APRIL 2013 STUDIES SURVEYS AND RESEARCHES

STUDIES SURVEYS AND RESEARCHES

SIX INDIAN INSTITUTES IN TOP 150 THINK TANKS

Six Indian research institutes, including Centre for Civil Society, are among top 150 global think tanks in the annual list released by the University of Pennsylvania for 2012.

Though no Indian think tank figured in the top 50, New Delhi based CCS was ranked 51st in the list. The list was topped by Brookings Institution (United States) followed by Chatham House (United Kingdom).

Other Indian think tanks featured in the list are Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA) (105), Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) (109), The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) (110), Observer Research Foundation (ORF) (115) and Development Alternatives (141). Three Indian think tanks were among the list top 100 institutes that excluded US.

Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology (ATREE) and Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) were among the top 20 environment think tanks.

University of Pennsylvania invited 6,603 think tanks from 182 countries to participate in the process. 1,100 plus individuals from 120 countries participated in the nominations and rankings process.

MUMBAI, DELHI AMONG WORLD’S CHEAPEST CITIES: A SURVEY

For an average middle class Indian the cost of living can be daunting in two of India's most cosmopolitan cities-Mumbai and Delhi.

But interestingly and surprisingly, these two of India's most expensive cities have ended up right at the bottom of a list of world's cheapest cities.

Mumbai and Karachi are the joint cheaped locations in the world according to the Economist Intelligence 'Unit's Worldwide cost of living index 2013' with New Delhi just one spot higher.

Tokyo took the title as the world's most expensive city ousting Zurich which is now the world's 7th most expensive city. Japan's Tokyo and Osaka were the world's top two expensive cities followed by Sydney, Oslo, Melbourne, Singapore, Zurich, Paris, Caracus (Venezuela) and Geneva.

A comparative survey showed that buying a one kg loaf of bread in Tokyo is nine time more expensive than in Mumbai and 8 times more than in Delhi. Buying a pack of 20 cigarettes cost three times more in Tokyo than in Mumbai and over two times more than in Delhi. Ironically, buying a bottle of table wine is more expensive in Mumbai $ 23.82 as against $ 15.95 in Tokyo.

The Worldwide cost of living survey, which is based on costs of more than 160 items ranging from food and clothing to domestic help, transport, home rents, private schools and recreational costs said that while Asia is home to over half of the world's 20 most expensive cities, the region is also home to six of the 10 cheapest cities. Five of the bottom 10 (and six of the bottom 11) cities hail from the Indian subcontinent defined as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The study says, "Although India is something of a tiger economy tipped for future growth, much of this is driven by its large population and the untapped potential within the economy. Income inequality means that household spending levels are low on a per capita basis, which has kept prices down, especially by Western standards."

UPA POLICIES LEADING TO JOBLESS GROWTH: A STUDY

BY CENTRAL GOVERNMENT BODY

[Millions quit farming to become labourers without social security]

The Times of India says that not only has India witnessed jobless growth during the UPA government tenure. It has also seen millions pushed to become casual labourers with little social security, the Institute of Applied Manpower Research (IAMR), a think-tank of the Planning Commission, has said in a recently published research paper, "Joblessness and Informalization Challenges to Inclusive Growth in India."

The report by the government body comes as a scathing comment on the character of economic growth under the UPA. The authors said that despite clocking phenomenal growth, which has made India the world's fourth largest economy "employment in total and non-agricultural sectors has not been growing. This jobless growth in recent years has been accompanied by growth in casualization and informalisation."

The report noted that 15 million workers shifted out of agriculture and into the manufacturing and services sector during 2005-10, leading to agriculture's share in total employment falling from 57% to 53%. In the same period, the construction sector added 18 million people as workers as the government made huge investments in infrastructure. Most of those moving out of agriculture

(during a period in which farm productivity was on the decline) ended up being casual labourers in the construction industry with little or no social security, the study said.

"Out of 44 million total employment in construction by 2010, 42 million (informal labour) hardly have any kind of social security benefit attached with it. In other words, 95% of workers in the construction sector hardly have any kind of social security coverage," the study said.

This explains why the report is not gungho about the shift in employment away from agriculture towards manufacturing and services, a development that economists would normally see as positive and as an indicator of an indicator of an economy in transition.

The authors from the government think-tank warned that a "daunting and complicated task confronting the policy makers is to address the issue of informal employment within the organized sector. This issue of informalization of employment poses a serious challenge in achieving decent work and thereby achieving more inclusive growth and sustainable development". The study said that in the period 2005-10, the manufacturing sector saw the loss of 5 million jobs. The services sector witnessed only 4 million additional jobs in 2005-2010.