This book is about social security, or the lack of it, for the labouring poor in India. It is a critical study of the working of two flagship national social security schemes initiated by the Government of India, namely, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), and the national health insurance scheme called the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY).

Fresh contributions made by senior scholars and researchers, these essays provide rich data and analysis on the status of social security schemes at work in five Indian states-Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Odisha, and Punjab-by carrying out local level studies that capture the conditions and responses of the labouring poor. In addition, some essays also assess the implementation of the old-age and other pension schemes introduced both by the Central and state governments. The studies are multidisciplinary in nature as they combine macro- and micro-level data, as well as qualitative and quantitative data. The volume reveals the limitations of these schemes both in terms of design and implementation in the current neoliberal setup in India.