Putting the right
infrastructure is critical to India’s plans for inclusive growth.
Increasingly, responsibilities for infrastructure development will be
decentralised to the local governments, whether rural or urban. There is
now an increasingly urgent need for large-scale environmental improvement
programmes and for strengthening governance and the capacity of local
institutions to plan, implement, and finance infrastructure provision and
service delivery.
Building from the Bottom:
Infrastructure and Poverty Alleviation provides critical insights into
infrastructure governance from different angles—policy making, urban and
rural aspects, technology, connectivity, capacity building and
participation. Some of the most distinguished scholars and practitioners
have contributed to this volume that encapsulates the key issues in
mainstreaming poverty alleviation strategies in infrastructure programmes.
Some important questions it seeks to answer are: How can we ensure
infrastructure access and affordability for the poor? What are the
implications for development planning and decision-making processes? What
are the financing options? The book also contains a number of best
practice case studies to reflect community participation, innovation and
commitment, all vital ingredients to the process of building from the
bottom.
The book will serve as a useful
reference and planning tool for administrators, planners, policymakers and
researchers of development economics.
Scaling-up access to finance for India’s rural poor presents a formidable
developmental challenge in a country as vast and varied as India. It was
in this context that Skoch Development Foundation undertook the first-ever
nationwide multi-stakeholder study entitled "National Study on Speeding
Financial Inclusion". This study sought to collate primary research based
on our grassroots experiences from several project sites and field visits;
and, views from all stakeholders so as to arrive at key interventions and
intermediations to speed up the process of financial inclusion, and
thereby poverty alleviation. Apart from providing key recommendations in
the form of a roadmap to speed up the process of financial inclusion, the
study also sought to determine the viability and cost-effectiveness of the
Business Correspondent (BC) model and has identified several options to
make the model viable.
The Indian Government took the historic step of launching the Jawaharlal
Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in December 2005 with a view
to give fillip to urban infrastructure development in 65 major cities by
mobilising Rs.50,000 crore from the Central budget and by getting a
matching Rs.50,000 crore from the State governments and the Urban Local
Bodies (ULBs). The response to JNNURM has been very good. As a
consequence, projects costing Rs.95,385 crore have already been sanctioned
and are under various stages of implementation. This book reveals the
nuances and thinking behind the JNNURM, its implementation and status on
the ground and suggests the way forward. The current urban reform process
undoubtedly offers tremendous opportunities to rethink economic and
development priorities. This book is timely given the re-affirmed
commitment of the government to urban development. It is an essential read
for all interested in policy, planning, urban develop-ment and renewal
issues.
Editors:
Sameer Kochhar, Deepak B Phatak, H Krishnamurthy,
Gursharan Dhanjal
This compilation has emerged
from a recent National Consultation on Infrastructure and Governance
called India @ Work Summit, organised by Skoch Consultancy Services,
providing critical insights into the subject of infrastructure and
governance, all pointing to a common goal of inclusive growth.
The book opens with a chapter
entitled: Participatory Democracy, Infrastructure and Empowerment.
Offering the concerned reader the collective wisdom of eminent policy
makers and distinguished experts, the content in this volume is organised
under seven sections, namely:
Sameer Kochhar,
R. Chandrashekhar,
K.C. Chakrabarty,
Deepak B. Phatak (EDS.)
This compilation is the result of action research and
field visits across India spread over last 10-years that have been
punctuated with seminars and workshops providing multi-stakeholder
consultations. These were conducted by Skoch Consultancy Services with
recently added support from Skoch Development Foundation. The compilation
focuses on various facets of financial inclusion ranging from opening up
of no-frills accounts to micro-credit to financial literacy, while
emphasising the role of process changes, technology enablement, capacity
building and outreach mechanism. It looks at examples of local bodies,
post offices and tele-centres having been used effectively. It also
proposes a model of inclusive development, emphasising that inclusive
economics leads to inclusive governance and vice-versa. The book provides
a holistic view based on practitioners’ perspective and grassroots
learning. A must read for all involved in inclusive development of India.
