Independent Research and Policy Advocacy

Policy Initiatives

Household Finance

Dvara Research’s Household Finance Research initiative aims to rigorously understand the financial choices and decisions of low-income or excluded individuals and households, and their relation to achieving households’ objectives. It has been our consistent endeavour to study financial inclusion as a gateway to a suite of appropriate financial services eventually enabling well-rounded household balance sheets and consumer financial well-being.

Misha Sharma Dvara

Misha Sharma

Head - Household Finance

Natasha D’cruze Dvara

Natasha D’cruze

Research Associate

Niyati Agrawal Dvara

Niyati Agrawal

Research Associate

Priyadarshini Ganesan Dvara

Priyadarshini Ganesan

Senior Research Associate

Risha Ramachandran Dvara

Risha Ramachandran

Research Consultant

Latest works

December 10, 2010 | Dvara Research

In this paper, we present two stylized models of the financial system. We make the case that in order to realize the potential of a well-functioning complete financial market, financial system designers and financial service providers will need to think about ways to deliver financial propositions that are customized to individual households by responding to their unique circumstances.

By Dr. Nachiket Mor, Suyash Rai, Bindu Ananth, Dvara Research
November 10, 2010 | Dvara Research

Finance Matters column in The Hindu Business Line – Farzana Najeeb of Advocacy writes the fifth article in the series.

By Farzana Najeed
November 2, 2010 | Dvara Research

The recent controversy surrounding the microfinance sector has entirely eclipsed the fact that it is the first effort in India to have delivered financial services to remote corners of the country in a self-sustaining manner.

By Dr. Nachiket Mor, Bindu Ananth
October 27, 2010 | Dvara Research

Having understood the deep transformative potential of access to finance and the barriers to accessing it, here's a look at the fundamentals of the MFI cost structure in delivering finance.

By Puneet Gupta, Nitin Chaudhary
October 5, 2010 | Dvara Research

"In 5 years, our village would have metal roads, hospitals and old-age homes to take care of the poor, the poor women who work for others now would become employers, giving employment opportunities to many other under-privileged people.

By Balajee GE
August 31, 2010 | Dvara Research

Did you know that only half the adult population in the world has access to a bank account? More than 3 billion people don’t have access to savings accounts, and they are predominantly the world’s poorest people who live on less than US$2 per day.

By Ignacio Mas-Ribo
August 16, 2010 | Dvara Research

The announcement of National Pension System (NPS) Lite, a pension plan geared towards economically disadvantaged populations, brings hope for much needed money during non-productive years

By Natalie Colatosti
August 13, 2010 | Dvara Research

Fundamental to the growth and development of an industry is the research that aids its practice, especially in the context of microfinance in India.

By Dvara Research
July 6, 2010 | Dvara Research

Sucharita Mukherjee and Kirthi Rao talk about the importance of quality of underwriting standards in microfinance institutions. This is the first in a series of articles by the authors on the topic “Unearthing the real issues in microfinance".

By Sucharita Mukherjee, Kirthi Rao
June 29, 2010 | Dvara Research

The National Bureau of Economic Research recently published a working paper by Robert T. Jensen and Nolan H. Miller on this topic.

By Dvara Research