India: Social Development Report 2018

Description

In recent years India has seen remarkable growth in the GDP. Despite this, the country continues to face high levels of indebtedness and poverty, among various marginalized communities and growing disparities in income and wealth. India: Social Development Report 2018 explores various dimensions of the relationship between the nature of economic development and inequality and provides a comprehensive analysis of the challenges and implications of rising inequities in India. The report addresses the concerns of inequality in terms of inter-regional and rural–urban issues, factor markets, and gender dimensions with respect to unequal access to education and health care and the exclusion of Dalits, Adivasis, minorities, and other relegated groups.

The twenty-two chapters of the report, divided across seven sections, are based on extensive research and policy analysis of contributing authors in the fields of poverty, inequality, inclusive growth, disparities in wages, incomes, and standards of living, and unequal access to land, labour, and credit. The report shows a possible way forward by suggesting several policy measures that would help reduce inequalities and achieve fair levels of living for all sections of the population.

Going beyond a purely economic measurement, the report argues that the relationship between economic growth and inequality is to be understood through other factors and trends such as those related to politics, social relations, and changes in technology.

About the Editors:

Council for Social Development is an institution of advanced research in the social sciences and humanities, with centres located in Delhi and Hyderabad, India. The Council, through its research, publications, and advocacy, seeks to promote dialogue and debate and to secure justice for all in every sphere of life in India.

T. Haque is chairman, Special Cell on Land Policy, NITI Aayog, Government of India, and Distinguished Professor, Council for Social Development (CSD), New Delhi.

D N Reddy is Indian Council of Social Science Research National Fellow, CSD, Hyderabad, and Honorary Visiting Professor, Institute for Human Development, New Delhi, India.

Table of contents

List of Tables, Figures, and Chart

Foreword

Acknowledgements

List of Abbreviations

Introduction

1. Haque and D. Narasimha Reddy

Section I: Inequality and Economic Development

1. Inequality and Economic Development

Pulin B. Nayak

2. Wealth and Income Inequality in the Age of Finance

C.P. Chandrasekhar

3. Inequalities in Well-being in India: A Multidimensional Analysis

B.P. Vani and S. Madheswaran

4. Role of Urban Inequality in the Phenomenon of Rising Wealth Inequality in India, 2002–12

Vamsi Vakulabharanam and Sripad Motiram

Section II: Inter-regional and Rural–Urban Inequality

5. Interstate Inequality in India: Why Have Some States Done Better than Others?

N.C. Saxena

6. Challenges of Agricultural Transformation for Farmers’ Well-being in India: Region-wise Analysis
7. Haque
8. Income Inequalities among Agricultural Households in India:

State-Level Assessment and Contributing Factors

Seema Bathla and Anjani Kumar

8. Migration, Urbanization, and Interstate Inequality in India

Amitabh Kundu and K. Varghese

9. Inequality in Rural India: Insights from Village Studies

Himanshu

Section III: Inequality in Factor Markets

10. Segmented and Unequal: Comparing Labour Markets in India and Brazil

Alexandre de Freitas Barbosa, Maria Cristina Cacciamali, Gerry Rodgers, Janine Rodgers, Vidhya Soundararajan, and Fabio Tatei

11. Wage Inequalities in India

K.P. Kannan

Section IV: Gender Inequality

12. Gender Equality in India: New Challenges Confronting Progress

Nitya Rao and Ayesha Pervez

13. Promises Unfulfi lled: Women’s Access to Land in India

Hema Swaminathan and Suchitra J.Y.

Section V: Inequality in Access to Education and Health Care

14. Inequality in Access to Higher Education in India between the Poor and the Rich

Jandhyala B.G. Tilak and Pradeep Kumar Choudhury

15. Unequal Access to Elementary Education in India: Government versus Private Schools

Ashok Pankaj and Poornima M.

16. Exclusion and Inequality in Indian Education

Rangachar Govinda and Madhumita Bandyopadhyay

17. Universalising Quality School Education in India: Perspectives and Prospects

Muchkund Dubey

18. Equity in Health Care Utilization and Financial Risk Protection:

Financial Implications of Illness among Casual Labour Households

Anup K. Karan and Sakthivel Selvaraj

19. Can India’s New National Health Policy Bridge the Disconnect with Development?
20. Srinath Reddy

Section VI: Exclusion of Dalits, Adivasis, and Other Marginalized Groups: Role of Affirmative Action

20. Persistent Inequalities in India: Challenges in Overcoming Inequalities of Opportunities as Envisaged in the Constitution of India
21. Narasimha Reddy
22. Do Not Change the Goal Post from Equality to Inclusiveness:

A Modest Agenda for Elimination of Marginalization of Dalits, Adivasis, and Muslims

K.B. Saxena

Section VII: Social Development Index

22. Social Development Index 2018

Surajit Deb

Notes on Editors and Contributors