The present Maharashtra Human Development Report (MHDR) 2012 keeps the spirit of the Eleventh and Twelfth Five Year Plans of ‘faster, sustainable and more inclusive growth’ at the core of its analysis. MHDR 2002 was the state’s first effort in focusing on the prevailing human development scenario in the spheres of growth, poverty, equity, education, health and nutrition. Since then the state has come a long way in the last decade, achieving near-complete enrolments at the primary school level, a wide coverage of health infrastructure and initiation of new incentives, to name a few. The 2012 Report goes beyond being just a situation-analysis of the current human development scenario to a more analytical exercise in facilitating a deeper understanding of what and where the inequalities are, how capabilities can be enhanced, what has been the progress, where the shortfalls are and where the thrust of efforts to promote human development should be. Recognizing the centrality of inclusive growth processes to human development, the need to study human development outcomes disaggregated by gender, rural–urban, regional and social groups is the focal point of this Report. The outcome would be the identification of specific human development goals, evidence-based policy recommendations and directions to how those excluded from the growth and human development processes can be included to reap the benefits of the same.

This book explores inclusive development in the Indian context, not only within each of the country’s major economic and social sectors, but also across countries in the particular context of globalization. In the emerging scenario of most expanding economies, including India, this topic remains particularly significant. The book’s sixteen chapters are divided into eight sections that address burning issues related to inclusive development – historical setting and policy context; current issues and future challenges; inclusiveness in the agricultural sector; inclusiveness in the industrial sector; inclusiveness in the health sector; inclusiveness and poverty; inclusiveness in the social context; and inclusiveness in the globalization context. The book highlights several positive developments displayed by the Indian economy in recent years, including the current growth rate of about 7 percent, which is among the highest rates around the globe. At the same time, it draws attention to the fact that while there is every reason to feel proud of these achievements, we cannot ignore the strains and brewing distress, especially in rural areas, or the concerns in environmental and social sectors, including health and education, relating to sociological divisions and disturbances, water and air pollution, and ecosystem and biodiversity losses. Important and relevant from both academic and policy perspectives, the book includes essays from some of the most eminent economists and social scientists in the South Asian region, providing vital takeaways for researchers and NGOs, as well as corporate sector and government decision-makers.

Once the envy of the world for its quality and variety, Indian cotton today is mired in uncertainty and despair. Though India is the largest producer of cotton, its farmers are trapped in debt, and thousands choose to kill themselves than face an ignominious fate. Handloom weavers, once proud standard-bearers of the country's artisanal heritage, are barely able to scrape together a living. To make matters worse, there is the back-breaking competition with artificial fibres. Meena Menon and Uzramma take us through the fascinating history of cotton in India, examining its illustrious origins, its blood-stained colonial heritage, and the events that led to its current crisis. Amid the bleakness, the authors suggest a silver lining: reviving indigenous cotton—and the handloom industry that spun its fame. Through painstaking research, Menon and Uzramma show that with the right combination of friendly policies and championing the Indian cotton brand, it is possible to restore the fabric's past glory. This is an important book not just for lovers of cotton but anyone concerned with the struggles of Indian agriculture in a brutal, fast-changing market.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of universal health coverage in India. It starts by setting the historical context and politics of the debates around universal health coverage (UHC) in India and proceeds to analyze the present crisis of public health in the country. The book examines the present policies on the pharmaceutical industry, missing links in universalizing health, and the importance of social determinants of health. It is divided into five sections, and some of the topics covered include the difference between comprehensive primary health care and universal health care, public health and medical care, health service, and health system. The chapters are contributed by scholars and practitioners based on historical, interdisciplinary, empirical, and policy research. The book is insightful to academics, public health administrators, policymakers, practitioners, and students interested in health care and organization, looking to transform theory into policy and practice.

This book offers a cutting-edge contribution on the importance of secondary education and assesses the strengths and weaknesses of its growth in India. Secondary education, long neglected, faces countless challenges and will require tremendous financial resources, millions of additional trained teachers, and vast infrastructure in terms of buildings, laboratories, libraries, ICT facilities, etc. The book examines these critical issues, with particular reference to the situation in India. It analyses the status quo of secondary education and discusses the strategies and approaches needed in order to universalize it. Including 20 chapters authored by eminent scholars in the field and from across the country, this book gathers the outcomes of a seminar organized by the Council for Social Development on Universalization of Secondary Education. The target audience includes policymakers, practitioners, administrators, education planners, researchers, teachers, and teacher educators with an interest in the future of secondary education.

This book examines key issues concerning land acquisition, and puts forward policy suggestions. Land acquisition is one of the most important issues besetting India’s political economy today. There have been many conflicts surrounding acquisitions; but there have been ample peaceful acquisitions, too. Growth in any economy requires more land. Hence in India too, in the future more and more land will be required for the purposes of infrastructure expansion, industrialization, urbanization etc. The book also examines a number of broader policy issues in the context of land reforms and shows how a successful resolution of the land acquisition matter is vital to attaining a high rate of growth. Using a case study method, the book examines the process of land acquisition in detail and its implications for farmers. It finds that the development of acquired land leads to higher growth and higher employment; and it also leads to improvements for the dalits (the backward class p eople). Benefits in terms of higher revenues for the government are also observed. It argues that, if the acquisition process is properly executed, those farmers who lose land will not oppose acquisition but will instead become partners in the process of growth.

In the early twenty-first century, key public health issues and challenges have taken centre stage on the global scene, and health has been placed at the heart of our collective aspirations for human development and well-being. But significant debate exists not only about the causes, but also about the possible solutions for nearly all of the most important global health challenges. Competing visions of the values and perspectives that should underlie global health policies have emerged, ranging from an emphasis on cost eff ectiveness and resource constraints on one extreme, to new calls for health and human rights, and renewed calls for health and social justice on the other. The role of different intergovernmental agencies, bilateral or unilateral donors, public or private institutions and initiatives, has increasingly been called into question, whilst the spread of neoliberal policies and programmes, and existing international trade regimes and intellectual property rights, are deeply implicated in relation to global health responses. This volume critically evaluates how the global health industry has evolved and how the interests of diverse political and economic stakeholders are shaping the context of a rapidly changing institutional landscape. Bringing together leading authors from across the world, the Handbook’s eight sections explore: • Critical perspectives on global health • Globalisation, neoliberalism, and health systems • The changing shape of global health governance • Development assistance and the politics of global health • Scale-up, scale-down, and the sustainability of global health programmes • Intellectual property rights, trade relations, and global health • Humanitarian emergencies and global health politics • Human rights, social justice, and global health The Routledge Handbook on the Politics of Global Health addresses both the emerging issues and conceptualisations of the political strategies, policy-making processes, and global governance of global health, along with expanding upon and highlighting the critical priorities in this rapidly evolving field. It provides an authoritative overview for students, practitioners, researchers, and policymakers working in or concerned with the politics of public health around the globe.