On 4 December 2024, UNU will host “Technology, Cash and the 21st Century Welfare State: Reflections from India”, a conversation with Yamini Aiyar, Senior Visiting Fellow at the Saxena Center for Contemporary South Asia and the Watson Institute, Brown University. This event will start at 18:00 in the 2F Reception Hall at UNU Headquarters in Tokyo.
Over the past decade, the Bharatiya Janata Party's dominance in Indian politics — despite the unexpected loss of its majority in Parliament in the 2024 Indian general election — has frequently been attributed to its welfare policies. Rapid advances in technology have allowed state actors in the Global South to develop a form of “new welfarism” that differs from the welfare states that emerged across Western Europe through redistributive social policy. Digital technologies such as the Aadhaar biometric ID system in India have enabled the state to distribute welfare as a new form of direct state patronage.
Yamini Aiyar will join UNU Rector Tshilidzi Marwala for a discussion on the emerging 21st century welfare state in the Global South. How does this "new welfarism" contrast with the earlier rights-based approach to welfare? What role do technological tools, such as Aadhaar and cash transfers, play in this model? What implications does the emergence of this relationship between political leaders and their citizens have for democracy and the social contract between citizens and the state?
The UNU Conversation Series aims to foster audience participation; you are encouraged to engage with the speakers during the conversation and at the reception that will follow, where all event attendees are invited to enjoy hors d’oeuvres and drinks while exchanging ideas and making new contacts.
Please note that this event will be in English. Advance registration (by 3 December at 15:00) is required. Please click on the REGISTER button above to access the online registration page.
Please be prepared to present identification at check-in.
About the Speaker
Yamini Aiyar is currently Senior Visiting Fellow, Saxena Center for Contemporary South Asia and Watson Institute, Brown University, where she is working on a comparative project studying the welfare state in the global south. Yamini was the President and Chief Executive of the Centre for Policy Research, a leading multidisciplinary think tank in New Delhi from 2017–2024. Her work sits at the intersection of research and policy practice. Throughout her career, Yamini has sought to innovate with social science research methods in ways that directly engage with concerns of policy and speak to the broader public to build consensus on vital policy matters.
During her tenure as President of CPR, Yamini spearheaded two new research initiatives at the centre on state capacity and politics along with new partnerships with sub-national governments in India. Prior to becoming President she set up the Accountability Initiative at CPR known for its work on governance, social accountability and expenditure tracking in social policy. Yamini's research interests span the fields of contemporary politics, state capacity, welfare policy, federalism and India's political economy.
Yamini sits on a number of boards and advisory committees of research centers and non-profits. Her recent policy commitments include: Advisory Committee, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University; Member, United Nations Committee of the Experts on Public Administration; Council Member, United Nations University; Member, Chief Minister’s Rajasthan Economic Transformation Advisory Council (2022–2023); Member, Expert Group to Recommend Medium — Long Term Post Covid Strategy for Punjab, Government of Punjab (2021–2022); General Body Member, Delhi Board of School Education, Government of Delhi; Advisory Board, Ashank Desai Centre for Policy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai.
Yamini has published widely both in academic and current affairs journals and newspapers including The Economist, Foreign Affairs, Journal of Democracy, Indian Express, and The Hindu. She has a regular column in The Hindustan Times and Deccan Herald, two leading mainstream newspapers in India. Her forthcoming book, "Lessons in State Capacity from Delhi Schools" will be published in December 2024 by Oxford University Press.
