Major Areas of Research

Major areas of Research

The major of research at CSD is to encourage comparative studies of different cultures, examination of diverse impacts of policy, and appreciation of diversity in understanding the relationship between the state and people.

Since its inception, the Council has been undertaking research studies of theoretical and empirical importance to unravel the social and economic development process, the developmental constraints and exploring the opportunities to give valuable inputs for policymakers to adopt appropriate policies. Thus, over the years considerable expertise has been developed by the faculty members who are capable of undertaking studies on policy-relevant developmental issues. Such works carried out over the years cover a wide spectrum of categories, such as lives and livelihoods in both rural and urban areas; social development indices such as health and nutrition, education, natural resource management, disaster management, development induced displacement, rehabilitation, achievement and progress of sustainable development goals; and axes of marginality such as gender, disability, social discrimination based on caste and tribe.

Lives and Livelihoods

Lives and livelihoods in developing societies like India face several challenges. Policies to address these require research on a wide range of dimensions. Our research interests include but are not restricted to:

1. Employment
   
   
1. Growth and structure of employment
2. Nature of employment (self-employment; informal employment and formal employment)
3. Impact and nature of economic policies on employment and unemployment
2. Labour Markets
   
   
1. Labour markets' segmentation
2. Levels and nature of discrimination along several axes of marginalisation
3. Intellectual property rights and communities
   
   
1. Theorising Intellectual property rights held by communities
2. Exploring practices of use of communities' IPRs
4. Environment
   
   
1. The intersection of environment and institutes involved in Natural Resource Management in the context of development and externalities
2. Environmental degradations and their impacts on health
3. Loss of agricultural and non-agricultural livelihoods
4. Resilience and coping mechanisms of communities and their aspirations

Studies on Marginality

The social milieu in India gives rise to a plethora of intersectionality of marginalisation gender, caste, tribe, disability, location, to name a few. CSD also recognises that political representation of the marginalised is an essential aspect of nation-building. The analysis of these aspects is an integral cross-cutting theme in our research. Hence, our work has focused on

1. Marginalised communities that focus on
   
   
1. Informal livelihoods of the marginalised, such as Dalit drum beaters,
2. Impacts of displacement on the marginalised,
3. Educational achievement among Dalits, Adivasis, Denotified Tribes, Minorities
2. Political representation
   
   
1. At local levels, and especially in ITDA areas,
2. Understand the intersection of gender, caste and tribe in political representation
3. Impact of such representation in achieving development goals.
3. Disability studies with a focus on
   
   
1. Employment
2. Education
3. Advocacy

Social Development Issues

The research at CSD, therefore, focuses on the following spheres covering both theoretical and empirical studies.

1. Core areas
   
   
1. Health and nutrition
2. Education
3. Incidence and measure of poverty
4. Achievement of sustainable development goals
2. Development Planning
   
   
1. Monitoring and evaluating policies and measures
2. Eradication of poverty
3. Vulnerabilities due to the pandemic of COVID-19
3. State interventions in achieving Sustainable Development Goals unveiled by the United Nations