Context & Background:
Land governance in India has undergone significant transformation, driven by the integration of technology-led e-governance systems. However, despite these innovations, gaps in state capacity, institutional coordination, and inclusive approaches have hindered effective and equitable outcomes. The IncLand project seeks to address these challenges by demonstrating the potential of capacity building as a scalable and impactful strategy to translate inclusive land reforms into inclusive land administration.
The project focuses on strengthening the capacity of a diverse set of stakeholders—state officials, academicians, technologists, private sector actors, and civil society representatives—to make land governance more efficient, inclusive, and climate-resilient. By partnering with academic institutions (IIMA, FLAME, TISS, DU Faculty of Law) and state administrative training academies (HIPA and YASHADA), IncLand aims to institutionalize training, pedagogy, and research on land administration, thereby creating a sustainable ecosystem of practice and knowledge.
Objectives of the Session:
To introduce the IncLand project framework and its approach to capacity building for inclusive land governance.
To discuss the role of academic and state training institutions in institutionalizing land administration pedagogy and training.
To showcase early insights from pilot engagements with state training institutes (HIPA and YASHADA).
To foster dialogue among policymakers, academic partners, and practitioners on strategies for scaling state capacity-building initiatives.
To identify next steps and partnerships for embedding capacity-building approaches in land governance reform agendas.
Expected Outcomes:
Shared understanding of the IncLand project’s objectives, partnerships, and methodology.
Identification of key success factors and challenges in implementing capacity-building programs.
Insights into replicable models for institutionalizing land administration training.
Recommendations for strengthening convergence between reform and administration through capacity development.
About the session speakers
Mr Shekhar Gaikwad
ADG, YASHADA
Panelist
NA
Mr Ranjan Ghosh
Professor, IIM Ahmedabad
Panelist
NA
Prof Prasad Pathak
Dean - Research, FLAME University
Panelist
Prasad Pathak is a physical geographer with specialization in Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems. Using these techniques Prasad studies various environmental phenomena. For his doctoral work, Prasad studied glacial lakes in arctic Alaska for changes in their trophic structure and its links with surrounding landscapes. He completed his doctoral degree from University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), NC, USA.
Prasad has also worked with Center for GIScience at UNCG as a post-doctoral fellow where he was involved in various research projects, development of research proposals, preparing manuscripts, and developing and conducting GIS training workshops.
In India, Prasad has worked with many reputed institutes (government and private). He has also worked at headquarters of ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute) in California, USA as an intern.
Currently, he is working on urban issues such as urban heat islands, urban walkability and spatial in-justice.
Ms Madhushri Sekhar
Professor, TISS, Mumbai
Panelist
NA
Mr Anil Sain
Professor, Faculty of Law, Delhi University
Panelist
NA
Ms Shivani Gupta
CEO, Womanity
Panelist
NA
Mr Janak Raj Joshi
DG, LMTC, Nepal
Moderator
NA