According to Census 2011, population of India increased from 103 crore in 2001 to 121 crore in 2011, an increase of 18 crore or 17.6 percent. Out of 121 crore, 62.4 crore (51.6 percent) were males and 58.6 crore (48.4) females. Unfortunately, Census 2011 data shows that the sex ratio for children below 6 years (i.e. number of girls for every 1,000 boys) dropped from 927 in 2001 to a dismal 914 in 2011. This decline is unabated since 1961 Census. This gender bias draws attention to a lingering societal flaw which economic growth is not being able to correct. Gender equality is a constituent of development as well as an instrument of development. No country can be deemed developed if half of its population is severely disadvantaged in terms of basic needs, livelihood options, access to knowledge, and political voice. Discrimination on the lines of gender is not always overt. It appears in very subtle forms such as in the nature of work performed, skills required to perform the work and the valuation of these skills and the technology used by men and women. One problem more specific to women is that they are subject to various forms of harassment at the workplace. Verbal and physical violence against women has been an age-old method of subjugating them. Advancement and empowerment of women has been a leading objective of state policy ever since the attainment of Independence in 1947. Institutions of different types -- Central, State and Local Governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society and other bodies -- are active to ensure gender equality as laid down in the Constitution of India. Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12) of India recognised women, for the first time, not just as equal citizens but as agents of economic and social growth. Women's lack of economic empowerment not only impedes growth and poverty reduction, but also has a host of other negative impacts including less favourable education and health outcomes for children. Thus, it is extremely important to ensure that women are economically, socially and politically empowered. This book provides a vivid account of the problems faced by Indian women, particularly those belonging to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups. It explains comprehensively the various policies, programmes and schemes initiated by the Government of India in co-operation with other agencies for the welfare, development and empowerment of women in India. The book will be of interest to those involved/interested in the socio-economic empowerment of women, including researchers, academicians, industry associations, and policy formulators.

Food security is one of the major components of social security. It consists of ensuring that food is available at all times, that all persons have means of and access to it, that it is nutritionally adequate in terms of quantity, quality and variety, and that it is acceptable within the given culture. There are three elements in this definition, availability, access and suitability. In recent years, nutrition has been considered as part of food security. The National Development Council (NDC) in its 53rd meeting held on May 29, 2007 adopted a resolution to launch a Food Security Mission -- comprising rice, wheat and pulses -- to increase the production of rice by 10 million tons, wheat by 8 million tons and pulses by 2 million tons by the end of the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12). Accordingly, a Centrally-sponsored scheme, viz. National Food Security Mission (NFSM) was launched from 2007-08 to operationalise the above mentioned resolution. National Food Security Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 22 December 2011. As per the provisions of the Bill, it is proposed to provide 7 kilograms of foodgrains per person per month belonging to priority households at prices not exceeding 3 per kilogram of rice, 2 per kilogram of wheat, and 1 per kilogram of coarse grains and to general households not less than 3 kilogram of foodgrains per person per month at prices not exceeding 50 percent of the minimum support price (MSP) for wheat and coarse grains and derived MSP for rice. The present volume consists of 15 research papers on the subject of food security, contributed by scholars in the field. The issues raised in different papers add constructively to the current debate on this sensitive subject of national importance.