This episode examines the institutional ecosystem that shapes women’s safety in India beyond the existence of legal statutes. Over the past two decades, the country has introduced an extensive legal framework addressing domestic violence, sexual offences, trafficking, and workplace discrimination. Yet, persistent gaps remain between statutory guarantees and the realities experienced by women, particularly in low-income and informal urban settlements. The discussion explores whether existing institutional structures—across policing, healthcare, social welfare systems, and local governance—are sufficiently equipped to translate legal protections into accessible and effective support for survivors.

A central theme of the episode is the need to move beyond a statute-centric approach toward integrated, community-embedded systems of prevention and response. Drawing insights from grassroots intervention models, the conversation examines how hospital-based crisis centres, community mobilisation, behavioural change initiatives, and inter-agency coordination can strengthen reporting, survivor follow-up, and long-term recovery. The episode also interrogates the role of fiscal priorities, including allocations in the Union Budget 2026, in supporting decentralised safety infrastructure, frontline services, and survivor-centred accountability mechanisms. Particular attention is given to the role of data systems, monitoring frameworks, and community-level evidence in shaping policy design and institutional reform.

The discussion further situates women’s safety within broader socio-economic frameworks, highlighting how violence constrains mobility, labour force participation, and economic autonomy in urban poverty contexts. By examining linkages between safety infrastructure, livelihood programmes, and social protection mechanisms, the episode explores how violence prevention can be understood not only as a welfare intervention but also as a critical investment in inclusive economic participation.

SPEAKER: Nayreen Daruwalla, Programme Director, Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action (SNEHA)

MODERATOR: Anu Maria Francis, Senior Associate, Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR)

Tune in for a nuanced conversation on strengthening institutional responses to violence against women, the role of community-led prevention models, and the policy reforms required to build survivor-centred, accountable, and resilient safety systems.

This podcast examines whether fiscal systems, particularly tax structures, have mitigated or reinforced gender inequities over the past three decades. While gender budgeting has gained global policy visibility, empirical evidence suggests that fiscal frameworks often remain formally gender neutral yet substantively unequal in impact. The discussion interrogates how income taxation, consumption taxes, and social contributions shape labour force participation, unpaid care burdens, and intra-household distribution, and whether fiscal reform has produced measurable redistributive gains for women.

A central theme of the episode is the distinction between symbolic and substantive gender budgeting. Many governments publish gender budget statements or adopt tagging mechanisms, yet only a limited number integrate gender analysis into budget preparation, revenue design, expenditure review, and performance monitoring. The conversation explores the institutional conditions that determine this divergence, including political leadership, bureaucratic capacity, transparency standards, and legislative scrutiny.

SPEAKER: Janet Stotsky, Consultant andn Former Senior Staff of IMF

MODERATOR: Anu Maria Francis, Senior Associate, CPPR

Tune in for an insightful conversation on the economic and political rationale behind governments, the inherent costs and trade-offs in collective decision-making, and how voter behaviour and political incentives shape policy outcomes.

The fifth episode of the five-part podcast series on the book, Public Choice – A Primer by Dr Eamonn Butler, explores how constitutions function as the foundational rules that shape governance and public accountability. It examines why societies need constitutions beyond symbolism, and how constitutional frameworks influence political decision-making and limit government excesses.

Drawing from the chapters The Role of Constitutions and Achievements and Issues, the episode unpacks the economic logic of constitutional rules, the idea of a fiscal constitution, the role of federalism, and the challenges of ensuring accountability within democratic systems.

This podcast series aims to make the ideas of public choice theory more accessible to a wider audience.

Speaker: Assistant Professor and Head, Department of Economics, St. Albert's College ( Autonomous), Ernakulam

Moderator: Sreelakshmi Harilal, Associate – Research & Projects, Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR), Kerala

Tune in for an insightful conversation on the economic and political rationale behind governments, the inherent costs and trade-offs in collective decision-making, and how voter behaviour and political incentives shape policy outcomes.