Mihir Kulkarni

For the last few weeks, Shashi Nagarajan Iyer, Srinivas Mangipudi and I have been looking at Delhi's heat action plan and seeing how that can be supplemented with demographic data. We just completed a preliminary analysis of Delhi's demographics using the 2011 census data to understand heat vulnerability across the population. Here are the key insights: 1. 2/3 of Delhi residents were non-workers, with only 9.4% of women in the workforce. This suggests we need distinct heat action plans for workers vs. non-workers. 2. Among workers, nearly 1/5 have high heat exposure jobs, totaling almost 1 million people even in 2011. This calls for targeted protection measures. 3. Our data is limited - we're using 13-year-old census info and lack granular breakdowns of professions and heat exposure levels. 4. Non-workers, including vulnerable groups like children and the elderly, make up the majority. We need innovative solutions to protect them, especially considering heat's impact on learning and cognitive function. This analysis highlights the complexity of heat vulnerability in Delhi and the need for nuanced, data-driven approaches in our heat action planning. Next week: developing tailored strategies for different demographic groups.

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"Wealth is a key indicator of well being and agency, and it's fundamentally intergenerational. It builds and reinforces racialized structures of advantages and disadvantages." Director of Research Partnerships Dr. Suparna Bhaskaran joined hosts Taki Manolakos and Sirisha Naidu on KKFI 90.1 FM's #EconomicsForthePeople podcast to discuss the Institute's latest report, "The Color of Wealth in Chicago," and policy measures, such as #BabyBonds and #GuaranteedIncome, to combat wealth inequity. Listen: https://lnkd.in/g5A8t6M9

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Good read - New paper by Vinayak Krishnatri

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https://lnkd.in/gFpmu6YS The interview with the expert discusses the interconnectedness of public health and climate change, as well as the challenges faced by India in public health. The three Ps of public health - prevention, protection, and promotion - are well explained by the expert Tabbsum Khan a medical professional. Additionally, the meaning of public health and the impact of climate change are explored in great detail.

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What makes peoples' organisations, unions, civil society and other collectives important sources of data? 1. Collectives like unions provide a platform for people to air their opinions. Some of these people might slip through the cracks during data collection simply because they are not comfortable speaking individually. 2. Collectives and unions play an important role in people's lives. In many cases, they play a big role in how people perceive the world which may or may not coincide with how the programme implementers or the programme evaluators perceive the world. This is an important perspective to incorporate during impact assessment. Can you think of any more reasons for including unions and collectives in data collection during impact assessment? #socialjustice #peoplesorganisations #socialwelfareprogrammes #peoplescollectives #unions #advocacy #government #socialimpact #impactassessment

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📢I have come across folks who use Active Inference and Hierarchical Bayesian Inference, synonymously. They are not the same! ⚡The former, has the crucial aspect of 'acting' upon the world, 'planning' and 'preferring' certain sequence of actions over the other (i.e., a generative model with temporal depth into the future). There are NO prediction errors as the true sensations live in the future that has not arrived yet! ⚡The latter, has no element of 'action' or 'planning' or 'preference' within. It is a passive sense-making of the data through prediction errors. It is used for modelling human perception in predictive coding networks. 🔴 Crucially, Active Inference depends on Hierarchical Bayesian Inference. ⁉Why? ⚡Because, if you want to decide what to do and act on the world, you first need to know where you are in the world, given your current received sensations. This is equivalent to estimating the unknown true posterior of state of affairs in the world given your current sensations and is known as Bayesian inference amongst the statisticians and is used in Kalman filtering in the control theory community. #machinelearning #deeplearning

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New Publication Alert! Thrilled to share our recently published paper, "Assessing Geographical and Contextual Vulnerability of Reproductive, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health in North East India" in #EPW This work highlights the unique challenges faced by vulnerable communities across the Northeast region of India, focusing on critical health indicators that impact reproductive, maternal, child, and adolescent health (RMNCH+A). Through rigorous analysis, the RASTA team identified the key contextual factors contributing to these regions' health vulnerabilities. By addressing these disparities, we hope to offer insights for policymakers, health practitioners, and development professionals working to improve health outcomes for marginalized populations. Thank you to all the co-authors, collaborators, and the RASTA team for their dedication. Anchal Purbey Rajib Acharya Subrato Mondal Niranjan Saggurti Together, let’s strive towards reducing these vulnerabilities and ensuring better health for all. Read the full paper here: https://lnkd.in/gkhP9ETC Thoughts and feedback are welcome! #RMNCHA #HealthResearch #PublicHealth #NorthEastIndia #MaternalHealth #ChildHealth #VulnerabilityAnalysis #RASTA #PopulationCouncilConsulting

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The second of our two-part essay in THE WIRE explores how the Haryana government has embarked on projects to create nature by design, even as debates continue over the definitions and boundaries of Najafgarh Jheel and the Aravalli Forests. We argue that short-sighted approaches to curating sanitized versions of nature that serve few while erasing social-ecological relations of land and livelihood without putting questions of ecological sustainability front and center in urban plans will not yield meaningful results. We urge the Haryana government to move past confusions and draft an ecologically meaningful policy to protect the Aravallis. #gurgaon #najafgarhjheel #aravalli #ecology

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Published today in Science Advances, Aashish Gupta and Ridhi Kashyap’s new study used high-quality survey data from 765,180 individuals to reveal large and unequal #lifeexpectancy declines in #India during the #COVID-19 #pandemic ➡ https://lnkd.in/ejjkkYsU 1️⃣ Mortality was 17% higher in 2020 compared to 2019, which equates to 1.19 million excess deaths – about eight times higher than India’s official number of COVID-19 deaths and 1.5 times higher than the World Health Organization’s estimates. 2️⃣ High caste Hindu groups experienced a life expectancy decline of 1.3 years but the loss for Muslims was 5.4 years and 4.1 years for Scheduled Tribes. 3️⃣ Women in India experienced life expectancy declines of 3.1 years – one year more than men who experienced losses of 2.1 years. 4️⃣ There were also mortality increases in almost all age groups in India, most prominently in the youngest and older age groups. The Leverhulme Trust, Oxford Population Health, University of Oxford, Nuffield College, Department of Sociology, University of Oxford

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Reliable Mortality data are the bedrock of public health policy and practice. India has the necessary data systems in place and they are digitized, but yet due to some critical neglects and disconnects, we are unable to get the information we need, and remain reliant on external global institutions for even state and national burden of disease estimates. In this conversation Dr. Chalapathi Rao, one of the most accomplished researchers in this area, discusses how it is possible for the public health community to support state governments to be able to generate reliable annual district level mortality information- even in the short tun.

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Community Health Centers (CHCs) are crucial for maternal care, handling many deliveries and caesarean sections. However, there's a 37% shortfall in CHCs in Karnataka, particularly in rural areas. Only 17.39% of First Referral Units (FRUs) at the CHC level are fully functional, limiting their ability to manage high-risk deliveries. The shortage of specialists, paramedical staff, and doctors at CHCs, Sub-Divisional Hospitals (SDHs), and District Hospitals (DHs) further exacerbates this issue. Strengthening CHCs and FRUs can reduce the burden on higher-level hospitals, ensuring better maternal and obstetric care. Building a stronger healthcare system requires improving service availability and human resources at these centers. Let's work together to ensure every mother gets timely and quality care during childbirth. Scan the QR code for more details! #MaternalCare #HealthCenters #CommunityHealth #RuralHealthcare #HealthcareSystem #MedicalStaffing #ObstetricCare #ReferralUnits #ChildbirthCare #HealthcareImprovement

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Unresolved tensions between India's apex statistical regulator and Mospi, outdated poverty lines, and establishment spin doctors have created a perfect storm in the run-up to the elections, I write in the latest #TruthLiesandStatistics column. Across ages and continents, most economists have held that a person must count as poor if she doesn’t have enough to eat. Most modern economists also agree that it is not enough just to eat adequate food; people also need access to basic services (education, health, shelter, etc). As long as there’s consensus on the minimum income (or expenditure) needed to maintain a life of dignity, and a reliable database of household income (or expenditure), estimating the number of poor households (those unable to afford a life of minimum dignity) is just a matter of simple arithmetic. Unfortunately, there’s no consensus in India or globally on the basket of goods and services needed to maintain a life of dignity. The World Bank’s $1 a day or $2 a day poverty lines have been as contentious as the official poverty lines announced by India’s erstwhile Planning Commission. Recent changes in how India’s official consumption expenditure survey is conducted have polarized this debate further. Over the past few decades, India’s consumption expenditure survey has faced criticism from economists for underestimating consumption expenditure. Mospi has tried to address those criticisms by tweaking the questionnaire to elicit better responses. Each time it has done so, it has ensured that a representative sub-sample is canvassed using the older questionnaire, so that it is possible to link back the new data with the older consumption database (based on a different pattern of questions). In the 2022-23 survey, Mospi chose not to have a sub-sample based on the old pattern of questions. The NSC had asked for such a sub-sample before being persuaded to change its view. This means there is no direct way of comparing the 2022-23 figures with earlier rounds. Economists who pay attention to methodological details are now crying foul. Some economists have suggested that a comparable sub-sample should be canvassed in the next consumption survey, so that the new database can be linked with the old consumer expenditure data. We also need a new definition of not-so-extreme poverty that goes beyond food and nutrition. To arrive at this definition, we will need to forge a national consensus on what it means to live a life of dignity, and the kind of income (or expenditure basket) needed to sustain such a life. More maturity from our politicians and technocrats can help bring about such a consensus. Till then, any definition of poverty in India will remain deeply contentious. Full article: https://lnkd.in/g5zHxuJg

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"🔍📚 Choosing the Right Path: Research 🧪 or Placements 💼? What’s Your Next Step?" Amazon pays ~ 40 lakhs as a cash component in India for MTech graduates (Applied Scientist role) but offers~ 60 lakhs for PhD grads. Many people believe that if you are doing #Research at a #Tier1 College, it means you hate #Placements, don't care about money, and want to live like a monk. But that's far from the truth. Research is not the villain here; it's not a detour from placements-it's actually a way to improve placements. Think about it: when you do research, you are not just learning facts or formulas. You are training your mind to dig deeper, and to solve problems from different angles. And guess what? That's exactly what big companies want! They have big problem statements to solve. They don't want someone who just knows the basics- they want someone who can handle complexity, who can think critically under pressure, and who can innovate when there's no clear path ahead. While many see research as just an academic exercise, the reality is far more powerful. The industry is hungry for good researchers and often offers salaries that are way above the usual standards. For Example, Amazon pays ~ 40 lakhs as a cash component in India for MTech graduates but offers ~ 60 lakhs for PhD grads. And follow:- Krishna Gupta for more LinkedIn content like this! #CareerGrowth #ResearchOpportunities #JobPlacements #FutureOfWork #ProfessionalDevelopment #STEMCareers #Innovation #CareerChoices #SuccessJourney

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🚩 New Article: In this article, Kazim Rizvi and I discuss how Digital Public Infrastructure could help alleviate India's concerns about controlling non-communicable diseases. 👇 https://lnkd.in/gE3NYZkD

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Increasing urbanisation has led to an explosion of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and India now carries a dual burden of communicable diseases (CDs) and NCDs. In this context, NATHEALTH calls for scaling up and expanding current programmes to control NCDs—such as mental illness, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer—with care offerings that integrate screening, prevention, treatment and follow-up, enabled by partnerships—both private-private and public-private, and across the delivery, insurance, technology and pharmaceutical sectors of the healthcare industry. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gxu_ACf6 #NATHEALTH #healthcare #noncommunicablediseases #NCDs #diabetes #cardiovasculardisease #cancer #prevention #economicloss Siddhartha Bhattacharya Vrinda Chaturvedi Jayyaa Siingh

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As a social science researcher specializing in Bihar, I have witnessed substantial changes in socio-economic indicators since the last census in 2011. Relying on outdated data from over 13 years ago makes it challenging to produce relevant analyses. This underscores the critical importance of a decadal census to track and understand these trends accurately. Given the delay of the 2021 census due to COVID-19, the government must initiate a comprehensive census immediately rather than waiting until 2031. This timely action is essential to provide researchers and policymakers with up-to-date data, enabling informed decision-making and reducing the difficulties caused by reliance on outdated information.

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This report sheds light on the status of accessibility rights for persons with disabilities in India, showcasing a mix of advancements and persisting obstacles. In a significant development, the Supreme Court's order dated November 29, 2023, designated the Centre for Disability Studies, NALSAR, Hyderabad to investigate Accessibility Rights in the case of Rajive Raturi vs Union of India. A subsequent order on January 13, 2024, allowed the Centre to choose the most appropriate approach for the study, involving consultations with experts, disabled individuals, and their organizations, with a mandate to present a detailed report within six months. Link to the file https://lnkd.in/dxe857ww Team Amita Dhanda Nilesh Singit Namita . Shivani Srivastava Aditya Tripathi NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad National Academy of Legal Studies & Research (NALSAR) University Hyderabad #A11y #Accessibility #SupremeCourtOfIndia #NALSAR #UNCRPD #RPDACT2016 #CRPD #Disability #DisabilityRights #AccessToJustice #UniversalDesign Supreme Court of India

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I am delighted to share the exciting news that a research article from my PhD thesis has been published online. The article, titled "Fostering Digital Equity: Evaluating the Impact of Digital Literacy Training on Internet Outcomes in Rural Marginalized Communities in India," is now available in The International Journal of Lifelong Education, boasting an impressive impact factor of 1.8 and a cite score of 2.4 for the year 2022. This achievement holds personal and professional significance for me, as the article represents the culmination of extensive efforts and dedication invested throughout my PhD journey. I vividly recall the rigorous data collection process, which took me to the remotest villages of Rajasthan, spanning districts such as Barmer, Tonk, Rajasmand, and beyond. The study explores the efficacy of digital literacy training programs (DLTPs) in addressing the digital divide, particularly among marginalized rural populations. Through in-depth interviews with beneficiaries of the PMGDISHA program, the research investigates the impact of training on internet outcomes using Helsper's corresponding fields model. The findings reveal that while DLTPs significantly improve digital engagement and internet outcomes across various online fields, disparities persist among participants, primarily influenced by socio-demographic and economic factors. To foster a more equitable digital landscape, digital inclusion initiatives must address these disparities and tailor interventions accordingly. The study's implications are significant for policymakers, managers, practitioners, trainers, and researchers, providing insights into bridging the digital divide and promoting a more inclusive digital society. I invite you and your colleagues to read the article and share your valuable feedback. Your insights and perspectives will undoubtedly enrich digital equity and literacy discourse in rural India. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the research participants whose contributions were instrumental in shaping the content of this article. Additionally, I sincerely appreciate my supervisor, Dr. Nidhi Bansal, for her direction throughout the research process. Furthermore, I am deeply thankful to all the reviewers who provided constructive feedback during the review and publication process. Once again, I invite you to delve into the article and engage in a dialogue that fosters further exploration and understanding of digital equity issues in rural communities. Warm regards Link: https://lnkd.in/gPmejyR9

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