IPRG PUBLICATION

OUTPUT VS OUTCOME ANALYSIS OFPMAY G & POSHAN ABHIYAAN SCHEMES

Authors : Pushpa Akshaya Miriyala , Armaan Sareen , Shravani Tharanath

Citation

Pushpa Akshaya Miriyala, Armaan Sareen, & Shravani Tharanath. (2026). OUTPUT VS OUTCOME ANALYSIS OF PMAYG & POSHAN ABHIYAAN SCHEMES. Institute For Policy Research and Governance. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20651184

Download Full Paper

Abstract :

India’s flagship welfare schemes – Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) and POSHAN Abhiyaan, represent landmark commitments to rural housing provisioning and nutritional security respectively. Yet persistent gap separates the administrative growth outputs with substantive development outcomes. This paper undertakes a qualitative output-versus- outcome analysis of both schemes, interrogating structural gaps between quantitative delivery metrics – houses sanctioned, anganwadi coverage, beneficiaries enrolled and lived realities of human capability enhancement. The study critically examines how implementation accuracy, convergence deficits, workforce vacancies, community level absorption mediate the translation of output impact to welfare impact. Data from NFHS-4&5 trends, CAG audit observations, POSHAN tracker data bring a systemic mark: output saturation co-existing with outcome stagnation. The paper argues for realigned evaluation that centres nutritional security and housing quality as primary indices of scheme effectiveness over mere physical completion rates.

KEYWORDS
Maternal Morbidity, Open Defecation (ODF), Aspirational Districts, Anganwadi Health
Workers (AHW), Take Home Rations, Growth Monitoring Promotion Sessions.

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Gendered Human Capital Misallocation in India: Education, Labour Market Barriers, and Policy Failure

Authors: Simran Sinha; Beaulah Anton; Priyansi; Rezaa Sharma

Abstract:

India has made significant progress in expanding female education, yet women’s labour market outcomes remain disproportionately poor. This study reframes this paradox as an issue of gendered human capital misallocation, rather than a deficit in skill formation. It examines how the gendered labour market constraints impede the educated women from productive employment, leading to underutilisation of skills and decreased economic efficiency.

Utilising a qualitative-descriptive approach and secondary data from multiple databases, this paper examines unemployment, occupational segregation, unpaid care work, and wage disparities between educated women and their male counterparts. The findings show a persistent education-employment paradox: increased female education correlates with high unemployment, informalisation, and labour force withdrawal. These patterns are driven by demand-side discrimination, inflexible work arrangements, safety and challenges in mobility, and unequal distribution of care responsibilities. The analysis argues that government policies have largely prioritised educational expansion without addressing labour market absorption, therefore sustaining gendered inefficiencies. Addressing this inefficient allocation is what makes it important for optimal human capital utilisation and for inclusive economic growth.

Keywords:
Human Capital, Female labour, Labour market segmentation, Gender wage gap, public policy, employment, Human capital misallocation

China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Debt Diplomacy or Development Financing? A Comparative Case Study of Sri Lanka and Pakistan

Authors : Aaditya Dewansh, Huny Thakkar, Edward Mbeleki, Mansha Arya, Zinte Kula

Abstract :

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), launched by China in 2013, has generated sustained debate over whether it functions as a deliberate instrument of debt diplomacy aimed at strategic asset acquisition, or as a development financing mechanism responding to genuine infrastructure deficits in recipient countries. This paper addresses that question through a comparative case study of Sri Lanka and Pakistan: two BRI-engaged South Asian states that share the same creditor yet exhibit structurally distinct outcomes. Drawing on a three-tier qualitative methodology combining comparative case analysis, historical examination of high-value BRI projects, and content analysis of “debt-trap diplomacy” discourse, we argue that strategic dependency in both cases emerges not from engineered default, but through two distinct pathways: fiscal vulnerability in Sri Lanka and infrastructural entrenchment in Pakistan. In Sri Lanka, domestic governance failures and aggressive external commercial borrowing produced the conditions for the 2017 Hambantota Port concession, driven by a new government’s fiscal desperation rather than predatory Chinese design. In
Pakistan, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) generated long-term institutional lock-in through the sheer scale of energy infrastructure investment and an asymmetric bureaucratic coordination model. Across both cases, local political elites exercised agency in seeking Chinese capital to bypass Western conditionalities, and dependency emerged as a by-product of borrower governance failures and project scale rather than Chinese strategic calculation. These findings challenge the binary of debt diplomacy versus development financing, offering instead a mechanism-based account of how BRI engagement produces different forms of strategic influence in different political-economic contexts.

Keywords:
Belt and Road Initiative, debt diplomacy, strategic dependency, fiscal
vulnerability, infrastructure entrenchment

GOVERNANCE DEFICITS AND IRREGULAR MIGRATION PATHWAYS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF INDIA AND SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA WITH EMPHASIS ON YOUTH VULNERABILITY AND POLICY RESPONSES

Authors : Mpude Blanche Diale Nzalle, Ezekiel Kaba, Monique van Eeden

Abstract :

Irregular migration is a major humanitarian challenge in twenty-first-century Sub-Saharan Africa and India and a persistent global issue. In India, it often occurs through informal agents, driven by high recruitment costs, visa restrictions, and weak governance in states such as Punjab, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh. This study aims to examine how governance deficits shape irregular migration in both regions, with a focus on youth vulnerability and policy responses. Using a comparative qualitative/mixed-methods design, it draws on IOM and World Bank reports, national migration documents, and case studies of major routes, with comparative policy review and descriptive statistics. The research indicated that inadequate governance intensifies irregular migration, which in turn hinders economic prospects for youth. The analysis demonstrates that although India has established formal migration frameworks, such as the Ministry of External Affairs and the Protectorate of Emigrants, their effectiveness remains consistently restricted. Findings indicate that governance deficits and high youth unemployment are structural drivers of irregular migration, operating independently of economic factors. Governance failure is identified as a primary cause of irregular migration among youth. The study recommends strengthening migration governance, mechanizing agriculture, providing sustainable youth business financing, and expanding access to education and vocational training. These measures would increase meaningful employment and reduce incentives for dangerous, illegal journeys.

Keywords:
Irregular Migration, Governance, Youth Vulnerability

Impact of the Smart Cities Mission on Household Cost of Living, Access to Urban Services, and Economic Well-Being: A Field Study of Selected Indian Cities

Authors : Anjana Tripathi ; Divya Natarajan ; Gautam Kumar Mishra ; Soumili Rakshit

Abstract

India’s Smart Cities Mission (SCM), launched in 2015, aims to improve urban livability through targeted investments in infrastructure, service delivery, and digital governance. However, empirical evidence on the household-level economic implications of these interventions remains limited. This study examines the impact of the Smart Cities Mission on household cost of living, access to urban services, and economic well-being in selected Indian cities using a comprehensive secondary data approach.

The analysis integrates unit-level data from the National Sample Survey (NSS) Consumer Expenditure and Housing Conditions rounds to assess changes in household consumption patterns, housing affordability, and expenditure on utilities and transportation. Employment outcomes and income-related proxies are examined using the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), while demographic characteristics, housing quality, and access to basic amenities are drawn from the Census of India. City-level information on project type, investment size, and sectoral focus is sourced from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) Smart Cities Mission dashboards and official reports. A comparative framework is employed to analyze trends across Smart Cities and non-Smart Cities, as well as pre- and post-SCM implementation periods.

By triangulating multiple nationally representative datasets with administrative project data, the study evaluates whether Smart City investments have translated into measurable improvements in household welfare or have contributed to rising costs and uneven access to services. The findings aim to provide evidence-based insights for strengthening the inclusiveness, affordability, and effectiveness of urban development policies under the Smart Cities Mission.

Keywords :
Smart Cities Mission; Secondary Data Analysis; National Sample Survey; Periodic Labour Force Survey; Census of India; Urban Services Access; Household Cost of Living; Economic Well- Being; Urban Policy; Indian Cities

Dynamics of Youth Unemployment: Case Studies on Public Policy Frameworks and the Gig Economy in India, South Africa and Nigeria A country-specific investigation into institutional frameworks and critical research gaps surrounding the digital gig economy.

Authors : Ritu Sundrani, Sneha Shukla, Aviya Chauhan, Karabo Ralethohlane

Abstract :

The country-specific investigation dives into the structural challenges of youth unemployment across India, South Africa and Nigeria. It undertakes critical analysis of policies like PMKVY, PYEI and N-Power of respective nations to highlight the implementation gaps, structural mismatches and post- program “transitional cliff”. Further, the gig economy despite offering alternate livelihood opportunities creates a regulatory safety vacuum which requires structural policy actions. The study emphasizes on reorientation of policy architecture towards demanddriven ecosystem, private sector participation and digitally inclusive policies to tackle youth unemployment problem in the Global South.

KEYWORDS :
Youth unemployment, Active Labour Market Programs (ALMPs), structural mismatches, Global South, Skill development

The Impact of Geopolitical Conflicts on the Global Economy:A Comparative Analysis of the Russia-Ukraine and Iran-Israel Conflicts

Authors : Umrah Fatima, Manya Saraf

Abstract :

This research paper seeks to examine the serious economic implications of the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Iran conflict in comparison, concentrating particularly on their disruptive consequences for global economic activities. However, while most of the extant literature studies the above mentioned geopolitical situations separately, the current paper attempts to bridge a major research gap by comparing them in one single frame of reference. Using the qualitative approach based on the thematic analysis of secondary data
from international sources, the paper reveals that regional tensions result in extensive economic instability in our highly interconnected world. Notable observations suggest that both the disputes have caused serious fluctuations in energy prices, congestion of the seas atnkey strategic chokepoints, and inflationary pressure across the globe. Moreover, it is important to note that the analysis highlights the significant vulnerability of the Global South, where dependency on food, fuel, and raw materials from other countries has made their
currencies devalue and made them vulnerable to food shortages and debt repayment burdens.

Keywords:
Geopolitical Conflicts, Global Economy, Russia-Ukraine War, Israel-Iran Conflict, Energy Market, Supply Chain Disruptions, Inflationary Pressures, International Trade Global South, Interdependence.

IPRG PUBLICATION

OUTPUT VS OUTCOME ANALYSIS OFPMAY G & POSHAN ABHIYAAN SCHEMES

Citation

Abstract :

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Related Publications

Gendered Human Capital Misallocation in India: Education, Labour Market Barriers, and Policy Failure

China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Debt Diplomacy or Development Financing? A Comparative Case Study of Sri Lanka and Pakistan

GOVERNANCE DEFICITS AND IRREGULAR MIGRATION PATHWAYS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF INDIA AND SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA WITH EMPHASIS ON YOUTH VULNERABILITY AND POLICY RESPONSES

Impact of the Smart Cities Mission on Household Cost of Living, Access to Urban Services, and Economic Well-Being: A Field Study of Selected Indian Cities

Dynamics of Youth Unemployment: Case Studies on Public Policy Frameworks and the Gig Economy in India, South Africa and Nigeria A country-specific investigation into institutional frameworks and critical research gaps surrounding the digital gig economy.

The Impact of Geopolitical Conflicts on the Global Economy:A Comparative Analysis of the Russia-Ukraine and Iran-Israel Conflicts