J-PAL South Asia

COP29 may have come to an end, but the momentum for driving meaningful climate action continues to grow! A central theme that resonated throughout the discussions was the critical importance of collaboration—joining forces across sectors, geographies, and communities to tackle the urgent climate challenges facing our world today. This same spirit of partnership is at the core of our SARWA initiative, which stands for Solutions and Advancements through Research for Water and Air. Sharanya Chandran, Director, Policy, J-PAL South Asia, spoke about this initiative during the panel ‘Scaling Resilience: Impact-Driven Partnerships for Food & Water Through Evidence & Innovation,’ at COP29, organized by Community Jameel and J-PAL Middle East and North Africa. Through SARWA, J-PAL South Asia is working with the governments at the state and federal levels to accelerate the adoption of scientifically proven and impactful policies on air and water in India. SARWA is part of the Air and Water Labs (AWL)—launched by Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and Community Jameel—to improve clean air and water access around the world. Watch this video on AWL to learn more: https://j-p.al/9r8 As we reflect on #COP29, the call to action is clear: collaboration is not just an option—it’s the path forward to create a greener, more sustainable future for all! Urvashi Wattal | Sanjana Gorti | Shyam Sundar Sridhar | Yomna El-Awamri | Nadine Wael | Sarah DiCioccio | Tanya Jha

It was an honour to join the partners' conclave hosted by the Department of Higher Education, Govt of Karnataka. It was a day filled with excellent conversations on strategies to improve youth employability. I'm immensely grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from various organisations working on innovative programmes, and also share global evidence from the J-PAL network related to skills development, apprenticeships, and job matching at the conclave. Thank you very much for the opportunity Srikar Mysore Sridhar sir and Manjushree Narasimhaiah ma'am. Looking forward to more such discussions. J-PAL South Asia Viji Iyer Shobhini Mukerji Sharanya Chandran Urvashi Wattal

#BTS: It’s the last few days before CLEAR/J-PAL South Asia’s flagship course, Evaluating Social Programs 2024 and our organising team and TAs are hard at work! We look forward to welcoming our incredible set of participants in Bengaluru next week for a jam-packed series of workshops, case studies, and panel discussions! Evaluating Social Programs explores the use of monitoring and evaluation to drive sustainable social impact at scale. Follow us to keep up to date and learn more about any upcoming open enrolment courses: https://lnkd.in/g4VExftX Sourav Das Ramakrishnan N Ishwari Sonawane Sohini Mookherjee Bhakti Bhowmik Vatsala M Sharma Arushi Bedi Murali Mallikarjunan Rijul Grover Sharvari Ravishankar Nikhila Vijay Sruti Srinivasan Megha Pradhan

#IndianScholarSpotlight: Nearly 40% of all pregnant women in Chikkaballapur, Karnataka, were found to be anaemic. One key factor is maternal malnutrition, which can lead to severe health consequences for both mother and child. In this pilot study, Dr Subramanian S (PhD), Dr Divya Pradeep, and Dr Vijay Victor evaluate the effectiveness of a behaviour change informational campaign for improving maternal diets in Chikkaballapur, Karnataka. Read about the scholars and the study 👇 — This post is part of a series on J-PAL South Asia’s Indian Scholars Program. ISP supports early-to mid-career researchers in India by providing research funding through competitive grants, technical skill-building programs, mentorship, and networking opportunities. Learn more: https://j-p.al/isp 

In preparation for the Government of Andhra Pradesh’s ambitious Andhra Pradesh Skill Census, the AP State Skill Development Apssdc collaborated with CLEAR South Asia and J-PAL South Asia to conduct a 1-day workshop on data collection and use. Over 80 officers from the Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation and the Department of Skill Development and Training participated in the rigorous, day-long training that explored best practices for digital data collection, managing field teams, and conducting systematic checks to ensure high-quality data, including data collection protocols, respondent confidentiality, and back checks. These officers will go on to coordinate the implementation of the Andhra Pradesh Skill Census - an initiative by the government of Andhra Pradesh to collect data on the skills of its citizens and develop necessary programs and schemes to improve employment opportunities. The workshop was a unique cross-team effort between CLEAR South Asia and J-PAL South Asia’s Research, Research Operations, and Policy teams. Learn more about our work with governments here: https://lnkd.in/gGjHnu-y Sourav Das, Rajesh Tamadapally, Nitesh Bharadwaj, Manoj Mitra K, Veena Jayaram, Aishwarya Atluri, G Ganesh, Megha Pradhan

🌍 90% of jobs in low- and middle-income countries come from small, private firms—but most struggle to grow due to barriers like limited market connections. A review of 15 randomized evaluations and four quasi-experimental studies highlights how market access interventions can help. Here are the key findings: - Training entrepreneurs and managers in marketing skills improved revenue and profits. - Firm-to-firm linkages encouraged learning and boosted productivity. - Infrastructure investments provided better access to markets and increased product quality. 👉 Read more here: https://j-p.al/6qb 🎧 Listen to the VoxDev Talks podcast featuring David Atkin, Professor of Economics at MIT, who discusses his research on how connecting firms to markets can promote business and job growth- https://j-p.al/272c53

It was a privilege to speak at #COP29, representing J-PAL South Asia on a panel organized by J-PAL Middle East and North Africa and Community Jameel. The discussion, titled *“Scaling Resilience: Impact-Driven Partnerships for Food & Water Through Evidence & Innovation,”* was part of the Marrakesh Partnership for Global Climate Action Program. The food and water crisis is HERE and NOW. India, ranked 7th in global climate vulnerability, faces an estimated $9 billion annual loss due to extreme weather events. These challenges are disrupting local economies and food systems, making it essential for stakeholders to collaborate, deepen understanding, and translate successful solutions into action. Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) affiliates have conducted numerous studies in South Asia exploring how agricultural technologies can help smallholder farmers adapt to climate shocks. For example, research (with International Rice Research Institute) on the adoption of Swarna Sub 1, a flood-tolerant rice variety in Odisha, has shown significant benefits: reduced yield losses, increased agricultural investments, and improved farmer incomes. Notably, there were no yield penalties in non-flood years, highlighting the long-term viability of such climate-smart interventions. I also discussed strategies for effectively disseminating information to farmers, emphasizing how the scale of demonstration can drive social learning and foster the widespread adoption of climate-smart technologies. Additionally, I highlighted the critical role of water pricing in the adoption of efficient irrigation technologies. J-PAL South Asia’s SARWA initiative (Solutions & Advancements through Research for Water and Air) is working to generate evidence and scale programs that improve access to clean air and water in partnership with governments in India. Through SARWA, we will focus on strategies for coping with increased heat, weather variability, and improving disaster preparedness. As we move forward, it’s clear that resilience to climate change will depend on collective action, evidence-driven policies, and scaling innovations to meet the challenges ahead. Urvashi Wattal Ahmed Elsayed Yomna El-Awamri Hicham E.

🌍 How can we accelerate the scaling of climate resilience projects to achieve the #GlobalClimateAgenda? 🌿 At #COP29, HAPIE’s Water Implementation Lab under the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action showcased evidence-based, impact-driven partnerships can accelerate climate resilience and help countries achieve climate goals. 📈 Models presented by J-PAL MENA, J-PAL South Asia, and UJALA highlighted evidence from interventions supporting farmers in adapting to climate change. 📢 A big thank you to our speakers, Community Jameel and the High-Level Climate Champions, for their support in making this session possible! #ClimateAction #WaterResilience 🌍 كيف يمكننا تسريع توسيع نطاق مشاريع التكيف المناخي لتحقيق الأهداف العالمية للعمل المناخي؟ 🌿في #COP29 - ضمن فعاليات شراكة مراكش للعمل المناخي العالمي - سلطت جلستنا الضوء على نموذج للشراكات المؤثرة والمستندة إلى الأدلة التي تساعد الدول على تحقيق أهدافها المناخية. 📈 في الجلسة، قدم مركز حابي للسياسات المبتكرة للبيئة بعض نتائج الأبحاث حول التدخلات التي تدعم المزارعين في جهودهم للتكيف مع تغير المناخ، بالإضافة إلى مساهمات من معمل عبد اللطيف جميل لمكافحة الفقر في جنوب آسيا ومعمل الزراعة في أفريقيا القائم في جامعة UM6P. 📢 شكر خاص للمتحدثين ومجتمع جميل، و فريق رواد المناخ على دعمهم في تنفيذ هذه الجلسة!

India’s capital New Delhi is once again covered in a thick layer of smog — the air is toxic and unbreathable. It is a health and an environmental hazard that repeats every year. One big reason for this: crop burning. Farmers, mainly in the northern Indian states of Punjab and Haryana, set crop residues to fire to prepare their lands for growing wheat. Though they are aware of the harmful effects of this practice, cash-strapped farmers often find it hard to adopt environmentally sustainable methods. Conditional cash payments can be an effective way to deal with this problem. That’s what Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) affiliated professors Kelsey Jack, Namrata Kala, Rohini Pande, and Seema Jayachandran found in a 2019 randomized evaluation in Punjab. Here is what they found: 🌾 Cash helped farmers use their preferred residue removal methods  💰 Partial upfront payment helped in building trust with farmers Read more about the study: https://lnkd.in/dK8WtMCs #stubbleburning #AQI #Delhipollution