VIDURAHOUSE

Events

Events

Rooms where an argument can change a decision — from the annual Vidura Lecture to closed-door roundtables.

Upcoming

On the calendar

  • 24Jul 2026

    Pricing defence offsets honestly

    Closed-door roundtable · In person, no attribution

    A closed-door roundtable on what defence offsets actually deliver. Participants from the services, industry and the audit community will examine offset banking, indigenisation multipliers and the paper trails behind both — and ask why claimed value so often runs ahead of verified value. Held under strict no-attribution rules; a summary of conclusions, without names, will be published afterwards.

    Upcoming

  • 21Aug 2026

    The Vidura Lecture 2026

    Annual lecture · In person, by invitation · Ambassador (retd) Nalini Deshpande

    Ambassador (retd) Nalini Deshpande delivers this year's Vidura Lecture on the theme closest to the institution's founding: the ethics of counsel. Drawing on a long diplomatic career, she will ask what an adviser owes the state when honest advice is unwelcome, and how institutions can protect those who tell power the truth. In person, by invitation.

    Upcoming

Past

The record

  • 11Jun 2026

    DPI and its second decade

    Open seminar · Online

    India's digital public infrastructure has moved from pilot to plumbing. Its second decade raises quieter questions: who audits the rails, who governs the operators, and what recourse a citizen has when the system errs. This open online seminar brought engineers, administrators and researchers together to discuss oversight fit for systems that hundreds of millions now use daily. Registration was open to all; a recording is available on request.

    Past

  • 03Apr 2026

    Do fiscal councils work?

    Research workshop · In person

    Do independent fiscal institutions improve budgets in practice, or merely add another report nobody reads? This research workshop tests the case for fiscal councils against the record of other federations and the finances of Indian states — forecast discipline, off-budget borrowing, and what an honest fiscal count would show. Papers circulate in advance; attendance is limited to contributors and discussants.

    Past