Category Center for the Study for Finance and Economics

ESG

Mainstreaming ESG in India’s Industrial Policy: Transitioning from Compliance to Strategic Growth

As India pursues its vision of becoming a $5 trillion economy while fulfilling its Net Zero commitment by 2070, integrating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles into national industrial policy is no longer optional—it is a strategic necessity. While regulatory bodies like the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) have mandated Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR), ESG adoption remains largely siloed from broader industrial initiatives, including Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes. This policy article examines the imperative to shift from "compliance-driven" to "strategy-driven" ESG adoption. It highlights key bottlenecks faced by Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), explores global carbon-trade pressures, and proposes a data-driven policy roadmap to embed sustainability into the core of India’s industrial framework

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PM VISHWAKARMA SCHEME  AND CREDIT INFLOWS FOR MICRO-ENTERPRISES (2023)

The structural architecture of India’s informal economy has historically been sustained by traditional artisans and craftspeople who provide foundational services across rural and semi-urban landscapes. Despite their critical contribution to cultural preservation and local self-reliance, these micro-enterprises have long remained textually and financially excluded from organized banking networks and formal credit mechanisms.

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Scaling UPI: The Economics Behind NPCI’s New Operational Limits

Although the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has been operational for a decade, it does not exhibit the obsolescence typical of legacy infrastructure; rather, it currently faces challenges associated with rapid and unprecedented scalability. NPCI launched it in April 2016 to make bank-to-bank transfers instant and interoperable, so a payment from any bank app could reach any other bank account without the usual friction. The decision that really made it explode came later: in January 2020, the government set UPI’s Merchant Discount Rate to zero, so neither payer nor payee would ever see a fee. That single choice is arguably why the neighbourhood vegetable seller and the metro-station tea stall started accepting UPI as readily as a large retail chain.

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Public Financial Management System (2009): Strengthening Transparency and Efficiency in Public Expenditure

The Public Financial Management System (PFMS) is a web-based platform developed and operated by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, to track and manage the flow of government funds in real time. It began in 2009 as the Central Plan Schemes Monitoring System (CPSMS), a Central Sector Scheme under the erstwhile Planning Commission, at a time when the government had no reliable way of knowing how much of the money released for its Plan schemes had actually reached implementing agencies or been spent, since expenditure was typically reported only after the fact, through conventional accounting cycles that could lag actual spending by months. CPSMS was conceived to close that gap, with a narrow original mandate: tracking funds released under Plan schemes and reporting expenditure in real time, rather than months later. 

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West Bengal Bhabishyat Credit Card Scheme (2023) : Assessing the State’s Flagship Youth Entrepreneurship Programme

Youth unemployment and underemployment remain persistent concerns in India's labour market despite recent improvements. The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Annual Report 2025 reports that India's youth (15-29 years) unemployment rate declined to 9.9% from 10.3% in 2024. However, significant disparities persist across states, educational levels and rural–urban areas, prompting governments to complement wage-employment strategies with self-employment and enterprise promotion.

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Dedicated Freight Corridor: What a Decade of Rail Investment Achieved

Rail transport has traditionally been a more cost-efficient mode of freight transportation than road. But in India, it has remained a problem due to the coexistence of freight and passenger services on the same rail routes, and this has constrained the efficiency and capacity of freight movement.

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Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (2020-21): Incentivising Fiscal Reform Through Capital Grants

Policy UpdateNayanshi Jain Introduction  The COVID-19 pandemic triggered an unprecedented economic shock, severely straining the fiscal capacity of Indian states. Nationwide lockdowns disrupted economic activity, leading to a sharp decline in tax revenues while simultaneously increasing expenditure on healthcare, social…

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