The briefing note is based on a study with the Department of Basic Education in Uttar Pradesh, India. It examines the transition to direct benefit transfer (DBT) mode in the distribution of school supplies to primary and upper primary school students statewide. It highlights how the DBT mode relieves teachers of cumbersome non-teaching tasks involved in distribution, allowing them to focus more on their core academic duties.

Despite the Indian government’s gender-focused relief measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, women beneficiaries faced issues as they tried to access and utilize such measures. Issues with access and capability around digital communication and inherent social norms persist as two important factors that intensify the challenges that #women face in using formal financial services.

This paper evaluates the efficacy of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in reversing the surge of unemployment in the country during COVID-19 and presents key takeaways from India’s experience in handling the livelihood crisis.

India’s early response to the COVID-19 pandemic included several measures, including a nationwide lockdown, an information campaign, and the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY)—a major social protection package. This paper explores the implementation of PMGKY based on a household survey conducted 4-6 weeks after its launch. The study also highlights the critical need to increase the spread of smartphones across the population.

The case study is about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdowns on migrants and the low-income group in India. It captures stories of migrants who were stranded away from their homes without any livelihood. The case study also highlights the adverse effects of the pandemic on the income and jobs of daily wage workers.

The case study discusses the sudden surge in demand for work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) due to COVID-19 and the challenges in the current system. It also provides details of lessons for other countries from India’s experience with MGNREGA.

This publication discusses the importance of soil nutrients, particularly micronutrients, and the factors that affect their availability in Indian soils. It also explores the reasons for the low use of micronutrients and provides recommendations to optimize their use to increase yields.

India’s eNAM platform enables trading of primary agricultural produce and connects markets through an online platform. MSC has been supporting the central and the provincial governments in the design, policy reforms, and implementation of the eNAM program. Many of the design improvements have been accepted and implemented. The cumulative volume of electronic trade on eNAM had crossed about INR 482 billion (USD 6.5 billion) by September, 2018.