Welfare needs to be taken seriously as a political and economic foundation; as the precondition for democratic legitimacy. To be more than just support for survival for those excluded from the growth process, it must be embedded in a larger project: of building capacities, expanding employment, and enabling genuinely achievable aspirations. This vertical of CSIE seeks to investigate the various aspects of welfare in India with the objective of locating it within a broader vision of shared prosperity.

India has a long history of welfare initiatives led by central and state governments. India’s welfare regime provides a model for developing countries both for what works and what doesn’t. There are also wide state level variations in investment in welfare, governance structures, implementation mechanisms and welfare outcomes.

This vertical of CSIE will use national and state-level data as well as conduct primary surveys to assess where we are with the implementation of various welfare programmes, and where and in what areas it needs to be strengthened or changed.

This vertical will engage with questions like: What is the evolving architecture of welfare in India, and how does it reflect broader transformations in the Indian developmental state? How do accountability and decentralisation affect welfare outcomes across regions and sectors? How do central and state-level interventions differ in effectiveness, design, and uptake? How well do current welfare schemes target historically marginalised communities (SC, ST, minorities)?

Besides knowledge dissemination, this vertical aims to facilitate regular interaction with governments and civil society organisations through research partnerships, training and capacity building.