Dr Debasis Barik (Senior Fellow, NCAER), participated in a multi-stakeholder policy roundtable organised by the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad, on 30 September 2026 as part of the launch of Senior Care Advancement Through Learning and Evidence (SCALE).
SCALE brings together researchers, policymakers, industry leaders, care providers, innovators and civil society organisations to build an evidence base for strengthening senior care in India. The initiative aims to inform policy, improve programmes and support innovation in products, services and models of care for older persons.
The roundtable marked the first step in a sustained research and engagement agenda focused on identifying key challenges, generating rigorous evidence, supporting experimentation and evaluation, and translating knowledge into action to enhance the dignity, health, wellbeing and social participation of seniors.
Speaking to the changing context of ageing in India, Dr Barik highlighted the importance of understanding evolving family structures and social perspectives. Rising life expectancy and declining fertility are contributing to the rapid growth of the older population, while traditional family support systems face new pressures, including the rise of one-child and daughter-only families and the migration of younger family members for education and employment.
Dr Barik emphasised that understanding these changing family dynamics will be central to addressing the challenges associated with population ageing. He also underscored the importance of a gender lens for the SCALE agenda, noting that more women survive into old age than men.
Dr Barik’s participation contributed to a wider discussion on how research and evidence can support more informed responses to India’s emerging needs in senior care.
Dr. Debasis Barik (Senior Fellow, NCAER) served as a Resource Person at “PRATIBIMB – Data Analytics & Manuscript Writing Week 2026: Transforming Health Data into Publishable Research” a six-day residential training programme organised by the Department of Community & Family Medicine under the Centre for Policy Research & Data Analytics in Health & Environment (CePRAHE), AIIMS Gorakhpur, from 24 to 29 August 2026.
On 27 August 2026, Dr. Barik delivered an academic session titled “Introduction to the India Human Development Survey (IHDS): Data, Design, and Research Applications” followed by a hands-on session using IHDS data. The session covered the use of IHDS data for data analysis and research, providing participants with practical exposure to working with a large-scale longitudinal dataset. The hands-on component complemented the programme’s broader focus on developing skills in data analytics and manuscript writing.
Dr. Barik’s session formed part of the six-day PRATIBIMB 2026 programme, which brought together academic sessions and practical training on the use of data for health and related research.
Dr Sonalde Desai (Professor and Centre Director, NCAER-NDIC) recently participated as a speaker in the second episode of Parisila Perspectives, NCAER’s podcast on macroeconomy and public policy. Hosted by NCAER Director General Mr. Suresh Goyal, the episode explored the theme “Data-led Change, Evidence-led Policy” and featured Dr Desai alongside Mr. Adil Zainulbhai, former Chairman of McKinsey India and former Chairman of the Capacity Building Commission and the Quality Council of India.
During the discussion on the changing landscape of data collection in the context of the growing adoption of artificial intelligence, Dr Desai noted that surveys will continue to serve as a credible source of evidence while advances in AI have the potential to improve processes such as quality monitoring and real-time translation. She also emphasised the importance of exercising caution when using emerging sources of data, highlighting the need for rigorous validation and scientific standards before they are incorporated into research and policymaking.
Mr. Adil Zainulbhai emphasised the value of targeted collaboration between ministry databases with complementary objectives, suggesting that such partnerships could improve efficiency while avoiding the challenges of large-scale data integration.
Further, both Dr Desai and Mr. Zainulbhai discussed the importance of high-quality data in informing evidence-based policymaking and strengthening public institutions. The conversation explored the opportunities and challenges associated with data collection, analysis, and dissemination, drawing on perspectives from research, governance, and practice.
Click on the links below to watch the full two-part episode:
Data-led Change, Evidence-led Policy | Parisila Perspectives | Episode 2 (Part one)
Data-led Change, Evidence-led Policy | Parisila Perspectives | Episode 2 (Part two)
Dr Pallavi Choudhuri (Senior Fellow and Deputy Director, NCAER-NDIC) was invited to deliver a lecture on “Measuring the Outcomes: Gender-Disaggregated Data” at the Capacity Partnership Workshop on Gender-Responsive Agricultural Policy and Data Systems, organised by IFPRI South Asia in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment (DA&FE), Government of Odisha, on June 23, 2026, in Bhubaneswar.
Dr Choudhuri’s lecture emphasized the importance of integrating gender perspectives into public policy, with a particular focus on evidence-based planning, gender-disaggregated data systems, and institutional mechanisms for advancing gender-responsive agriculture. She also highlighted the critical role of robust data systems in bridging the gap between gender-blind policy design and gender-transformative implementation.
The event brought together senior officials from the Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment, the Department of Women and Child Development, the Department of Mission Shakti, the Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Department, the ICAR-Central Institute for Women in Agriculture (CIWA), and other key stakeholder organisations, alongside researchers from IFPRI South Asia. The workshop provided a valuable platform for knowledge exchange and discussions on advancing gender-responsive agricultural policy and data systems.
On Day 1 of the NCAER Workshop on the Economics of AI and Digital Public Infrastructure held on 5–6 June 2026, Mr. Manish Sabharwal, Vice Chairman of the NCAER Governing Board, released the research report, “The Evolving Landscape of Digital Inclusion in India.”
The report is a collaboration between the IHDS Team at NCAER and the Women in Digital Economy Network (WiDEN) at The Quantum Hub (TQH). Drawing on NCAER’s IHDS-III data, it finds that digital participation varies substantially across age, gender, education, and socioeconomic groups, suggesting considerable scope for meaningful engagement.
Dr Sonalde Desai (Professor and Centre-Director, NCAER-NDIC), one of the authors of the report, introduced the report to the gathering. The other authors of the report, namely Dr Dibyasree Ganguly (Associate Fellow, NCAER), Ms. Garima Agarwal (Analyst, Public Policy, The Quantum Hub), Ms. Aparajita Bharati (Founding Partner, The Quantum Hub), Ms. Harshita Vadaddi (Analyst, Public Policy, The Quantum Hub), Ms. Sonakshi Chaudhry (Associate Director, Policy & Partnerships and Chief of Staff, The Quantum Hub) and Dr Pallavi Choudhuri (Senior Fellow and Deputy-Director, NCAER-NDIC) were also present during the launch of the report.
As digital technologies increasingly shape access, the findings highlight the importance of ensuring that digital transformation expands opportunities rather than reproduces existing inequalities.
Read the full report here: https://ncaer.org/publication/the-evolving-landscape-of-digital-inclusion-in-india/
