Policy

Maps the scale of informality and the resulting unprotected risk in Indian labour markets — the "informalisation" of the formal workforce, coping strategies during lockdown, and the gaps in social security that leave most workers exposed to shocks.

An early-stage assessment of the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana — the flagship micro-credit scheme — commissioned by the Ministry of Finance. It builds a theory-of-change framework for the scheme's components, evaluates its performance against stated objectives (finding it did not alter secular lending trends to target segments), and proposes a framework for monitoring intermediate effects and measuring long-term outcomes.

Estimates the output elasticity of credit depth across 32 districts of Tamil Nadu and proposes a methodology for identifying districts with excessive or deficient credit — a tool for bodies like the RBI and NABARD to direct credit where it is most growth-enhancing.

An impact evaluation of the NPS-Swavalamban co-contributory pension scheme for unorganised-sector workers, using NSDL and PFRDA data, with recommendations on scheme design, delivery architecture, aggregator incentives, and customer protection for future contributory pensions.

How India's commercial health insurance segment could be redesigned to deliver real financial protection on the path to universal health coverage — examining both the behaviourally-realistic consumer on the demand side and the barriers a new insurer faces on the supply side.

A SEBI Working Group report proposing a Social Stock Exchange to let nonprofits and social enterprises raise capital under SEBI's regulatory ambit — setting out listing eligibility, minimum reporting and disclosure standards, and funding structures that prioritise social over financial returns. Dvara Research contributed to the underlying consultations.

Proposes a risk-based supervision model for a data-protection authority — a methodology to classify entities by the risk they pose when personal data is compromised, paired with a responsive-regulation enforcement toolkit for use before and after a breach.

Examines how the micro-prudential capital regime applied to non-deposit-taking NBFCs departs from institution-neutral principles, locking up capital that could be lent, and argues for a resolution framework rather than punitive capital requirements as the right tool for managing failure.

A consultation response to MeitY's NODE White Paper, raising concerns that the proposed national digital ecosystems could entrench service-delivery problems and pose risks to competition, systemic stability, and cyber-security without clearer objectives and safeguards.

A consultation response to the draft Code consolidating India's social-security laws, pressing for clearer definitions of "employee" and "worker", floor-level rights for unorganised-sector workers, and portability of benefits for inter-state migrants.