HUMAN DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY OF MGNREGA

The trajectory of development moves from the centrality of economic variables to human development variables. The three components of human development are literacy, longevity and access to income. This book concentrates on the component of access to income. As the global economy has experienced the trade cycles of boom and crisis in recent years, the volatility of markets has resulted in increase of the unemployment rates both in developed and developing countries. Unemployment in general denies access to income. The faces of unemployment in developing countries evolve in the form of poverty, illiteracy and shorten the span of life causing a vicious cycle. After a theoretical analysis of development and unemployment, this book tries to tackle this issue by examining the impact and implications of Indian employment strategy. Though there has been an impressive economic growth in India, but whether the benefits of it have reached the needy millions remains a debatable topic. Through MGNREGA, the Indian government’s employment strategy, the trickle-down effect is being implemented for inclusive growth. The present study analyses the impact and implications of this programme in four South Indian states. Though the decline in the percentage of people living below poverty line is minimal, can we establish MGNREGA as a programme to raise their living standard? It is thus a book with theoretical content and analytical data to substantiate the current Indian debate on BPL issues with a global perspective.

John Joseph Puthenkalam, S.J. has had his higher education at Sophia University, Japan and University of Glasgow, Scotland. His writings dwell extensively on issues such as economic development and environment of developing nations. His research integrates models that make possible both sustainable environment and economic development from the perspective of developing nations premised on human dignity, human rights, empowerment of poor people, and real globalization.

At present, he is Professor, Faculty of Economics and Graduate Division of Global Environment Studies, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan.

M.K. George, S.J. is the Director of Indian Social Institute, Bangalore. Earlier, he was the Principal of the Loyola College of Social Sciences, Trivandrum. He was also a Visiting Fellow at the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, USA. His research interests are sociology of education, adult education and other development-related issues.