25th April, 2020
It has been two years since the State
Government of Telangana implemented the Rythu Bandhu Scheme, an
agriculture income support scheme linked to land records. Around the
same time, three other states, namely, Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra
Pradesh announced similar schemes in their respective states. However,
unlike the other states that have rolled out such schemes, the state
government of Telangana undertook a state-wide land records updation
drive prior to rolling out the Rythu Bandhu scheme. The drive involved
involved the rectification of errors in land records, updating the
land records and the issuance of digital and secured pattadar
passbooks to the owners of agricultural land parcels. This makes
Telangana an interesting and unique state to study from the
perspective of both land records and their linkages to welfare
distribution. Two years since the implementation of the Rythu Bandhu
Scheme, a lot has been written in the mass media about the successes
and failures of the scheme.
This webinar brings together research scholars, policy
makers and officers of the state government involved in the last-mile
implementation of the Rythu Bandhu and the immediately preceding land
records updation drive. The objective of this roundtable is to present
in-depth research undertaken by FRG on the Rythu Bandhu scheme and the
lessons to be drawn for the state of Telangana as well as other states
that have rolled out similar schemes.
| 11:00 - 11:10 | Opening Remarks
Shreya Deb, Omidyar Network |
| 11:10 – 11:50 | Linking welfare distribution to land records: a case-study of the Rythu
Bandhu Scheme (RBS) in Telangana [presentation]
Diya Uday, Finance Research Group Discussant: Devendra Damle, NIPFP |
| 11:50 – 12:50 | Panel discussion: Two years of Rythu Bandhu: capacity, implementation
and lessons Bhargavi Zaveri, Finance Research Group (Moderator) J.P. Narayan, Loksatta Party Narsing Rao, Government of Telangana Shilpa Kumar, Omidyar Network Barun Mitra, Liberty Institute |
| 12:50 – 13:00 | Closing Remarks Susan Thomas, IGIDR |
Speakers whose names are marked in boldface have confirmed there presence.