Advancing Digital Financial Inclusion of the Farm Community in Assam

Arapid assessment studydone by the Council for Social and Digital Development (CSDD), Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF), and North East Development Foundation (NEDF), to understand the ICT readiness and capacities of the farm community in Assam towards ICT based financial education and counseling brings out key highlights. The study was conducted during September and October 2021,…

Moving Towards a Circular Economy

In the wake of a resource depleting global economic system, the need for a new system with effective resource performance has become increasingly important. It is in such a situation that debates and conversations around circular economy have been increasingly emerging. Circular economy (CE) is an industrial system, which is an alternative to highly extractive…

Bridging the CSR and Philanthropy Divide in North East India

On 20th August 2021, North East Development Foundation and Council for Social and Digital Development organized the policy brief consultation on “Bridging the CSR and Philanthropy Divide in North East India”. The keynote speaker of the discussion was Prof Mahendra P Lama, a development economist, the pro-vice chancellor of IGNOU, and the founding vice chancellor of Sikkim University…

Factors Determining Access to Public Schemes Information and Entitlement Benefits for the Tea Tribe Community: A Qualitative Study in Assam

There have been efforts to undertake critical measures and steps by the State Government of Assam for improving social and economic conditions of the vulnerable tea tribe community   in recent years, the community producing 53% of India’s total tea production. A slew of public schemes have been designed and being delivered by the State…

Social Media Influence on Electoral Democracy in India

In India, political debates revolve around the puzzle of “politics of recognition” (Ruparelia, 2008). Demonstrating identities based on caste, language, and religion thus forms a dominant part of the political discourse and discusses the ways in which the state can accommodate various minority groups and identities. In this drive, in an increasing digitally networked democratic…