The India Observatory is a Centre, which aims to foster research related to India and knowledge exchange. Its role will be to support and promote vibrant intellectual engagement between the UK, Europe and India, and to participate in wider international research works with partners in Asia and beyond, as well as facilitating research and training.

The India Observatory will play a vital role in sustaining and developing LSE's long standing partnership with India. It will act as a hub to renew, engage and develop strong links with Indian academic institutions, government and corporate bodies to further knowledge exchange and contribute to the debate on broader policy issues by promoting and supporting an active engagement with India.

Please see our page About LSE-India relationship for more information.

News and events 2008

November

17 - 18 November: ESRC - ICSSR Workshop on Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change

This workshop is being organized in New Delhi to bring together invited scholars from the UK and India, to discuss their current research. The plan is also to explore the potential for developing a collaborative research agenda. Around thirty invited scholars from the UK and from India will participate in this workshop. Discussions will be organized around the following four themes. These include:

Urban Environment Sustainability: Factors driving decision making under conditions of multiple sources of uncertainty; Socio-economic consequences of different policies and strategies.
Low Carbon Technologies: Development and transfer of environmental technologies including low carbon technologies, and institutional issues related to financing and decentralization.
Adaptation to Climate Change: Water and food security; Institutional barriers to efficient, effective and equitable adaptation; Tools and strategies for adaptation in the public and private sectors.
Energy policy, sustainability and environmental change: socio-economic, environmental and political implications of alternative energy strategies

Monday, November 24, 6.30 - 8.00 pm. Tax Reform in India: Recent Progress. A talk by Partho Shome, HMRC.

Partho Shome, currently Chief Economist at HMRC, was previously adviser to the Indian Finance Minister and the chief of Tax Policy Division at the IMF;
Director of IMF’s Training Institute in Singapore, among other posts. In his talk, Partho Shome will discuss the impressive recent revenue generation through income taxes, both direct and indirect, in India and the current tax reforms in progress.

July

Thursday, July 17. LSE honours ‘scholar and gentleman’ Reserve Bank of India Governor Yaga Venugopal Reddy

The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) has awarded an Honorary Fellowship to the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Dr Yaga Venugopal Reddy. Described by one colleague as, ‘a scholar and a gentleman, Dr Reddy has been Governor of the Reserve Bank since 2003.

Dr.Reddy is visiting professor at several Indian universities and has served as an executive director on the Board of the International Monetary Fund for India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan. He was instrumental in setting up the IG Patel chair and India Observatory at LSE in honour of the School’s former Director.Follow the link for the press release and oration by Lord Lord Stern of Brentford, current holder of IG Patel chair. See also, http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Jul212008/ and http://www.telegraphindia.com

July 3-5. Conference: The Emergence of China and India in the Global Economy. Sponsored by the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP), the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), the India Observatory, and the Institute for Economic Research (IFO). Please contact Stephen Reddy for further details.

Friday, July 4. A forum to debate: "For a Sociology of India."
Room S202, Clement House, LSE. Programme.

Friday, July 4. Electoral Democracy in Plural Societies, - the Indian Experience. Mr. Navin Chawla, Electoral Commission, Government of India. Chair: Lord Meghnad Desai. Room D209, Clement House, Aldwych, LSE.

June

New "Newton International Fellowships" available.

May

New ESRC - ICSSR India-UK Scholars Exchanges 2008
The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Indian Council for Social Science Research are pleased to invite applications under a new scheme for India-UK scholar exchanges.

Monday 12 May, 6pm. India: Managing Financial Globalisation. Dr. Charles Kramer, IMF. Graham Wallis Room, A550, Old Building, LSE.

Monday 12 May, 6:30pm. The Origins of the Permit-License-Quota Raj in India. Professor Paul R. Brass, Professor Emeritus, University of Washington. G108, 20 Kingsway, LSE.

Tuesday, 6 May. Lord Meghnad Desai to address Tata Institute convocation.

Friday 2 May. Communicative Power and Democratic Change. What Role for Global Civil Society in the 21st Century? Launch of Civil Society Year Book 2007/08. 2nd May 2008, Mumbai. A panel discussion will explore the extent of civil society's influence on public debate, policy making and governance at local, national and global levels. How will the role of global civil society change in the 21st century? For details, please see the attached invitation.

April

Tuesday 29 April , 2-3pm. Public Lecture- Integrated Energy Policy in India: Key to Sustainability. Dr. Kirit S. Parikh. Planning Commission, Government of India. D302. Clement House, LSE.

March

Towards a Global Deal on Climate Change by Lord Nicholas Stern.

Presentation made 31 March to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and the select Committee of Climate Change in India. Participants included Mr P Chidambaram, Finance Minister; Mr Kapil Sibal, Science and Technology Minister, Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Vice-Chairman of Planning Commission, Mr Kirit Parikh, Member of Planning Commission, Mr Nitin Desai, Distinguished Visiting Fellow, The Energy Research Insititute, Mr Nandan Nilekani, CEO Infosys.

Download the presentation (powerpoint).

For past events go to:

2007

2006

2005

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