I’ve worked on cash transfer programmes in LIMCs (low & middle income countries) for many years. As such, here’s a thread on why I think @INCIndia Mahalakshmi scheme is an excellent idea. I’ll try to dispel some common fears about such programmes. 1/ First, the basics. The Mahalakshmi scheme is an unconditional cash transfer program that targets one woman from each eligible ("poor") household. Such programs have become increasingly common around the world, including in countries poorer than India. 2/

News outlets keep parroting the “fact” that Modi’s government really been better for India’s GDP growth than its UPA predecessor. Really? In 2014, India’s GDP in constant 2015 $ was $1.974 tr. In 2021, the latest year in the @WorldBank series, it was $2.272 tr. 15.1% growth in 1/ That’s 15.1% growth in 8 years. The first 8 years of the UPA saw GDP grow from $1.013 tr to $1.616 tr. that’s 59.2% growth. It’s not even remotely close. India’s GDP grew more (16.9%) in the first TWO years of the UPA than in the first EIGHT years of the Modi government. 2/

Logic behind India, a country of 1.3b with a high absolute COVID caseload and much better access to vaccines than most of the developing world, relying on apps/proactive registration to get the vaccine to its population eludes me. It’s reached ~6% of pop in ~3months. A thread. 1/ Insisting that people voluntarily and proactively sign up for and go to vaccination appointments is simply not using well-understood principles of how to conduct mass vaccination campaigns, many of which are based (formally or informally) on insights from behavioral science. 2/

I was surprised that @sarkar_swati, who claims expertise on Bengali society/culture, was unaware of something as basic as castes in Bengal having been classified as “(A)Jol-chol”. Since she insisted I was somehow concocting this, here are some references for her edification. 1/ Dasgupta, A (2000), “In the Citadel of Bhadralok Politicians: The Scheduled Castes in West Bengal”. Journal of the Indian School of Political Economy. ispepune.org.in/PDF%20ISSUE/20…

Hinduism has always policed temple entry & access to drinking water sources (think caste-segregated wells), punishing those who flout these “rules”. Poor Asif was “punished” for his “transgression”, as countless Dalits have before him. Be appalled, but spare me the surprise. 1/ I’ve been to many villages in Rajasthan and UP where people from disadvantaged castes would be risking death if they dared to try and drink water from a well earmarked for so-called “upper” castes. And the situation is no different elsewhere in the country. The entry of Dalits 2/

Bangladesh’s excellent human development/social indicators are deservedly lauded as far better than India’s, but I was curious how they compared to West Bengal, arguably a very good comparator. So here are some data. 1/ Total Fertility Rate: West Bengal - 1.6 (2016 estimate); Bangladesh - 2.17 (2017 estimate). So both Bengals have dramatically reduced their birth rates, but West Bengal has actually done even better and is now well below replacement levels of fertility. 2/