This book examines sanitation and toilet access across rural India, focusing on psychological, socio-cultural, infrastructural, and normative barriers to the initiative of Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). While sketching the evolution of sanitation policies in India, it assesses their impact on sanitation behaviour. It also studies the implications of variations in caste, religion, and geography on toilet usage across Indian states.By analysing data from various states and intensive mi...

This book explores the nature and type of prevalent collective behavior that influences women empowerment, women workforce participation and behavior change in sanitation. The influence of collective norms and customs have been investigated through a series of studies throughout India.There are very few research works on understanding social norms that distinguishes it from a range of other collective behaviors. This understanding would not only improve analytical clarity on collect...

This book looks at the institutional and governance issues faced by India during the first and second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and its adverse impact on the vulnerable sectors and groups.The book is split into four parts, with preceding chapters informing later ones. Part One outlines the approach of the study, in particular their examination of policy responses and the effect of the pandemic. Part Two delves into the governance challenges in containing the pandemic while givi...

A lot has changed in Indian social and economic planning since the introduction of the grand rural employment guarantee scheme, now known as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act (MGNREGA). The act has been implemented, suffered setbacks, established land-marks, drawn criticism, and collected accolades in all these years. But most significantly it has profoundly changed the character of the Indian women at large. Whether these changes are good for Indian democracy is a matter of...

Is the caste system disappearing? Are traditional hierarchies being replaced by competing equalities? Do globalization and liberalization automatically result in diminishing disparities? Are modern labour markets intrinsically meritocratic and efficient? Challenging the dominant discourse and demolishing various myths, this book provides answers to these and other critical questions on caste in its contemporary avatar. Linking the economics of caste with its politics, sociology, and histor...

This book explores the second-order effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on social and economic development in India. The chapters in this volume provide theoretical perspectives and empirical insights from a range of disciplines including history, economics, water management, food and nutrition security, agriculture, rural management, public health, urbanization, gender studies and development of the marginalized. It discusses the pressing questions that have been raised by the disruption cau...

Brief yet containing the whole of the INC-prescribed syllabus, this book primarily aims at catering to the curricular needs of B.Sc. nursing students. It will, however, be of immense use for the GNM students and the degree students of various streams studying sociology. - Written with a view to fulfil the requirement of student nurses. - Includes substantially new approaches/aspects on the various topics. - Contains the latest data in chapters relating to demography, population, social pro...

This open access book brings together varying perspectives for transformational change needed in India’s agriculture and allied sectors. Stressing the need of thinking for a post-Green Revolution future, the book promotes approaching this change through eight broad areas, indicating the policy shifts needed to meet the challenges for the coming decade (2021-2030).The book comprises of ten contributions. Apart from the overview chapter on transformational change and the concluding c...

This book explores the complex structural institutions in society, individual attitudes towards, beliefs about and values of those institutions, and the process by which the relationship between the social structure and individual agency conditions and governs girls' educational participation in Nepal.

WINNER OF THE TATA LITERATURE LIVE FIRST BOOK AWARD (NON-FICTION) 2021Maharashtra, India's richest state by GDP, has its eyes set on becoming the country's first trillion-dollar economy by 2025. At the same time, Marathwada - a historically backward part of the state adjoining the distressed Vidarbha region - has seen a surge in farmer suicides.At the heart of the crisis is a cyclical drought that has persisted for almost a decade. Relief packages and loan ...

Northern Sri Lanka has been at the heart of the country’s 30-year civil war, a bloody conflict which has given rise to an estimated 40,000 households headed by women in this region. Based on fieldwork conducted in 10 villages and towns, this ePaper aims to identify and describe the most pervasive economic, physical and psycho-social vulnerabilities that female heads of households (FHHs) in the north face in the post-war context. It also traces how the state has shaped these vulnerabilities...

This open access book discusses the socio-political context of the COVID-19 crisis and questions the management of the pandemic emergency with special reference to how this affected the governance of migration and asylum. The book offers critical insights on the impact of the pandemic on migrant workers in different world regions including North America, Europe and Asia.The book addresses several categories of migrants including medical staff, farm labourers, construction workers, ...