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Kaustav Banerjee

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Affiliation

  • Associate Professor , School of Global Affairs

Email

    kb@aud.ac.in

Orcid

Qualification

  • Ph.D in Economics, Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, 2008. Thesis Titled “The Political Economy of Backwardness in Agrarian Systems: The Role of Social Groups, States and Markets”

Past Experience

Teaching:

  • Associate Professor of Global Studies, at the School of Global Affairs, Ambedkar University Delhi, 2018 -
  • Assistant Professor, Centre for the Study of Discrimination & Exclusion, School of Social Sciences, JNU, 2013-18.
  • Assistant Professor, Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum, 2012-13.
  • Lecturer at the School of Development Studies, Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD), New Delhi: 2009-10
  • Lecturer at the Department of Business Economics, University of Delhi, New Delhi: 2002-04
  • Lecturer at the Department of Economics, College of Vocational Studies, University of Delhi, New Delhi (on deputation from the Department of Business Economics, DU): July to December 2004 
  • Guest Faculty at the Institute of Technology and Management, Gurgaon: July to November 2002

Research:

  • International Consultant for the International Labour Organization (Iraq). The consultancy was for developing a Roadmap for the Government of Iraq to launch a National Public Works Programme. This project was funded by the ILO (Iraq) 2024-25.
  • Co-Principal Investigator, The Afterlife of Industrial Work: From Factory to the Informal Economy, UNU-WIDER, Helsinki 2019-21.
  • International Consultant for the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR), Government of the Republic of South Africa for formulating models on land reforms, agrarian and rural economic transformation in South Africa, 2016. This project was funded by the Belgian Development Agency (BTC).
  • Consultant for FAO India, “On decentralized mechanisms for the National Food Security Act, India”, 2012.
  • Project Co-ordinator at the Centre for Studies in Science Policy-Economic Research Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Work involved research and policy formulation for rainfed agriculture and low input animal husbandry in India: 2010-12. This project was funded by the Ford Foundation, India.
  • Associate Fellow, Council for Social Development, New Delhi. Research work included constructing statistical indices of social development for the Indian states, Social Audit of PDS in Jharkhand, Impacts of NREGA etc. The Social Development Index focused on the dynamics of interlocked inequalities of caste, class and gender in the Indian context: 2008-10. 
  • Researcher for International Labour Organisation (ILO), Analysis of 61 st round on Employment and Unemployment in India, National Sample Survey Organization on Employment and Labour Market Policies, ILO, South Asia: January 2007.
  • Project  Coordinator  for  the  UNDP,  Ministry  of  Rural  Development and Planning Commission India funded project: “Monitoring and Evaluation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in the states of Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh” It was based on field surveys over  the   months   of   May   and   June   2006  and the final report was  submitted  to  UNDP,  Ministry  of  Rural Development and Planning Commission in 2006.
     

Area of Expertise

  • Dr. Kaustav Banerjee is an economist specializing in agrarian systems, developmental policy and theories of exclusion and discrimination. He has over 20 years of field based research experience in the most backward districts of the country and has also been involved with the policy formulation and implementation process of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005. Additionally, he has been an Advisor to the Core Group of the Socio-Economic & Caste Census, 2011, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India which involved formulation of the pilot methodology and training of state level enumerators. He has also been invited by the Government of Iraq as advisor to formulate a National Public Works Programme, 2024-25, and also by the South African Government, 2016, as advisor for formulating models on land reforms, agrarian and rural economic transformation. He has taught for over two decades in four Indian Universities (DU, CDS, AUD, JNU) and has successfully supervised 3 Doctoral theses and 14 M.Phil dissertations. 

Publications

Journal Articles

Chapters in Books

  • Entry for “Green Revolution” in Key Concepts in Modern Indian Studies, Edited by Gita Dharmpal Frick, Monika Kirolskar Steinbach, Rachel Dwyer, and Jahnavi Phalkey, Oxford University Press, 2015.
  • “Social Development Index, India” in Social Development Report 2010, Oxford Publishing House, New Delhi, India, September, 2010.
  • “Rights in Theory and Practice: A Case study of the NREGA” in Social Development Report 2010, Oxford Publishing House, New Delhi, India, September, 2010.

General Writings

Seminar/Conferences

Invited Lectures:

  • Speaker on Panel Discussion for Conference on “The Agrarian Question and Agrarian Unrest in India” in International conference on The Farmers Protest, A Pioneering Field For Social Sciences organised under the aegis of O.P. Jindal Global University (Haryana), with the support of the Global Environmental Justice (GEJ) Group of the University of East Anglia (UK) on 14-15 May 2021  
  • Valedictory lecture "Towards a Theory of Interlocked Inequalities" in National conference on economic Theory and Policy organised by NIPFP on 31 March 2021
  • Lecture "The Economics of Discrimination" in Refresher Course on Cognitive Economics organised by Department of Economics and UGC-HRDC of MANUU on 12 February 2021
  • Lecture on "Ambedkar’s Contributions to Indian Political Economy: Some methodological implications" in Methodological Contributions of Thinkers - A lecture series on methodology: 3rd Lecture organised by CRM, AUD on 27 Jan 2021
  • Lecture on "Decoding the Farm Laws & Kisan Resistance: Singhu & Beyond" in Webinar organised by Jadavpur University on 2 January 2021
  • Lecture on Agrarian Struggles from Farms to Barricades" in Webinar organised by Collective, JNU on 4 December 2020
  • Guest Lecture on ‘Countering invisibilisation: How does one analyse data through a gendered lens’, by the Centre for Women's Studies, (CWS, JNU), Jawaharlal Nehru University,  07 March 2019.
  • Colloquium Lecture on ‘Theft of livelihoods and the production of criminality: A field view of capitalist accumulation’, by the Centre for the Study of Social Systems (CSSS, JNU), Jawaharlal Nehru University, 31 January 2019.
  • Guest Lecture on ‘Developmentalism in a Democracy: understanding backwardness’, by Centre for Social Medicine And Community Health (CSMCH, JNU), Jawaharlal Nehru University, 24 January 2019.
  • Speaker on Panel Discussion for Conference on “Moving beyond the Margin: The Politics of Exclusion and Assimilation”, by School of Humanities and Languages, Central University of Rajasthan, 15-16 November, 2018.
  • Lecture on “Countering invisibilisation: How does one analyse data through a gendered lens”, School of Gender Studies, TISS Hyderabad, 16 February 2018.
  • Symposium lecture on “Rethinking Employment Policies” in Symposium on Labour, Employment & Public Policy, School of Public Policy and Governance, TISS Hyderabad, 15 February 2018.
  • Lecture on “Informalisation & Marginalisation”, Economics Department, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, West Bengal, 27 December, 2017.
  • Lecture titled "Theft of livelihoods and the production of criminality: a field view of primitive accumulation and exclusion", National Workshop (ICSSR-NRC, New Delhi) on Research Methodology – G B Pant Social Science Institute, Uttar Pradesh, India, 1 – 3 April, 2016
  • Speaker in the session on “Stake in Natural Resources: Land and Forest Rights”  in the 12th All India Convention of Dalit Adivasi Organisations on “Transforming India and Achieving SDGs: Strengthening the stake of Socially Excluded” on 4 – 5 December, 2015  at Mavalankar Hall, Rafi Marg, New Delhi.
  • Chair of session on “Land to Landless Dalits, Adivasis and other landless Marginalised in India”  organised by National Confederation of Dalit Organisations (NACDOR), 31st March, 2015 Indian Social Institute, New Delhi. 
  • Discussant in seminar on ‘Political Economy of Cross-Class Alliances in India’, Centre for Informal Sector and Labour Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and Josef Korbel School of International Studies & University of Denver, Denver, Date: 4-5 March 2015, JNU
  • Guest lecture on "Agrarian Matters: Relevant issues for the Indian Economy" at Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, JNU, 23rd September 2014 
  • Guest lecture on “Basic Tenets of Political Economy”, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvanthapuram 10th March, 2014
  • Lecture on “Agrarian Development”, University of Hyderabad, School of Economics – 10th May 2013
  • Lecture delivered in Plenary Session on “Labour as a Democratizing Force in South Africa and   Beyond”   at   Global   Labour   University ,   NUMSA   Conference   Center,   Newto wn, Johannesburg, 28 September, 2011.
  • Lecture delivered  in Plenary Session on  “Rethinking Development: Searching for Alternatives” , invited by the Centre for Study o f Social Exclusion & Inclusive Policy, Faculty of Social Sciences, Benaras Hindu University , 31st March, 2012.
  • Lecture   delivered   on   “Botanical   Battlegrounds:   Indigenous   Knowledge   Systems   vs. Intellectual   Property   Rights” ,   invited   by   the   Centre   for   Advanced   Studies,   Burdwan University, West Bengal, 1st  October, 2008.
  • Lecture delivered on “Relevance of Unorthodox Economic Theory in Public Policy: A case study  of  the  NREGA” ,  invited  by  Department  of  Economics,  Burdwan  University, West Bengal,  3rd October’2008.

Seminars:

  • Paper titled “What can political-economy contribute to an archive of the marginalized” presented at National Seminar on “Archiving Marginalities: Documenting Narratives of the Oppressed” 16-17 March 2016, CES, JNU.
  • Paper titled “Interlocked markets in rural areas” presented at National Seminar on Dynamics of Rural Labour Relations in India, 10-12 March, 2016, NIRD, Hyderabad.
  • Paper titled “New forms of Forced Commerce & Agrarian Crises:A field view from Marathwada” presented at Seminar on “Agrarian Questions in Contemporary Indian Politics” 18-19 February, 2016, CPS, JNU. 
  • Paper titled "Interlocked Nature of the Agrarian Crisis: Some preliminary observations on farmers suicides in Beed, Maharashtra" presented at Seminar on “Agrarian Crisis” 16-17 January, 2016, Barnala, Punjab.
  • Paper titled “Ambedkar’s Contributions to Indian Developmental Planning: A Political-economic Analysis” National Seminar entitled “Ambedkar’s Contribution to Nation Building: Historical Role Relevance and Contemporary Challenges” held at School of Social Sciences, JNU, 24-25 February, 2014.
  • Paper titled "Rainfed Agriculture-Nutrition Pathways in Backward Areas: Can Right Based Approaches Deliver?", National Seminar on Food Security Ordinance 2013 & Its Implications on Backward States at A. N. Sinha Institute of Social Studies, Patna, (September 11-12, 2013
  • Paper titled “Crossing the Rubicon of Backwardness: Analysing Effects of public employment on discriminated social groups in India” International Seminar on  Social Mobility and Inequality in post-reform India jointly organized by the Centre of Global South Asian Studies, University of Copenhagen and Dept of Sociology, Delhi University, at Delhi University,  7-8th  November 2013
  • Paper titled “Patronising  Distribution  :  Tackling  poverty  through  Public  Distribution  System s  in India”  Paper  presented  at  Conference  “Science,  Technology  and  Medicine  in  India, 1930-2000: The Problem of Poverty” organised by the Centre for the Study of History of Medicine, Warwick University , UK,  12-14 October, 2011.
  • Paper titled “Unfree labour and Neoliberal regimes of Accumulation” Paper presented at Global Labour   University   Conference   organised   by   University   of   Witwatersrand,  South Africa, 29-31 September, 2011.
  • Paper titled “The State, Indigenous Societies and the Dynamics of Power: A Case study of Forests, Laws and Crime in the Central Forest Regions of India” presented at British Association   of   South   Asian   Studies (BASAS)  Conference,   Edinburgh   University, Scotland, 12-13 March, 2009.
  • Paper titled “Developmentalism   in   a   Democracy   and   the   Paradox   of   Backwardness presented at Conference on “Experiencing  the  State:  Marginalised  People  and  the Politics of Development” organised by Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Cambridge, UK, 12-13 March, 2009.
     
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