Current Questions
At the India Research Corps, we constantly source questions from government agencies and civil society organisations across the country. Below is a list of questions that research scholars can take up.
Open Questions
| Research Client | Question | Application |
|---|---|---|
| Gram Vikas | What are the effects of pumping out water from an aquifer on other aquifers in the region? This information will feed into Water Passbook, a tool they are developing. | It will help educate farmers and inform them about how much water they should be pumping out to avoid the depletion of aquifers. |
| Advanced Centre for Integrated Water Resources Management (ACIWRM) | How can data from the Bele Survey app be triangulated with the information from the Irrigation Department to develop real-time water budgets? | The study will enable accurate, real-time water budgeting. |
| Water For People | What will be the impact of universal drinking water access on groundwater availability in the next 25 years in Nalanda district and the state of Bihar? What is the impact on total water abstraction? Where is source sustainability a concern in Nalanda district? | The inputs from this study will inform the water policy for the state of Bihar. |
| Prarambha | How did a ragi eating landscape switch to paddy growing and consuming paddy? | This study will help them understand the forces at play that enabled the systems change and how to engineer the way back. |
| Water For People | In Bihar, in places where there are drinking water tariff structures and collection mechanisms, is there better community engagement and ownership in the form of good operational and financial sustainability of drinking water supply? | Program design can be undertaken based on the inputs from this research study. |
| PRADAN | To what degree has the Agriculture Production Cluster (APC) approach effectively increased the income of participating farmers and contributed to uplifting subsistence farmers into higher proficiency levels? | This study will help in program design to increase farmer income. |
| ACIWRM | Using the Bele survey data on crop yield and crop choice, what is the crop water requirement for crops being grown in Raichur? | Govt departments can use this information to make decisions on when to release canal water to the command areas (time of release, quantum etc). |
| MSSRF | What are the primary drivers and barriers influencing the larger change (and acceptance) in agricultural practices and decision making of farmers to adopt AWD in the context of 5 villages supported by MSSRF in Canal command area of Periyakulam? How do factors such as socio demographic networks, economic incentives, access to information and net benefits (money and yield) shape these decisions? | This study will help the client select more effective demand side interventions in a traditionally paddy-cultivating landscape that is now undergoing changes in climate and rainfall patterns. |
| MSSRF | Based on the observed agronomic and economic outcomes, how do farmers and key stakeholders perceive the long-term sustainability and practical feasibility of adopting AWD in the Periyakulam landscape, and what are the critical enabling or constraining factors influencing its continued use? | This study will help the client select more effective demand side interventions in a traditionally paddy-cultivating landscape that is now undergoing changes in climate and rainfall patterns. |
| ACIWRM | What is the quantum of conjunctive use of water in the Narayanpur Right Bank Canal command area in Raichur district? To what extent do wells compensate for the lack of water from canals? How do people who use wells fare economically compared to head-end paddy farmers who are fully dependent on canal water? | It is assumed that all farmers in the canal command area use canal water. This study will help determine actual use patterns and shape water-management policies. |
| Gram Vikas | What is the correlation between district-level weather forecasts and the weather at the village level? Can a model be developed to establish a correction factor that communities can use to predict the village-level weather from the district-level forecast? | The study will enable better weather forecasting and alerts for farmers. |
Matched Questions
We have already assigned these research questions to master’s students.
| Research Client | Question | Application |
|---|---|---|
| Water For People | Do fertilisers leaching from agricultural lands contaminate surface water and groundwater in a watershed (likely to vary from watershed to watershed and crop to crop)? If there is contamination, does it lead to health-related challenges? | This evidence will be used to put together a programme that helps farmers move away from synthetic fertilisers. |
| ACIWRM | Why do farmers in canal command areas in Maharashtra pay a cess, but farmers in Karnataka do not? | The insights from the study would help create better systems for the functioning of water user cooperative societies and cess collection. |
| ACIWRM | Based on remote sensing data, what is the NDVI signature/source of water being used for irrigation? Can we compare NDVI signatures for canal versus well irrigated crops to answer where the water for irrigation is coming from? | This research study will contribute to the client's work around conjunctive water use in parts of Karnataka. |