NCAER New Publications https://www.ncaer.org/publication_details.php?pID=335 Category : Books & Reports


About 70 million population are engaged in milk production in India of which a very large proportion belongs to landless, marginal and small farmers. The Socio-Economic Survey of NCAER (September-October, 2020) brought out explicitly the impact of dairy activities on the smallholders livelihood, income and women participation. Village-Based Milk Procurement System (VBMPS), one of the major components of the National Dairy Plan Phase I (NDP-I) implemented by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) to promote transparency of operations and enhance quality of milk, continued to achieve the targets. The economic and financial analysis (EFA) for the study was conducted separately for major investment activities, namely, breed improvement and Artificial Insemination (AI) service delivery, animal nutrition management, and milk collection and bulking investments; which together accounted for 96 per cent of the project costs. The benefits were aggregated and compared with the entire project costs, including costs like project management and learning. The interventions under NDP-I also focused on several areas like fodder management, re-vegetation of degraded land due to over-grazing and setting up of semen stations for genetically high variety of milch animals including bulls, all of which contributed in achieving the UNDP’s objectives of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).]]> https://www.ncaer.org/publication_details.php?pID=334 Category : Books & Reports


This NCAER study examines the economic benefits of investments made by the Ministry of Earth Sciences in the National Monsoon Mission (NMM) and High Performance Computing (HPC) facilities and their role in improving the accuracy of monsoonal rainfall predictions. The study finds that improvements in weather forecasts, disseminated by India Meteorological Department, have resulted in massive economic gain to households in rain-fed areas by allowing them to take appropriate action based on accurate weather advisories and avoiding losses that they would have suffered in the absence of timely weather warnings. The study covered farming, livestock rearing, and fishing households.]]> https://www.ncaer.org/publication_details.php?pID=333 Category : Books & Reports
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This project jointly conducted by NCAER and the Tata Centre for Development at UChicago, studies the health and livelihood implications of a particular riverine community, that is, fisher folk, along selected polluted stretches of the Ganga river. The study conducted in two phases entails conduction of water experiments using censors, along with in-person interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) of fishermen in the two states of West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. The TCD team gathered high resolution spatially and temporally varying water data through submersible automated sensors. These sensors which were attached to a boat would sail on a pre-defined route of the river and collected real time information on pollution parameters. The NCAER research team undertook a survey of 1600 fishermen to understand if the levels of pollution have adversely affected their health, income, and fish catch over the years. The study also delve deeper into understanding the socio-economic challenges that the fishermen are facing and their perception with respect to the causes and implications of pollution. NCAER also conducted a contingent valuation exercise to analyze fisherman’s willingness to pay for good quality of water versus their willingness to accept compensation on account of their livelihood loss.]]> https://www.ncaer.org/publication_details.php?pID=327 Category : Books & Reports
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Before making any policy intervention, it is important to estimate the overall logistics costs, including the various associated components/elements in order to understand and identify the problem areas and arrive at meaningful solutions. This NCAER report symbolises a major step in the direction of quantification of logistics costs. Such an exercise, in fact, needs to be conducted at regular intervals for estimating and monitoring the performance indicators and accordingly identifying the areas that need intervention. Hitherto, no serious attempt had been made to carry out research using a proper methodological framework for quantifying the logistics costs being incurred in India. Albeit, some estimates of the logistics costs incurred in the country are available in the public domain. However, these costs cannot be validated due to the non-availability of a framework for their estimation procedures. This also necessitates more comprehensive research in the area of estimation of logistics costs in India. In this context, the Logistics Division, Ministry of Commerce, commissioned NCAER to undertake interlinked studies for addressing the following issues related to the logistics ecosystem of India: *Route Study: Time and cost analysis of cargo movement along major routes in the country; *Estimation of overall logistics costs in India; and *Organisation of a Policy Roundtable among stakeholders to identify and tackle the challenges being faced by this sector.]]> https://www.ncaer.org/publication_details.php?pID=325 Category : Policy Briefs & Op Eds


The prevalence of high logistics costs in India as compared to other countries with a similar environment and level of development is a matter of concern as it poses challenges for the manufacturing growth and comprehensive development of the country. Several reasons are cited for the high logistics costs in India, including an unfavourable policy regime, lack of a multimodal transport system and consequently the heavy reliance on road transport, a fragmented storage infrastructure, the presence of multiple stakeholders in the entire transport and storage value chain, poor quality of road and port infrastructure, and the absence of technological intervention in storage/transportation and distribution activities. These high logistics costs inevitably have an adverse effect on the country’s global competitiveness.]]> https://www.ncaer.org/publication_details.php?pID=324 Category : Policy Briefs & Op Eds


Globalisation has opened up economic opportunities for developing countries in the form of outflow of value-added services, low-cost raw materials , human resource skills, improved market access for their exports, efficiency gains in their economies through technology transfer and spill-over, and resource re-allocations. Consequently, various developing countries, including India, have increasingly begun to position themselves for greater participation in regional and global markets. It goes without saying that India needs to build its capacity for establishing linkages with global and regional markets for deriving the optimal benefits of engaging with the globalised world. This, in turn, depends on the creation of an efficient logistics system. For this purpose, most of the developed and emerging countries estimate logistics costs on a regular basis, and use performance indicators to measure the efficiency levels of logistics activities. In fact, it is imperative to measure these logistics costs to analyse where and how we stand vis-à-vis the competing countries in this sphere, and thereby enhance our competitiveness. Equally important is an identification of the factors that would facilitate a reduction in logistics costs.]]> https://www.ncaer.org/publication_details.php?pID=323 Category : Policy Briefs & Op Eds


The high logistics costs in India as compared to those in countries that have similar business environments and are going through the same stage of growth is a matter of serious concern for both the country’s manufacturing sector and its comprehensive development as a whole. Several reasons are cited for the high logistics costs in India. These include an unfavourable policy regime, lack of a multimodal transport system and the consequent heavy reliance on road transport, fragmented storage infrastructure, the presence of multiple stakeholders in the entire transport and storage value chain, poor quality of road and port infrastructure, and the absence of technology intervention in storage/transportation and distribution activities. These high logistics costs inevitably have an adverse effect on the country’s competiveness in the globalised world.]]> https://www.ncaer.org/publication_details.php?pID=322 Category : Journals


This 15th India Policy Forum 2018 Volume comprises papers and highlights of the discussions at the two-day conference in New Delhi on July 10-11, 2018. The IPF is NCAER’s annual economic policy research conference that brings together academics, policymakers, industry representatives, media, and researchers for discussions on key issues of Indian economic policy.]]>