• Research
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie India logoCarnegie lettermark logo
AI
{
  "authors": [
    "Rajesh Bansal"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
    "Carnegie India"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie India",
  "programAffiliation": "",
  "programs": [],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "South Asia",
    "India"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Domestic Politics"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

In The Media
Carnegie India

India Has Social Schemes for Poor in Crises like Covid. But It Needs a ‘Who to Pay’ Database

Large sections of India’s population are invisible to the state. That is why in crises like Covid and lockdown, we need one common social database.

Link Copied
By Rajesh Bansal
Published on Apr 23, 2020

Source: Print

In the current coronavirus crisis and the ensuing lockdown, most migrants in India find themselves suddenly jobless as factories close, supply chains shut down and services freeze. The Narendra Modi government has responded to the crisis by announcing several social protection schemes, including direct benefit transfers for certain sections of the population and free LPG refills, grains and pulses for the poor.

Read the Full Text

This article was originally published by the Print.

About the Author

Rajesh Bansal

Former Senior Adviser, Carnegie India

Rajesh Bansal was a senior adviser at Carnegie India. His research focuses on financial technologies, particularly electronic payment systems, electronic cash transfers, and digital financial services to enable inclusive development. He leads the center’s technology and society program.

    Recent Work

  • Paper
    China’s Digital Yuan: An Alternative to the Dollar-Dominated Financial System

      Rajesh Bansal, Somya Singh

  • Q&A
    How Will Digital Currencies Change Wallets?

      Rajesh Bansal, Somya Singh

Rajesh Bansal
Former Senior Adviser, Carnegie India
Rajesh Bansal
Domestic PoliticsSouth AsiaIndia

Carnegie India does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie India

  • Article
    Managing Divergence: India’s BRICS Presidency in 2026

    This piece argues that India’s central challenge is not managing a single flashpoint but resolving the underlying tension between expansion and institutional coherency of the BRICS grouping.

      Vrinda Sahai

  • Commentary
    India’s Semiconductor Ecosystem Is Maturing—and ASML Is Taking Notice

    The ASML MoU with Tata Electronics is an indicator of how far the Indian semiconductor ecosystem has come. This ecosystem has been years in the making and represents real commercial logic.

      Konark Bhandari

  • Paper
    A Review of India's 2023 Space Policy and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem

    This paper examines the relationship between India’s evolving space policy and the corresponding growth in private space ventures. It analyzes both the enabling factors created by recent regulatory changes and the persistent challenges facing entrepreneurs in this capital-intensive, highly regulated industry.

      Harshan Vazhakunnam

  • Article
    India–Africa Strategic Partnership: Challenges, Potential, and Possible Pathways

    A partnership between India, a country of subcontinental size, and Africa, a continent of fifty-four countries, may seem asymmetric until one notes that both are home to nearly the same number of people—1.4 billion. This essay spells out the existing challenges to the partnership, its optimal potential, and the possible pathways to realize it over the next quarter-century.

      Rajiv Bhatia

  • Commentary
    The Unresolved Challenges in U.S.–India Semiconductor Cooperation

    The U.S.–India semiconductor cooperation story is well-stocked with top-level strategic intent. What remains unresolved, however, are some underlying challenges that will determine whether the cooperation actually functions. Three such friction points stand out.

      Shruti Mittal

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie India
Carnegie India logo, white
Unit C-4, 5, 6, EdenparkShaheed Jeet Singh MargNew Delhi – 110016, IndiaPhone: 011-40078687
  • Research
  • About
  • Experts
  • Projects
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie India
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.