Author Description

About the Author Sonalde B. Desai, Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Maryland, USA and joining as Senior Fellow, National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), India, from December 2009; Amaresh Dubey, Professor of Economics, Centre for the Study of Regional Development, School of SocialSciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India; Brijlal Joshi, Retired Fellow, National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), India; Mitali Sen, Statistician, US Census Bureau, USA; Abusaleh Shariff, Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Asia, India;Reeve D. Vanneman, Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Maryland, USA. Product Description This volume looks beyond conventional and basic welfare indicators of human development (HD) to a more complex evaluation of HD, by taking a holistic perspective on people's lived experiences which is based on a comprehensive detailed survey. The authors consider that inequality in well-being, capabilities, and opportunities by gender, caste, tribe, religion, and place of residence are markers that are important for addressing the challenges that India is facing in an era of transition, It is the global forces that have widened thedisparities between metropolitan cities and villages and are also responsible for the failure of public institutions in spite of some noteworthy achievements.