B. K. Agarwal
He is a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer with experience of about 36 years in senior management positions in the Government dealing with policy-making, implementation of large-scale government programs in various sectors and land administration. He is a member of the Working Group on STANDARDS constituted by the Government of India for implementing the National Geospatial Policy, 2022 in the Land Sector. He is also an Advisor to the National Monitoring Committee on Rehabilitation and Resettlement, Department of Land Resources, Government of India. He remained the Chairperson of the Expert Committee on the SWAMITVA Scheme in 2022. He has worked as Secretary, in the Government of India and as Chief Secretary, in Himachal Pradesh. Author of the book "Land Registration: Global Practices and Lessons for India". Has in-depth knowledge of land-related laws and land administration in India. Has studied extensively land administration systems in Europe and America.
Land Registration: Global Practices and Lessons for India has been authored by B. K. Agarwal, having extensive knowledge and first-hand experience of land administration. It fills the existing gap of research in the field of land registration and maintenance of title records in India. It contains a comparative analysis of land registration systems of Germany, UK, Australia, USA, France, and the Netherlands. Laws regarding maintenance of land title records in four Indian states Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, and West Bengal have also been analyzed. In the end the author has given his evidence-based recommendations on reforms required in the Indian land registration system.
This book is useful for practitioners of law, policymakers and aw students.
In the book 'Tecnology and Analytics for Law and Justice', a Chapter on 'Technology in Land Administration, has been written by B.K. Agarwal with the co-author Ms. Diya Uday.This book, a curated volume from the The DAKSH Centre of Excellence for Law and Technology at IIT Delhi, examines the evolution of technology in the law and justice system in India. This book offers a comprehensive and thought-provoking look at the ever-changing landscape of law and technology in India. The book will be helpful to a broad audience, including researchers, policymakers, government agencies, technologists, law firms, legal practitioners, academics, and students looking for a head-start in transforming law and justice systems.
Article in Economic Times, India
While India has been harnessing remote sensing, geographic information system (GIS) and other geospatial technologies for better governance and planning for a long time now, the lack of a singular, comprehensive national policy has been detrimental towards the effective and widespread use of GIS data and mapping technologies. India ranks 25th in the Countries Geospatial Readiness Index (CGRI) 2019 (bit.ly/3dJQiyV). Governed under six departments, India has a total of 17 national policies, some of which have restrictive and redundant provisions overridden with security concerns.In this context, the new geospatial guidelines released recently by the Department of Science and Technology have the potential of levelling out some of these concerns......
Article in Fair Observer, USA
According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, India faces a serious decline inemployment due to the COVID-19 crisis. An estimated 122 million people lost their jobs during the first quarter of 2020. Streams of migrant workers returned to their villages— often the only fallback option for the millions working in urban informal sectors.
Regardless of their vows to never come back to the cities, the majority of them will likely have to return in order to earn their livelihood. In the present state of affairs, agriculture, the mainstay of rural India, cannot offer them incomes comparable toindustries and construction firms in cities.........
Article on Blog of VIDHI: Centre for Legal Policy, India
An equitable mortgage of immovable property is a widely used method of creating security against a loan availed from banks and other financial institutions in India. However, it is easily open to fraud.
In the last 140 years, since the inception of equitable mortgage in India, requirements of debt financing, organisation of lending institutions and the character of land markets have undergone a sea-change. To restrain the increasing trend of frauds related to equitable mortgages, critical scrutiny of this form of security has become imperative..........