Monica Dutta

Monica Dutta is a senior manager (specialist) in MSC’s Data & Innovation Domain. She is an economist with over 14 years of experience gained through projects with national and international research firms e.g. IFPRI, TERI, CSIR NISTADS etc. Her areas of expertise include quantitative analysis in areas of development, agriculture, and energy economics, impact assessment, demand forecasting, programme design and evaluation. She specializes in undertaking modelling exercises and projections.

Before joining MSC, Monica Dutta was an Associate Fellow at TERI where she undertook various roles, from programme designing to quantitative assessment and demand analysis. She holds a master’s degree with a specialisation in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics in New Delhi, India. She is fluent in Hindi and English.  

Posts by Monica Dutta

Embracing the idea of financial well-being: Insights from India using the Global Findex database, 2021

The Global Findex 2021 describes well-being as a person’s financial resilience to deal with unexpected economic events, stress generated by common financial issues, and confidence in using financial resources. Our blog emphasizes the importance of financial well-being based on the Findex 2021 data to provide a more holistic view of financial inclusion in the country.

Were countries adopting digital payments financially resilient during COVID-19? The data suggests so

The COVID-19 pandemic spurred the growth of digital payments worldwide. MSC’s studies revealed the increase in scope and intent of digital payments among LMI groups and MSMEs. We analyzed data from World Bank in 2020 and the Global Findex Database 2021 to probe the relationship between the adoption of digital payments and the economic resilience of countries. We analyzed data from 11 countries. The research proved the hypothesis that the adoption of digital payments in developing economies has a positive correlation with financial resilience.

Low awareness of fertilizer subsidy: A challenge to subsidy reforms

The government has been considering a policy shift to transfer the fertilizer subsidy amount to the bank accounts of farmers rather than fertilizer companies. In our pan-India study with farmers we found that only one-third of the farmers knew that they purchase fertilizers at a subsidized rate. With such low awareness levels, this policy shift may evoke shock and displeasure since this would require farmers to first purchase fertilizers at the market price.

NFHS 5 calls for urgent action on child nutrition in India

The article highlights findings from the first round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 5, a large scale nationwide survey of households in India, released in Dec’20. The article primarily focuses on Five major indicators of child nutrition and compares the outcome of first round of NFHS 5, covering 54% of India’s population with previously conducted NFHS, 3 and 4 in the year 2005-06 and 2015-16 respectively.

“Respect the sentiment:” Using sentiment analysis to inform policy and regulation

This blog examines how text analytics and social media platforms can help policymakers quickly gauge public sentiment around different issues.

A paradigm shift for fintechs: Why a coherent data strategy has become a business necessity

This blog explores the critical role of data analytics and machine learning in helping business organizations utilize data for their operations.

Coping measures for “measurement” in the time of COVID-19

COVID-19 has seen governments across the globe walk a tightrope as they scramble to contain the spread of the disease while keeping the economy stable. In this unprecedented situation, ground-level data for evidence-based decision-making assumes critical significance. This blog looks at five key lessons from MSC’s research on COVID-19.