Any registered user of Arthapedia can suggest a topic. All serving officers of the Indian Economic Service are registered users. You do not need to be a domain expert — simply curious.

A good topic for Arthapedia is one that:

• Is used in Indian economic policy, governance, or public finance — either as a term unique to India or as a globally used concept that carries a specific Indian meaning/context.
• Is a concept/theory related to an emerging policy area.
• Is not already covered on Arthapedia. Contributors are advised to search the portal before suggesting.
• Is substantive enough to merit a dedicated article — not so narrow that it can be explained in a sentence, and not so broad that it cannot be meaningfully addressed in a single entry.
• Could genuinely help a reader — a student, a journalist, a policy practitioner — understand something they might otherwise find vague.

Go to the Suggest a Topic page, fill in the concept name, and add a brief note on why you think it deserves an entry. The editorial team will review suggestions periodically and add approved ones to the 'Suggest a Topic List'.

Browse the Suggest a Topic List on the website and select a topic you feel confident writing about.

If you wish to write on a topic that has not yet been suggested, you may suggest it yourself and simultaneously submit an article for it.

• Search first. Confirm that no existing article on Arthapedia covers the concept, even partially under a different name.
• Gather credible sources. Your article should be grounded in official documents, government publications, RBI reports, Economic Surveys, peer-reviewed research, or other authoritative references.
• Understand your audience. Write for an intelligent reader who is not necessarily a specialist. Avoid unnecessary jargon; where technical terms are unavoidable, explain them.

A well-written Arthapedia article typically includes the following:

• a) A Clear Definition: Begin with a precise, plain-language definition of the concept. What is it? How is it officially understood in the Indian policy context?
• b) Context and Background: Why does this concept exist? What problem does it address or what function does it serve in India's economic or governance architecture?
• c) How It Works: Explain the mechanism, structure, or process involved. If it is a scheme, describe how it operates. If it is a fiscal term, explain how it is calculated or applied.
• d) Data, Examples, or Illustrations: Where helpful, use figures, timelines, or examples to make the concept concrete. Charts, tables, and graphs are welcome if they add genuine clarity.
• e) References and Sources: Every article should end with a list of sources. Cite official government documents, ministry publications, RBI circulars, Economic Survey chapters, court judgments, or credible academic papers as appropriate. Citations should invariably include weblinks to the source. To maintain uniformity in publications on the Arthapedia, style guidelines are mentioned below. 

Please observe the following while drafting:

• Write in clear, simple English that can be understood by a non-specialist reader.
• Keep the tone neutral and factual.
• All writing must be original. Paraphrase and cite.
• Aim for an article length of 600 to 1500 words depending on the complexity of the topic.
• Use headings and subheadings to organise longer articles.
• Define any technical sub-terms the first time they appear.

For drafting articles, the HTML editor is provided 

• Heading 2 should be used main section titles and Heading 3 for subsections.
• Body of the article should be written in 'Paragraph' style.
• Authors are encouraged to use HTML editor for inserting box items, tables, pictures with proper captions.
• Include Tiny URLs as far as possible. Conversion can be done using tinyurl.com.
• After pasting any content, switch to the HTML source view and check for leftover <span> tags with inline styles — these are the most common cause of inconsistent font sizes and colours in submitted drafts.
• If text appears larger or smaller than surrounding content after pasting, select it, clear all formatting using the eraser/remove formatting button, and retype the style using the editor's style dropdown.
• Increasing font size will not make it appear as a heading. The correct 'Heading' style should be used.
• Other than at the beginning of a sentence or in the titles, capitals should only be used for proper nouns.
• Only numbers under 10 should be written in words and Figures be used for numbers over nine.
• Growth rates may be indicated in figures followed by ‘per cent’.
• Legislative extracts should always appear as displayed quotes.
• No need to capitalize the words ‘Government’, ‘State Government’, ‘Central Government’ of ‘Government of India’ if it is not being used at the beginning of a sentence.

• Reviews each submission for accuracy, clarity, relevance, and adherence to Arthapedia's editorial guidelines.
• Assesses whether the article is accessible and useful to a general but informed readership.

Writers are encouraged to be patient; the board reviews all submissions carefully and this takes time.