'Economic & Social Issues in India' is a subject which is becoming very important in many exams like Civil Services, Bank Officers Exam etc. The present book 'Economic & Social Issues in India' has been specially developed keeping in mind the requirements of students, exam-aspirants and other readers with academic as well as competitions' point of view. The book is especially useful for the aspirants of various competitive exams where this subject forms an essential part of the examination. The main aim of the book is to present this specialised subject in a reader-friendly manner to make the readers grasp its various topics thoroughly. The book comprises a wide spectrum of chapters and topics on which questions are frequently asked in various exams. The book will act as an efficient tool to enhance your knowledge of the subject and do better preparation of your respective exam. The book will definitely prove to be a boon to the inquisitive students, competitive exam-aspirants, and other readers in improving and enhancing their knowledge of the subject and will immensely help them perform better in their respective exams and competitions.

As education and health are two major areas of concern in the context of social sector development and human development achievements, this book explores their situation in India. The liberalisation of the Indian economy had a major impact on the growth rate of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with the economic growth of the country jumping from the so-called Hindu growth rate of 3.5% to 8–9% per annum. The literacy rate increased to 74.04% in 2011 from 12% in 1947, while the universalization of elementary education has been achieved to a great extent, and dropout rates have decreased. However, despite considerable progress, exclusions and wide disparities still exist. Combining access with affordability and ensuring quality with good governance and adequate finance are still of great concern. On the health front, significant achievements have also been made, with a number of diseases eradicated or on the verge of elimination. There has been a substantial drop in the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) and Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), and life expectancy has increased from 36.7 years in 1951 to 67.14 in 2011. The crude birth rate has been reduced from 40.8 in 1951 to 20.6 in 2012, and the crude death rate from 25.1 to 7.43 in the same period. These achievements are impressive, but at the same time our failures appear even more glaring. As such, this volume brings together contributions from eminent Indian scholars on a range of social issues, including linkages between growth, poverty and the social sector; the efficiency of social sector spending in India; disparity in health statuses; IPR protection in health innovations; pollution and health; the universalisation of elementary education; problems faced at the higher levels of education; and issues of child labour.

"India: Environmental, Political and Social Issues first highlights the environmental conditions of Uttarakhand such as relief, structure, drainage, climatic conditions and forest types, as well as the influence of these aspects on aspects of demographic structure such as population distribution, growth, sex ratio and literacy. The authors go to present findings indicate that the Tropical Lowland Rain Forests in Sri Lanka are capable of recovery, in terms of biodiversity and stature, if sufficient recess is provided following land use practices such as selective logging and chena cultivation in spatial and temporal contexts. As a desert state, the climate of Rajasthan is uniquely characterized by low rainfall, dryness and extreme temperature. Fauna of this region are specifically adapted to this hostile environment. In this compilation, threats to fauna of Rajasthan are assessed. Later, after presenting a short introduction to the historical and cultural background, the authors narrate Karunanidhi's most decisive film, Parasakthi (Supreme Power, 1952). It challenges certain cultural stereotypes such as the sexual exploitation of women, social discrimination, corruption, religious superstition and so on. The closing study examines the effects of socio-economic determinants on child malnutrition in Uttar Pradesh, the most populous and malnourished state of India. Using data from NFHS-4, this study highlights district-wide variations in the nutritional status of children less than five years old in the state"--

One of the first ethnographic studies to explore use of social media in the everyday lives of people in Tamil Nadu, Social Media in South India provides an understanding of this subject in a region experiencing rapid transformation. The influx of IT companies over the past decade into what was once a space dominated by agriculture has resulted in a complex juxtaposition between an evolving knowledge economy and the traditions of rural life. While certain class tensions have emerged in response to this juxtaposition, a study of social media in the region suggests that similarities have also transpired, observed most clearly in the blurring of boundaries between work and life for both the old residents and the new. Venkatraman explores the impact of social media at home, work and school, and analyses the influence of class, caste, age and gender on how, and which, social media platforms are used in different contexts. These factors, he argues, have a significant effect on social media use, suggesting that social media in South India, while seeming to induce societal change, actually remains bound by local traditions and practices.

Once known as "Pariahs," Dalits are primarily descendants of unfree agrarian laborers. They belong to India's most subordinated castes, face overwhelming poverty and discrimination, and provoke public anxiety. Drawing on a wealth of previously untapped sources, this book follows the conception and evolution of the "Pariah Problem" in public consciousness in the 1890s. It shows how high-caste landlords, state officials, and well-intentioned missionaries conceived of Dalit oppression, and effectively foreclosed the emergence of substantive solutions to the "Problem"—with consequences that continue to be felt today. Rupa Viswanath begins with a description of the everyday lives of Dalit laborers in the 1890s and highlights the systematic efforts made by the state and Indian elites to protect Indian slavery from public scrutiny. Protestant missionaries were the first non-Dalits to draw attention to their plight. The missionaries' vision of the Pariahs' suffering as being a result of Hindu religious prejudice, however, obscured the fact that the entire agrarian political–economic system depended on unfree Pariah labor. Both the Indian public and colonial officials came to share a view compatible with missionary explanations, which meant all subsequent welfare efforts directed at Dalits focused on religious and social transformation rather than on structural reform. Methodologically, theoretically, and empirically, this book breaks new ground to demonstrate how events in the early decades of state-sponsored welfare directed at Dalits laid the groundwork for the present day, where the postcolonial state and well-meaning social and religious reformers continue to downplay Dalits' landlessness, violent suppression, and political subordination.

"Identifies and examines various trajectories of exclusion at both macro and micro levels in India"--

From terrorism to social inequality and from health care to environmental issues, social problems affect us all. The Encyclopedia will offer an interdisciplinary perspective into these and many other social problems that are a continuing concern in our lives, whether we confront them on a personal, local, regional, national, or global level.

Long plagued by poverty, India's recent economic growth has vaulted it into the ranks of the world's emerging powers, but what kind of power it wants to be remains a mystery. Our Time Has Come explains why India behaves the way it does, and the role it is likely to play globally as its prominence grows.