Independent Research and Policy Advocacy

Publications

Blogs

We produce blogs to discuss new research findings, ongoing projects, and even personal reflections on the research process. Our blogs are written for a variety of audiences, including other researchers, policymakers, practitioners, financial service providers, grassroots organizations, impact investors and the public. The format is simple and easy to grasp. The language is straightforward, and the tone is non-academic. Our blogs can be of varying lengths. We choose to write a blog when we don’t want to do a full- fledged study or follow a rigorous research process. Blogs may contain opinions and they can also be based on experiences. Some of our blogs may just share some observations, learnings, or challenges.

Our Work

December 20, 2024 | Dvara Research

In this blog, we will highlight some interesting facts about agricultural households from the survey through a set of questions that can help contextualise the financial lives of farmers and their families.

December 19, 2024 | Dvara Research

This blog presents key insights from the second round of the survey report, NAFIS 2021-22, and finds that the rural households’ investment portfolio continues to be dominated by physical assets, which is in contrast with the predominance of formal debt on the liabilities side of the household balance sheets.

November 7, 2024 | Dvara Research

According to a report by Crif High Mark, microfinance loans overdue for up to 31-180 days increased from 2.1% in March 2024 to 2.7% in June 2024. While there could be several supply-side factors at play for the rise in defaults, in this blog we direct our attention to reviewing the household side of the story by assessing the changes in household balance sheets post the COVID-19 pandemic.

October 16, 2024 | Dvara Research

This blog presents a self-assessment checklist targeted at UI/UX designers and AA product managers, enabling them to surface gaps in the design of their consent artefacts especially in relation to the vulnerable customer.

October 4, 2024 | Dvara Research

This is the second in a series of blogs which describe our efforts towards building an effective in-app GRM for India’s consumers

September 20, 2024 | Dvara Research

This is the first in a series of blogs which describe our efforts towards building an effective in-app GRM for India’s UPI users

June 11, 2024 | Dvara Research

How can we provide meaningful financial protection to people who are currently not served by health insurance markets (public or private)? This is the issue Bindu and her team at Dvara Health Finance have been working on for the past couple of years.

April 4, 2024 | Dvara Research

This article explores the significance of financial inclusion in determining the financial well-being of Indian households. It discusses a measurement framework developed by Dvara Research and xKDR Forum, focusing on access to and usage of financial products, and financial well-being. Our results from collaborative research with financial service providers shed light on the framework's applicability and its relationship with improved financial outcomes.

By Natasha D’cruze
March 7, 2024 | Dvara Research

In an increasingly digitized world, Digital Financial Services (DFS) have emerged as a key tool for transacting, borrowing, saving, and investing. Policymakers and Financial Service Providers (FSPs) are keen to leverage DFS to advance financial inclusion, particularly for women from Low-Income Households (LIHs).

February 28, 2024 | Dvara Research

Consumer protection in financial services is a core component of Dvara Research’s mission, activities and its advocacy agenda. In this regard, I had the opportunity to participate at Consumers International’s Global Congress 2023, in Nairobi, Kenya, in December 2023.