The India Power Atlas
Part V · Knowledge and Expertise
Chapter 17

Expert Authority within the State

Arena 4.2 · weight 3 · reading 7.2 · opposed majority

17.1Scope

Whose experts the State believes.1

The arena is measured by who courts, Parliament and the government cite as experts (venue-weighted), the latest trend, and the State’s own expert bodies.

Principal evidence: Who courts, Parliament and government reports cite as experts (1,729 citation records, M7). Government-given awards excluded (they are government-derived).

17.2Significance

Judgments, committee reports, policy design.

17.3Indicators and weights

Table 17.1 lists the 3 indicators of the arena, the weight of each within the arena, and each indicator’s reading (the Hindutva-aligned share, from 0 to 100).

Table 17.1. Indicators of arena 4.2

IndicatorWeightReading
Named expert actors, venue-weighted citations20.608.7
Recent trend: 2023-26 citations30.207.0
State expert bodies with a Hindutva-agenda mandate (budget share)40.203.0
Arena reading1.007.2

17.4Reading

The arena reads 7.2, 42.8 points below parity, and is classified as opposed majority (a reading below 45). With a weight of 3 of a total 107.7, it contributes 0.20 points to the composite reading of 45.7.

Figure 17.1. Readings of arena 4.2 by indicator
050100
Named expert actors, venue-weighted citations8.7
Recent trend: 2023-26 citations7.0
State expert bodies with a Hindutva-agenda mandate (budget share)3.0
Arena reading7.2
Hindutva-alignedOpposed

Each bar divides the indicator between Hindutva-aligned (left) and opposed (right) holdings. The vertical rule marks parity.

17.5Measures and exhibits

The exhibits below are the Atlas’s own views of the data behind each measure: shares by side, the largest units, breakdowns by source, recipient and country, money-flow diagrams and time series. Full row-level ledgers are in the data file (Appendix D).

Measure 1. Named expert actors, venue-weighted citations

Reading 8.7%

Supreme Court landmark ×5, SC ×3, HC and Parliament ×2, Economic Survey ×1; noise stripped (expert_units.csv)

Figure 17.2. Think tanks and institutes cited by courts and Parliament (judgments + Parliament documents)Counts from Indian Kanoon and Sansad e-library (Atlas M7). Grey = coded mixed or contested.
J-PAL South Asia1,37,819
Common Cause1,07,798
University of Delhi64,451
ASI8,669
DAKSH8,385
ICMR7,428
Accountability Initiative6,171
Banaras Hindu University6,161
JNU5,958
Aligarh Muslim University5,891
NITI Aayog5,078
IISc5,008
Jamia Millia Islamia4,250
NCERT3,410
Jadavpur University2,876
NCAER2,085
University of Hyderabad1,937
IIPA1,516
ICSSR1,423
TISS1,197
India Foundation969
INSA847
OpposedNeutral / not counted
Data table
ValueSide
J-PAL South Asia1,37,819Neutral / not counted
Common Cause1,07,798Opposed
University of Delhi64,451Neutral / not counted
ASI8,669Neutral / not counted
DAKSH8,385Neutral / not counted
ICMR7,428Neutral / not counted
Accountability Initiative6,171Neutral / not counted
Banaras Hindu University6,161Neutral / not counted
JNU5,958Neutral / not counted
Aligarh Muslim University5,891Neutral / not counted
NITI Aayog5,078Neutral / not counted
IISc5,008Neutral / not counted
Jamia Millia Islamia4,250Neutral / not counted
NCERT3,410Opposed
Jadavpur University2,876Neutral / not counted
NCAER2,085Neutral / not counted
University of Hyderabad1,937Neutral / not counted
IIPA1,516Neutral / not counted
ICSSR1,423Neutral / not counted
TISS1,197Neutral / not counted
India Foundation969Neutral / not counted
INSA847Neutral / not counted
Figure 17.3. Hindutva-aligned vs opposed, counted rows (venue-weighted citations 2014-26 (SC landmark…)
Hindutva-aligned 360 venue-weighted citations 2014-26 (SC landmark… · 0.1%Opposed 3,748 venue-weighted citations 2014-26 (SC landmark… · 1.3%Transactional 56 venue-weighted citations 2014-26 (SC landmark… · 0.0%Neutral / not counted 2,80,980 venue-weighted citations 2014-26 (SC landmark… · 98.5%
Data table
venue-weighted citations 2014-26 (SC landmark…Share
Hindutva-aligned3600.1%
Opposed3,7481.3%
Transactional560.0%
Neutral / not counted2,80,98098.5%
Figure 17.4. The 15 biggest of 193 (venue-weighted citations 2014-26 (SC landmark…)
Reserve Bank of India84,121
AIIMS15,761
World Bank13,197
United Nations (phrase)13,180
Finance Commission12,457
ICAR11,790
IITs (any)11,386
NITI Aayog10,321
CPCB9,194
Archaeological Survey of India7,849
Law Commission of India6,476
NCRB5,890
NHRC5,540
WHO5,239
ICMR5,044
Data table
venue-weighted citations 2014-26 (SC landmark…Side
Reserve Bank of India84,121Neutral / not counted
AIIMS15,761Neutral / not counted
World Bank13,197Neutral / not counted
United Nations (phrase)13,180Neutral / not counted
Finance Commission12,457Neutral / not counted
ICAR11,790Neutral / not counted
IITs (any)11,386Neutral / not counted
NITI Aayog10,321Neutral / not counted
CPCB9,194Neutral / not counted
Archaeological Survey of India7,849Neutral / not counted
Law Commission of India6,476Neutral / not counted
NCRB5,890Neutral / not counted
NHRC5,540Neutral / not counted
WHO5,239Neutral / not counted
ICMR5,044Neutral / not counted

Measure 2. Recent trend: 2023-26 citations

Reading 7.0%

expert_series.csv

Figure 17.5. Over time: named expert actors cited, venue-weighted · weighted citations
05010015020142016201820202022Named expert actors cited (SC x3, HC x2, Parliament x2), venue-weighted 2014: 161weighted citationsNamed expert actors cited (SC x3, HC x2, Parliament x2), venue-weighted 2019: 92weighted citationsNamed expert actors cited (SC x3, HC x2, Parliament x2), venue-weighted 2023: 103weighted citations103
Data table
Named expert actors cited (SC x3, HC x2, Parliament x2), venue-weighted
2014161
201992
2023103
Figure 17.6. Over time: H share of named expert-actor citations) · %
0510152020142016201820202022H share of named expert-actor citations (H/(H+R+T)) 2014: 15.2%H share of named expert-actor citations (H/(H+R+T)) 2019: 11.8%H share of named expert-actor citations (H/(H+R+T)) 2023: 7%7
Data table
H share of named expert-actor citations (H/(H+R+T))
201415.2
201911.8
20237

Measure 3. State expert bodies with a Hindutva-agenda mandate (budget share)

Reading 3.0%

expert_units.csv, expert_body

Figure 17.7. Hindutva-aligned vs opposed, counted rows (₹ crore)
Hindutva-aligned 4,409 ₹ crore · 3.0%Opposed 4.08 ₹ crore · 0.0%Transactional 0 ₹ crore · 0.0%Neutral / not counted 1,44,974 ₹ crore · 97.0%
Data table
₹ croreShare
Hindutva-aligned4,4093.0%
Opposed4.080.0%
Transactional00.0%
Neutral / not counted1,44,97497.0%
Figure 17.8. The 15 biggest of 22 (₹ crore)
Defence Research and Development Organisation29,100
Department of Science and Technology28,049
Department of Atomic Energy24,124
ISRO / Department of Space13,706
Indian Institutes of Technology (23)12,123
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (DARE)9,967
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (37 labs)6,711
MoSPI / National Statistics Office5,503
Ministry of AYUSH4,409
Indian Council of Medical Research4,000
Ministry of Earth Sciences (IMD, INCOIS etc.)3,789
Department of Biotechnology3,446
Anusandhan National Research Foundation2,000
NITI Aayog (Ministry of Planning)1,232
Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru845
Hindutva-alignedNeutral / not counted
Data table
₹ croreSide
Defence Research and Development Organisation29,100Neutral / not counted
Department of Science and Technology28,049Neutral / not counted
Department of Atomic Energy24,124Neutral / not counted
ISRO / Department of Space13,706Neutral / not counted
Indian Institutes of Technology (23)12,123Neutral / not counted
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (DARE)9,967Neutral / not counted
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (37 labs)6,711Neutral / not counted
MoSPI / National Statistics Office5,503Neutral / not counted
Ministry of AYUSH4,409Hindutva-aligned
Indian Council of Medical Research4,000Neutral / not counted
Ministry of Earth Sciences (IMD, INCOIS etc.)3,789Neutral / not counted
Department of Biotechnology3,446Neutral / not counted
Anusandhan National Research Foundation2,000Neutral / not counted
NITI Aayog (Ministry of Planning)1,232Neutral / not counted
Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru845Neutral / not counted

17.6Evidence base

The arena rests on 234 coded units and 15 time-series points. Of the units and flows, 13 are coded Hindutva-aligned, 54 opposed and 167 neutral, mixed or transactional. By source grade: 229 grade A, 3 grade B, 1 grade C, 1 grade E.

The full set of rows for this arena, each with its source, is in the Atlas data file (Appendix D).

Notes

  1. Atlas M7. ↩
  2. Supreme Court landmark ×5, SC ×3, HC and Parliament ×2, Economic Survey ×1; noise stripped (expert_units.csv). ↩
  3. expert_series.csv. ↩
  4. expert_units.csv, expert_body. ↩