Center for the Advanced Study of India

Here, in Part I, she brings together the data to describe the current moment and the key recent data points that, she argues, have gone relatively unnoticed.

In this issue of IiT, Rukmini S. presents the first article of a three-part series that attempts to pull together vital Indian data on demographic shifts, place them within the context of other socio-economic changes taking place in India, and set them against a global backdrop.

INDIA IN TRANSITION:
"India’s Demographic Dilemmas (Part I): Six Major Milestones and the Challenges They Pose" by CASI Non-Resident Scholar, Rukmini S. (Founder, @dataforindia.bsky.social) casi.sas.upenn.edu/iit/data-for...

YouTube video by Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI) Meet CASI Fall 2025 Visiting Fellow, Pramit Bhattacharya

www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6mu...

YouTube video by Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI) Meet CASI Fall 2025 Visiting Fellow, Vaishnavi Chandrashekhar

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMUB...

Meet Vaishnavi Chandrashekhar & Pramit Bhattacharya: two of the highly-accomplished Visiting Fellows we've had the pleasure of hosting this Fall! (Video interviews below)

Our penultimate fall seminar: "City on the Brink: Environmental Movements in Mumbai" - Oct 30, 12pm with our own Visiting Fellow & award-winning journalist Vaishnavi Chandrashekhar (in partnership with Penn IUR & @southasiacenter.bsky.social) Read more: casi.sas.upenn.edu/events/vaish...

Summer Internship Presentation:
Friday, Oct 24, 2025, 2-4:30pm at CASI
(There will be food!)
Come hear all about the projects and experiences of our Summer 2025 interns.
Questions? Contact @junibahuguna.bsky.social

Don't miss our next Fall 2025 seminar: "GovTech Is Policy: The Boring, Complex, Unsolved Underbelly of India’s Governance Challenges," Oct 23, 12pm w/ CASI Visiting Fellow Harsh Nisar (NHAI/Bharati Digital) In partnership w/ @southasiacenter.bsky.social. Read More: casi.sas.upenn.edu/events/harsh...

YouTube video by Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI) "Domesticating" Climate Change: The Intertwining of Climate and Development in India

FULL VIDEO of our Fall 2025 Khemka Distinguished Lecture "Domesticating" Climate Change" with Princeton's @ndubash.bsky.social, in discussion w/ Penn's Sanya Carley & CASI Visiting Fellow Vaishnavi Chandrashekhar (in partnership w/ @perryworldhouse.bsky.social) www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cZ6...

TAMIL: casi.sas.upenn.edu/tamil/iit/am...

BANGLA: casi.sas.upenn.edu/bangla/iit/a...

HINDI: casi.sas.upenn.edu/hindi/iit/am...

INDIA IN TRANSITION
Now available in HINDI, BANGLA, and TAMIL:
"Friendly Fire: Intra-Dynastic Competition in Indian Politics" by Political Analyst Ambar Kumar Ghosh (Links Below)

In this issue of IiT, Political Analyst Ambar Kumar Ghosh highlights the need to look beyond the simplistic understanding of India's dynastic politics and argues that dynastic representation and dynasty-led parties should be studied distinctively.

INDIA IN TRANSITION: "Friendly Fire: Intra-Dynastic Competition in Indian Politics" by Political Analyst Ambar Kumar Ghosh casi.sas.upenn.edu/iit/ambar-ku...

Next on the Fall 2025 seminar train: "Measuring the Immeasurable: Tracking Informal Work and Output in Modern India" on Oct 16, 12pm with CASI Visiting Fellow Pramit Bhattacharya (@dataforindia.bsky.social). In partnership w/ @southasiacenter.bsky.social Read More: casi.sas.upenn.edu/events/prami...

CASI’s @rohanvenkat.bsky.social spoke to Tillin about her 100-year history of the Indian welfare state, why it’s crucial to understand this background to appreciate India’s current welfare policy dilemmas & challenges and how these play into current debates about cash transfers & “freebie politics”

Tillin’s book makes the case that India’s welfare history is not just a truncated version of European models that was limited by resources or vision. Instead, elements of Indian policy were precocious and its overall welfare architecture is distinctive.

This historical policy blindness isn’t limited to global scholarship. When India’s welfare initiatives garnered global attention during the “rights-based” policy push of the 2000s, conventional wisdom in India was most social efforts were limited to preferential patronage.

In “Making India Work: The Development of Welfare in a Multi-Level Democracy,” @louisetillin.bsky.social makes reference to a “doorstop” tome on welfare states around the world that dismisses India’s welfare history in one pithy sentence bemoaning policy institutions & dire social prospects.

In this CASI Deep Dive IiT Interview, Managing Editor @rohanvenkat.bsky.social speaks to @louisetillin.bsky.social (King's College London) about "'Freebie Politics' and the History of India’s Distinctive Welfare State." casi.sas.upenn.edu/iit/casi-dee...

Our next noontime seminar features Eswaran Sridharan (UPIASI) who will be discussing "Elections, Parties, and Coalitions in India" on October 2 (in partnership with @southasiacenter.bsky.social & Penn Political Science Dept) Read more: casi.sas.upenn.edu/events/eswar...

TAMIL: casi.sas.upenn.edu/tamil/iit/vi...

BANGLA: casi.sas.upenn.edu/bangla/iit/v...

HINDI: casi.sas.upenn.edu/hindi/iit/vi...

INDIA IN TRANSITION
Now available in HINDI, BANGLA, and TAMIL:
In "Private Equity and Indian Healthcare: Equity vs. Access"
@viveknd.bsky.social (Vidyashilp University) discusses how private equity investment is boosting India’s healthcare but driving up costs & deepening inequality. (Links Below)

DON'T FORGET TO REGISTER! (In-Person Only Event):
www.eventbrite.com/e/domesticat...
Fall 2025 Khemka Distinguished Lecture - "Domesticating" Climate Change: The Intertwining of Climate & Development in India - Sept 25 with Princeton's @ndubash.bsky.social (with @perryworldhouse.bsky.social)

INDIA IN TRANSITION: In "Private Equity and Indian Healthcare: Equity vs. Access" @viveknd.bsky.social (Vidyashilp University) discusses how private equity investment is boosting India’s healthcare but driving up costs and deepening inequality. casi.sas.upenn.edu/iit/vivek-nd...

Join us for our next noontime seminar "The Monster In Your Path: The Private Life of Caste in India" with Sharika Thiranagama of Stanford University. In partnership with Penn Anthropology, @southasiacenter.bsky.social, Penn South Asia Studies Dept. Read More: casi.sas.upenn.edu/events/shari...