On the Contrary by IDR: Recent Episodes
India Development Review & Maed in India
On the Contrary by IDR is a show about listening to people not like us. In every episode, the host chats with guests as they share their diverse experiences, perspectives, and expertise on an issue—gender, climate change, caste, mental health, and more. The goal is to get people to explore their similarities and differences, and find a new, shared understanding. New episode out every Wednesday.
We live in an era of infinite scrolls, curated feeds, and algorithms, with each click designed to keep us hooked just a little longer. But the promise of technology has too often become a race for metrics and growth, moving further away from its original purpose: connecting people.
In this episode, we’re speaking to Grace Clapham and Priya Goswami, two people embedded in the worlds of tech and ethical innovation. Grace is the founder of The Worth Club, a movement reimagining leadership, value, and self-worth, and former Director of Community Partnerships at Meta. Priya is a national award–winning filmmaker and co-founder of Mumkin App, an ethical tech initiative focused on feminist technologies. Each of them unpacks how we got here and what it will take to centre wellbeing and community in a tech-first world.
Host: Devanshi Vaid
Produced and edited by: Shreya Adhikari, Devanshi Vaid, and Halima Ansari
IDR is an online journal that publishes cutting-edge ideas, lessons, and insights written by and for the people working on some of India’s toughest problems. For more information about IDR, visit www.idronline.com. Also, follow IDR on Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Watch the episode here, or read the transcript here.
This podcast is a Maed in India production.
Donate: https://idronline.org/donate/
Activism can often feel like a race against time; the gravity of injustice too urgent to look away from. But what does this constant sense of urgency mean for the well-being of those at the frontlines of responding to these crises? In this week’s episode of On the Contrary by IDR, we speak to two veteran activists from South Africa.
Kumi Naidoo is a human rights and environmental justice activist who has led major global organisations including Amnesty International and Greenpeace. He is joined by Louisa Zondo, the former head of the South African Human Rights Commission and founder of the Riky Rick Foundation for Promotion of Artivism. Listen as Kumi and Louisa discuss the importance of care and well-being when confronting the most pressing issues of our time.
Host: Devanshi Vaid
Produced and edited by: Shreya Adhikari, Devanshi Vaid, and Halima Ansari
IDR is an online journal that publishes cutting-edge ideas, lessons, and insights written by and for the people working on some of India’s toughest problems. For more information about IDR, visit www.idronline.com. Also, follow IDR on Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Watch the full episode here, or read the transcript here.
This podcast is a Maed in India production.
Donate: https://idronline.org/donate/
When we talk about philanthropy, we usually focus on the tangible: what’s being funded, where the money goes, and what results it delivers. But behind every outcome is a relationship—between funders and grantees, between organisations and the people they serve. So what would it take to centre well-being, not just as a perk or an afterthought but as a guiding principle of how philanthropy works? Mahendra Pandey of Humanity United and Steven Harris of Fetzer Institute discuss on this week’s episode of On the Contrary by IDR.
Host: Devanshi Vaid
Produced and edited by: Shreya Adhikari, Devanshi Vaid, and Halima Ansari
IDR is an online journal that publishes cutting-edge ideas, lessons, and insights written by and for the people working on some of India’s toughest problems. For more information about IDR, visit www.idronline.com. Also, follow IDR on Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Watch the full episode here, or read the transcript here.
This podcast is a Maed in India production.
Donate: https://idronline.org/donate/
What does well-being mean when systems are built on conflict and violence, and who gets to define what healing looks like? This week’s episode of On the Contrary by IDR brings together two guests who have witnessed conflict up close. Paula Moreno, founder of Manos Visibles (Visible Hands), works on racial and territorial justice in Colombia and is the youngest person to hold a cabinet position in Colombia’s government. Dr Jean Bosco Niyonzima, raised during the ethnic conflict in Rwanda, is a doctor, a social entrepreneur, and an expert in trauma healing and community-based mental health. Listen as they discuss the complexities of building collective healing, the meaning of well-being in conflict-affected systems, and the lessons their experiences offer for communities around the world.
Host: Devanshi Vaid
Produced and edited by: Shreya Adhikari, Devanshi Vaid, and Halima Ansari
IDR is an online journal that publishes cutting-edge ideas, lessons, and insights written by and for the people working on some of India’s toughest problems. For more information about IDR, visit www.idronline.com. Also, follow IDR on Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Watch the full episode here, or read the transcript here.
This podcast is a Maed in India production.
Donate: https://idronline.org/donate/
How does the media function in times of crisis? How do audiences respond to multiple stories of crisis one after another? Is it possible for journalists to cover conflict without causing harm to themselves or others? And what is the emotional cost of journalism in the 21st century? In this episode, Mar Cabra, a Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative journalist and the co-founder of The Self-Investigation, and Nat Kendall-Taylor, CEO of the FrameWorks Institute, a communications think tank, discuss how the stories we tell can balance truth and care.
Host: Devanshi Vaid
Produced and edited by: Shreya Adhikari, Devanshi Vaid, and Halima Ansari
IDR is an online journal that publishes cutting-edge ideas, lessons, and insights written by and for the people working on some of India’s toughest problems. For more information about IDR, visit www.idronline.com. Also, follow IDR on Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Watch the full episode here, or read the transcript here.
This podcast is a Maed in India production.
Donate: https://idronline.org/donate/
In this episode, journalist Namita Bhandare, researcher Sharon Buteau, and author and economist Shrayana Bhattacharya, delve into the data on female labour force participation, revealing the truth about Indian women’s engagement in paid work.
Host: Saloni Meghani
Produced and edited by: Sneha Philip, Smarinita Shetty, Shreya Adhikari, and Halima Ansari
IDR is an online journal that publishes cutting-edge ideas, lessons and insights, written by, and for the people working on some of India’s toughest problems. For more information, visit www.idronline.org, or follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
This podcast is a Maed in India production.
Donate: https://idronline.org/donate/
In this episode, Gayathri Vasudevan (Chief Impact Officer, Sambhav Foundation and Chairperson, LabourNet Services India), and feminist and queer activist Manak Matiyani discuss how gender norms and masculinities shape women's access to the workforce.
Host: Smarinita Shetty
Produced and edited by: Rachita Vora, Smarinita Shetty, Shreya Adhikari, and Halima Ansari
IDR is an online journal that publishes cutting-edge ideas, lessons and insights, written by, and for the people working on some of India’s toughest problems. For more information, visit www.idronline.org, or follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
This podcast is a Maed in India production.
Donate: https://idronline.org/donate/
In this special episode, we speak with climate activist Disha Ravi, environmental lawyer Mridula Vijairaghavan, and nonprofit leader Stalin Dayanand. Together, they unpack the dynamics of environmental protests—what works, what doesn't, and whether these movements hold the key to shaping climate action in policy rooms.
Host: Shreya Adhikari
Produced and edited by: Rachita Vora, Smarinita Shetty, Shreya Adhikari, Derrek Xavier, and Halima Ansari
IDR is an online journal that publishes cutting-edge ideas, lessons and insights, written by, and for the people working on some of India’s toughest problems. For more information, visit www.idronline.org, or follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
This podcast is a Maed in India production.
Donate: https://idronline.org/donate/
Water conservation is the need of the hour, and it requires both community-led initiatives and increased corporate engagement. In this episode, Shraman Jha, CEO of Hindustan Unilever Foundation, and Padma Shri awardee Uma Shankar Pandey, a jal yoddha or water warrior from Bundelkhand, Uttar Pradesh, discuss how communities and businesses can step up their water conservation efforts.
Host: Saloni Meghani
Produced and edited by: Saloni Meghani, Smarinita Shetty, Sneha Philip, and Shreya Adhikari
IDR is an online journal that publishes cutting-edge ideas, lessons and insights, written by, and for the people working on some of India’s toughest problems. For more information, visit www.idronline.org, or follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
This podcast is a Maed in India production.
Donate: https://idronline.org/donate/
In this special episode, we travel across India's farming landscape with three experts—Narendranath Damodaran (Pradan), Naseem Shaikh (SSP), and Swapna Sarangi (FES) as they help us envision a more sustainable future for agriculture and farmers in the country.
Host: Sneha Philip
Produced and edited by: Saloni Meghani, Smarinita Shetty, Sneha Philip, and Shreya Adhikari
IDR is an online journal that publishes cutting-edge ideas, lessons and insights, written by, and for the people working on some of India’s toughest problems. For more information, visit www.idronline.org, or follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
This podcast is a Maed in India production.
Donate: https://idronline.org/donate/
Women play a vital role in India's agrarian economy, but are often excluded in policy considerations. In this episode, our two guests Ireena Vittal and Kavitha Kuruganti help us understand the contribution of women in agriculture, while also getting us to imagine what a future without women farmers would look like.
Host: Smarinita Shetty
Produced and edited by: Rachita Vora, Smarinita Shetty, Sneha Philip, and Shreya Adhikari
IDR is an online journal that publishes cutting-edge ideas, lessons and insights, written by, and for the people working on some of India’s toughest problems. For more information, visit www.idronline.org, or follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
This podcast is a Maed in India production.
Donate: https://idronline.org/donate/
"Two leaders belonging to different generations, PANI's Bharat Bhushan and Deo Datt Singh, unpack the evolution of farming in the country over the last 7 decades, and discuss what needs to change in light of the current threats of climate change and water scarcity."
Host: Sneha Philip
Produced and edited by: Rachita Vora, Smarinita Shetty, Sneha Philip, and Shreya Adhikari
IDR is an online journal that publishes cutting-edge ideas, lessons and insights, written by, and for the people working on some of India’s toughest problems. For more information, visit www.idronline.org, or follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
This podcast is a Maed in India production.
Donate: https://idronline.org/donate/
Groundwater is key to achieving water security for the nation. However, very little is understood of its importance and the need to manage it. In this episode, Mala Subramaniam, CEO at Arghyam, and Himanshu Kulkarni, executive director at ACWADAM, discuss the state of India's groundwater today, what’s happening on the policy side and what’s shifting in practice, in order to address this alarming decline of the resource.
Host: Smarinita Shetty
Produced and edited by: Rachita Vora, Smarinita Shetty, Sneha Philip, and Shreya Adhikari
IDR is an online journal that publishes cutting-edge ideas, lessons and insights, written by, and for the people working on some of India’s toughest problems. For more information, visit www.idronline.org, or follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
This podcast is a Maed in India production.
Donate: https://idronline.org/donate/
India’s water challenges are complex, but there are innovative solutions that are being championed by a range of diverse stakeholders—governments, civil society, the private sector, and others. How can they come together to ensure water security for India?
In this episode, Ajith Radhakrishnan (World Bank) and Jagdeesh Rao Puppala (FES) deliberate on what it will take to solve India’s water crisis.
Host: Sneha Philip
Produced and edited by: Rachita Vora, Smarinita Shetty, Sneha Philip, and Shreya Adhikari
IDR is an online journal that publishes cutting-edge ideas, lessons and insights, written by, and for the people working on some of India’s toughest problems. For more information, visit www.idronline.org, or follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
This podcast is a Maed in India production.
Donate: https://idronline.org/donate/
On the Contrary by IDR is an award-winning show about listening to people not like us. In every episode, the host chats with guests as they share their diverse experiences, perspectives, and expertise on an issue—water security, gender, climate change, caste, mental health, and more. The goal is to get people to explore their similarities and differences, and find a new, shared understanding. New episode out every Wednesday.
Donate: https://idronline.org/donate/
In this episode, Archana Soreng, a young climate activist belonging to the Kharia tribe in Odisha, speaks with Bijal Brahmbhatt, director at the nonprofit Mahila Housing Trust. They discuss how the climate crisis is exacerbating pre-existing inequalities across rural and urban India, especially for women and indigenous communities. Exploring the future of climate action, they also talk about why it’s crucial for policymakers to make space for voices and solutions emerging from the grassroots.
Host: Smarinita Shetty;
Produced and edited by: Rachita Vora, Shreya Adhikari, and Smarinita Shetty.
IDR is an online journal that publishes cutting-edge ideas, lessons and insights, written by, and for the people working on some of India’s toughest problems. For more information, visit www.idronline.org , or follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
This podcast is a Maed in India production.
Donate: https://idronline.org/donate/
As the climate emergency worsens, can we continue to work the way we do? And if the nature of jobs needs to change, how can we ensure that the most vulnerable communities don’t bear the brunt? Harish Hande, the co-founder of SELCO, argues that moving away from centralised businesses and localising jobs is the way to go. However, Sabina Dewan, the founder and executive director of the JustJobs Network, calls for stronger policy and regulatory frameworks to ensure businesses become sustainable.
Host: Smarinita Shetty;
Produced and edited by: Rachita Vora, Shreya Adhikari, and Smarinita Shetty.
IDR is an online journal that publishes cutting-edge ideas, lessons and insights, written by, and for the people working on some of India’s toughest problems. For more information, visit www.idronline.org , or follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
This podcast is a Maed in India production.
Donate: https://idronline.org/donate/
Technology is emerging as a crucial lever for climate action. However, there is also an urgent need to discuss its consequences. Is adopting tech truly the only low carbon answer or just a more profitable one? And who gets to control it? The big tech companies or the communities facing the devastating consequences of climate change on the ground? Jim Fruchterman, Founder and CEO of Tech Matters, and Trisha Ray, Deputy Director, Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology at Observer Research Foundation, explore the growing and sometimes unforeseeable impacts of tech on climate change.
Host: Smarinita Shetty;
Produced and edited by: Rachita Vora, Shreya Adhikari, and Smarinita Shetty.
IDR is an online journal that publishes cutting-edge ideas, lessons and insights, written by, and for the people working on some of India’s toughest problems. For more information, visit www.idronline.org, or follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
This podcast is a Maed in India production.
Donate: https://idronline.org/donate/
Much needs to change in India when it comes to agriculture, especially given the climate crisis and its impact on our food systems. On this episode, Crispino Lobo, co-founder of the Watershed Organisation Trust, and Mark Kahn, co-founder of the agritech-focused venture capital firm, Omnivore, discuss what farmers need most today to help them develop climate resilience.
Host: Rachita Vora
Produced and edited by: Rachita Vora, Shreya Adhikari, and Smarinita Shetty
IDR is an online journal that publishes cutting-edge ideas, lessons and insights, written by, and for the people working on some of India’s toughest problems. For more information, visit www.idronline.org, or follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
This podcast is a Maed in India production.
Donate: https://idronline.org/donate/
With the increasing focus on climate action in India, all eyes are on the funding landscape to back it up. But where do corporate, individual, and private philanthropy stand when it comes to funding climate solutions? What are their constraints, and given the quantum of funds required, is a collaboration between them a potential solution? Gayatri Divecha, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Godrej Industries, and Shloka Nath, Executive Director, at India Climate Collaborative, weigh in.
Host: Rachita Vora
Produced and edited by: Rachita Vora, Shreya Adhikari, and Smarinita Shetty
IDR is an online journal that publishes cutting-edge ideas, lessons and insights, written by, and for the people working on some of India’s toughest problems. For more information, visit www.idronline.com, or follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
This podcast is a Maed in India production.
Donate: https://idronline.org/donate/
With the increasing focus on climate action in India, all eyes are on the funding landscape to back it up. But where do corporate, individual, and private philanthropy stand when it comes to funding climate solutions? What are their constraints, and given the quantum of funds required, is a collaboration between them a potential solution? Gayatri Divecha, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Godrej Industries, and Shloka Nath, Executive Director, at India Climate Collaborative, weigh in.
Host: Rachita Vora
Produced and edited by: Rachita Vora, Shreya Adhikari, and Smarinita Shetty
IDR is an online journal that publishes cutting-edge ideas, lessons and insights, written by, and for the people working on some of India’s toughest problems. For more information, visit www.idronline.com, or follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
This podcast is a Maed in India production.
Donate: https://idronline.org/donate/
The climate change story has largely been all doom-and-gloom. As we wake up to the impacts of worsening climate change, it still feels a bit abstract. How does the crisis relate to people’s day to day lives? Is there a role for individuals to play? This week, Navroz Dubash, policy advisor and professor at the Centre for Policy Research, and Sahana Ghosh, science journalist at Mongabay India, look at the complicated manner in which we talk about climate today, and explore whether there is a better, more empowering story to tell.
Host: Rachita Vora
Produced and edited by: Rachita Vora, Shreya Adhikari, and Smarinita Shetty.
IDR is an online journal that publishes cutting-edge ideas, lessons and insights, written by, and for the people working on some of India’s toughest problems. For more information, visit www.idronline.com, or follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
This podcast is a Maed in India production.
Donate: https://idronline.org/donate/
The climate change story has largely been all doom-and-gloom. As we wake up to the impacts of worsening climate change, it still feels a bit abstract. How does the crisis relate to people’s day to day lives? Is there a role for individuals to play? This week, Navroz Dubash, policy advisor and professor at the Centre for Policy Research, and Sahana Ghosh, science journalist at Mongabay India, look at the complicated manner in which we talk about climate today, and explore whether there is a better, more empowering story to tell.
Host: Rachita Vora
Produced and edited by: Rachita Vora, Shreya Adhikari, and Smarinita Shetty.
IDR is an online journal that publishes cutting-edge ideas, lessons and insights, written by, and for the people working on some of India’s toughest problems. For more information, visit www.idronline.com, or follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
This podcast is a Maed in India production.
Donate: https://idronline.org/donate/
India Development Review’s podcast, On the Contrary by IDRreturns with Season 4, and this time it's focussing on the most serious crisis of our times—climate change. In every episode, two climate experts discuss the interplay between the climate emergency and gender, livelihoods, technology, and more. Tune in every Wednesday, on your favourite podcasting app. For more information, visit: www.idronline.org
Donate: https://idronline.org/donate/
Can investing in government schools result in an improved education system? Or does the answer lie in developing affordable private schools? In this episode, Aditya Natraj, CEO of Piramal Foundation, and Parth Shah, founder-president of the Centre for Civil Society, discuss the pros and cons of government and private schools, and why both systems need to work together to ensure quality education for children.
Highlights: * The pandemic has thrown up many challenges for both government and private schools. The entire education system needs to be reassessed to ensure children don’t suffer any further learning losses. * A monopoly of either system takes away parents’ right to choose the kind of education they want for their children. It is important for affordable private schools to co-exist with government schools. * There is a huge gap between the perception and reality of both schooling systems. The perception of either system’s performance vis-a-vis national surveys and popular media does not usually paint the whole picture.
For more information about IDR, go to www.idronline.com. Also, follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
Read more:
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The purpose of education: Learn, do, become.
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Are private schools really better than government schools?
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“Let us not give up on government schools”
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Can we ensure all children return to schools?
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How reliable is India’s learning outcomes data?
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State of the sector report on private schools in India
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Without accountability, there’s no pressure to improve
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What standardised testing doesn’t tell us about learning
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What the National Education Policy means for India
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Why Indian children can’t read
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Education in India needs an overhaul
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Teacher shortage: A problem of distribution or scarcity?
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The billion dollar opportunity in affordable private schools
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Charting the rise of budget private schools
In this episode KK Shailaja, former health minister of Kerala, and Liby Johnson, executive director of Gram Vikas, discuss why disaster preparedness is about more than just building back better. What is needed is a model of development that is inclusive and prioritises the well-being of all citizens.
Highlights * Socio-economic factors play a huge role in how a particular state or region is affected by a disaster. The marginalised population of a state is worst-hit during a disaster. * Disaster management is an ongoing development issue that requires long-term disaster preparedness, where planning and building resilience precedes the calamity. * The urban local bodies and panchayats must be decentralised and given more power as they can play a decisive role in resilience and trust-building among communities. * There should be less parenting and more partnerships between the citizens and the state to have a more involved citizenry. Nonprofits can play a significant role in bridging the gap between local governance and the people.
For more information about IDR, go to www.idronline.com. Also, follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
Read more:
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Rethinking our approaches to disaster relief
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Climate change, disaster, and what philanthropy can do
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NREGA: A pathway to climate resilience
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IPCC Report 2022: How climate change impacts the most vulnerable countries
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Unpaid claims for natural disasters at over INR 1,705 crore, says IRDA report
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Buffeted by cyclones and floods, Mumbai enacts its very own climate action plan
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Lessons to be learned from 'Kerala flood response' and building disaster resilience
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Following the Odisha example for developing community based disaster management in India
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Odisha’s affordable and disaster resilient houses
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India needs state-specific disaster readiness plan
Would philanthropy be more impactful if donors took a trust-based approach? In this episode Reshma Anand, CEO of Hindustan Unilever Foundation, and Anand Sinha, India country adviser at Packard Foundation, discuss the role of trust in philanthropy and why power needs to be shared in order to create a more just and equitable society.
Highlights:
- Power dynamics in philanthropy are deeply entrenched. Changing this to share power with others requires donors to significantly change how they do business and think about accountability.
- If philanthropy wants to bring about sustainable, long-term social change then it needs to focus on enablers and capabilities and not just on activities.
- A strategic approach to giving is compatible with a trust-based approach.
- Trust works both ways—grantees and donors must build and earn each other’s trust so they can communicate more effectively.
For more information about IDR, go to www.idronline.com. Also, follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
Read more:
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Why can’t more philanthropists think like MacKenzie Scott?
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Where Indian philanthropy has gone wrong
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Reflections: Philanthropy in India during COVID-19
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The Trust Based Philanthropy Project
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It’s time for funders to pay-what-it-takes
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How funders in India can better manage the risks of big philanthropy
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Love, not log frames
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“Philanthropy is not only for the wealthy”
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Is philanthropy really changing anything?
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Making philanthropy more business-like is a big mistake
How can anti-caste allyship move beyond lip service and cede power? In this episode, Christina Dhanaraj and Dhanya Rajendran discuss what it really means to be an anti-caste ally, the role institutions must play, and why caste-marginalised people should take centre stage in the anti-caste movement.
Highlights
- While affirmative action has played a role in bringing caste-marginalised people into formal institutions, higher positions continue to be occupied by those belonging to the dominant castes.
- We still have caste-powered people at the centre, thinking of how they can be better allies. Instead, caste-oppressed people need to be at the fore, holding the power and being the ones originating anti-caste discourses.
- Social media has been a powerful platform for anti-caste voices and conversations. However, the call outs that have been happening seem to be taking up more real estate than the issues we should be talking about.
- It is important to educate and speak to younger generations about caste exclusion and oppression, and make them aware of their privileges early on.
For more information about IDR, go to www.idronline.com. Also, follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
Read more:
- The politics of mental health and well-being.
- Who tells our stories: Representation of marginalised caste groups in Indian newsrooms
- IDR Interviews | Bezwada Wilson
- “I want to build a better life for those around me”
- A story of caste, class, and activism
- Photo essay: Justice delayed is justice denied
- Caste, friendship and solidarity
- How caste oppression is institutionalised in India’s sanitation jobs
- Readings for an anti-caste education
- We tell our stories ourselves: Young Bahujan artists on Instagram
This podcast is a Maed in India production, you can find out more about us https://www.maedinindia.in/
Have gender attitudes really changed in our country? In this episode, writer and professor Nivedita Menon speaks with Sujata Khandekar, founding director of CORO, about gender identities and norms, the need to challenge them, and how we can change traditional attitudes towards gender.
Highlights
- While there have been certain visible shifts in gender attitudes, these have not been uniform for all women and across all domains.
- There is considerable backlash when people do not conform to traditional gender identities, especially for those who may identify as non-binary, transgender, etc. This is often the price that people pay for threatening the existing social order.
- Dialogue is an important tool to initiate change, not just with people outside the home who may have differing opinions, but also within our immediate circles—family, friends, and those we consider allies.
- The institution of traditional heterosexual marriage and the normative concept of a family further reinforce strict identities of a man and a woman.
For more information about IDR, go to www.idronline.com. Also, follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
Read more
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7 years after SC judgment, third genders say they feel like second class citizens
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Gender inequality: What really needs to change
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What does NFHS-5 data tell us about women empowerment in India?
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“We want the same rights as cisgender women”
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India’s health systems exclude LGBTQ+ people. This needs to change.
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“There’s a story behind each of those self-inflicted wounds”
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We need to change how we report crimes against women
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It’s time to compensate women’s unpaid labour
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Learning from the grassroots
This podcast is a Maed in India production, you can find out more about us https://www.maedinindia.in/
Is mental health and well-being an individual or an organisational responsibility? In this episode, Raj Mariwala, director at Mariwala Health Initiative, and Santrupt Misra, director of Group HR at Aditya Birla Group, discuss the importance of talking about mental health at work and how organisations can be more inclusive.
Highlights
- Mental illness is often treated just like physical health, that is, a set of symptoms that needs to be cured. But the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that mental health is deeply connected to our lives, the environments we inhabit, and our contexts.
- A well-run organisation realises that there is no dichotomy between revenue generation and employee well-being. They understand that organisations are productive precisely because of their employees.
- Workplaces need to make reasonable accommodations for mental health, and this can include extra days of leave and decreasing daily working hours, among other measures.
- If senior leadership can display authenticity and vulnerability, it makes people around them feel more comfortable to share.
- Workplaces mirror the larger prejudices of society. Therefore, mental health policies in an organisation need to include other anti-discrimination policies and safeguards.
Organisations need to look at different ways to measure productivity.
For more information about IDR, visit www.idronline.com. Also, follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
Read more
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COVID-19 and unresolved grief: How workplaces can respond
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Productivity at the cost of well-being
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Supporting well-being in resource-scarce environments
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Mental health in India: Underserved and underfunded
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Employee mental health: A guide for the social sector
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It’s a New Era for Mental Health at Work
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Who is ‘self-improvement’ for?
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The problem with resilience as we know it
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The politics of mental health and well-being
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Are our cities making us lonely?
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Community mental health: Not a silver bullet
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Why we need to take a systemic approach to suicide prevention
This podcast is a Maed in India production, you can find out more about us https://www.maedinindia.in/
Dr Srinath Reddy, president of the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), and Dr Sangita Reddy, joint managing director of Apollo Hospitals, talk about India’s public health system—what the largest gaps are, where the greatest needs are, and what the role of private players and the public sector needs to be.
Highlights
- We need to identify the largest gaps in India’s healthcare system and prioritise the aspects that need to be strengthened over the next few years.
- Mere infrastructure strengthening will not be enough—we need a multi-layered and multiskilled healthcare workforce as well.
- Technology can help reimagine healthcare by creating a system of disease surveillance and prevention through detailed personal health records.
- For a robust health system we must acknowledge both—the needs of individuals and the social, economic, and environmental contexts that impact their choices and access to healthcare.
Read more
- The healthcare skew
- What the numbers say about the performance of Ayushman Bharat
- A pathway to universal healthcare in India
- India’s push for universal healthcare depends on women’s safety
- The trouble with developing a framework for primary healthcare delivery
- Healthcare: 5 Non-COVID Areas To Focus On In 2021
- Can private healthcare provide more value to consumers?
- Young adults in India want better healthcare
- 8 Ways in Which India's Public Healthcare Can Change for the Better
- India: Health of the Nation’s States. The India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative
- A replicable model for urban healthcare
- COVID-19: A unique opportunity to reform our health systems
- What is keeping the doctors away?
- Are India’s healthcare goals inclusive of tribal peoples?
- IDR Interviews | Dr Rani Bang
- Reimagining the role of ASHA workers
- A day in the life of: A community health worker
- The ecology of an itch
This podcast is a Maed in India production, you can find out more about us https://www.maedinindia.in/
In this episode, Hari Menon, who heads the India office of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Vineet Rai, founder and chairperson of Aavishkaar Group, discuss all things social impact—what it means, how the investing world calculates it, and why we need to expand our definition of what ‘counts’ as impact.
Highlights
- What social impact means, how we should measure it, and what needs to change in how we approach it.
- Who gets to decide what counts as impact—funders, social impact organisations, or the people they are meant to serve?
- What are the trade-offs between impact, sustainability, and scalability?
- When it comes to social impact, can investors realistically move away from quantitative metrics in favour of more qualitative ones?
Read more
- IDR Explains | Impact investing
- Scaling out, scaling up, scaling deep: Advancing systemic social innovation and the learning processes to support it
- Is size the right metric to measure impact?
- Rethinking participatory development in the context of scale
- The social innovation paradox: Why it’s hard to be both innovative and scalable
- Are social change and scale mutually exclusive?
- Lessons in scaling with the government
- Questioning scale as we know it
- ‘Who determines what impact matters most?’
- Building purpose beyond CSR
- Funders, it’s time we change our relationship with data
For more information about IDR, go to www.idronline.com. Also, follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
This podcast is a Maed in India production, you can find out more about us https://www.maedinindia.in/
Kiran Karnik, former president of NASSCOM, and Osama Manzar, co-founder of Digital Empowerment Foundation, discuss the promises and pitfalls of technology, the gaps in its application in India, and the role the government can play in making access to technology more equitable.
Highlights (for the app only):
- How digital technologies have enabled people, even in the remotest parts of India.
- Why we cannot look at technology in isolation and need to address the systemic flaws creating unequal access.
- Why the government’s primary objective when it comes to using technology must be to create more equity for its citizens.
- Why the purpose of technology must be very clear. Whose interest does it serve? Does it benefit the least empowered people in the world?
Read more:
- The missing link in technology
- India urgently needs an EdTech policy
- How the social sector thinks about tech is wrong
- Developing our digital commons
- How to think about funding technology in the social sector
- Four things to think about with tech for social good
- Are we ready for EdTech?
- When internet comes home: E-learning in Indian villages during COVID-19
- Connecting the disconnected
- Open-source tech for nonprofits
- India’s gendered digital divide
- Non-linkage with Aadhaar has impeded access of the poor to welfare entitlements
- An offline alternative for Aadhaar-based biometric authentication
- How COVID-19 deepens the digital education divide in India
This podcast is a Maed in India production, you can find out more about us https://www.maedinindia.in/
What makes a city liveable? Who should benefit the most from the growth of a city—financial investors or its residents? On this episode, Sheela Patel, director of SPARC, and Ireena Vittal, former partner at McKinsey, answer these questions and more.
Highlights:
- Who are our cities built for? Whose voices do we prioritise in order to plan our cities better?
- Climate change is not a separate space, but a lens that we must adopt while planning resilient cities.
- We need to ensure continuous dialogue between those governing the cities and everyone living in the cities.
- Citizens must be active participants in the planning and operation of cities.
Read more
- Want a better quality of life?
- ‘Project spending’ can only take our cities so far
- IDR Explains | Local government in India
- How can we empower city governments?
- Fighting COVID-19 in cities
- Six things we learned from Dr Armida Fernandez
- The gaps and opportunities in low-income housing
- How can Indian cities shield vulnerable migrants from climate change? With better affordable housing
- What India can learn about effective rental housing for migrant workers
- Photo essay: How sanitation workers live and work in urban India
- It’s time to reimagine water systems in cities
- Mumbai’s climate adaptation plan: Designing the city for water
- Make India climate smart: We have big infrastructure plans but forget to review them through a climate change lens
- Finding the missing pieces of urban planning puzzle in India
This podcast is a Maed in India production, you can find out more about us https://www.maedinindia.in/
In this episode, we discuss how global climate policy is made, how it negatively impacts communities on the ground, and what needs to change when it comes to policy at a national level. Speakers include Nitin Desai, Indian economist and key draftsman of the landmark Brundtland Commission report, and Ulka Kelkar, Director of the Climate programme at World Resources Institute.
Highlights
- How is climate change affecting marginalised communities on the ground?
- What the focus of global climate policy has been so far, and what it needs to be going forward.
- How can we balance scientific expertise with local knowledge on climate change?
- Why we need to adopt a climate lens at an individual, organisational, and societal level.
Know more
- IPCC climate change report: What does it mean for India?
- Essential climate change terms, explained
- What will it take to prioritise climate change?
- What is COP26 in Glasgow and why does the climate change summit matter?
- The Health Argument for Climate Action: COP26 Special Report on Climate Change and Health
- How to make climate action popular
- Climate change, disasters, and what philanthropy can do
- IDR Interviews | Dr Vandana Shiva
- Humanity’s greatest ally against climate change is Earth itself
- P Sainath: The water crisis is not caused by drought
- Can solar power initiatives provide sustainable self-employment?
- COVID-19 has exacerbated climate concerns
- Ecology is economy
- Economic growth vs climate security: We can have it all
- The environmental movement has made a few mistakes
This podcast is a Maed in India production, you can find out more about us https://www.maedinindia.in/
Microbiologist and virologist, Dr Gagandeep Kang speaks with Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, the founder-chairperson of one of India’s largest pharmaceutical companies, about India’s flawed vaccine roll-out, and the trade-offs between patents and pricing.
Highlights
- India’s vaccine roll-out programme: How does one decide who gets priority and who does not?
- What does the Indian government need to do to ensure vaccines are affordable and available for everyone?
- What role should the private sector play in India’s vaccine roll-out programme?
- Should COVID-19 vaccines be protected by patents?
For more information about IDR, go to www.idronline.com. Also, follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
Read more
- India’s COVID-19 vaccine drive is excluding millions of citizens
- India’s COVID-19 response limited by strong urban and tech bias
- Fighting the pandemic: Two contrasting approaches[T1]
- How rebuilding trust in the public healthcare system can help combat vaccine hesitancy in rural communities
- A ‘corona demon’ raises awareness about COVID-19 in rural Andhra Pradesh
- A pathway to universal healthcare in India
- Engaging communities is critical to the COVID-19 response
- Is the COVID-19 vaccine in India a public or a private good?
- Upholding trust in vaccination
- Covid-19 Pandemic: Shortages, Hesitancy and Pricing Plague India’s Covid-19 Vaccination Programme
- All work, no vaccines: Security guards and COVID-19
- Learn more about the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations or Cepi
- ‘None are safe until all are safe’: COVID-19 vaccine rollout in low- and middle-income countries
- Covid: The vaccine patent row explained
This podcast is a Maed in India production, you can find out more about us https://www.maedinindia.in/
Politician and educator, Atishi Marlena, and founder of some of India’s leading educational institutions, Pramath Raj Sinha talk about the purpose of education in a rapidly changing world. Can government schools provide a ‘good’ education to our children? Is the private sector the answer to a failing system? What are our children and youth really learning in their schools and colleges? All this and more in this episode on the education system in India.
Highlights
- Has the education system veered towards producing workers for the economy, and away from producing better citizens for society?
- How do you learn something new, when you haven’t been trained for it?
- What will it take to make government schools work, and how should we be thinking of private institutions?
- Is it possible to create reflective spaces where students can learn values and ethics?
- Can excellence in education be measured?
For more information about IDR, go to www.idronline.org. Also, follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram
Read more:
- What the National Education Policy 2020 has gotten right and what it hasn’t
- Why Indian children can’t read
- Incorporating play to improve cognitive learning
- Standardised tests ignore indigenous knowledge, language, or problem-solving strategies
- Our solutions for education aren’t working
- Seek and you shall find
Production by Maed in India, to find out more visit www.maedinindia.in
Nachiket Mor, expert in health systems design, and Dr Abhay Bang, public health expert with deep experience working at the grassroots, debate the approach India must take when fighting the second wave of COVID-19. Mor is in favour of a more centralised approach, grounded in science and trust. On the contrary, Bang believes local communities know best when it comes to their problems.
Highlights –
- The current catastrophe we are facing in India points to the need for a stronger governance model, and a health system that inspires trust, and better serves the people.
- Comprehensive, high quality primary care informed by expertise has to be the bedrock of any health system.
- We need both science, as well as the knowledge, experience, and buy-in of local communities at the grassroots, to fight a pandemic like this one.
- Communities need to be at the centre of this fight, with the government, the private sector, and civil society, doing more.
For more information about IDR, go to www.idronline.org. Also, follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
Read more:
- How you can support nonprofits in their COVID-19 relief efforts in 2021
- How is rural Bihar dealing with the second wave of COVID-19?
- A pandemic, an infodemic, and the fear of vaccination
- Mental health and COVID-19 in India
- Making virtual volunteering work
- Research, for whom?
- A day in the life of a hospital ward worker, who cares for COVID-19 patients at a government hospital
- A day in the life of a sero survey field manager, who works in the slums of Mumbai.
- The Wisdom of the Crowds
- You cannot bypass the power of communities
- Photo essay: The everyday lives of migrants
This is a Maed in India production. To find out more visit www.maedinindia.in.
Given the dire crisis that our country is facing because of the second wave of Covid-19, On the Contrary is taking a break this week.
If you would like to support the fight against COVID-19, check out this page ( https://idronline.org/covid-19-in-2021-latest-updates-for-the-social-sector/ ) on IDR that is a repository of information, insights, and asks from social sector organisations/collectives at the frontlines.
For more information about IDR, go to www.idronline.org. Also, follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
Production by Maed in India find out more at www.maedinindia.in.
In the race for economic growth, who wins and who loses? In this episode, Bittu Sahgal, environmental activist and writer, and TV Narendran, CEO and Managing Director of Tata Steel, discuss the conflict between the economy, industry and environment.
Highlights –
- The need to move beyond GDP and economic growth to include environmental indicators when assessing a country’s performance.
- What has been and needs to be done to ensure that industry, government, and society engage in more conversations about sustainable long-term economic growth.
- How the needs of industry, government, and community can be better balanced when it comes to policy-making.
- How to persuade businesses and governments to think and act long-term when it comes to growth strategy as well as the environment.
For more information about IDR, go to www.idronline.org. Also, follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
Read more:
- Sustainable Economic Development Assessment (SEDA)
- The Vision of a Well-Being Economy
- Ecology is Economy
- Economic growth vs climate security: We can have it all
- The need to invest in climate change education
- India ranks 168th on Environmental Protection Index
- India ranks 120th of 122 countries in a global water quality index
- CSR and sustainable development: Do Indian companies care about the environment?
- The environmental movement has made a few mistakes
- IDR Interviews | Dr. Vandana Shiva
- Climate finance for MSMEs
- Climate change cost India over 2000 lives and $37 billion in just a year
Production by Maed in India find out more at www.maedinindia.in.
In this episode, business leader and ex-President of the Confederation of Indian Industry, Naushad Forbes, speaks with former journalist and philanthropist Rohini Nilekani, about what a good market looks like. They discuss what markets must include, whom they should serve, and the role they must play in enabling inclusive economic growth.
Highlights –
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There’s a need to create a better balance between the public (government), private, and civil society sectors, such that the benefits of the market are evenly distributed across all.
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What is the role that markets can play in creating a more inclusive pattern of growth, one with less environmental degradation, and more equity, more justice?
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What needs to change about the processes currently in place for economic reforms, to ensure sustainable and inclusive growth?
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We need to create democratic and safe platforms to listen to and talk with all citizens, not just experts and people at the top, in order to ensure a more equitable economy.
For more information about IDR, go to www.idronline.org. Also, follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
Read more:
- Transforming systems: Why the world needs a new ethical toolkit
- Redesigning the aeroplane while flying: Reforming institutions
- Addressing inequality in India
- Wealth of India’s richest 1% more than 4-times of total for 70% poorest: Oxfam
- India must come to terms with inequality: Thomas Piketty
- IDR Interviews | Muhammad Yunus
- Amitabh Behar on the changing nature of civil society
- Why we must listen to farmers
- Creating resilience to the dream
- Bringing informal workers to the forefront of our economy
- How do you solve a problem like livelihoods?
- The Tyranny of Merit: What’s become of the Common Good
- We need new practices and ideas
- A new paradigm for rural livelihoods
This is a Maed in India production, to find out more visit www.maedinindia.in.
Yashica Dutt, journalist and author of Coming out as Dalit, and Ashif Shaikh, Dalit activist and leader of Jan Sahas, have a conversation about caste-based violence and oppression, manual scavenging, dignity, the Black Lives Matter movement, and, what it means to be an ally in the fight against caste hierarchy.
Highlights –
- The vulnerabilities faced by Dalit women, and their needs.
- How to fight caste-based discrimination in society.
- What needs to change within society, within the government, and within policy.
- How to be an ally in the movement for equality.
For more information about IDR, go to www.idronline.org. Also, follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
Read more
- Growing up a Dalit child in small-town India
- Coming out as Dalit: A memoir
- IDR Interviews: Bezwada Wilson
- Want social change? Give communities more agency
- Meet the man who has gifted new life to over 31,000 manual scavengers
- Manual scavengers: the hands that clean you
- The 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case
- The 2020 Hathras gang rape and murder case
- Dalitality: Inherent untouchability in planning for SC/STs
This is a Maed in India production. To find out more about us visit www.maedinindia.in
Manish Sabharwal, Chairperson and Co-founder of Teamlease argues that in order to compete in a global economy, India needs greater productivity and formal employment. Renana Jhabvala, best known for her long association with SEWA (Self-Employed Women's Association) where she organised women into trade unions, argues the opposite. India’s informal economy is large and here to stay, and our labour laws must accommodate informal workers.
Highlights –
- The size and shape of the informal labour economy in India, including its role in India’s economic growth
- The trade offs between a focus on greater productivity and on supporting small and informal enterprises
- How the policy environment excludes informal workers
- The need for a stronger social security net for informal workers
For more information about IDR, go to www.idronline.org. Also, follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
Read more:
- Reduce state-level regulatory cholestrol to aid job creation
- Education, labour and agriculture reforms will usher in individual freedom
- It’s time to compensate women’s unpaid labour
- Labour rights have worsened post lockdown
- Making labour systems work
- Labour reforms can help reshape India’s growth trajectory
- There is much in the labour codes that needs to be discussed and debated
- Promise and pitfalls of new labour deal
- Remaking India: One Country, One Destiny
- Making movements resilient
- Questioning the informal-formal binary
- A day in the life of labour rights activist
Production by Maed in India
Former Agriculture Secretary Siraj Hussain and leader of a farmer collective, Kavitha Kuruganthi, discuss the ongoing farmer protests and what they tell us about dissent, and the process of consultation and policy reform in India.
Highlights –
- Why the process of consultation with farmers failed
- What policymakers seemed to have missed, while making these reforms
- How citizens should protest in a democracy, in order for their dissent to be heard
- How we can move forward, in the spirit of democracy
For more information about IDR, go to www.idronline.org. Also, follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.
Read more:
- Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020
- Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020
- Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020
- The farm acts: all you need to know
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FarmLaws2020: A four part video series featuring farmers, investors, among others
- Who are arthiyas?
- Farmers have a right to be heard
- Farmers’ protests: A volunteer’s diary
- “These laws will make us poorer”
- Rebuilding democracy in the 21st century: listening to people not like us
Production by Maed in India
Welcome to India Development Review's podcast, On the Contrary, a show that brings you a better understanding of the most pressing issues of our time by listening to informed yet differing perspectives. In every episode, host and thought leader, Arun Maira brings two experts from different fields, regions, and worldviews to explore their similarities and differences on a topic, to find a new, shared understanding. Tune in every Wednesday on your favourite podcasting app. For more information about IDR, go to https://idronline.org/. Production by Maed in India