Category Gender, Pluralism and Social Inclusion

Why Climate Policy Needs Women’s Leadership – Not Just Women as ‘Beneficiaries’

Insights, Center for Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Center for Human Dignity and Development, Environment, Energy, Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Gender Impact Studies Center, Gender, Pluralism and Social Inclusion, Governance and Law, Livelihoods, Employment and Well-being, Policy Update

Across India, climate and livelihood policies increasingly recognize women, but largely as vulnerable groups or beneficiaries. Women are visible in policy documents, State Action Plans on Climate Change, watershed programmes, and rural livelihood missions as recipients of support or participants in implementation. While this recognition is important, it reflects a limited framing of women’s role in climate adaptation. So, a question arises- why is women’s leadership missing at grassroot?

IMPRI Desk
January 15, 2026

Post-Maoism and the State: The Future of Governance in Affected Regions

Insights, Center for Habitat, Urban and Regional Studies, Center for Human Dignity and Development, Center for Work and Welfare, Gender, Pluralism and Social Inclusion, Governance and Law, Livelihoods, Employment and Well-being

Niranjan Sahoo India’s Fifth Schedule areas became the hotbed of Maoist insurgencies due to administrative neglect, exacerbating discontent and a lack of representation of tribal groups in local bodies. Effective governance is crucial to address these issues and mitigate the…

IMPRI Desk
January 10, 2026

Reframing Political Change in Bihar: The role of Women

Insights, Center for Human Dignity and Development, Gender, Pluralism and Social Inclusion, Governance and Law, Livelihoods, Employment and Well-being, Social Sector

Women’s active participation in Bihar’s electoral process is a crucial indicator of a deepening democracy. This engagement disrupts traditional gender hierarchies by promoting a fairer distribution of political power and symbolising the expansion of substantive citizenship for women.

IMPRI Desk
January 8, 2026

Beyond the Red Ribbon: Humanizing the Future of HIV Care in India

Insights, Center for Human Dignity and Development, Gender Impact Studies Center, Gender, Pluralism and Social Inclusion, Livelihoods, Employment and Well-being, Public Policies, Programs and Schemes, Social Sector

When India diagnosed its first case of HIV in 1987, it was met with silence, fear, and judgment. The virus was poorly understood, and those living with it were often treated as outcasts -denied care, employment, or even the dignity of empathy. Hospitals hesitated to admit them, schools refused their children, and neighbours withdrew in fear. It was a time when HIV was not just a virus — it was a social sentence.

IMPRI Desk
January 4, 2026

Expanding the Definition: The Case for Recognizing Cancer-Related Disabilities in India

Insights, Center for Human Dignity and Development, Center for Work and Welfare, Gender, Pluralism and Social Inclusion, Livelihoods, Employment and Well-being, Public Policies, Programs and Schemes, Social Sector

India is witnessing a troubling paradox. Advances in diagnosis and treatment mean that more people are surviving cancer than ever before. Yet the very systems that should protect these patients and survivors are failing to recognise the lasting impact of cancer on their lives.

IMPRI Desk
January 4, 2026

The Decline of Maoism and Its Impact on Tribal Communities

Insights, Agriculture, Food, Nutrition Security and Rural Development, Center for Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Center for Habitat, Urban and Regional Studies, Center for Human Dignity and Development, Environment, Energy, Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Gender Impact Studies Center, Gender, Pluralism and Social Inclusion, Governance and Law, Livelihoods, Employment and Well-being, Public Policies, Programs and Schemes, Social Sector, South Asia Studies Center, Urbanization, Habitat, Transportation and Regional Development

The Maoists might have been looking after their own interests more than those of the tribal people, and hindering State efforts to extend the scope of governance and development to their habitats, but they also raised a voice of protest against acts of injustice against the tribals.

IMPRI Desk and TK Arun
December 31, 2025

The Air That Betrayed Me: A Personal Reckoning with Delhi’s Toxicity

Insights, Center for Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Center for Habitat, Urban and Regional Studies, Center for Human Dignity and Development, Center for Work and Welfare, Environment, Energy, Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Gender Impact Studies Center, Gender, Pluralism and Social Inclusion, Governance and Law, Livelihoods, Employment and Well-being, Public Policies, Programs and Schemes, Urbanization, Habitat, Transportation and Regional Development

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Across the US and Europe, white ribbons mark solidarity with patients, caregivers, advocates and doctors. In India, silence reigns, even though 93 of the world’s 100 most polluted cities are here, and here, lung cancer is rising alarmingly among non-smokers, especially young women.

Nearly one in three lung cancer patients in India today has never smoked, and doctors are seeing women in their late 20s and 30s being diagnosed with advanced disease.

This is not a smoker’s disease anymore — it is a breather’s disease, driven by toxic air and environmental exposures.

IMPRI Desk
December 31, 2025