This book discusses critical policy issues that need to be addressed if India wishes to achieve the SDG 1 based elusive goal of ending poverty in the country. In its nine chapters, it takes the readers through trends and estimates of poverty in India, explains changes in the way it has been measured over time and the factors that lead to persistence of poverty, draws attention to the fact that hunger is both a cause and an effect of poverty and has gender and age dimensions too. The book revisits strategies that were successful in addressing poverty emanating from situations of conflict, presents a discussion on migration as a critical coping mechanism among poor, analyses the links between ill health and poverty as well as education and poverty to draw attention to the policy imperatives that need attention. India's report card on poverty remains dismal even though there is recognition of the importance of reducing or eliminating or ending it at both national and global levels. Despite rapid economic growth and improvement on a range of development indicators, an unacceptably high proportion of India's population continues to suffer poverty in multiple dimensions. SDG 1 or "ending poverty in all its forms everywhere" cannot be achieved unless policies and poverty alleviation programmes understand and address chronic poverty and its dynamics. This requires that we estimate and understand the extent of poverty, the factors that lead to people getting stuck in it and the ways this can be addressed. It also requires understanding the dynamic nature of poverty or the fact that many of those who are poor are able to move out of poverty as well as the fact that many others who are not poor become impoverished. These are the issues that are comprehensively examined and addressed in this book. In addition to students, teachers and researchers in the areas of development, economic growth, equity and welfare, the book is also of great interest to policy makers, planners and non-government agencies who are concerned with understanding and addressing poverty-related issues in the developing countries.

Tribal communities in western India, as elsewhere in the country, have been facing increasing marginalisation and poverty. This is so despite a relatively better record of social movements and work by civil society organisations among them and their political inclusion. Further, the existing literature on tribals focuses more on their socio-cultural situation and less on their economic and human development. Addressing this gap in scholarship, this volume details the processes of tribal development and associated challenges in Gujarat, often viewed as a high-growth economy. Rich in interdisciplinary, empirical analyses, the book comprehensively addresses three important aspects of tribal development - human development, economic opportunities and governance. It critiques recent policy diagnoses and interventions, rather than evaluate policy-outcomes. The volume traces the genesis of continued marginalisation of tribals in the country, and contributes to the ongoing discourse on integrative tribal development. The work will interest scholars and students of development studies, tribal studies, economics, sociology, social work, as also policy-makers, activists, and governmental and non-governmental organisations in the field.

This book presents an enquiry into the interface between nature, economy and society, which is still in its early stages, notwithstanding the commendable progress and advances made in the field of environmental and natural resource economics within the ever-expanding boundaries of economics as a discipline. It further delineates the evolution of an inter-disciplinary framework for analyzing the status, the future goals, mechanisms and policy instruments that can help move towards a more ecologically sustainable, economically beneficial and socially just future. A pre-requisite for preparing a comprehensive and coherent framework involves unfolding the multiple layers of interconnectedness between the three systems nature, economy and society, each of which has its own internal consistencies as well as externalities. Against this backdrop, the book presents scholarly contributions that focus on four broadly defined building blocks, namely: i) accounting for ecosystems services for life and human well-being; ii) impacts of economic growth on ecosystems; iii) social norms, equity, and governance; and iv) alternative approaches to green and socio-economic systems. The analyses, presented by some of the most eminent national and international scholars, address the major environmental challenges that nations around the world face today and consider which specific policy directions at the international and national level are needed. In particular, the choices India and South Asia now face, as development and environment both need to be addressed adequately, touch on many of these challenges.

This book discusses critical policy issues that need to be addressed if India wishes to achieve the SDG 1 based elusive goal of ending poverty in the country. In its nine chapters, it takes the readers through trends and estimates of poverty in India, explains changes in the way it has been measured over time and the factors that lead to persistence of poverty, draws attention to the fact that hunger is both a cause and an effect of poverty and has gender and age dimensions too. The book revisits strategies that were successful in addressing poverty emanating from situations of conflict, presents a discussion on migration as a critical coping mechanism among poor, analyses the links between ill health and poverty as well as education and poverty to draw attention to the policy imperatives that need attention. India's report card on poverty remains dismal even though there is recognition of the importance of reducing or eliminating or ending it at both national and global levels. Despite rapid economic growth and improvement on a range of development indicators, an unacceptably high proportion of India's population continues to suffer poverty in multiple dimensions. SDG 1 or "ending poverty in all its forms everywhere" cannot be achieved unless policies and poverty alleviation programmes understand and address chronic poverty and its dynamics. This requires that we estimate and understand the extent of poverty, the factors that lead to people getting stuck in it and the ways this can be addressed. It also requires understanding the dynamic nature of poverty or the fact that many of those who are poor are able to move out of poverty as well as the fact that many others who are not poor become impoverished. These are the issues that are comprehensively examined and addressed in this book. In addition to students, teachers and researchers in the areas of development, economic growth, equity and welfare, the book is also of great interest to policy makers, planners and non-government agencies who are concerned with understanding and addressing poverty-related issues in the developing countries.

This book presents an enquiry into the interface between nature, economy and society, which is still in its early stages, notwithstanding the commendable progress and advances made in the field of environmental and natural resource economics within the ever-expanding boundaries of economics as a discipline. It further delineates the evolution of an inter-disciplinary framework for analyzing the status, the future goals, mechanisms and policy instruments that can help move towards a more ecologically sustainable, economically beneficial and socially just future. A pre-requisite for preparing a comprehensive and coherent framework involves unfolding the multiple layers of interconnectedness between the three systems nature, economy and society, each of which has its own internal consistencies as well as externalities. Against this backdrop, the book presents scholarly contributions that focus on four broadly defined building blocks, namely: i) accounting for ecosystems services for life and human well-being; ii) impacts of economic growth on ecosystems; iii) social norms, equity, and governance; and iv) alternative approaches to green and socio-economic systems. The analyses, presented by some of the most eminent national and international scholars, address the major environmental challenges that nations around the world face today and consider which specific policy directions at the international and national level are needed. In particular, the choices India and South Asia now face, as development and environment both need to be addressed adequately, touch on many of these challenges.

Tribal communities in western India, as elsewhere in the country, have been facing increasing marginalisation and poverty. This is so despite a relatively better record of social movements and work by civil society organisations among them and their political inclusion. Further, the existing literature on tribals focuses more on their socio-cultural situation and less on their economic and human development. Addressing this gap in scholarship, this volume details the processes of tribal development and associated challenges in Gujarat, often viewed as a high-growth economy. Rich in interdisciplinary, empirical analyses, the book comprehensively addresses three important aspects of tribal development - human development, economic opportunities and governance. It critiques recent policy diagnoses and interventions, rather than evaluate policy-outcomes. The volume traces the genesis of continued marginalisation of tribals in the country, and contributes to the ongoing discourse on integrative tribal development. The work will interest scholars and students of development studies, tribal studies, economics, sociology, social work, as also policy-makers, activists, and governmental and non-governmental organisations in the field.