Property Laws and Property Practices in India
Centre For Social And Economic Progress (CSEP)
Land and property has been governed by the Indian state in rather conflicting ways in the past. While the first amendments to the Indian Constitution were purportedly to enable the State to redistribute land more equitably, this was followed by land acquisition that displaced Adivasis, Dalits and other vulnerable groups for developmental projects.
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SVAMITVA: A Socio-Legal Analysis
Centre For Social And Economic Progress (CSEP)
The Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas (SVAMITVA), is a Central Government scheme, currently underway in 6 Indian states to provide property rights to rural homeowners residing in Abadi areas, set aside by gram panchayats for residential purposes.
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Land of a Billion S.2 Ep. 10: How Climate Change Can be Fought With Secure Property Rights
How Climate Change Can be Fought With Secure Property Rights In our final episode of Season 2, we talk about...
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What Drives Media Reporting?
Centre For Social And Economic Progress (CSEP)
Media plays an important role in informing and shaping public opinion around major issues. Media, thus, has the ability to impact large-scale outcomes through its reportage. This, then, begs the question: how does the media decide which issues to raise?
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Why PMAY-U fails to address India’s intrinsic housing problems
Prerna Prabhakar, NCAER
At a recent event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave away keys to seventy five thousand beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana — Urban (PMAY-U) in Uttar Pradesh. Though it is a welcome and much needed move, the overall pace of delivery under PMAY-U has been rather slow. As of October 11, 2021, just around 50% of the 114 lakh sanctioned houses have been completed. In the process, ₹97,000 crore has already been incurred.
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A Protest In West Bihar Shows How Un-surveyed Land Leaves Residents Vulnerable
Nihar Gokhale
On May 30, 2021, as India reeled under the second wave of the pandemic, a team of surveyors from Bihar's revenue department landed up in the western town of Chhapra. At a street near the city municipality building, where the state government has proposed a new flyover, the officials measured the land where shops and homes would be demolished to make way for the construction.
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Can Property Rights Improve Access to Toilets for the Urban Poor? Evidence from India
By Centre For Social And Economic Progress (CSEP)
Approximately one in six urban residents in India lives in a slum, according to the Census of India (2011). The...
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Land of a Billion – S.2 Ep.9: Why Do Women Farmers Still Lack Access to Agricultural Land Ownership?
Why Do Women Farmers Still Lack Access to Agricultural Land Ownership? In this episode, we talk about the various challenges...
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How the Model Tenancy Act can benefit homeowners and tenants
Shilpa Kumar | Shivani Gupta
As the Model Act has been circulated by the central government amongst the states, it is yet to be seen what changes are incorporated by the latter to suit the local context. While the Act is a much-needed reform for India’s housing sector, one hopes that states use this opportunity to unlock the economic value of vacant housing and increase access to good quality housing, for all demographics.
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With design changes, Svamitva scheme can be a game changer
Shivani Gupta, TQH
By providing a Record of Rights (RoRs) to village household owners in inhabited rural areas, it attempts to create accurate land and property records, which can be pivotal in reducing property-related disputes and facilitating monetisation of rural residential assets for credit and other financial services.
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Gaining from SVAMITVA- Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas
Deepak Sanan | Prerna Prabhakar
The traditionally inhabited portions of rural India have largely remained unsurveyed—except for Odisha and Karnataka, to a certain degree—since colonial times.
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Land of a Billion – S.2 Ep.8: Securing Property Rights for Slum Dwellers: The Successes From Odisha
Securing Property Rights for Slum Dwellers: The Successes From Odisha Land of a Billion: Tune in as experts discuss the...
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Bringing gender equality in the Hindu Succession Act: An overdue reform
Devendra Damle | Ajay Shah
One element of the gender problem in India is the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (HSA). This law governs intestate succession for Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs (i.e. 80% of Indian citizens), and discriminates against women.
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Land of a Billion – S.2 Ep. 7: How Can Technology Help in Providing Secure Property Rights?
How Can Technology Help in Providing Secure Property Rights? Tune in to episode 7 of Land of a Billion Season...
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Land of a Billion – S.2 Ep. 6: RERA Act: Has It Been Effective in Offering Consumer Protection to Home Buyers?
RERA Act: Has It Been Effective in Offering Consumer Protection to Home Buyers? It has been nearly six years since...
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Land of a Billion – S.2 Ep. 5: How Inheritance Laws Continue to Hinder Access to Property for Trans Persons
How Inheritance Laws Continue to Hinder Access to Property for Trans Persons This issue is of big importance since access...
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Land of a Billion – S.2 Ep. 4: Unravelling Over 500 Land Laws in India: Why Do We Have Them?
Unravelling Over 500 Land Laws in India: Why Do We Have Them? Land laws in India are a complicated set...
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Land of a Billion – S.2 Ep. 3: The Model Tenancy Act: What Does It Mean for India’s Rental Housing Market?
The Model Tenancy Act: What Does It Mean for India’s Rental Housing Market? Tune in to episode 3 of Land...
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Land of a Billion – S.2 Ep. 2: Land Acquisition Disputes in India: The Law & Its Impacts on Those Involved
Land Acquisition Disputes in India: The Law & Its Impacts on Those Involved Many parts of India are affected by...
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Land of a Billion – S.2 Ep. 1: Digital Land Records: How Can it Help The Common Man and Where Does India Stand?
Digital Land Records: How Can it Help The Common Man and Where Does India Stand? Tune in to the first...
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Characterising land and property related litigation at the Delhi High Court
National Institute Of Public Finance And Policy (NIPFP)
There are three common conjectures regarding land and property related litigation in India. First, it forms a large proportion of...
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Inheritance rights of transgender persons in India
National Institute Of Public Finance And Policy (NIPFP)
This paper studies the inheritance rights of transgender persons in India. Using commercial databases (e.g., SCC and Manupatra), it examines...
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Indian states taking ownership of land records digitisation, up to govt to expand it now: Study
Charu Jain | Deepak Sanan
The N-LRSI not only helps each state know where it stands in terms of providing digitised land records and associated services but also suggests the specific steps that can help the state improve its performance. The N-LRSI has shown that credible efforts at measuring performance can become a means to secure better performance by states.
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Land of a Billion- Ep 8: How Have Land Reforms Shaped India’s Property Rights?
PRRC, The Quint
In this episode, we look at land reforms and their impact on the country’s economy. What kind of challenges do...
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NCAER Land Records and Services Index (N-LRSI) 2021
NCAER
The Land Records and Services Index, published by the National Council of Applied Economic Research, assesses the extent of digitization of land records and the quality of these records
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The Design and Implementation of the KALIA Scheme in Odisha – a Case Study
Government Of Odisha, Samagra
The KALIA scheme is unique as it provides a pathway to include those who do not possess formal land records (women, sharecroppers, tenant farmers, landless agricultural households) in addition to the landholding farmers. The KALIA experience therefore offers lessons for other states and the central government on making farmer income support schemes inclusive.
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India’s Housing Vacancy Paradox
Centre For Social And Economic Progress (CSEP)
India has 12.38% of its urban housing stock vacant. The paper looks at three possible explanations for vacancy rates: pro-tenant rent control laws, effectiveness in contract enforcement, and under-provision of public goods and amenities.
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Land of a Billion- Ep 7: How Can We Make Indian Cities More Affordable and Resilient?
PRRC, The Quint
How successful are urban policies in assuring access to housing and services among vulnerable sections? As urban areas became the...
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GIS Imagery for Citizens’ Agency
Shilpa Kumar
Advances in geospatial techniques can trigger participatory governance in urban and rural land administration. A GIS map can also help urban commons be registered and recorded, and protected from encroachment.
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Land of a Billion- Ep 6: How Can Reforms to Land Tenancy Laws Help Farmers?
PRRC, The Quint
With farmers at the forefront of the political discourse today, what are some of the more structural issues which are...
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Land of a Billion- Ep 5: How Can Forest Dwelling Populations Protect Their Land Rights?
PRRC. The Quint
India has often witnessed a conflict between forest-dwelling populations and large resource extraction drives. Forests, regarded both as safeguards of...
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Land of a Billion- Ep 4: How Can Technology Solve Issues of Land & Property in India?
PRRC, The Quint
The anxiety that comes with buying a plot of land or a house, is one that a majority of Indians...
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Land of a Billion- Ep 3: How Land Records Can Help Optimise Welfare Schemes for Farmers
PRRC, The Quint
What is the connection between farmer welfare schemes and land records? As the COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdown heavily impacted the...
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Land of a Billion- Ep 2: How Can Mapping of ‘Abadi’ Land Help Rural Communities in India?
PRRC, The Quint
In this episode, we look at the Ministry of Panchayati Raj’s recently launched scheme, SVAMITVA Yojana. Why is it...
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Land of a Billion- Ep 1: Mumbai has over 2 lakh vacant houses. Then what explains the slums?
PRRC, The Quint
Mumbai has over 2 lakh vacant houses. Then what explains the slums? Why do we have such a large...
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Land of a Billion- Introduction
PRRC, The Quint
The 'Land of a Billion' podcast brings expert conversations about the most contentious of the holy roti-kapda-makaan trinity- the makaan...
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An unlikely common strand of 2020 — land and property rights
Aparajita Bharti | Bindushree D
A continued focus on land and property rights is important — these cross-cutting issues not only impact the growth of India’s economy but play an important role in the lives of all Indians.
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Property Rights: A Conversation Whose Time Is Now
Sneha Pillai
This article was originally published on LiveLaw on 24 July 2020, and can be viewed here. As multitudes of migrant workers took to...
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#Charcha2020 Blog Series: #LandPower – Empowering Dalits through Land
PRRC India | The Nudge Foundation
As part of the Charcha 2020 dialogues held in May, Omidyar Network India hosted a track on Land and...
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Do Property rights explain health outcomes of adolescent girls in India?
Centre For Social And Economic Progress (CSEP)
This paper focuses on studying property rights as a pathway to social mobility by analysing how property rights determine health...
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#Charcha2020 Blog Series: #Tech4Land
PRRC India | The Nudge Foundation
As part of the Charcha 2020 dialogues held in May, Omidyar Network India hosted a track on Land and Property...
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Securing property and land rights in India
Shreya Deb, Omidyar Network India
Land governance and property rights have been historically overlooked in India, and reforming them is critical to securing high growth.
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Podcast: The Unfinished Journey of Women’s Property Rights
PRRC India
What do property rights mean for women in India in 2020? How can we think about women’s property rights, the...
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Refine land acquisition process to unclog courts
Leah Verghese
Executive discretion and inadequate compensation have led to litigation clogging the courts. In Maharashtra’s Amravati, Beed and Raigad districts, land acquisition cases on average remained pending between 1,516 days and 2,462 days.
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End gender-based discrimination in the Hindu Succession Act
Devendra Damle
The assumptions in HSA that govern the devolution of women’s property are no longer valid. We must acknowledge the reality of society and treat women on par with men in all spheres of life, including in matters of property devolution.
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When Land comes in the Way: India’s Connectivity Infrastructure in Nepal
Brookings India
Land acquisition for infrastructure projects abroad is one of the principal challenges the Indian government faces while pursuing its strategy of...
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The Challenge of Building State Capacity in the Land Administration in Rajasthan: Creating a Regulatory Administration in Land
National Institute Of Public Finance And Policy (NIPFP)
The quality of land markets and tenurial rights in land are significantly dependent on the quality of land administration. In...
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Problems with the e-Courts data
National Institute Of Public Finance And Policy (NIPFP)
The creation of the e-Courts platform for disseminating data from the subordinate judiciary was an important step in making Indian...
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Lessons from the Rythu Bandhu DBT scheme for farmers: An explainer
FRG, PRRC
How can we better design farmer income support programs- An infographic that takes us through the case study of the...
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In Himachal, effective forest management could make cities more resilient too
Hansika Seth
Originally published in Citizen Matters on 29 October, 2018. Forests become an easy scapegoat for urban infrastructure development. Recently, the National...
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Is Delhi ready for development based on land pooling?
Ruby Moun
Originally published on Citizen Matters on 26 October, 2018. On 11th October the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs notified a...
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Land and Sustainable Development Goals
Indian Institute Of Human Settlements
Land features as both an explicit and implicit parameter within the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) framework. It appears prominently as...
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IIHS Brief 8: Framing a Land Pooling Policy: key prerequisites
Indian Institute Of Human Settlements
Land is a scarce but vital resource required for all large public infrastructural projects of national importance, which are critical...
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IIHS Brief 7: Property Record Maintenance in Delhi: key issues and recommendations
Indian Institute Of Human Settlements
The proper maintenance of land and property records is crucial for effective land governance. It can help ease land transactions,...
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IIHS Brief 6: Analysing the Efficiency and Suitability of Drone Technology for City-Surveys in Maharashtra
Indian Institute Of Human Settlements
Since the launch of the National Land Records Modernisation Programme (NLRMP) by the Government of India (now the Digital India...
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IIHS Brief 5: Updating Land Records in Telangana: suggested amendments to the Rythu Vari Bhu Survey
Indian Institute Of Human Settlements
On 23 August 2017, the Chief Minister of Telangana announced a statewide survey of land and land records with the...
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IIHS Brief 4: Property Mapping in Maharashtra: selecting a suitable mapping technology
Indian Institute Of Human Settlements
The Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP), a central government scheme launched in August 2008, aims to improve the...
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IIHS Brief 3: Real Estate Regulation: ironing out difficulties in implementing the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016
Indian Institute Of Human Settlements
The regulation of the real estate sector to protect the interests of the buyer has been the focus of state...
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IIHS Brief 2: Taking Property Registration Online: the iSarita Model
Indian Institute Of Human Settlements
The registration of property transaction documents has a direct impact on ease of doing business by way of the average...
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IIHS Policy Brief 1: Improving Ease of Registration Scores for Delhi
Indian Institute Of Human Settlements
Registering a property in India is a notoriously difficult task. According to the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business (EODB)...
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No Woman’s Land: Navigating issues of Land & Gender
Shalmoli Halder
This piece was originally published on the Omidyar Network India website on 25 June, 2020. As the world grapples with...
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Mobility and Tenure Choice in Urban India
Brookings India
Across countries, renting has been chosen by the young, the single and, more generally, the mobile, over ownership. In this...
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Podcast: Land and Reforms in 2020
PRRC India
What land reforms does India need in 2020? How can we think about property rights, and a complicated legislative history...
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Why land and property cobwebs make good plotlines for Bollywood
Chinmay Rayarikar
It is often said that cinema is a mirror to the society that it thrives in. The recently released film...
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Covid-19: Formalise urban slums for long-term resilience
Shreya Deb
This piece was originally published in the Hindustan Times, on 07 June, 2020. Urban areas across the developing world are...
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Indian courts clogged with land disputes because laws keep conflicting each other
Namita Wahi
This piece originally published in the Print, on 26 June 2019. An estimated 7.7 million people in India are affected...
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Understanding Land Conflict in India and Suggestions for Reform
Namita Wahi
This piece was originally published on the CPR India website on 26 June, 2019. An estimated 7.7 million people in...
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Land conflict rampant in India because Constitution has made sparse reference to it
Namita Wahi
This piece was originally published in the Print, on 28 February 2020. Land conflict, which fundamentally threatens the social contract...
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Do the Meek Inherit the Earth? An analysis of land acquisition litigation in Karnataka and Maharashtra
DAKSH
The right of the State to acquire property for industrialisation and economic reform to further the development of our country,...
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Peace of Land: A Woman’s Right to Safety May Depend on Her Right to Own Property
Shipra Deo
The surreal times of COVID-19 have emerged in the context of a lot of pre-existing challenges. One such challenge is...
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Are slums more vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from Mumbai
Shaonlee Patranabis, Sahil Gandhi, And Vaidehi Tandel
India has been highly susceptible to the spread of pandemics. The 1918 pandemic caused devastation across the country, with an excess...
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Performance of the Supreme Court and tenure of Chief Justices of India: An observational analysis (1950 to 2019)
Mudit Kapoor And Shamika Ravi
This is a tentative and an exploratory analysis to assess the productivity of the Supreme Court of India (SC) under...
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Gender discrimination in devolution of property under Hindu Succession Act, 1956
National Institute Of Public Finance And Policy (NIPFP)
In India, matters of personal law (marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption) are governed under statutes which differ as per the religion...
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Linking welfare distribution to land records: a case-study of the Rythu Bandhu Scheme (RBS) in Telangana
Finance Research Group (FRG)
The direct benefits transfer scheme for farmers in the state of Telangana, called the Rythu Bandhu Scheme (RBS), is expected...
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NCAER Land Records and Services Index (N-LRSI) 2020
NCAER
The Land Records and Services Index, published by the National Council of Applied Economic Research, assesses the extent of digitization of land records and the quality of these records
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Too Slow for the Urban March: Litigations and Real Estate Market in Mumbai, India
Brookings India
The rapid expansion of slums (informal, unapproved housing often disconnected from city infrastructure) in Indian cities is the result of...
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Characterizing Irregular Settlements Using Machine Learning and Satellite Imagery: Case Study of Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Sanford School Of Public Policy, Duke University
In a constantly evolving urban landscape, it is particularly hard to measure the rate of growth of informal housing, which...
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Combining satellite and survey data to study Indian slums: Evidence on the range of conditions and implications for urban policy
Sanford School Of Public Policy, Duke University
Projections suggest that most of the global growth in population in the next few decades will be in urban centers...
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Studying the Real Slums of Bengaluru
Sanford School Of Public Policy, Duke University
Lack of basic information on the nature and diversity of informal settlements, and the workings of the informal property markets...
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Informal Housing, Inadequate Property Rights: Understanding the Needs of India’s Informal Housing Dwellers
FSG
In India, as in many other developing countries, urban population growth and the shortage of planned affordable housing have led...
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Building a secure future: Perceptions of property rights in India
Land Alliance
To understand more about people’s perceptions of the security of property rights, the Land Alliance conducted a survey carried out...
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Need to Redefine the Purpose of Land Records in India
Prerna Prabhakar
Recent slowdown of the Indian economy has been a matter of concern for policymakers. The 5 per cent growth rate...
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A measure of their worth
Prerna Prabhakar
India’s first Land Records and Services Index is a way to gauge States’ relative performance and help improve services on...
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NCAER Land Records and Services Index (N-LRSI) 2020
Prerna Prabhakar
The National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) recently released India’s first Land Records and Services Index(link is external). The...
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