Provincial globalisation: the impact of reverse transnational flows in India's regional towns

An important five-year collaborative international research programme on ‘Provincial Globalisation’ is being directed by Prof. Mario Rutten of the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR), University of Amsterdam, and Prof. Carol Upadhya of the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bangalore, supported by an Integrated Programme grant from WOTRO Science for Global Development (Netherlands). Dr. Anant Maringanti, the post-doctoral coordinator and a researcher on the programme explains the aims of the researc

City Profile: Hyderabad

The report documents the urban transformation of Hyderabad, from its founding in the sixteenth century to its present day positioning as a global centre, especially for Information Technology (IT)- and Life Sciences-based industries. Locating the city’s contemporary experience of climate in this history is important. While the city has been a key cultural and economic centre since its founding, its transformation into a global centre has dramatically altered the city’s spatial and demographic characteristics, and the texture of its built environment. Such transformations have profound implications for how heat is experienced and responded to in the city

Contemporary Fault lines in Applied Economic Research

A widely-cited social cost-benefit analysis conducted by the National Council of Applied Economic Research projected net benefits from the POSCO steel project in Odisha. Yet, a close examination of the report suggests a flawed methodology and inexplicable changes in assumptions. As a result, the two primary benefits claimed for the POSCO project - employment and revenues to the state - seem to be grossly incorrect. The privatisation of base data used in some of the projections not only makes the task of verification arduous, but also puts it beyond the reach of democratic oversight. The issues in applied economic research in this case can be seen as symptomatic of structural problems in neo-liberal policymaking

Towards a climate-health approach in Indian healthcare: Perspectives of specialist doctors on health impacts of extreme heat in Hyderabad

Introduction: Climate change impacts human health by exacerbating existing vulnerabilities to communicable and non-communicable diseases and creating new ones. Consequently, there has been increasing recognition of the need for a dedicated focus on ‘climate health’ in medical education and the healthcare profession globally. In this study, we explored the perspectives of doctors on the impact of heat on human health in Hyderabad, India and how a climate health approach can be adopted across Indian healthcare. Methods: A global literature review on climate health broadly, and heat health specifically was carried out. Based on our analysis of the literature, we developed an interview questionnaire and conducted semi-structured interviews with 16 specialist physicians in order to understand their perspectives on the impacts of heat on human health in the region of Hyderabad and institutional transformations necessary to better address questions of heat health. Interview findings were interpreted against extant research on climate health. Results: Climate health and heat-health challenges are aggravating globally, and the doctors perceive that the Hyderabad region is no exception. While efforts are underway to operationalize a climate health approach in healthcare systems in countries of the Global North, such an orientation is almost absent from the context of Indian medical education and healthcare. Conclusion: Impacts of climate change and heat on human health are becoming more apparent in the Hyderabad region. This suggests a strong need to incorporate greater attention to climate health and heat health as part of medical education and the healthcare system in India. Funding: This research has been conducted as part of the “Cool Infrastructures: Life with Heat in the Offgrid City” project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), UK (Award No: ES/T008091/1)