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</h1> </div> <div class="attachment attachment-before"> <div class="views-element-container"><div class="view-header view view-epw-category-page view-id-epw_category_page view-display-id-attachment_1 js-view-dom-id-85c76ec91c0e02f0742e9f326524e4897a039edacfab0091a93913c2ed0b24eb"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="views-row"><div class="views-field views-field-field-cover-image"><div class="field-content"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/di_top_650x400/public/images/2024/02/09/CategoryImage_SpecialArticles.png?itok=1nDl0N8K" width="650" height="400" /> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-name"><span class="field-content">Special Articles</span></div><div class="views-field views-field-description__value"><span class="field-content"></span></div></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="view-content"> <div class="views-view-grid horizontal cols-3 clearfix"> <div class="views-row clearfix row-1"> <div class="views-col col-1"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/14/special-articles/linkage-between-child-sex-ratio-and-dowry-related.html" hreflang="en">Linkage between Child Sex Ratio and Dowry-related Crime</a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-authors"><div class="field-content"><a href="/author/sujoy-das" hreflang="en">Sujoy Das</a>, <a href="/author/manash-roy" hreflang="en">Manash Roy</a></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-summary"><div class="field-content views-field-body"> <p>India is among the frontline countries experiencing a declining female sex ratio over the years. Among several factors influencing the sex ratio, the widespread prevalence of dowry-related crimes may be perceived as a significant contributing factor to the lower preference for female children. This study aims to empirically examine the linkage between dowry deaths and the child sex ratio in India. It is based on secondary data covering three census periods, 1991 to 2011, across 24 Indian states. Additionally, to incorporate recent years, the study utilises time-series data sourced from the World Bank database for the period 2000–20.</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-journal"><div class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/14" hreflang="en">Vol. 60, Issue No. 14, 05 Apr, 2025</a></div></div></div> <div class="views-col col-2"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/journal/special-articles/spatio-temporal-analysis-dowry-crimes-india.html" hreflang="en">A Spatio-temporal Analysis of Dowry Crimes in India</a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-authors"><div class="field-content"><a href="/author/rambooshan-tiwari" hreflang="en">Rambooshan Tiwari</a>, <a href="/author/shubham-narayan-dixit" hreflang="en">Shubham Narayan Dixit</a></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-summary"><div class="field-content views-field-body"> <p>The custom of dowry is deeply rooted in Indian society, and dowry crimes occur all over the country. While the number of dowry deaths has remained almost stable during the 21st century, the incidents of violation of the Dowry Prohibition Act have increased gradually. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar emerge as the hotspots of dowry deaths in India, and the majority of districts having higher numbers of dowry deaths are located in these two states, apart from some north Indian metropolitan cities. The high number of dowry cases pending in the courts also highlights the inefficiency of the judiciary and the delay in justice.</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-journal"><div class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/13" hreflang="en">Vol. 60, Issue No. 13, 29 Mar, 2025</a></div></div></div> <div class="views-col col-3"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/journal/special-articles/pm-jay.html" hreflang="en">PM-JAY </a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-authors"><div class="field-content"><a href="/author/dinesh-ahirwal" hreflang="en">Dinesh Ahirwal</a>, <a href="/author/anjali-dhengle" hreflang="en">Anjali Dhengle</a></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-summary"><div class="field-content views-field-body"> <p>The Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana extends benefits based on various inclusion criteria. These inclusion criteria are evaluated using the equity lens for rural India. The prevalence of catastrophic health expenditure across different socio-economic categories is examined to explore its determinants. The findings show that while PM-JAY was launched to safeguard vulnerable households, lower-income households are doubly excluded from enrolment in PM-JAY and healthcare access. The drawbacks of the D 7 and D 6 criteria are identified. The D 7 criterion excludes households with self-employed members, whereas the D 6 criterion may exclude households with educated heads.</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-journal"><div class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/13" hreflang="en">Vol. 60, Issue No. 13, 29 Mar, 2025</a></div></div></div> </div> <div class="views-row clearfix row-2"> <div class="views-col col-1"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/journal/special-articles/trade-liberalisation-export-margins-and.html" hreflang="en">Trade Liberalisation, Export Margins, and Competitiveness in the Indian Manufacturing Sector</a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-authors"><div class="field-content"><a href="/author/r-rijesh" hreflang="en">R Rijesh</a></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-summary"><div class="field-content views-field-body"> <p>India’s trade performance post-liberalisation is examined, focusing on export margins and competitiveness in the organised manufacturing sector. As trade integration deepens, manufacturers are expected to specialise and broaden their product range, enhancing international competitiveness. Significant growth in both exports and imports is observed, with a notable shift in the composition of exports towards modern, technology-intensive products, indicating a move towards higher value-added exports. While India’s extensive margin, particularly in bilateral trade with the United States, has been robust, intensive margins show limited improvement, especially for exports to China. Revealed comparative advantage analysis showed that low-tech segments have remained competitive while high-tech industries were unable to improve competitiveness and the global market share.</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-journal"><div class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/13" hreflang="en">Vol. 60, Issue No. 13, 29 Mar, 2025</a></div></div></div> <div class="views-col col-2"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/12/special-articles/are-greens-healthy-banks-balance-sheets.html" hreflang="en">Are Greens Healthy for Banks’ Balance Sheets?</a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-authors"><div class="field-content"><a href="/author/snehal-s-herwadkar" hreflang="en">Snehal S Herwadkar</a>, <a href="/author/sambhavi-dhingra" hreflang="en">Sambhavi Dhingra</a>, <a href="/author/sonali-goel" hreflang="en">Sonali Goel</a>, <a href="/author/rahul-nair" hreflang="en">Rahul A Nair</a></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-summary"><div class="field-content views-field-body"> <p>There is an urgent need to channel lending towards green sectors to address climate change. The relationship between green lending by banks and their asset quality and profitability is examined using a data set of 33 Indian banks from March 2015 to December 2022. The findings reveal a negative relationship between banks’ green lending share and non-performing assets ratio, while higher green lending correlates with improved profitability. Results suggest that the positive association between higher green credit and return on assets occurs when the green credit share of 14.8% is crossed. A negative relationship with the NPA ratio is evident when the green credit share surpasses 38.4%.</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-journal"><div class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/12" hreflang="en">Vol. 60, Issue No. 12, 22 Mar, 2025</a></div></div></div> <div class="views-col col-3"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/12/special-articles/developmental-spending-and-its-impact-income.html" hreflang="en">Developmental Spending and Its Impact on Income Inequality </a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-authors"><div class="field-content"><a href="/author/sahil-verma" hreflang="en">Sahil Verma</a>, <a href="/author/bimal-kishore-sahoo" hreflang="en">Bimal Kishore Sahoo</a>, <a href="/author/sunandan-ghosh" hreflang="en">Sunandan Ghosh</a></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-summary"><div class="field-content views-field-body"> <p>The relationship between development and non-development expenditures at the state and union government levels from 1980 to 2020 is examined to see their impact on income disparity. Results show that state government spending on development, social, and economic services reduces income inequality, whereas the union government spending increases it. Specifically, a 1% rise in state development spending results in a 0.35% decrease in income inequality, while a similar increase in state spending on social and economic services decreases inequality by 0.05% and 0.03%, respectively. State governments should allocate more resources to improve income distribution, as they are more effective than the union government.</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-journal"><div class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/12" hreflang="en">Vol. 60, Issue No. 12, 22 Mar, 2025</a></div></div></div> </div> <div class="views-row clearfix row-3"> <div class="views-col col-1"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/12/special-articles/borderland-mobility.html" hreflang="en">Borderland Mobility</a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-authors"><div class="field-content"><a href="/author/ingo-mitalo" hreflang="en">Ingo Mitalo</a>, <a href="/author/rajan-sarma" hreflang="en">Rajan Sarma</a>, <a href="/author/jayanta-krishna-sarmah" hreflang="en">Jayanta Krishna Sarmah</a></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-summary"><div class="field-content views-field-body"> <p>The internal migration of indigenous people from hilly border villages to foothill plain areas in Arunachal Pradesh has been intense and critical. According to official estimates, more than 500 villages along the Indo-China border in the frontier state have been depopulated and turned into ghost villages as not a single being was found residing in those villages. The factors that influence the migration of people in this region are examined and their implications are brought out. Various policy interventions required to address these issues are discussed.</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-journal"><div class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/12" hreflang="en">Vol. 60, Issue No. 12, 22 Mar, 2025</a></div></div></div> <div class="views-col col-2"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/12/special-articles/comparative-macroeconomic-performance-and-human.html" hreflang="en">Comparative Macroeconomic Performance and Human Development of India’s States</a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-authors"><div class="field-content"><a href="/author/suchismita-bose" hreflang="en">Suchismita Bose</a>, <a href="/author/somnath-chattopadhyay" hreflang="en">Somnath Chattopadhyay</a></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-summary"><div class="field-content views-field-body"> <p>This paper ranks and compares Indian states based on their macroeconomic performance going beyond growth or per capita income. The dual objectives are to assess interstate convergence and to reaffirm the relationship between economic performance and human development. The TOPSIS methodology used here combines various macroeconomic indicators to yield relative scores, which allow for regular performance assessments and comparison with state HDI scores. The important observations from this study are that states’ relative rankings based on overall macroeconomic performances differ quite significantly from those based on measures, like growth or per capita income, traditionally relied on, as per the literature. However, despite the high rank mobility of state-wise MPIs over the years, there is no statistically significant relationship between initial rank status and MPI rank mobility refuting the possibility of laggard states steadily catching up with more developed ones through improved macroeconomic performances per se. There is also a clear lack of correspondence in the rankings by MPI and SHDI. This study underlines the need for according higher priority to education, healthcare and tax revenues by states which are trailing, particularly in years when they are able to record better macroeconomic performances.</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-journal"><div class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/12" hreflang="en">Vol. 60, Issue No. 12, 22 Mar, 2025</a></div></div></div> <div class="views-col col-3"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/11/special-articles/reversing-indias-industrial-decline.html" hreflang="en">Reversing India’s Industrial Decline</a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-authors"><div class="field-content"><a href="/author/r-nagaraj" hreflang="en">R Nagaraj</a></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-summary"><div class="field-content views-field-body"> <p>In the 2010s, India’s industrial output growth and fixed investment rates have declined, compared to the previous decade, with clear signs of premature deindustrialisation. Policy efforts have failed to stave off the hollowing out of manufacturing, with an unabated rise in India’s import dependence. There is a need to reconfigure industrial policy beyond tariffs and subsidies to acquire a dynamic comparative advantage in strategic industries and retake labour-intensive sectors for employment generation. The strategy needs to have four pillars: boost fixed investments pragmatically to augment domestic capabilities and encourage modernisation; align trade and industrial policies to promote and incentivise domestic value addition; offer location-specific infrastructure and technical support for small firms; and boost R&D investments to support indigenous production—all of which call for development banks to supply long-term credit at low and stable interest rates.</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-journal"><div class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/11" hreflang="en">Vol. 60, Issue No. 11, 15 Mar, 2025</a></div></div></div> </div> <div class="views-row clearfix row-4"> <div class="views-col col-1"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/11/special-articles/fintech-solutions-supply-chain-financing-small-and.html" hreflang="en">Fintech Solutions for Supply Chain Financing of Small and Medium Enterprises in India</a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-authors"><div class="field-content"><a href="/author/naveen-kumar-k" hreflang="en">Naveen Kumar K</a></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-summary"><div class="field-content views-field-body"> <p>A crucial gap in current research is addressed by exploring the potential of digital supply chain financing—specifically factoring and reverse factoring—to alleviate challenges faced by SMEs, including delayed payments, high-interest costs, and prolonged turnaround times. By analysing a unique data set of 1,15,648 factoring units and 12,28,256 invoices from an authorised Indian fintech platform, spanning the financial years 2020–21 and 2021–22, it provides valuable insights into the determinants of interest rates and financier participation. The quantitative analysis reveals that the multifaceted interplay of credit dynamics, firm attributes, industry landscapes, geographical factors, competitive pressures, and the characteristics of financiers are influencing the price discovery and financier participation in fintech SME financing.</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-journal"><div class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/11" hreflang="en">Vol. 60, Issue No. 11, 15 Mar, 2025</a></div></div></div> <div class="views-col col-2"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/11/special-articles/case-grid-connected-solar-irrigation-pumps.html" hreflang="en">The Case for Grid-connected Solar Irrigation Pumps </a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-authors"><div class="field-content"><a href="/author/tushaar-shah" hreflang="en">Tushaar Shah</a>, <a href="/author/rahul-rathod" hreflang="en">Rahul Rathod</a>, <a href="/author/shilp-verma" hreflang="en">Shilp Verma</a>, <a href="/author/arnab-paul-chawdhry" hreflang="en">Arnab Paul Chawdhry</a>, <a href="/author/gyan-p-rai" hreflang="en">Gyan P Rai</a></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-summary"><div class="field-content views-field-body"> <p>India’s solar irrigation programme is going seriously astray. Off-grid solar pumps waste two-thirds of the energy they generate. Maharashtra’s solar agricultural feeders avoid energy waste but continue driving groundwater depletion through free power for irrigation. Gujarat’s innovative pilot, Suryashakti Kisan Yojana, has net-metered 4,300 solarised tube wells and now purchases farmers’ surplus solar power under a 25-year guarantee. We present unassailable statistical evidence revealing SKY’s significant behavioural impacts. Scaling out a revamped SKY can not only phase out power subsidies but launch a frontal attack on India’s pernicious energy–water–food nexus.</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-journal"><div class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/11" hreflang="en">Vol. 60, Issue No. 11, 15 Mar, 2025</a></div></div></div> <div class="views-col col-3"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/11/special-articles/measuring-inflation-inequality-india.html" hreflang="en">Measuring Inflation Inequality in India</a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-authors"><div class="field-content"><a href="/author/rohan-bansal" hreflang="en">Rohan Bansal</a>, <a href="/author/prachi-bansal-0" hreflang="en"> Prachi Bansal </a></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-summary"><div class="field-content views-field-body"> <p>This paper is a first attempt to track the inflation rates of the distribution of Indian households based on consumption weights of different fractiles of rural and urban households from 2015 to 2023. Computing the consumption expenditure shares of different fractiles of Indian households—from the poorest to the richest—and the inflation faced by them, we show that the volatility of inflation is higher for the poor vis-à-vis the rich households and has persistently remained higher for the poor households. This paper argues that this inequality of inflation and high volatility is anti-poor and requires immediate policy intervention.</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-journal"><div class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/11" hreflang="en">Vol. 60, Issue No. 11, 15 Mar, 2025</a></div></div></div> </div> <div class="views-row clearfix row-5"> <div class="views-col col-1"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/10/special-articles/examining-womens-participation-van-panchayats.html" hreflang="en">Examining Women’s Participation in Van Panchayats of Uttarakhand, India</a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-authors"><div class="field-content"><a href="/author/gautam-prateek" hreflang="en">Gautam Prateek</a></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-summary"><div class="field-content views-field-body"> <p>Van panchayats have facilitated collaborative forest management in India since the 1930s. Despite active involvement in forest-related movements and government policy promoting representation, women’s low involvement in van panchayats has been understudied. This paper integrates the gender as seriality framework with the concepts of practical and strategic needs to critically examine women’s representation in leadership roles and their participation in community forums, focusing on six van panchayats in Almora district, Uttarakhand. Analysing survey results, along with personal interviews and archival data, I contend that women’s low participation cannot be explained solely by sociocultural norms and state interference. Instead, the subsistence livelihood needs of households are crucial to women’s involvement in van panchayats. Furthermore, this low participation should be understood as an expression of women’s agency within the broader political economy of development in the region. This paper adds to the existing participation frameworks in natural resource governance by emphasising agency and analysing participation at the intersection of agency and structure.</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-journal"><div class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/10" hreflang="en">Vol. 60, Issue No. 10, 08 Mar, 2025</a></div></div></div> <div class="views-col col-2"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/10/special-articles/elevating-non-academic-roles.html" hreflang="en">Elevating Non-academic Roles </a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-authors"><div class="field-content"><a href="/author/jai-mohan-pandit" hreflang="en">Jai Mohan Pandit</a></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-summary"><div class="field-content views-field-body"> <p>Non-academic staff in higher education institutions are crucial across various departments such as administration, information technology support, library services, student affairs, finance, and....</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-journal"><div class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/10" hreflang="en">Vol. 60, Issue No. 10, 08 Mar, 2025</a></div></div></div> <div class="views-col col-3"><div class="views-field views-field-title"><span class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/10/special-articles/emergent-plutonomy-india.html" hreflang="en">Emergent Plutonomy in India</a></span></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-authors"><div class="field-content"><a href="/author/rouf-ahmad-dar" hreflang="en">Rouf Ahmad Dar</a>, <a href="/author/aejaz-ahmad-wani" hreflang="en">Aejaz Ahmad Wani</a>, <a href="/author/javid-ahmad-dar" hreflang="en">Javid Ahmad Dar</a></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-summary"><div class="field-content views-field-body"> <p>The problem of plutonomy in contemporary India is spelled out. The inclusion of economic rights, justice, and equality in national constitutions is surveyed to evaluate their effectiveness in preventing wealth inequality. The debates in the Constituent Assembly of India are studied to foreground the fears that interspersed around economic inequality. In doing so, questions are raised on the transformative aspects of the Constitution of India, arguing that—despite possessing the potential to check the concentration of wealth and ensure economic equality—it has implicitly and explicitly allowed plutonomy issues.</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-journal"><div class="field-content"><a href="/journal/2025/10" hreflang="en">Vol. 60, Issue No. 10, 08 Mar, 2025</a></div></div></div> </div> </div> </div> <nav class="pager" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="pagination-heading"> <h4 id="pagination-heading" class="visually-hidden">Pagination</h4> <ul class="pager__items js-pager__items"> <li class="pager__item is-active"> <a href="?page=0" title="Current page" aria-current="page"> <span class="visually-hidden"> Current page </span>1</a> </li> <li class="pager__item"> <a href="?page=1" title="Go to page 2"> <span class="visually-hidden"> Page </span>2</a> </li> <li class="pager__item"> <a href="?page=2" title="Go to 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