Category Center for Habitat, Urban and Regional Studies

E gram Swaraj

E-Gram Swaraj, 2020

eGramSwaraj is a flagship digital governance policy initiative of the Government of India launched under the e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project (MMP) on 24 April 2020. Developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) and spearheaded by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR), the policy aims to strengthen Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) by bringing planning, financial accounting, monitoring, audit and reporting onto a single digital platform.

Sanchar Saathi mobile app

Sanchar Saathi Mobile App, 2023

The Sanchar Saathi mobile app is a citizen-centric cybersecurity initiative developed by the Government of India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to strengthen mobile security for subscribers nationwide. Launched via a web portal in May 2023, the mobile application version was introduced on 17 January 2025 to make services more accessible to smartphone users.

Incredible India

Incredible India 2.0, 2002

The Incredible India campaign, which was launched in 2002 was the first concerted effort by India to position the country as a global unified tourism brand. The campaign aimed at positioning India as a year-round destination by unitingheritage monuments, cultural festivals, natural landscapes, spirituality and modern infrastructure under a single umbrella.

Eklavya Model Residential School Program

 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) program-1997

Policy UpdateRiya Singh Background The Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) program was introduced in 1997-98 to fill the longstanding education divide between the Scheduled Tribe (ST) population and the rest of the Indian population. The scheme was conceived under Article…

Copy of Insights 1 1 e1770580248143

Selling Survival: What Air and Water Reveal About State Failure

Delhi’s air crisis is not an isolated failure. It is part of a larger civilisational collapse, one where the state has quietly surrendered its most fundamental duty: safeguarding the commons.

Copy of Insights 4

Urbanisation Trends in India’s Small Towns

The story so far: India continues to narrate its urban future through the loud vocabulary of megacities. But a quieter and far more consequential transformation is unfolding. Of India’s nearly 9,000 census and statutory towns, barely 500 qualify as large cities. The overwhelming majority are small towns, with populations below 1,00,000. This proliferation of small towns is a structural product of India’s capitalist development — and of its crisis.

Talk to Us