The Laws of Social Reproduction team, in collaboration with the Indian Institute for Human Settlements, convened a workshop on 20 and 21 February 2025 in Bangalore titled ‘The Indian Care Debates: Taking Stock, Reimagining Work, Rights, and Social Reproduction’.  

Uma Mahadevan, Additional Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner for the Government of Karnataka gave the keynote address highlighting Karnataka’s efforts to build 4000 Koosina Manes or rural creches across the state. The workshop brought together discussants across the spectrum of research, policy, and on-the-ground expertise to unpack varied issues related to care work, particularly the rights of those needing care and those undertaking care work.  

The panels covered issues ranging from reframing social reproduction from the perspective of the Global South to the rights of care workers, recognition of women’s unpaid work, scaling systems of care and bridging policy with reality. A few highlights from the discussion included the importance of changing mindsets on care work, the need for public infrastructure and other structural solutions to address the disproportionate distribution of unpaid care work and poor protections for care workers, while also going beyond the limited focus on human care to think about climate and inter-species justice more broadly. Efforts are underway to produce an edited volume that compiles and builds on the insights from the workshop to reflect on care work in India and its future directions.