Broadband was the capacity to transmit large quantities of data which includes (video, text and voice) at high transfer rates. Broadband was expected to radically increase the penetration of internet usage in India. However the broadband connectivity has not yet taken off the way expected. This study aimed at understanding the current state of the Broadband service in India, the present constraints that were restricting its growth, identifying learnings from other country experiences and suggest remedies to ensure better penetration.

This paper developed a mechanism which enables SMEs to mitigate exchange rate derived risk in a manner that was sustainable and scalable, was simple for the SMEs to incorporate in their decision making, and can be made available widely and easily to them at a low cost. Appropriate role of financial institutions (banking system), EXIM Bank, as well as the Ministry of Commerce was also suggested.

This study suggested changes that are in line with India’s heterogeneity. The study also identified the critical problems currently affecting the health status of the underprivileged and the masses. To this effect Indicus undertook three independent studies. First study examines using large household surveys, the accessibility and utilization patterns across different cross section of society. Second rates and ranks the major states of India on the basis of an index of healthcare at the state level while third looks at the overall status of health care, present regulatory regime governing the sector, IPR’s and the logic of Government provision of health service in India.

This white paper aimed at generating a consensus among policymakers on the characteristics of the emerging digital payments ecosystem in India. It seeks to broaden the concept of Financial Inclusion by including digital payments as an important component. It also showed how the key characteristics of digital payments ecosystem were such that they perfectly match the needs of the masses. The paper discussed various regulatory hurdles that could be critical in determining the success or failure of a digital payments system.

The primary aim of the white paper was to address the lay person and the uninformed policy maker and explain in simple terms the relevance of auctions in the context of resource allocation in India.

The basic aim of this study was to identify the lagging and leading states across India in different social areas. The term ‘leading’ was used to characterize those states that are relatively more efficient in converting expenditures to outputs and outcomes. ‘Lagging’ reflects the converse. The focus was not so much to rank the states or districts but to club together areas that are most efficient in delivery, as well as focus on the areas that need immediate attention both in terms of public spending and overall policy interventions. The analysis of state and district level input-outputs of elementary education, state level inputs of rural roads and water supply was done to full fill the aim. The main data sources used were Reproductive and Child Health Survey 2002-04, District Information System for Education 2003-04, Analysis of Budgeted Expenditure on Education 2003-04 to 2005-06, Census 1991 and 2001, and online information available on Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana.

Convergence between telecom and diverse sectors such as finance and media have given rise to host of possibilities where integration of voice, video and data through a single instrument, the cell phone, can deliver information and entertainment to users. Increasingly value added services (VAS) are being looked at as a major driver in increasing revenues for the operators. Varied scope for raising revenue under this segment exists with its application in transport, medicine, agriculture and finance. This white paper examined in depth the key issues that currently limit the growth of VAS in India and puts forth recommendations for the way forward. The overall objective was to help in creating a dynamic VAS environment based in the Indian context that enables releasing of the large latent demand for VAS services for the benefit of all players.

Six small studies were part of the larger project to analyze the status of education in India. These six papers thrown light on different aspects of education in India. Gender gap in education, impact of individual characteristics, impact of incentives, comparative analysis of DISE and other education databases were some of the studies that had been undertaken. Six short papers were written based on the data analysis and review of outside literature.

An Indicus White paper on Demographic Deficit in India. It describes that There was no automaticity about changes in age-structures of the population, of which a manifestation was the demographic dividend, resulting in increments to real growth rates.

The study has attempted to examine the various aspects of Jharkhand’s socio-economy and has tried to track the changes over time to see the extent or lack of progress in different indicators of growth and development. In each of the aspects, Jharkhand’s status in comparison to other states has been discussed. Further, a comparative analysis of various districts of Jharkhand has also been presented.

In this survey Indicus considered six parameters-Health, Education, Environment, Safety, Public facilities & entertainment- for preparing the "reside -in" index. The "earn-in" list was based on growth rate of employment, per capita income & listings on popular job websites.

A survey of over 550 religious institutions across seven states of India was conducted for the Spiritual Research Project of the Faculty of Economics, St. Catharine’s College, University of Cambridge. The primary objective of this survey was to understand religious and non-religious services provision being provided by religious organizations in India covering the period 1990-2006.

Indicus provided a comprehensive macroeconomic perspective on the economy using easy to understand, actionable indicators. Forecasts of economic growth, inflation and other macro-economic variables were provided for the quarter ahead and subsectors of manufacturing are tracked to identify their growth potential. The capacity addition and demand in the automobile sector were tracked for the past and projected into the next two years, to pinpoint whether the 2005-07 boom was due to end.

This report attempted to unravel the issue of employability in its overall hues and colours. Employability of an individual was seen to depend on the knowledge and skills possessed; the attitude towards employment, and the economic context within which employment was availed. These were inter-linked factors and an effort has been made to substantiate the argument using empirical analysis throughout the report.

The primary objective of this study was to construct an internationally comparable Social Protection Index (SPI) that provides a realistic and acceptable summary of the overall level of social protection activities in the country. The SPI provided a summary measurement tool of the extent to which Asian and Pacific countries provide welfare, labour market, social security, health insurance, micro-credit, child protection, targeted education and health support programs to their citizens, and especially those living below the poverty line. The SPI was designed to be a starting point for diagnostic evaluations of national Social Protection (SP) programs, to enable the monitoring of changes in SP provision over time, and to facilitate international comparisons of SP provision. The SPI, conceptually based on the Human Development index (HDI), was derived from four component indicators (SP expenditure, SP coverage, SP distribution/ poverty targeting and SP impact on incomes). Analysis of various household surveys was conducted to understand the status of social protection in India.

The State of the States was an attempt to find out which of India's many states offer its citizens the best opportunities both at work and outside it. The study ranked states across various parameters such as prosperity, governance, health, education, consumer market, agriculture, infrastructure, and investment. Apart from inter-state comparisons the study was also an analysis of which states made the most of liberalization and which fell away. Every year the study adds to the ranking interesting aspects of development such as district rankings in 2003, 2020 forecasting of states development in 2004, inclusive inequality in 2007.

Ever since the economic reforms of 1991, there have been debates in the policy circles regarding the efficacy of the reforms. The obvious questions that have been raised are, whether there has been any success if at all of these reforms. The 1991 reforms of India, was for all to know, was a clear departure from the policy regime followed in the past, with increasing participation from the private sector. This study deals with analyzing the changes and reforms initiated by the Government and the success met by these. This has been analyzed comparing the infrastructural and socio-economic development of the country, both pre and post reforms. Others indicators used are GDP and per capita GDP growth rates. The study also extends to analyzing the various policy initiatives in capital markets, housing & insurance sector, banking sector, financial sector, rural finance and pension sector since 1991.

The project provided insights into ownership, stock and purchase patterns of manufactured goods (which included both consumer durables and consumables) by households and linked it to household characteristics. The information provided was a useful tool for marketing professionals and business-planners, as it would enable them to identify their target consumers, their spending pattern and predict the future demand for their goods based on the demand trends found in the past and present. The project undertook an extensive detailed analysis of household ownership of major consumer durables and the change in ownership patterns across time. It was observed that the ownership patterns have been changing drastically over years, with the middle class being the drivers of growth. This was attributed to the fact that the middle class was seen to be the group where the maximum demand was generated. The analysis also extended to project the growth of households and in turn the growth of the middle class. Various consumer durables like ACs, refrigerators, cars, washing machines, TVs etc. had been considered.

The study aimed at examining the performance of states in India in terms of child development. The performance was measured based on certain key indicators that revolve around three broad areas, namely, ‘Health and Nutrition’, ‘Cognitive Development/Education’ and ‘Safety and Overall Child Environment’. A state’s performance was then ranked and the good & bad performing states identified. This threw light on a state’s weak areas and thus helped in focusing efforts aimed at child development.

Energy use patterns for domestic purposes vary considerably across households in India. While modern domestic fuels are becoming popular, the majority still relies on traditional sources of energy. This was especially true for households in rural areas for whom the affordability and accessibility to modern fuels was still a major problem. Inaccessibility to modern sources of fuel by a household has a direct bearing on the time spent on learning by children in these households. The reason for this being the fact that energy constraints leads to individuals budgeting their time collecting fuel which leaves them with lesser time for learning and related activities. This paper examined the impact on time spent in learning with specific reference to energy constraint and non-constraint of a household.