# *Rajasthan Priorities* (2020) Back to [[Authors/@BjornLomborg/Books/Books Overview|Books Overview]] · [[Authors/@BjornLomborg/BjornLomborg-x-profile|@BjornLomborg]] · Topic: [[Topics/Climate Change Science and Policy Debate/Climate Change Science and Policy Debate|Climate Change Science and Policy Debate]] > **Reference outline for a reader who has read the book.** Full title: ***Rajasthan Priorities: analysing costs and benefits***. This is the popular book of the **Rajasthan Priorities** project, part of **India Consensus**, a partnership between the Copenhagen Consensus Center and **Tata Trusts**. I did not have the typeset book this run ⚠️. Facts below come from the CCC book and project pages, Amazon product details, the official **Eminent Panel** three-pager PDF (*The Smartest Solutions for Rajasthan*, A4, 3 pages, created **10 June 2018**), a two-page brochure PDF (`raj_brochure_v2.1.pdf`, created **25 May 2018**), and the CCC write-up of the presentation to Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. I have not checked the typeset introduction, panel commentaries or chapter texts against those PDFs ⚠️. This title was not on the original Oct 24, 2026 lomborg.com / Wikipedia overview list; it is on the CCC books page. ## Publication facts - **Authors:** Amazon lists **Bjorn Lomborg** and **Manorama Bakshi** (the project's manager on CCC pages). The CCC book page does not print a second author on the heading. I did not open a title page ⚠️. - **Foreword:** the CCC project page says the book has a foreword by **Ratan N. Tata**, and that the four panelists "all comment on their prioritisations." I did not open those pages ⚠️. - **Publisher:** CCC book page: **CCC & Tata Trusts**, **2020**. Amazon: **Copenhagen Consensus Center**, publication date **4 March 2020**. Report both ⚠️. - **English paperback:** ISBN-13 **978-1-940003-21-4** (ISBN-10 **1940003210**), **136** pages, 5.5 × 0.31 × 8.5 in (Amazon). - **What it is:** CCC: "all researched development solutions are presented in an accessible language accompanied by graphs and infographics." It is not the "more than 1,100+" pages of research papers (project page). I did not open a table of contents ⚠️. - **Place in his work:** A state-level India Consensus volume after the national books [[Authors/@BjornLomborg/Books/Bangladesh Priorities|*Bangladesh Priorities*]] and [[Authors/@BjornLomborg/Books/Haiti Prioritizes|*Haiti Prioritizes*]]. Next on the CCC books page are *Andhra Pradesh Priorities* (CCC & Tata Trusts, 2020) and *Ghana Priorities* (CCC & NDPC, 2021). ## Thesis The CCC/Amazon blurb opens on the state budget: "roughly **1,71,300 crore rupees** allocated among important causes." Rajasthan is described as India's largest state, with mining, agriculture and tourism, "significant progress in improving governance and tackling corruption," but still "acute social and economic development challenges" and widespread poverty (project page). The official state vision quoted there is "a healthy, educated, gender sensitive, prosperous and smiling Rajasthan with a well-developed economic infrastructure." The question is the usual one: with which policies can every extra rupee help the most? The brochure's campaign line is: "Shifitng just 1% of Rajasthan spending towards great ideas could generate benefits worth **₹50,000 crores** annually" (typo in the brochure). I did not re-derive that total ⚠️. ## How the project was run Head-counts and process figures shift by document ⚠️. Combined from the 10 June 2018 findings PDF, the 25 May 2018 brochure, and the CCC project / "Priorities for Rajasthan" pages: 1. **19** sector-expert consultations in Jaipur (project page; brochure) / "**18** key sector roundtables" (methodology page) plus "more than **120** meetings." 2. Ideas: project page "**Over 880** interventions" from "over **430** experts"; brochure "**More than 800** people … identified **79**" solutions and "more than **900** ideas"; methodology page "**1000+** promising solutions." 3. Research: "**24** teams of Indian and international economists" (brochure) on **79** solutions and "**1,000+** pages" (brochure) / "more than **1,100+** pages" (project page). The methodology page still says "more than **80** specific proposals." 4. An **Eminent Panel** at a "**3-day** conference in Jaipur" in **2018**. The findings PDF is dated by its file metadata **10 June 2018**. 5. Outreach in *Dainik Bhaskar*, *Hindustan Dainik*, *Times of India*, *Hindustan Times* "and many others" (brochure). The panel's question, on the CCC "Priorities for Rajasthan" page: "On which initiatives should additional resources be spent first?" Each member ranked the proposals. That same page describes the published order two ways: under "Eminent Panel Approach" it "was calculated by taking the **median** of individual rankings" and "jointly endorses the median ordering"; under "Ranking of Proposals" it "was calculated by taking the **mean** of each Eminent Panel member's individual rankings," then again "endorses the median ordering." The 10 June 2018 findings PDF does not say how the four ranks were combined ⚠️. The findings page also says the panel "gave weight both to the institutional preconditions for success and to the demands of ethical or humanitarian importance." ## The Eminent Panel Four members, from the findings PDF (roles as of 2018): 1. **Bibek Debroy** — then Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) and member of NITI Aayog; Padma Shri, 2015. 2. **Rathin Roy** — then Director and CEO, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi; member, EAC-PM. 3. **Amitabh Mattoo** — then advisor to the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir (cabinet-minister status); CEO of the Australia India Institute at Delhi; professor at the University of Melbourne and JNU; Padma Shri. 4. **Alok Ray** — former professor of economics, IIM Calcutta (more than 30 years); V.K.R.V. Rao Award. **Academic Advisory Committee** (findings PDF / brochure): Dr. Jyoti Kiran (then Chairperson, Rajasthan State Finance Commission); Professor Vijay Shankar Vyas (Padma Bhushan; Institute of Development Studies, Jaipur); Shri C. S. Rajan (Deputy Chairman, Chief Minister's Advisory Council; Chief Secretary of Rajasthan, 2014–16); Pradeep S. Mehta (CUTS International); Professor S.D. Gupta (IIHMR University, Jaipur); Vivek Bhandari (then Chairman, Jio Payments Bank). ## Official ranking (10 June 2018 findings PDF) The panel ranked **79** proposals. Ranks below are from the PDF's table. The CCC "Priorities for Rajasthan" webpage reprints a table that **disagrees at #39**: the PDF has "**Energy storage in commercial buildings – hybrid salts**"; the webpage instead repeats a near-duplicate of #36 ("Cash transfer for girls' secondary school enrollment," with American spelling) and omits the hybrid-salts item. I follow the PDF and flag the webpage ⚠️. Benefit-cost ratios are from the 25 May 2018 brochure, not from the findings PDF ⚠️. A few ranked names have no exact match on the brochure (notably **#78 Solar microgrids**, where the brochure instead lists "Solar home systems … 0.7"); those cells are left blank. | # | Proposal | Brochure BCR | |---|---|---| | 1 | Improve private sector TB care | 179 | | 2 | Improve private sector TB care and active case finding | 117 | | 3 | Education for complementary feeding and hand-washing | 43 | | 4 | Package of nutrition based interventions | 6 | | 5 | Supplementary food for mother and child | 7 | | 6 | Improve land records digitisation | 26 | | 7 | Micronutrients for pregnant women at ANC visits | 37 | | 8 | Secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease | 23 | | 9 | Energy storage in commercial buildings – water | 2.7 | | 10 | E-mandis to reduce middle-men superprofits | 65 | | 11 | Immunization camps in lagging districts | 30 | | 12 | Certified seed production | 20 | | 13 | Expand urban ambulance network | 9 | | 14 | Expand rural ambulance network | 3.3 | | 15 | Diabetes screening and treatment | 16 | | 16 | Zig-zag brick kiln technology to reduce air pollution | 8 | | 17 | Mass media breastfeeding promotion and counseling | 8 | | 18 | Vertical shaft brick kiln technology to reduce air pollution | 7 | | 19 | Urban sewerage and wastewater treament 100 percent | 1.2 | | 20 | Treatment for children with severe acute malnutrition | 5 | | 21 | Tablets to reduce anaemia in adolescent girls | 9 | | 22 | Conditional cash transfer for ANC visits | 9 | | 23 | Urban waste collection 100 percent | 2.0 | | 24 | Build warehouses, storage and cold chain | 16 | | 25 | Renovation of traditional water harvesting | 2.7 | | 26 | Urban 24x7 piped water supply | 2.3 | | 27 | Expand water use efficient irrigation | 2.9 | | 28 | Expand UID (Aadhaar) based payments for MGNREGA | 6 | | 29 | Improved maternal and neonatal health care | 10 | | 30 | Improved drinking water supply – urban | 6 | | 31 | Self-help groups against domestic violence | 11 | | 32 | Improved drinking water supply – rural | 4.5 | | 33 | Behavioural change for household treatment of drinking water | 4.0 | | 34 | Family planning for unmet need | 32 | | 35 | Community mobilisation against domestic violence | 9 | | 36 | Cash transfer for girls' secondary school enrolment | 2.8 | | 37 | Well-structured incentives to teachers | 24 | | 38 | Connect rural households to national fibre optic network | 11 | | 39 | Energy storage in commercial buildings – hybrid salts | 2.6 | | 40 | Group and teach children at the right level | 35 | | 41 | Direct non-monetary incentives to reduce child marriage | 3.4 | | 42 | Subsidised apprenticeships | 4.5 | | 43 | Bicycle transfer for girls' secondary school enrolment | 4.5 | | 44 | Vocational training program | 4.0 | | 45 | Improved mobile phone advisory | 3.6 | | 46 | Computer assisted learning at the right level | 74 | | 47 | Soil health card | 1.1 | | 48 | Cervical cancer screening and treatment | 1.4 | | 49 | Crop diversification | 1.0 | | 50 | In-situ slum redevelopment | 2.2 | | 51 | Private-public affordable housing projects | 1.5 | | 52 | Energy efficient agricultural water pumps | 3.3 | | 53 | Indoor air pollution: Improved biomass cookstoves promotion | 7 | | 54 | Organic products certification for export | 1.5 | | 55 | Free trade warehousing zone | 0.9 | | 56 | Inland container terminal | 1.5 | | 57 | Upgrade agricultural power distribution | 2.3 | | 58 | Behavioural change for use of existing sanitation facilities | 1.9 | | 59 | Expand poverty graduation and livelihood programs | 3.5 | | 60 | Breast cancer screening and treatment | 0.7 | | 61 | Double teacher-pupil ratio | 5 | | 62 | Expand skill training for women | 4.8 | | 63 | Expand crop insurance coverage | 1.5 (brochure footer also says 1.4 ⚠️) | | 64 | Mental health counselling in schools | 1.4 | | 65 | Indoor air pollution: Free LPG connection to poor households | 3.3 | | 66 | Subsidised do-it-yourself extension and construction | 1.2 | | 67 | Expanding the grid to unserved population | 1.0 | | 68 | Cash incentives to attend pre-school classes in AWCs | 10 | | 69 | Hire local teachers to improve pre-school classes in AWCs | 13 | | 70 | Toilet provision for girls' secondary school enrolment | 4.1 | | 71 | Flush / Pour-flush sanitation – rural | 7 | | 72 | Training of teachers | 1.0 | | 73 | Diesel microgrids to unserved population | 1.0 | | 74 | Flush / Pour-flush sanitation – urban | 4.8 | | 75 | Start-up incubator support | 1.8 | | 76 | Credit support to micro, small and medium enterprises | 6 | | 77 | Farmer loan waivers | 0.8 | | 78 | Solar microgrids to unserved population | (brochure lists "Solar home systems" at 0.7; not clearly the same item ⚠️) | | 79 | Indoor air pollution: LPG subsidy reduction by 50% | 0.6 | The panel did **not** simply follow the BCRs. Computer-assisted learning has a brochure ratio of **74** — third on the sheet — but was ranked only **#46**. "Group and teach children at the right level" (**35**) is #40; teacher incentives (**24**) are #37. Family planning (**32**) is #34. Water-based energy storage in commercial buildings, with a modest BCR of **2.7**, was ranked **#9**. E-mandis (**65**) made the top ten; the nutrition *package* (#4, BCR **6**) was ranked above micronutrients for pregnant women (#7, BCR **37**). Farmer loan waivers (**0.8**) and a 50% cut in the LPG subsidy (**0.6**) sit at the bottom. The findings page adds four panel notes: subsidised apprenticeships and vocational training "can complement each other"; cash transfers for child marriage should incentivize "retention and graduation," not only enrolment; credit support to MSMEs, as ranked, includes "business management hand-holding"; energy-efficient agricultural pumps and upgraded agricultural power distribution "are bankable." ### What the top ten were claimed to do Figures are from the findings PDF's opening blurbs. - **#1 Improve private sector TB care.** Create a Public Private Support Agency (PPSA). Cost "about **Rs. 15.2 crore** per year between now and 2050"; would increase TB patients in high-quality treatment by 2040 "from **20,400 to 23,300**, preventing nearly **11.5%** of TB deaths." Brochure BCR **179**, the highest on the sheet. - **#2 Improve private sector TB care and active case finding.** PPSA plus active screening in urban slums. Cost **Rs. 41.6 crore**; "cut multidrug-resistant cases by up to **80%** and prevent **15%** of TB deaths." Brochure **117**. - **#3 Education for complementary feeding and hand-washing.** Counsel mothers on breastfeeding, complementary feeding and hand-washing. Cost **Rs. 1,200** per mother; "equivalent benefits, mostly from babies' eventual higher productivity, are **Rs. 54,000**." Brochure **43** (54,000/1,200 = 45; I did not reconcile the one-point gap ⚠️). - **#4 Package of nutrition based interventions.** Behaviour-change counselling, supplementary food and micronutrients. **Rs. 14,144** per beneficiary; a **10%** coverage increase "will avoid **365** deaths and reduce stunting by **20%** in [the] beneficiary group." Brochure **6**. - **#5 Supplementary food for mother and child.** Complementary food for children 6–12 and 12–36 months, and for pregnant and lactating women. **Rs. 11,532** per beneficiary; a 10% coverage increase "saves **300+** lives and reduces stunting by **10%**." Brochure **7**. - **#6 Improve land records digitisation.** Digitise records of rights, maps and surveys. Cost **Rs. 486 crore**; "more secure property rights would improve growth, worth **Rs. 12,600 crore**." Brochure **26** (12,600/486 ≈ 25.9). - **#7 Micronutrients for pregnant women at ANC visits.** Cost **Rs. 124 crore** annually; "would avoid more than a lakh of maternal anaemia, half a lakh of low-weight babies, and **2,500+** deaths." Brochure **37**. - **#8 Secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease.** Screen **70%** of 30–69 year-olds and treat those with elevated blood pressure with polypills; "avert about **20%** of CVD mortality." Brochure **23**. No programme cost is stated in the blurb. - **#9 Energy storage in commercial buildings – water.** Water-based thermal storage "costs **Rs. 531** per sq ft, saves **15.12 kWh** of electricity annually, and reduces stress on the power system and climate." Brochure **2.7**. This is the starkest top-ten departure from the BCR order. - **#10 E-mandis to reduce middle-men superprofits.** Set up and run **114** markets as e-mandis over 20 years. Cost **Rs. 31 crore**; benefits **Rs. 8,523 crore**. Brochure **65** (8,523/31 ≈ 275 on a simple division; the brochure's **65** is the figure I use, and I did not re-open the paper to reconcile ⚠️). ## How the claims have held up - **Presentation to the Chief Minister.** A CCC news post (undated on the page I opened; the findings PDF is June 2018) says Lomborg presented the research to Chief Minister **Vasundhara Raje** in Jaipur. She called the method "very interesting" and "advised [the] team to connect with the Principal Secretary, Mr **Akhil Arora** to take **4–5 pilots** with some of the recommended interventions." I did not check whether those pilots ran ⚠️. Chief Secretary D. B. Gupta welcomed the methodology but said ministries "will look carefully at the research to ensure that it uses the latest data, and is finely tuned." - **Panelists' own caveats.** Alok Ray, quoted on that page, already flagged "question marks over the exact BCRs and implementation/jurisdiction issues for some interventions," while seeing "a broad general consensus about the top and the lowest priorities," "primarily in three broad areas – health, education and agriculture." Rathin Roy said discussion led him to raise land records, micronutrients and CVD (which finished #6, #7 and #8). - **TB and nutrition as "best buys."** Private-sector TB care at the top of this state list is the same family of intervention as later global CCC work. See [[Authors/@BjornLomborg/Post Analyses/Post Analysis - BjornLomborg on Tuberculosis as a Best Buy (2026-09-25)|TB as a best buy (Sep 25)]] and [[Authors/@BjornLomborg/Books/Best Things First|*Best Things First*]]. Nutrition packages and antenatal micronutrients likewise. I did not check Rajasthan-specific outcome data after 2018 ⚠️. - **Loan waivers and subsidy cuts.** Farmer loan waivers (#77, BCR 0.8) and a 50% LPG-subsidy reduction (#79, 0.6) are at the bottom. I did not track later state policy against those ranks ⚠️. - **The ₹50,000-crore "1% of spending" figure** and the **Rs. 1,71,300 crore** budget figure were not independently checked ⚠️. - **No DCSD connection.** The Danish Committees on Scientific Dishonesty episode concerns *The Skeptical Environmentalist* (2001) and does not apply to this book. ## Reception - **2018 Jaipur conference and CM briefing,** as above, with welcoming remarks from Jyoti Kiran (State Finance Commission) and Bibek Debroy ("with fine-tuning, the research could be of assistance"). - A CCC project-page teaser, "Indian states are testing a new way of setting development priorities," points to a later commentary; I did not open the original article ⚠️. - **4 March 2020:** English paperback published, well after the 2018 panel. ## Links to his X posts and later books - Predecessors: [[Authors/@BjornLomborg/Books/Bangladesh Priorities|*Bangladesh Priorities*]], [[Authors/@BjornLomborg/Books/Haiti Prioritizes|*Haiti Prioritizes*]]. Same India Consensus series, next: *Andhra Pradesh Priorities* (2020). Later: *Ghana Priorities* (2021) and [[Authors/@BjornLomborg/Books/Best Things First|*Best Things First*]]. - TB and nutrition: [[Authors/@BjornLomborg/Post Analyses/Post Analysis - BjornLomborg on Tuberculosis as a Best Buy (2026-09-25)|TB (Sep 25)]], [[Authors/@BjornLomborg/Post Analyses/Post Analysis - BjornLomborg on Chronic Disease Policies Saving 1.5 Million Lives (2026-02-12)|chronic disease (Feb 12)]], [[Authors/@BjornLomborg/Post Analyses/Post Analysis - BjornLomborg on Agricultural R&D $5.5bn Saving 133 Million from Hunger (2026-05-17)|ag R&D and hunger (May 17)]].