a very successful AP priorities Eminent Panel Event in Vijayawada last week (17-21st June, 2018). Wanted to share an update with you on the same. 17th June The AP Priorities Eminent Panel Launch Event took place in the evening. The Chief Guest Mr. SP Tucker (Ex Chief...

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2018-06-25

Published by Justin

CM Welcomes Andhra Pradesh Priorities Findings

The Andhra Pradesh Priorities Eminent Panel of economists, along with Dr Bjorn Lomborg, the Tata Trust senior team of Shireen Vakil, Rajendra Ravuri and the AP Priorities team comprising of Saleema Razvi, BM Naidu and Tejbir Soni met the Hon’ble Chief Minister of AP - N. Chandrababu Naidu at his...

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2018-06-18

Published by Justin

Burgeoning Indian cities need infrastructure development to keep pace with growth

Research by Parijat Dey of IL&FS examines three interventions which could support the city of Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. This paper conducts a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of three urban interventions aimed at providing: 24x7 piped water supply, 100 percent coverage for sewage and wastewater...

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2018-06-03

Published by Justin

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana: The arithmetics of housing for all

New research on costs and benefits from housing policies is written by Amitabh Kundu, Distinguished Fellow at the Research and Information System for Developing Countries and Arjun Kumar, Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Human Development. Kundu examines three important policy interventions:...

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2018-06-02

Published by Justin

Reduce domestic violence, and it will unleash an economic bonanza worth thousands of crores

New research paper by Srinivas Raghavendra, Mrinal Chadha, and Nata Duvvury of the National University of Ireland Galway helps close gaps in the evidence related to interventions aimed at reducing domestic violence. Domestic violence in Andhra Pradesh costs the state an estimated 1.8% of GSDP, or...

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2018-05-31

Published by Justin

Is loan waiver a panacea for rural distress?

Research published in The Financial Express highlights some of the best ways to help tackle distress among small and marginal farmers in Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh has one of the highest national rates of farmer suicides, at 47 self-inflicted deaths per 1000 population between 2010 and 2012...

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2018-05-31

Published by Justin

Why cancelling the LPG subsidy is a poor option

New research by Bjorn Larsen outlines policies which could improve the lives of millions of people in Andhra Pradesh by reducing the pollution caused by indoor cookstoves. Almost 40% of the population in AP still use solid fuels such as coal, wood and charcoal for cooking, giving off dangerous...

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2018-05-25

Published by Justin

Ease of doing business: Land record reforms ahoy!

A new study by Nirupama Soundararajan and Shagun Khurana of Pahle India Foundation (PIF) looks at how business reforms can help Andhra Pradesh get ahead, estimating both costs and benefits of the policies. Andhra Pradesh scored 99.73% on the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion’s ease-of-...

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2018-05-25

Published by Justin

Poverty: The direct approach isn’t always best

An oped this week in Mint reported on research into two important policy options which aim to tackle poverty in Andhra Pradesh. The research was conducted by Munshi Sulaiman, Research Director of Save the Children International, with Michael Murigi of the University of Sydney. Their paper...

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2018-05-22

Published by Justin

Time for Indian states to pick best opportunities to compete globally

New research published in The Economic Times highlights which policies can do most to enhance trade in Andhra Pradesh. Andhra is one of the top five exporting states in India, and its long coastline provides it with significant and often unique export opportunities. India is transforming, thanks to...

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2018-05-15

Published by Justin

Diabetes and heart disease should be top health priorities

Chronic illnesses such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease have a devastating impact and now account for about 60% of all deaths in India. In Andhra Pradesh, about 1-in- 3 people are overweight or obese, and one-in-ten have high blood sugar, contributing to rapidly rising levels of diabetes and...

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2018-05-15

Published by Justin

How to improve agricultural productivity

New research published in MINT Newspaper highlights which policies will be most effective at improving agricultural productivity and farmer livelihoods. Small and marginal farmers in Andhra Pradesh, especially in the Rayalaseema region, suffer from water scarcity together with poor quality seeds...

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2018-05-14

Published by Justin

Time to further reduce maternal mortality rate

An article published in The Economic Times today highlights opportunities to further reduce infant and maternal mortality. In Andhra Pradesh, infant mortality dropped from 54 to 35 deaths per live birth between 2005/6 and 2015/16. Yet, Andhra Pradesh faces the ongoing challenge of low child...

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2018-05-04

Published by Justin

Meet The Eminent Panel

The Andhra Pradesh Priorities project is happy to announce the members of its Eminent Panel. Nobel Laureate in economics, Professor Finn Kydland, is joined by leading economists from Andhra Pradesh and India - Mahendra Dev, Vinita Bali and Nisha Agrawal. The Eminent Panel members will read all of...

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2018-04-12

Published by Justin

Building India’s talent base

New research released today shows which policies contribute most effectively to skill development in Andhra Pradesh. Skilling is a major priority for Andhra Pradesh, with its ambitious target of skilling 20 million people in a span of 15 years through the AP State Skill Development Corporation (...

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2018-04-04

Published by Justin

Fighting TB matters since one case treated saves many others

A new research paper released today has tailored, policy-relevant data showing how Andhra Pradesh can bring forward the eradication of Tuberculosis. Bjorn Lomborg, president of Copenhagen Census Center and Manorama Bakshi, Senior Adviser to the India Consensus project discuss the research in a new...

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2018-04-03

Published by Justin

Identifying the policies that work best against child marriage: Empowerment of girls is the key

Bjorn Lomborg discusses our latest release on smart interventions to address child marriage. Despite significant progress against child marriage, it remains a huge challenge. Last year 320 lakh girls under 18 were married according to UNICEF estimates. The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling...

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2017-12-22

Published by Justin

Bjorn Lomborg Hosts Committee Members

A meeting was organized for the members of Andhra Pradesh Academic Committee Members and Dr. Bjorn Lomborg, President, Copenhagen Consensus Centre. The meeting focussed on sharing the progress made so far in the Andhra Pradesh Priorities Project and sharing some initial findings of the research...

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2017-12-17

Published by Justin

Bjorn Lomborg Hosts Introductory Seminar

A Seminar to discuss the Andhra Pradesh Priorities Project by Dr, Bjorn Lomborg, President, Copenhagen Consensus Centre was held on December 19, 2017 at the Taj Gateway Hotel, Vijayawada A total of about 70 people participated including Special Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, Chief...

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2017-12-15

Published by Justin

Initiative to make State govt. ‘more smarter’

The Hindu has a published a great write up on the Andhra Pradesh Priorities project. As well as, an interview with Copenhagen Consensus Center President Bjorn Lomborg. Called Andhra Pradesh Priorities Project, it is based on the principle of time-tested cost-benefit analysis of policy decisions and...

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2017-12-12

Published by Justin

Invitation from Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh

Honourable Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Nara Chandrababu Naidu invited India Consensus to share the early findings of the Andhra Pradesh Priorities Project. Dr. Bjørn Lomborg President Copenhagen Consensus Center and Sri R Pavitra Kumar from Tata Trusts briefed him about ongoing work and policy...

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2017-12-12

Published by Justin

Meetings With The Inspector General of Police

A meeting was held with the Inspector General of Police, Andhra Pradesh, Mr. Amit Garg at the Andhra Pradesh State Police Headquarters on December 12, 2017.

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2017-12-11

Published by Justin

Meeting With Member Secretary

A meeting was held with Dr. Gangaiah, Member Secretary Andhra Pradesh State Planning Board on December 11, 2017 at Vijayawada.

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2017-12-04

Published by Justin

Andhra Pradesh Advisory Committee Meet in Hyderabad

The first meeting of the Andhra Pradesh Advisory Committee Meeting was held on December 04, 2017 at Hotel Taj Banjara, Hyderabad. The purpose of the meeting was to examine the list of interventions for cost-benefit analysis and provide recommendations to improve the list further. Learn more about...

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2017-08-14

Published by Justin

Andhra Pradesh State Planning Board Meeting

Andhra Pradesh State Planning Board (APSPB) play a critical role in promoting efficient use of available resources for the sustainable and balanced development of state of Andhra Pradesh. The discussion included various ongoing government initiatives along with State priorities with focus on...

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