Category Center for Human Dignity and Development

Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers (2016): Issues and Challenges

Policy Update, Agriculture, Food, Nutrition Security and Rural Development, Center for Human Dignity and Development, Center for Work and Welfare, Livelihoods, Employment and Well-being

According to the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, the official and legal definition of the bonded labour system refers to a form of forced, or partly forced, labour in which a debtor or their family agrees to work for a creditor. This condition arises in three ways: first, through debt, loans, or financial advances; second, through customary or social obligations; and third, through inheritance or birth into a specific caste or community, which leads to forced labour. Therefore, Bonded labour has long been recognized as one of the gravest violations of human rights in India.

IMPRI Desk
October 13, 2026

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One Stop Centres, 2024: Strengthening Support for Overseas NRI Women

Policy Update, Center for Human Dignity and Development, Entrepreneurship, ICT and Innovation, Gender Impact Studies Center, Gender, Pluralism and Social Inclusion, Insights

The One Stop Centres (OSCs) for overseas NRI women were approved only in November 2024 and started being established from 2025. These centres represent an extension of India’s domestic One Stop Centre scheme (also known as Sakhi) to support Indian women facing distress abroad. The domestic OSC scheme was launched on 1 April 2015 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) under the Nirbhaya Fund to provide integrated, immediate support under one roof to women affected by violence in private or public spaces (Ministry of Women and Child Development, 2015; Press Information Bureau, 2024).

IMPRI Desk
October 12, 2026

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Panchayat Advancement Index 2.0 (2023-24): Data That Drives Local Development

Policy Update, Agriculture, Food, Nutrition Security and Rural Development, Center for Human Dignity and Development, Governance and Law, Insights

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 gave Panchayati Raj Institutions constitutional status, and the Eleventh Schedule lists 29 subjects for devolution to them. Over 2.5 lakh panchayats and about 24 lakh elected representatives now operate under this framework, and women make up roughly half of those representatives. What the system lacked for three decades was a common yardstick for how panchayats are performing. The Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) fills that gap. It translates the 17 Sustainable Development Goals into 9 localised themes (LSDGs) and scores each Gram Panchayat (GP) on them.

IMPRI Desk
October 11, 2026

10 October – World Mental Health Day: Raising Awareness, Demanding Action

Insights, Center for Human Dignity and Development, Centres, Livelihoods, Employment and Well-being, Policy Update, Thematic Areas

"The world was sick, and the ills from which it was suffering were mainly due to the perversion of man, his inability to live at peace with himself." - Dr. George Brock Chisholm, First Director-General, World Health Organization

IMPRI Desk
October 10, 2026

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Swasth Bharat Portal: Building an Interoperable Digital Architecture for Public Health Programmes

Policy Update, Center for Human Dignity and Development, Center for ICT for Development, Economy and Infrastructure, Entrepreneurship, ICT and Innovation, Livelihoods, Employment and Well-being, Public Finances and Macroeconomics

India's public health system increasingly relies on digital platforms for service delivery, beneficiary management, disease surveillance and programme monitoring. However, different national health programmes have developed separate digital systems, creating multiple logins, repetitive data entry and fragmented information for frontline health workers (Press Information Bureau, 2026).

IMPRI Desk
October 9, 2026

Micro and Small Enterprises Scheme for Promotion and Investment in Circular Economy (MSE-SPICE), 2023

Policy Update, Center for Human Dignity and Development, Center for ICT for Development, Entrepreneurship, ICT and Innovation, Public Policies, Programs and Schemes

Modern production and consumption systems have historically followed a predominantly linear economic model, in which raw materials are extracted, converted into products, consumed and then discarded as waste. This “use-and-throw-away” pattern increases pressure on natural resources and contributes to waste accumulation.

IMPRI Desk
October 8, 2026

Rakhine State Development Programme (2017): Assessing India’s Humanitarian and Development Diplomacy in Conflict-Affected Rakhine (2017–2025)

Insights, Center for Human Dignity and Development, Centres, Thematic Areas, Urbanization, Habitat, Transportation and Regional Development

Rakhine State is at a special place in India's neighbourhood policy. It is situated on the Bay of Bengal, flanked by Bangladesh and is home to the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project (KMTTP) that is expected to connect Kolkata with Mizoram by sea, river and road as well as provide alternative access to the landlocked north-eastern states for Indian transport. It's also where one of Asia's worst humanitarian crises is taking place. In August 2017, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) attacked security posts and in response the Myanmar military conducted "clearance operations" that forced an estimated 700,000+ Rohingya across the border into Bangladesh. This, along with the early arrivals, resulted in a refugee camp of almost a million people in Cox's Bazar, one of the world's largest refugee centres. The roots of the crisis are long-standing. Most Rohingya were left stateless by the Citizenship Law of 1982. In 2012, communal violence in Rakhine forced many to flee, and movement, access to health and education and livelihoods were severely restricted over the following years.

IMPRI Desk
October 5, 2026