Poverty and Deprivation: Changing Contours traces the journey of poverty estimation and eradication in India since Independence. It brings together important contributions from eminent experts focussing on distinct characteristics of rural and urban poverty, multiple dimensions of poverty and deprivation, and policy interventions made by the Indian state to reduce them. It also highlights increasing inequality in assets and access to civic amenities and persistence of disparities across regions and social groups through empirically grounded analytical chapters. The chapters included in the book present assessments of crucial poverty alleviation programmes and suggestions for better performance in outcomes. The editor’s introductions make analytical comments on the impact of economic growth on poverty reduction and the controversy surrounding it and register concern that the period of high growth did not improve human capital development. In this context, it also puts in perspective the need for compatibility of macro-economic fundamentals with social policy.

The series ‘Social Change in Contemporary India’ brings together key texts published in the prestigious journal Social Change, from 1971 till present times. These writings, most of which are considered canonical, address important issues in health, education, poverty and agriculture, with special focus on the disadvantaged groups. The essays will help readers identify key points in the history of policymaking in India and major discourses and debates and their impact.

Table of Contents:
About the Series Foreword by Manoranjan Mohanty Introduction by K. B. Saxena SECTION I: Poverty: Rural and Urban Dimensions of Rural Poverty - E. Narayanan Nair The Structure of Poverty: Case of Bihar - Ramashray Roy and V. B. Singh Urban Development and the Poor - S. R. Hashim SECTION II Dimensions of Poverty Sociology of Poverty: Conceptual Issues - Arun Kumar Ghosh Women and Poverty: Rural-urban Dimensions - Preet Rustagi Poverty and Disability in India - Ambati Nageswara Rao Children Toiling at a Tender Age - Helen R. Sekar and Manju Khurana Industrial Pollution and Health Hazards in Jharkhand - Bijay Sarkar Some Cognitive and Motivational Concomitants of Poverty - Durganand Sinha SECTION III Disparities Rural Households’ Access to Basic Amenities in India: Deprivation and Socio-economic Exclusions - Arjun Kumar Disparity and Development in Uttar Pradesh - Prashant Kumar Trivedi Development and Poverty in an Indian State: A Study of KBK Districts of Orissa - Satya Prakash Dash SECTION IV: Programmes for Poverty Alleviation Planning for Alleviation of Rural Poverty in India: Experience and Lessons - Kamta Prasad Supplementary Nutrition to Women and Children: A Situational Analysis of Anganwadis in Tribal Areas of Gujarat Ratnawali Socio-economic Impact of Implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in India - T. Haque Index