About the Centre for Development Studies
The Centre for Development Studies (CDS) was set up as a research adjunct at the Department of Economics, Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU), Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, with a generous grant from the Ministry of Finance (Department of Economic Affairs), Government of India in 2013. The objectives of the Centre include the creation of high-quality research infrastructure for students and researchers and faculty members, in addition to sponsoring and coordinating research on various developmental issues having policy implications both at the regional and national level. Publishing working/policy papers on the research outcome of the Centre, monographs and edited volumes are among the key activities of the Centre.
Prof. Amitava Mitra was the founding Coordinator of CDS for a period of three years, followed by Prof. S.K. Nayak who was the coordinator of the Centre for the next three years. Prof.Vandana Upadhyay is the current coordinator of the CDS.In this period of eight years three advisory committee meetings were held. The first meeting was held on 2nd August 2013 followed by the second meeting which was held on 4th May 2017 and the third meeting on 25 February 2019.Prof. G. K. Chadha, former Vice Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and former economic advisory council member to the Prime Minister of India was the founder advisory committee member of CDS.The three current external members of the advisory committee are Prof. Atul Sarma,former Vice Chancellor, RGU & and Director Indian Statistical Institute and Member 13th Finance Commission, Govt. of India, Prof. S. Mahendra Dev, Vice Chancellor, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai and Prof. Alakh N. Sharma, Director, Institute for Human Development, New Delhi.
The Vice-Chancellor, of Rajiv Gandhi University, Prof. Saket Kushwaha released a book and seven working papers in the Department of Economics. The book titled ‘Hill Economies and Sustainable Development-Emerging Realities’ and the working papers were released in a function held in the Department of Economics, RGU. Prof. Kushwaha appreciated and congratulated the Centre for Development Studies, Department of Economics, RGU and the authors for publishing their research output in the form of working papers. He, however, advised the department for wider publicity of the research output and dissemination of knowledge and to come out with a policy document by pooling of micro researches which can be used by the policy makers in formulating appropriate policy for the economic development of the State.
The Department of Economics has the distinction of acting as a nodal Department for the preparation of the First Human Development Report (HDR)of Arunachal Pradesh. The HDR project was coordinated by Prof. N.C. Roy and the other faculty members of the Department were actively engaged in the preparation of this report. It was a report which was based on primary survey conducted in around 5,257 households with 30,762 individuals covering all the districts of the State.
The Department also has the distinction of preparing the First Arunachal Pradesh Development Report. The SDR project was coordinated by Prof. S.K. Nayak and with Prof. Atul Sarma, the then Vice Chancellor heading the Research Team. The faculty members of the Department were actively engaged in the preparation of SDR which was sponsored by the Planning Commission, Government of India, New Delhi.
The book deals with issues and challenges of sustainable development in hill economies of India. It analyses the comparative advantages and challenges of the hill regions of India which comprises of 11 States.
This book has taken into account an in-depth analysis of urbanization, solid waste accumulation and management as well as household willingness to pay for improved solid waste management in selected towns of a state in the Eastern Himalayas, i.e., Arunachal Pradesh. The volume of municipal solid waste is increasing day by day because of increasing population, urbanisation, developmental activities, and changes in lifestyle, food habits and socio-economic activities etc., although collection efficiency and infrastructure are not growing adequately. Considering the advent of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Policy in India, this book can be an important document for academicians, environmentalists, environmental economists, professionals, social scientists, researchers, policy makers, planners, administrators, civic community and the general public concerned about urban environmental problems
As the Indian economy integrates into global circuits of production, exchange and accumulation, the burdens of adjustment are shared unequally by different sectors, classes and regions. This study unravels the livelihood strategies and living conditions of labour in Assam’s tea sector, which has been undergoing a crisis since the 1990s. Stagnant production, decline in exports, and closures of many tea gardens have led to large-scale retrenchments in the labour force. The study begins by contextualising the Assam tea sector in a comparative and historical perspective and then delineates the chief employment characteristics of labour in this industry. Based on a detailed analysis of secondary data and primary field research, it goes on to examine the extent, types and implications of inter-generational occupational mobility (or immobility) among labourers in Assam’s tea gardens. In the process, it reflects on how even a sector that brought capital and labour from outside and contributed significantly to the country’s export earnings failed to create dynamic growth linkages within the local economy.
The book attempts to understand household work, workforce participation, and division of labour in rural Arunachal Pradesh. Using both qualitative and quantitative approach, the average time spent on household work and agricultural activities by both men and women and the gendered division of labour has been examined by the author through a time use survey. In case of Arunachal Pradesh, the time use survey has an added significance, given the relative importance of subsistence production and low levels of commercialisation of the economy.
The Working paper focusses on the dynamics of Livelihoods along the foot hills of the State of Arunachal Pradesh. It deals with the various facets of livelihood activities and accesses. It ranges from occupational paradigm to land use pattern, from the household assets to farm practices, from dependence on natural resources to socio-institutional access. Based on the livelihood approach, the study has designed household livelihoods portfolio. It emphasis that the existing structures and processes do influence and shape the outcome of the livelihoods portfolio. The households in securing their livelihoods are faced with the problems of trading off and substitution of strategies and practices, giving rise to multiple least cost livelihood portfolios. In addition to farm activity, there are also set of allied farm activities in the portfolio of the households. The poor households are dependent upon
The working paper focuses on crop diversification and farm incomes in the hills of North East India. Crop diversification involves a shift of the resources particularly cultivated area from cereals and low value crops to high value crops like fruits and vegetables. The present study explores the status and extent of crop diversification in the hilly areas of the State of Arunachal Pradesh. The analysis of data reveals that productivity of different crops is lower in the State compared to the national average and that of other States. Hence emphasis should be on improving productivity on the one hand and on the other hand, focus should be on all income-generating activities like cash crops, floriculture, horticulture, fish culture and pig-rearing, agro-processing etc. to enhance the income of the farmers. The results showed that crop diversification had a positive and significant impact on farm income. Hence there is a need to introduce new technology, strengthen extension services, provide cheap credit, new inputs, marketing infrastructure and support prices. The cold storage facilities, irrigation and transportation should be improved for the development of the agriculture sector in the State.
The working paper discusses the forms of rental markets, factors affecting the participation in such markets and its impact on agricultural production and productivity enhancing practices. Rental markets of agricultural machinery, especially which are expensive in nature, can play an important role in farm operation. It can facilitate farm mechanization even by small and marginal farmers for whom heavy machinery like tractor, power tiller etc. are not affordable. Rental markets of machinery can enhance farm mechanization further by increasing incentives to invest in such capital goods. In the presence of rental markets of farm machinery, owner farmers with insufficient land for fuller utilization of machine’s capacity can reduce the underutilization by renting-out the machinery. This adds to the return of owner farmers from their investment in such machinery. Rental markets of agricultural machinery can also be effective in helping farmers to cope with the changing circumstances, such as difficulty of rearing the draught animals due to lack of grazing land, frequent flood, man power shortage etc. The rental markets of farm machinery can contribute significantly to farm operations.
The working paper focuses on the status and patterns of financing of the unorganised enterprises of Assam. It also analyses
The working paper primarily highlights the processes that has resulted in the improvement in the quality of life of the people in the state, as an outcome of the overall economic development witnessed in recent times. The study attempts to quantify the role of the inflow of funds from the Centre to the State and its impact on the development process. Arunachal economy has witnessed a trajectory of growth which is well marked by its noticeable gradient. Unlike other states of the country the development programme in the state was launched only after independence. Till 1962, the year of Indo-China war, a gradualist approach towards development was undertaken. The war, drastically altered the vision of development towards the borderlands and the Government of India reoriented its policy to accelerate the growth of the Arunachal economy. This has resulted in the steady flow of funds from the Central Government to the State. The study is an attempt to quantify the effects of central funds upon the growth of income and other development indicators of the State.
The working paper has explored the wide ranging inter-district disparities in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, in terms of availability of infrastructural facilities that are crucial for improving the economic condition of people in the state. The districts of the northern and eastern international border areas, with high mountains are less well serviced than the districts in the foothills of Arunachal Pradesh.
The working paper is a study on the export potentials of the state of Arunachal Pradesh. It emphasises on the fact that the resource endowments in the State are adequate for the expansion of outputs of a good range of commodities. There is a variety of horticultural products and indigenous orchids which can be produced commercially by overcoming the various challenges which the State faces in terms of infrastructural bottlenecks. However, the authors argue, that for this economic vision to be a reality, it is imperative that the producers get remunerative prices for their outputs.