In analysing the phenomenon of health sector reforms, this book proposes a new conceptual framework of analysis and ethnography as a methodological tool which could be used effectively in various country contexts compared to what the existing theoretical frameworks do. Thus, apart from generating new knowledge in health sector, this study has significance for policy makers across the world. When the states themselves accept the fact that increasing private participation in health care in the form of health sector reforms is happening because of deliberate state policy, they will be better positioned to take decisions which ensure effective private sector regulation and universal access to quality health care within a democratic or participatory framework of governance. Increasing privatisation of health care has also led toward citizens losing their democratic spaces with regard to decisions on universal access to quality health care. This has wider implications, not only for improved health status in general, but also about how we live in a modern society with our values of liberty, equality and justice intact. The book would be a useful guide for policy-makers, researchers, students and layman across the world.

The health sector reforms initially touted as the World Banks prescription and hence roundly rejected by the concerned scholars, have slowly but gradually started gaining grounds in India. Indeed, some of the reform measures adopted in a few states had preceded 1991 economic reforms. The objective of this book is to capture the various strands of reforms which had started unfolding since the late 1980s itself. Following the case study method, this volume also looks into the functioning of Rogi Kalyan Samities (RKS) and lady health volunteers, both adapted as critical components of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), a flagship programme of the UPA government which aims at injecting a new life to the public health care system by strengthening the health infrastructure and providing a functional link between the community and the hospitals. Not only does this volume draw on experiences of some of the states but by offering empirical evidences on some of the successful initiatives it enriches our understanding of the impact of reform measures.

Safeguarding the Health Sector in Times of Macroeconomic Instability presents the results of an international initiative to document the effects of how health systems in the developing world have responded to macroeconomic austerity and adjustment measures. Are these systems flexible and resilient to changes or are they rigid? In which circumstances and under which conditions do health systems respond favourably or unfavourably? What are the success stories? Country studies from Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, India, Thailand, Mexico, and Colombia discuss lessons learned and identify policy measures for safeguarding the health sector. This book provides a fresh look at the relationships between. macroeconomic policy and interventions, health sector reform, and the health system in general, presenting new and detailed observations to inform policy choices within the health-care sector worldwide. It is unique in its focus on health systems and services (including financing, quality, accessibility, and utilization), rather than on health status. It will be of interest to academics, researchers, and students studying or active in health sciences and international development studies; professionals and practitioners in donor organizations, development organizations, and NGOs worldwide; and policy advisors and decision-makers in the health-care sector.

This volume analyses the impact of globalisation on governance, and specifically on public-sector reforms. Starting from the premise that adhocism and sectoralism are the main reasons why past attempts at administrative reforms in India have not succeeded, this book maintains that some of the basic tenets of mainstream approaches to administrative reform require urgent and critical re-examination. The ten essays in this book dwell on three distinct areas—urban governance, energy and environmental governance, and service delivery systems—which have been subjected to a blizzard of reforms in recent years. The contributors investigate the role of public and private partners as agents of change and showcase successful experiments that have transformed the lives of local rural communities.

The Indian Economy Since 1991: Economic Reforms and Performance is the outcome of a collaborative effort by 28 experts who have made significant contributions in research toward the Indian economy. Using a data-based, analytical approach to key economic issues and problems, coupled with extensive coverage and a critical and in-depth analysis of the developments in all major sub-sectors of the Indian economy, this edited volume examines the impact of the reforms on various fronts such as economic performance, employment, unemployment, planning process, financial and fiscal sectors, external sector, agriculture, industry, infrastructure, health, education, poverty and federal finance since 1991.

The test of whether the UK should continue to give aid to India is whether that aid makes a distinctive contribution to poverty reduction. The Government of India has primary responsibility for this and has already reduced poverty levels from 60 percent in 1981 to 42 percent in 2005. But whilst the economy is growing there are large pockets of poverty that still remain. The DFID plans to change some of its programme, focusing primarily on three of the poorest states, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, also changing the sectors it prioritises and putting 50 percent of its budget through the private sector by 2015.The Committee supports the focus on the poorest states but provided it is supported by the Government of India. They recommend supporting in particular sanitation, malnutrition, maternal and child health and social exclusion. The Committee supports the Government's aim to forge a new enhanced partnership with India with its mutual benefits from cooperation in trade and investment but the DFID must ensure UK Government policies help protect the poorest and reduce inequalities. The Committee assuming that over the next four years as India continues to grow at current rates it will have increased its capacity to tackle poverty and meet the millennium development goals. DFID should continue to provide technical assistance where requested but the funding mechanism should change by 2015.

The Indian Economy Since 1991: Economic Reforms and Performance is an edited volume, based on the UGC’s model curriculum for ‘Indian Economic Policy’, meant for all universities in India. Each chapter is contributed by an expert in the specific area being addressed, and this book presents the policies formulated in each sector or sub-sector, and the resultant changes, during the post-reform period (1991-2008). This volume examines the impact of economic reforms on fronts as varied as the fiscal situation of government of India, state finances, money, capital market, external sector, agriculture, industry, power, health, education, employment, unemployment and poverty.

Water is becoming an increasingly scarce resource in India. India faces an increasingly urgent situation with its finite and fragile water resources being stressed and depleted while various sectoral demands are growing rapidly. 'Initiating and Sustaining Water Sector Reforms' offers detailed solutions to this complex and important concern.