Call for Papers

Call for Papers Jigyasa: Documenting Bihar's Development Journey

For achieving Bihar @ 2025, Government of Bihar has embarked upon one of its most

comprehensive and collaborative efforts Badh Chala Bihar. In the next 8 to 10 weeks, Badh

Chala Bihar aspires to reach 4 crore people through 40,000 events. Over 10,000 Government

officials and civil society members, through the use of traditional and new age media, will create

layered platforms for exchange and initiate a direct conversation with the citizens of Bihar to set

up a strong framework for setting medium to long-term goals through multifaceted, tailored

interactions with different sections of society.

One of the event formats, Jigyasa, calls for research papers in the interest of knowledge sharing

and dissemination of best practices. Researchers and students from educational institutions and

think tanks are invited to study and document Bihars accomplishments on identified topics

across prescribed areas of research like economic and social indicators, law and order, etc.

The event will be conducted in two stages: a qualifying round, and a final round consisting of

further desk and field research. Details of stages are as follows:

In the first and qualifying round, research proposals along with a Field Research

Utilization Plan, will be invited on specified topics (detailed below). Interested

participants will be given approximately four weeks from the date of announcement of

the areas of research to submit this proposal

On the basis of these submissions, five selected teams will be invited to Bihar to conduct

sponsored field research during the designated field research period of one week

The final submissions selected by a panel of judges will be published in a Government of

Bihar publication

Based on the final reports incorporating the results of the field research, the three most

qualified papers will be selected by a panel for presentation to the State leadership of

Bihar, at the culmination event

Important Dates for Participants

Description of Tasks Timeline

Deadline for submission of proposal 5thJuly

Announcement of final 5 qualifying teams 10thJuly

Orientation for field teams 15thJuly

Field Research Period and Final Paper Preparation Period 16thJuly - 23rdJuly

Deadline for submission of final paper 24thJuly

Announcement of the 3 Best Papers & the Culmination Event 1stAugust

Incentives Participants at various levels will be awarded at the culmination event.

Details of the rewards are as follows:

Top 5 Finalists: Field research in Bihar, sponsored by the GoB; papers will be published in

a Government of Bihar Publication

Fellowships for Winning Team: Winning teams members will be provided fellowship

opportunities with the Chief Ministers Office in Bihar

Winning Research: Rs. 1,00,000

1st Runner up team: Rs. 50,000

2nd Runner up team: Rs. 25,000

3rd and 4th Runner up teams: Rs. 15,000 to each team

20 teams, with the best proposals, apart from the top 5 teams, will also get cash prizes of Rs.

5,000 each

Eligibility Eligibility criteria for participating in the competition are as follows

Teams must consist of five members.

At least one out of five members in each team should be either a current student with an

undergraduate or post-graduate educational institution and/or else is able to demonstrate an

academic affiliation with a research organization and/or think tank.

Topics Participants must choose one of the following topics to submit their research proposals.

Additionally, participants can refer here for detailed abstracts on each topic that are provided

solely for the purpose of having a brief overview of the topics concerned.

Women Empowerment

Bihar has implemented several path breaking initiatives for women such as, Mukhyamantri

Balika Cycle Yojna, the introduction of 50 % reservation in PRIs, both concepts pioneered by

the State. These and other initiatives have resulted in strengthening the role of women, and

allowing them greater participation in society.

Examine and explore such initiatives in the state of Bihar which have contributed towards

women having a greater presence in the social, economic and political sphere.

Education

Bihar has taken several initiatives to improve the education status of the state. Bihar witnessed

a growth of 16.3% in literacy levels from 2001 to 2011 (Census, India). Moreover, improvement

in Female Literacy Rate during the same period (20 percentage points) was the highest ever

achieved by any state in India.

Examine the design and implementation of the interventions by the Government of Bihar that

helped raise education profile of the state.

Law and Order

The Government of Bihar has taken ingenious, on-the-ground action, such as the creation of

Special Auxiliary Police in order to further stabilize law and order in Bihar. Further, between

2006 and 2012, more than 78000 accused were convicted in Bihar (Bihar State Police, 2006-

2012).

Examine how these and other innovative approaches, have helped in securing a significant

number of convictions and improved the law and order scenario in the State.

Health

In the past decade, Bihar has taken great strides in providing quality infrastructure and

implementing several schemes in the healthcare sector. Amongst other indicators, this is

evidenced by a 30% decline in Infant Mortality Rate and 59% decline in Maternal Mortality Rate

between 2005 & 2012 (Planning Commission, India).Moreover, from immunization coverage of

17% in 2005, the percentage of fully immunized children has increased to 69.9 per cent in 2013

(AHS, 2012-13).

Examine specific interventions and schemes undertaken by the GoB, particularly in areas such as

institutional delivery and immunization coverage, to achieve an improvement in health

indicators.

Agriculture

The average growth rate of GSDP in the agriculture sector is 5.35% for the period 2005 06 to

201314 (Planning Commission, India).The agriculture sector in Bihar has outperformed the

national average by 100 basis points. Production of rice has grown seven times faster and that of

wheat has grown two times faster than the national average.

Analyze and document the efforts of the Government of Bihar that has led to the growth in

agricultural productivity in Bihar, over the past decade.

Guidelines for Submission

Prior to submitting entries, please visit the following link and register all team members.

Research Proposal

The research proposal should be between 1500 2000 words

The deadline for the submission of research proposals is5th July.

An indicative format for the research proposal submission can be found here

Research proposals shall conform to recognized styles of citation (APA, MLA, Oxford,

Bluebook)

Field Research Utilization Plan(FRUP)

Research Proposals shall also include an appendix briefly outlining a plan for the utilisation

of the Field Research Period and tentative data requirements.

The FRUP must adhere to the format communicated to registered participants, please check

the website regularly for more details.

Final Submissions The final paper shall not exceed 8000 words, which should be inclusive of a short paragraph

introducing the team

An indicative format for the research will be made available to final teams

Final papers shall conform to recognized styles of citation (APA, MLA, Oxford, Bluebook)

In addition to the final paper, teams are mandated to post video blogs of their field research

journeys, restricted to a maximum of ten minutes

For further details email at [email protected] and contact +91(0)612-302-1818

For FAQs, click here

For Terms and Conditions, click here

Topics Detailed topics of the call for paper are given below.

Womens Empowerment Examine Bihars efforts towards women empowerment in the state through the execution

of thoughtful and innovative implementation of policies and initiatives.

Throughout history, women have played a vital role in Bihars journey towards development.

The state has set a benchmark for being the first state to provide 50% reservation for women in

local governance institutions (PRIs). Further, the state has also provided 35% reservations in the

police force for women from the rank of constables to Deputy Superintendent of Police. Bihar

has witnessed a decline in Maternal Mortality Rate by 43.9% between 2001 and 2013. The state

has also been successful in narrowing the gender gap in education by 7 percentage points from

2001-11. Female literacy has also seen an increase from 33.57% to 59.68% during the same

period.

Due to the efforts made by the Government to eliminate sex selective abortion, the state now has

a higher sex ratio (0-6 years) of 933 in comparison to the national average (914). The

MukhyamantriKanyaSurkshaYojna initiated by the state has also helped in improving the sex

ratio. By 2013, approximately 10.66 lakh girls had benefitted from the scheme.

Further, in 2012, the Bihar government initiated the gender budget as a significant component of

its annual budget. The gender budget has seen a growth rate of 15.8%, annually, between 2008

and 2012. As a result there has been a 40% increase in the amount allocated under womens

welfare schemes. In addition to this, the Government has initiated several women centred

schemes such as Women Empowerment Policy, Mukhyamantri Nari Shakti Yojna, Akshar

Aanchla Yojna, Mukhyamantri Balika Cycle Yojna, Jeevika, Mukhyamantri Kanya Suraksha

Yojana. This has resulted in an improvement in the status of women in the state.

Assess the role of government interventions towards empowering women and how it has enabled

them in becoming more engaged citizens.

Education Bihar witnessed a growth of 16.3 percentage points in literacy levels from 2001-2011

(Census, India). Examine the role played by the Government of Bihars policies which have

led to the increase in literacy rates.

The last decade in Bihar (2004-14) has seen an unprecedented development in education. Efforts

by the Government of Bihar to increase accessibility to educational facilities in the state are

showing signs of positive change. The literacy rate in Bihar has improved from 47.0% in 2001 to

61.8% in 2011, implying an increase of 14.8 percentage points. Bihars improvement in Female

Literacy Rate during 2001-11 (20 percentage points) was the highest ever achieved by any state

in India during that period. The overall dropout rate and number of out-of-school children have

also declined. The number of higher education institutions increased from 63 to 252 during the

period 2001-12.

This growth is the result of several innovative schemes initiated by the Government of Bihar;

Mukhyamantri Poshak Yojana and Mukhyamantri Akshar Anchal Yojana, to name a few.

Further, expenditure on education (both Planned and Non-Planned) has more than doubled from

2007 to 2013 and more teachers have been recruited, and there has been a large increase in the

elementary education budget. These and other factors have helped increase literacy rate in Bihar.

Examine how interventions by the Government of Bihar have succeeded in spreading literacy in

the state.

Law and Order Examine how innovative measures undertaken by the Government helped in improving the

law and order situation in the state.

Bihar has been deemed a good performing state in the Planning Commission report (2012),

Refining State Level Comparisons. There has been a 53.7% decrease in the number of dacoity

cases and a 41.4% decrease in the number of cases for robbery. In addition to this, kidnapping

for ransom saw an 85% decline from 2004 to 2014. This may be attributed to the declining levels

of crime in the state. Due to a number of speedy trials, convictions have increased by 55.3%

between 2006 and 2010.

The Bihar Governments expenditure on its police force over the years, has led to improved law,

order and governance in the state. In 2005, there was a severe shortage in police personnel. To

mitigate this shortage, a Special Auxiliary Police of 5000 retired constables from the Indian

Army was established. The Bihar Special Court Act, 2009 established six special courts for faster

trail of cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Due to the success of these and other

innovations, they are now being replicated by other Indian states.

Examine and explore these and/or other initiatives undertaken by the Government of Bihar to

further improve law and order in the state.

Agriculture Average growth rate of GSDP in the agriculture sector of Bihar is 5.35% for the period

2005-06 to 2013-14 (Planning Commission, India). Within this period, the average growth

rate of 4.62% (2006-2009) rose up to 9.06% (2009-2013). Analyse and document the efforts

of Government of Bihar which led to a notable growth in agricultural productivity in the

state, within the past decade.

The agricultural sector in Bihar has been one of the most important sectors in the states

economy with an estimated 74% of the total population employed in it. Apart from being the

largest producer of vegetables and the second largest producer of fruits, it is also a major

producer of maize, sugarcane, wheat, rice and potato. In the fiscal year 2012-13, the total food

grain production in the state was 17.2 million tonnes. Apart from the positive impact of other

agricultural initiatives, this change has also been facilitated by promoting the System of Rice

Intensification (SRI) which has led to record breaking figures in rice production.

In addition to this, due to efforts of the Government of Bihar to provide electricity and proper

irrigation to all villages, the production of rice has grown at seven times faster and that of wheat

has grown two times faster than the national average.

Examine and explore the effects of these and/or other measures taken by the Government of

Bihar, in order to improve productivity in the agricultural sector in the state.

Health Bihar has recorded a 30% decline in Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and 59% decline in

Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) between 2005-2012 (Planning Commission, India).

Examine specific interventions and schemes undertaken by the Government of Bihar, such

as bettering institutional delivery and immunisation coverage, etc, in order to achieve

improved health and welfare of the citizens.

Indicators such as Total Fertility Rate (TFR), Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Crude Death Rate

(CDR) and Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) have shown a significant improvement in public

health sector in Bihar. The states IMR decreased by 0.4 points while Indias declined by 0.3

points, and MMR has decreased by 43.9% between 2001 and 2013.

This has been made possible through better infrastructure, drugs and equipments, augmentation

of human resources for health services, and proper monitoring of health centres. Initiatives such

as Janani Evam Bal Suraksha Yojna, Indira Gandhi Matriyva Sahyog Yojna, Manav Vikas Yojna

and the involvement of the private sector in support services have facilitated these changes.

Explore and examine the policies initiated by the Government in the interest of public health

improvement in Bihar.

Format of research proposals Format requirements of the Proposal are as follows:

Times New Roman 12 point font

1.5 line spacing

1 inch margin on all sides

No headers/ footers

Further the proposal should contain the following information:

Title The topic chosen can be used as the title or the team can come up with an

innovative name that suits their paper. It should be descriptive, yet concise.

Introduction A paragraph summarizing their topic, hypothesis, data collection method,

analysis techniques, possible outcomes etc.

Design This section describes the type and method of primary and secondary research

the team intends to undertake.

Literature Review/ Secondary Research This section must give a thorough

description and understanding of the work that already exists on the topic, methods used

and conclusions of the work already done in the field. Lastly, this section should

delineate the relevance of the literature reviewed in support of the hypothesis of your

research paper.

Expected Outcomes, Scope and Limitations This section should cover the projected

applicability and value that the research team expects the research will have. The section

will gauge how the information can be made useful for general and broad utilization,

create alternatives, and thereby defend assertions made in the paper.

References This section must spell out where the information is drawn from for the

purposes of research, and should follow a recognized format

Annexure This section must delineate/outline and flesh-out the field utilization plan of

the team. To make things standard across all papers, information that must be provided

will be shared with registered participants or on the website

Please also note

Research proposals must conform to recognized styles of citation (APA, MLA, Oxford,

Bluebook)

Citations need only be mentioned at the end of the paper and not included or mentioned

in footer

FAQs

Frequently asked questions and their answers follow in this section.

Q) Who is organizing Jigyasa?

A) Jigyasa is being organized by the Information and Public Relations Department, Government

of Bihar.

Q) What are the dates for Jigyasa?

A) The call for paper opens on the 10th of June and application deadline for submission of

proposals is the 5th of July. Five final teams will be announced by the 10th of July. Field Research

Period and Final Paper Preparation Period will be from the 16th to the 23rd of July. The final

paper must be submitted by the 24th of July. Finally, announcement of the winning paper and

prize distribution will take place on the culmination event will take place on the 1st of August.

Q) What are the various stages in Jigyasa?

A) The event will be conducted in two stages. In the first stage, you will be required to submit a

research proposal. If selected, you will be invited to conduct a government funded field and desk

research in Bihar. In the second stage, your research paper will be judged by subject matter

experts.

Q)What are the incentives for research teams to participate in Jigyasa?

A) The final awardees will receive cash prizes of over Rupees 3 lakhs. Five teams, shortlisted to

submit final papers, will be invited to undertake sponsored field research in Bihar. Select final

papers and/or video submissions submitted, of fieldwork experiences, will be published in a

journal and, also presented to the state leadership. Further, fellowships within the Chief

Ministers Office in Bihar will also be offered to the winning team.

Q) What is the duration of the fellowship being awarded to members of the winning team?

A) The Fellowship will continue for a period of six months to one year

Q) How will the shortlisted proposals and the eventual winners be announced?

A) They will be announced through digital properties (website, social media). In addition, a

confirmation email will also be sent to all the shortlisted teams.

Q) Who is eligible to apply?

A) Teams consisting of five members with at least one out of five members in each team should

be either a current student with an undergraduate or post-graduate educational institution and/or

else is able to demonstrate an academic affiliation with research organization and/or think tank.

It is mandatory for one member of the team to be affiliated to the above mentioned

organizations. The rest of the four members may or may not be.

Q) How many teams will qualify to conduct field research?

A) A total of five teams.

Q) How much of the field research is sponsored?

A) Accommodation and travel during the field research period will be organized by the

Government of Bihar. A specified amount of daily allowance for every team member to account

for food and stationery expenses will also be provided. The sole responsibility of expenses

beyond the said amount lies with the respective research teams.

Q) Does the research need to be only quantitative or qualitative?

A) The research may be qualitative or quantitative in nature. It may also combine both methods.

Q) Will any assistance be provided while conducting research such as points of contact

relevant to the study?

A) Efforts will be made to get the researchers in touch with the relevant authorities/stakeholders

as and when needed. However, this will be subject to their availability. But the requirements of

the researchers must be clearly spelled out in phase one within the submitted Field Research

Utilisation Plan (FRUP).

Q) Is FRUP mandatory and why?

A) Submission of FRUP is mandatory. The FUP is a document that must be adhered to during

the field research period. It will facilitate the organization of travel, accommodation and the

involvement of designated stakeholders for field research in a seamless manner.

Q) Are the locations of the field component fixed?

A) The GoB has identified a broad route map of a week-long field component. The research

team can, within these locations, choose to visit any adjacent area or locality as is detailed within

their specific FRUP to undertake relevant research.

Terms and Conditions

By participating in this call for papers, teams are deemed to have consented to the following:

1. Closing date for submissions for calls for paper is 5th July, 2015. No submissions will be

accepted after this date.

2. The Selection Committees decision will be final and binding for all participants. These

decisions include, but may not be limited to: Selection of the top 20 teams, Selection of five

final teams who will be sponsored for the field research component, Selection of teams that

will present to the state leadership, Selection of teams whose papers will be published,

Selection of final winning team and the team that will be offered the fellowship.

3. All submissions must be written in English and submitted in online in PDF format, bearing in

mind the specific formatting instructions.

4. The Government of Bihar reserves the right to, and will, monitor or screen submissions prior

to publishing / posting them.

5. By providing a submission, the teams agree that their submission may be published on the

Government of Bihars related websites, based on the Government of Bihars sole discretion.

6. All submissions become the sole property of the Government of Bihar.

7. By providing a submission, the submitter grants to Government of Bihar, an exclusive,

perpetual, transferable license to copy, publish, broadcast, display, distribute, use, edit,

translate, alter, combine with other material, reuse and adapt any or all portions of the

submissions in any way and for any purpose whatsoever, at any time, now or in the future, in

any media now known or hereafter devised throughout the world in any manner whatsoever

and for any purpose.

8. Submissions that are not in accordance with the guidelines as stated herein or are not

received during the contest submission period will be ineligible.

9. Incomplete, illegible, false, plagiarised, deceptive or garbled submissions are not eligible.

Any submission that, in the sole opinion of the Government of Bihar, is deemed to be

inappropriate for publication is ineligible.

10. The Government of Bihar reserves the right to modify these terms and conditions during the

course of the event.

11. Submissions must not:

1. be sexually explicit or suggestive, violent or derogatory of any ethnic, racial, gender,

religious, professional or age group, profane or pornographic, contain nudity or any

materially dangerous activity;

2. promote alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, firearms/weapons (or the use of any of the

foregoing), any activities that may appear unsafe or dangerous, or any particular political

agenda or message;

3. be obscene or offensive, endorse any form of hate or hate group;

4. contain trademarks, logos or trade dress owned by others, or advertise or promote any

brand or product of any kind without permission, or contain any personal identification,

such as license plate numbers, personal names, email addresses or street addresses

without permission;

5. contain copyrighted materials owned by third parties (including photographs, sculptures,

paintings and other works of art or images published on or in websites, television, movies

or other media) without permission or referencing;

6. contain materials embodying the names, likenesses, photographs, or other indicia

identifying any person, living or dead, without permission; and

7. depict, and cannot itself be in, a violation of any law.

12. By submitting a submission participating teams warrant and represent that it:

1. is the teams original work,

2. has not been previously published,

3. has not received previous awards,

4. does not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity or other

intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity;

13. By applying for this call for papers, teams understand that the Government of Bihar and its

associates may at any time decide not to go ahead with this call for paper.

14. The Government of Bihar and its associates are not bound to accept any of the papers

submitted.

15. The Government of Bihar and its associates does not accept any responsibility with regards

many law suits or disputes arising out of any aspects of the proposals and papers written,

researched and submitted for this call for paper.

16. Any delay or failure in the performance by either by the Government of Bihar and its

associates shall be excused if and to the extent caused by the occurrence of a Force Majeure.