Independent Research and Policy Advocacy

Publications

Research Papers

Research Paper or Working Paper is the culmination of a research process and critical thinking. Here, we present our findings of primary research, surveys, and/or literature review in a format that is mostly found in academic papers. These may take us several months to produce and may involve a slow pace and deliberate reflection by the researchers.

Our Work

November 15, 2019 | Dvara Research

This paper presents ideas for a new approach to enforcement of a data protection regime, based on risk-based supervision and the use of a range of responsive enforcement tools that could be deployed in advance of a breach to prevent it, or after a breach to mitigate the effects.

By Beni Chugh, Malavika Raghavan, Nishanth Kumar
October 24, 2019 | Dvara Research

Three issues that the RBI must prioritize as it seeks to revise MFI regulations. While the prescriptive nature of these regulations has helped by setting in place core systems, processes and an overall structure towards better compliance, there is a growing concern over the capability of the current regime to effectively protect borrowers from over-indebtedness.

By Deepti George, Nishanth Kumar
September 19, 2019 | Dvara Research

Regulators and even the government have off-late been invested in understanding the landscape of fintech activities and devising an appropriate response to its attendant risks and opportunities.

By The Future Of Finance Initiative
April 1, 2019 | Dvara Research

India is a bank-dominated financial system with most of the financial assets belonging to the banking sector.

By Nishanth Kumar
February 20, 2019 | Dvara Research

This Note has been prepared for regulated lending institutions who are in the business of offering small-ticket short-term unsecured loans with equated monthly or weekly repayment schedules, to low-income individuals and households in India.

February 19, 2019 | Dvara Research

The objectives of sustainable businesses are well-aligned with ensuring the financial health of households, and this holds true for all types of lending businesses.

July 23, 2018 | Dvara Research

The effectiveness of a future Indian data protection regime would hinge largely on the capacity and approach to supervision and enforcement. The paper discusses some novel ideas to guide the enforcement of a data protection regime.

By The Future Of Finance Initiative
January 19, 2017 | Dvara Research

In December 2014, the Reserve Bank of India published the Charter of Customer Rights as a commitment to protecting the interests of consumers of financial services.

By Vaishnavi Prathap
December 27, 2016 | Dvara Research

In this paper, we attempt to develop a granular understanding of the relationship between credit (as measured by total bank credit outstanding in a district) and economic growth (as measured by Gross District Domestic Product) for 32 districts of Tamil Nadu

By Nishanth Kumar, Irene Baby
December 21, 2016 | Dvara Research

Rapid expansion in the microfinance sector has been credited with advancing financial inclusion in India, even as much of this growth has focused exclusively on simple group loans and credit-linked insurance.

By Vaishnavi Prathap, Rachit Khaitan