The Centre for Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) organised talks by internationally reputed professors like Prof. Rina Agarwala (Johns Hopkins University), Nandini Deo (Lehigh University), and Prof. Arundhati Virmani (Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales). In collaboration with School of Law, Rights and Constitutional Governance of TISS Mumbai, the CSDS introduced a lecture series on contemporary and international politics. Prof. Sanjay Pandey and and Prof. Ajay Patnaik (both from Jawaharlal Nehru University) were major speakers in the series. As part of a collaborative international research partnership led by Flinders University, Australia, Prof. Nishi Mitra vom Berg has been working on Femicide and Women in Conflict. The Chairperson of CSDS and prominent anthropologist, Prof. Ritambhara Hebbar collaborated with the Quebec Government Office in Mumbai, Bharatiya Gyan, Sanskrit Evam Yog Kendra, SNDT Women’s University and CERIAS at Université du Québec à Montréal to curate an International Research Methodology Workshop on 13 March 2023 titled “Fieldwork Research in India: Issues and Challenges”. Her documentary film, Gudna was also screened in Quebec’s International Indigenous Film Festival on 23 March 2023.

The Centre for Study of Developing Economies(CSDE) continued with their extraordinary range of research and dissemination activities. The Chairperson of the Centre, Prof. P. Gopinath published articles on issues related to the MSME Cluster in West Bengal, and Interstate migration and socio-networking in Kerala. As part of the advisory board of the International Conference by RSAI held at TISS, Prof. Gopinath reviewed the papers submitted and also chaired a session. He is also one of the core members of the leadership team tasked with implementing the M.A. programme in International Electoral Management and Practices. Prominent development economist and policy expert, Prof. R. Ramakumar is a member of State Planning Board of the Government of Kerala. He has also been recently awarded the prestigious D.B. Bandodkar Chair in Political Economy, Goa University, and Distinguished Visiting Scholar, School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London. He has recently published an edited book related to Indian Agriculture After Economic Liberalisation. A reputed expert on public finance related research, Prof. Anita Rath published an article on revenue efficiency of State VAT and GST in EPW, and a participated in workshop on emission trading system simulation. She was also part of the organising committee for International Conference of Regional Science.

The Centre for Public Policy, Habitat and Human Development organised various conferences such ‘International Conference on Social and Regional Resilience: Looking Through the Pandemic Lens’ 15-16 December 2022, and 9th Annual ‘Cultural Diversity and Development Conference’ on 21 March 2023. Chairperson of the Centre, Prof. Abdul Shaban received a Visiting Fellowship to work on a research project titled “Reshaping Business in an Uncertain World (REBUS)” at Universite Paris Cite during 1-30 September 2022. He was also awarded the prestigious grant of the European Council (ERC), European Commission, to work on a research project titled ‘Regional Futures: The Territorial Politics of Digitalisation-As-Urbanisation in the Global South”. Prof. Sandhya Iyer served as the Associate Editor of the Indian Journal of Labour Economics and she engaged with Setting Impact Desk for the Pan-IIT Alumni Reach for Jharkhand (PreJHA) Foundation. Prof. Sandhya Iyer also delivered a talk on “From Data Analysis to Data Visualisation”, at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Good Governance & Policy Analysis, Bhopal, on 30 August 2022. Prof. Ashwani Kumar led a collaborative Gender Empowerment Project (Udaan) with IPE Global, and also published working papers and policy briefs on “Preventing Teenage Pregnancies by Educating Girls”.

Mentored by leading demographers, the Centre for Population, Health and Development has been the knowledge partner for the action project titled Strategic University Network to Revolutionise Indian Solar Energy (SUNRISE), along with Swansea University. Prof. S. Siva Raju has been invited as an Advisor, Sustainable Development Council, Tata Power Co., Mumbai. Prof. P.M. Sandhya Rani delivered the Keynote Address at the National Conference on Youth and Wellbeing, organised by Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth and Development Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu during 28-29 March 2023. As the General Secretary of Indian Association for Social Sciences and Health, she organised the annual conference jointly with Sharda University, during 15-17 March 2023.

The Centre for Social Theory is helmed by leading social theorists in the SDS. Drawing on his continuing research on methodological exposition of Spinoza, Mr. Parthasarthi Mondal presented seminars and coordinated M.A. dissertations in Development Studies. As one of the Principal Investigators, Dr. Suresh Madhavan is presently involved in a research project, titled “Narayana Guru Digital Research Resource Platform (NGDRRP): Preservation of Endangered South Asian Literatures”. Apart from this, Dr. Madhavan is also working on a research project, “Postcolonial Predicament and Governmental Rationality: The Question of ‘Tribal Development’ in Kerala, South India”.

Led by prominent feminist scholars and researchers, the Advanced Centre for Women’s Studies (ACWS) has continued its teaching, research and documentation/ extension activities during the past academic year. The Centre has organised many academic events, seminars and conferences during 2022-2023. Some of the significant events are: a collaborative seminar with the National Human Rights Commission; a dissemination and closure conference of study on addressing Early and Child marriage in India, and two panel discussions to mark International Women’s Day in keeping with the UGC mandate. Faculty members from the ACWS serve on Internal Complaints Committees for the prevention of sexual harassment. They also serve on various Institutional Review Boards in various universities and academic institutions. The ACWS actively collaborates with ICSSR, UNICEF, American Jewish World Service and NHRC and has secured research project grants in 2022-2023. The Centre is an academic partner of the Global Research Network on the Economic Empowerment of Women (ReNEW). A Fulbright scholar from the University of Temple and a Fulbright Nehru Senior Scholar from California were affiliated with the Centre during the academic year. Ph.D. Scholars from the Centre started an academic forum called the ‘Savitribai Phule Study Circle’, where they organised talks and film screenings. Dr. Sangita Thosar was awarded the Awabai Wadia Fellowship for archiving Women’s Voice, a Feminist Study of Satya Shodhak Grameen Kashtakari Mahila Sabha.

As part of a collaboration between Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Election Commission of India (ECI) and India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM), School of Development Studies, TISS has established the Centre for Electoral Management Studies (C-EMS) to promote electoral governance and integrity of elections through building capacity of electoral officials, electoral management bodies, and young policy leaders in India and abroad. It is widely appreciated that properly-administered, efficient, and cost-effective inclusive electoral operations are critically important to the credibility, legitimacy and sustainability of democracies around the world. Using the unblemished experience of the ECI in ensuring the vitality and sustenance of India’s democracy by conducting free and fair elections as an ‘ode to a diverse and democratic ethos… an inspiration to the entire world” (New York Times, May 22, 2009), the Centre focusses on developing professionally competent global cadre of next generation of electoral professionals, democracy specialists, governance professionals, and policy analysts.

Equipped with a state-of-the-art digital election lab at SDS-TISS, the C-EMS in line with the objectives of New Education Policy (NEP) focuses on the following goals:

• Reflecting on Democracy with the use of statistics and data analysis in Electoral Studies
• Accessibility and inclusivity in Elections with a focus on the Global South
• Logistics and Strategic Management of Elections with insights from the field
• Electoral Management Bodies with a comparative focus Electoral Justice Systems and Regulatory Frameworks
• Elections, Technology and New Age Media