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Motivation: India has seen severe economic and social impacts from COVID-19, with the most vulnerable people having suffered most. Mumbai's response has been multi-faceted, drawing on numerous actors such as local and state government, but also businesses and citizens. Disaster management is increasingly necessary and Mumbai's policy response during wave two of COVID-19 provides relevant lessons. Purpose: We explain Mumbai's policy response to wave two of COVID-19, termed the Mumbai model, applying a systems-thinking approach. Methods and approach: We adopt a systems-thinking approach, applying a framework developed in Duvendack and Sonne (2021) to analyse a case study based on secondary data and information on the policy response to COVID-19 in Mumbai. Findings: The Mumbai model emerged as a pragmatic policy response. Key actors changed between waves one and two, from a broad set of actors to a narrower set focused on the unfolding healthcare crisis. This resulted in a reconfiguration of networks and partnerships. Decentralized decision-making further changed the structure of the networks to a hub-and-spoke model. Communication and feedback loops shifted from primarily top-down to two-way information flows to support decision-making and resource allocation driven by data. This was enabled by clear leadership and political support. Policy implications: To tackle a crisis of this magnitude, having diverse actors collaborating effectively through networks that enable knowledge and information flows is crucial. Governments can use the systems approach for crisis management in large cities which require swift action and efficient flow of information to assess a situation and to prioritize response efforts. Further research is required to better understand how governments can build capacity and policy structures to enable systemic approaches to crisis management in varied contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, India has led the drive for financial inclusion of poor rural women to facilitate attainment of development objectives like poverty alleviation and women's empowerment. More recently, it has promoted digital financial inclusion to further its fight against poverty and gender inequality and support the attainment of UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this paper we take stock of how India's digital financial revolution has affected financial transactions and services with a focus on gender inclusivity for the attainment of the SDGs. We propose a framework to understand the gender inclusivity of digital financial inclusion initiatives that connects the macro developments in the sector with the micro-level experiences of improving women's access and use of these services. We draw on India's nationwide developments and present a case study of an initiative that specifically promotes gender inclusive finance. Our findings suggest that India has made great advances in promoting digital financial inclusion but at the same time, the country has struggled to achieve gender parity even within specific finance-focused programmes designed to improve gender inclusivity. We reflect on policy implications of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kenya has seen unprecedented declines in fertility from the late 1970s, which stalled during the decade from the mid-1990s, only to resume in the early 2000s when Kenya experienced rapid growth in financial inclusion. In this paper, we do not intend to make causal explanations of these phenomena; instead, we explore what may be sensible to adduce from relationships between fertility and financial inclusion. The Kenyan context presents some unique challenges to establish such connections; regional geographic and ethnic differences, spatial and temporal uneven economic growth, diverse legacies of colonialism, all of which may have affected how fertility trends and financial inclusion activities played out. We find that while modernisation variables such as urbanisation, education, wealth and employment are convincingly related to lower fertility levels, there is little plausible evidence of a role for financial inclusion. More plausible explanations may be found in the country's colonial history, ethnic identities and post-independence politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 has severely impacted the society not only in terms of health but also in terms of economic survival of individuals. Unless adequate support is provided, the pandemic will have long-lasting effects, especially on the lives of the most vulnerable, often working in the informal sector. In this article, we present a case study drawing on systems thinking and complexity theory, outlining how the city of Mumbai has responded to COVID-19. We find a multifaceted scenario where non-profit organizations, businesses and citizen volunteers operate alongside government bodies to support Mumbai's population to overcome this pandemic. We provide broader policy lessons, as well as more specific lessons in relation to particular actors, from the first wave of the pandemic stressing the importance of becoming 'systems thinkers' and highlighting the importance of forming new partnerships and exploring new modes of knowledge sharing to effectively respond to crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the future of Progress in Development Studies (PIDS) and the challenges faced by the field of Development Studies. The outgoing Editor-in-chief, Dr. Catherine Locke, is praised for her dedication to the journal and her commitment to building an inclusive platform. The editorial team, taking over from Dr. Locke, acknowledges the distressing state of the world, with only 12% of progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on track. The article highlights the interconnectedness of global crises and the need for more equal political relations. It also emphasizes the importance of reflexive and critical scholarship in Development Studies, which should reassess contemporary socio-economic and politico-ecological trends. The article calls for decolonizing the academy and addressing power imbalances in research partnerships. It argues for the inclusion of historically non-dominant narratives and voices in academic journals and challenges the Eurocentric practices of peer-reviewing. The article concludes by stating that Development Studies must be critical and question the institutions, policies, and practices that have led to the current state of the world. [Extracted from the article]