Articles by S Mahendra Dev

Human Development in an Unequal World by K Seeta Prabhu and Sandhya S Iyer, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2019; pp xxiii + 370, ₹ 1,250.

Let me congratulate this remarkable journal on the occasion of its 50 th anniversary. The first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of EPW is the undeniable impact it has had on informing and shaping discussions across the social sciences. It caters to various sections of the population within...

Water management requires multiple levels of policy action. The problem is not a shortage of water, but the absence of proper mechanisms for its augmentation, conservation, distribution, and efficient use. Water management should be given number one priority in agricultural policy, particularly to prevent drought, minimise the risks due to drought and build a climate-resilient agriculture.

Since the submission of the report of the 2012 expert group on poverty measurement, there have been a few comments on it. The purpose of this note is to clarify some of the issues raised by researchers and others on this report. The clarifi cations discussed here are (1) what is new in the approach defining the poverty line; (2) the use of calories; (3) multidimensional poverty; (4) high urban poverty in many states; (5) NAS-NSS consumption differences; (6) poverty measures in other countries; (7) public expenditure and poverty; and (8) poverty ratio eligibility for access to programmes. As most of the researchers have commented on multidimensional poverty, this note also elaborates on the reasons for not considering this measure in the report.

India Labour and Employment Report 2014, principal author and editor, Alakh N Sharma (Institute for Human Development and Academic Foundation, New Delhi), 2014; pp 248, Rs 995.