From UNDP’s Human Development Index to the more recent Multidimensional Poverty Index, there have been conceptualisations and frameworks towards understanding social development. However, there have not been consistent efforts by governments, multilateral agencies, NGOs and disciplinary leaders in the academia towards contextualising the different concepts and frameworks for addressing social development. This book attempts to aggregate the various strands of discourse relating to social sector development in India from the academic and practitioners’ world. Social sector issues are not limited to health, education and housing, but encompass concerns relating to agriculture, food security, rural development, gender and livelihoods. Within that broad canvass, the objective of this collection of papers is to assess the performance and analyse the challenges of social sector programmes, policies and remaining issues.

The essays in this volume are written by specialists in diverse fields such as agriculture, health, education, nutrition, gender, food security, agro-biodiversity, poverty, minorities, rural development and livelihoods. Several of the essays relate to the debate about economic growth and social development, elegantly articulated by Jean Drèze & Amartya Sen: “Why has growth not produced commensurate social development or has done so with poor results?”’ Overall, these essays attempt to bring social development to centre stage and make inclusive growth a visible reality.