Perspectives on Regional Development: With Special Reference to Uttar Pradesh — Essays in Honour of Professor Ajit Kumar Singh

RAVI SRIVASTAVA

Excerpt from the Foreword

“The present book, makes a timely and important contribution by identifying the major constraints to rapid development in UP and suggesting policies to address them in order to achieve rapid, sustainable and inclusive development. The editors need to be complimented for assembling these papers. It is hoped that the policy makers and administrators will pay due attention to the issues raised in in this volume dedicated to Professor Ajit K Singh.”

— Rajiv Kumar
Former Vice Chairperson, NITI Aayog
Chairperson PAHLE Foundation

“It is known that states play a pivotal role in achieving India’s development goals. The performance of a large state Uttar Pradesh is very important for India to attain Viksit Bharat. I compliment the editors of this volume for covering various aspects of development in Uttar Pradesh’s economy and society such as frameworks of development, sectoral performances in agriculture and infrastructure, human development, fiscal and political dynamics that influence the economic growth and inclusiveness in the state. It brings insights from economics, politics, sociology and agriculture. This book is a timely contribution and a must read for students, researchers and policy makers. It is a fitting tribute to Prof. Ajit Kumar Singh who extensively researched Uttar Pradesh for over a period of half a century and inspired generations of researchers in India and abroad.”

— S. Mahendra Dev
Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister

Editors

Ravi Srivastava, former Chairperson, Centre for the Study of Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Director, Centre of Employment Studies, Institute for Human Development, New Delhi.

Nomita P. Kumar, Assistant Professor (Senior), Giri Institute of Development Studies, Lucknow.

Kavita Baliyan, Assistant Professor, Giri Institute of Development Studies, Lucknow.

Contributors

Manoj Kumar Agarwal
Ishwar Chandra Awasthi
Kavita Baliyan
Seema Bathla
Dinesh Gehlot
Srinivas Goli
I D Gupta
Abu Huzaifa
Karuna Shanker Kanaujiya
Atiya Habeeb Kidwai
Nomita P Kumar
Sanjeev Kumar
Nagendra Kumar Maurya
Kamlesh Meena
Santosh Mehrotra
Niti Mehta
Sanatan Nayak
Gunjan Pandey
Ruchika Pandey
Geeta Rani
Komal Sajwan
Himanshu Saluja
S.P. Singh
Anjali Sharma
Puneet Kumar
Achala Srivastava
Nisha Srivastava
Mohammad Zahid Siddiqui
Sudha Pai
NMP Verma

“Professor A.K. Singh is widely regarded amongst India’s leading scholar on regional development. His contribution in teaching, research, and institution building in Uttar Pradesh has earned him wide admiration. This volume, with contributions from his colleagues, friends and students, brings together important insights on agriculture, non-farm sector, human development, fiscal issues and other themes. The chapters offer fresh perspectives on Uttar Pradesh and India. The book stands as an important contribution to the study of regional development and a fitting tribute to Professor A.K. Singh’s work.”

— Alakh N. Sharma
Director, Institute for Human Development, New Delhi;
President, Indian Society of Labour Economics

“This volume offers significant insights into the development challenges Uttar Pradesh continues to confront, particularly at the intersection of inequality, growth, and fiscal sustainability. It is a fitting acknowledgment of Professor Ajit Kumar Singh’s outstanding contributions to the study of the state, its complex socio-economic dynamics and the evolving possibilities that shape its future trajectories.”

— Zoya Hasan
Professor Emerita, Centre for Political Studies,
Jawaharlal Nehru University.

“This edited volume of essays in honour of Professor A.K. Singh is a welcome addition to the development literature on the Uttar Pradesh economy. Professor Singh has had a long research career exploring the various facets of the development challenge in India. Many of his works gave particular attention to the Uttar Pradesh economy. Given Uttar Pradesh’s weight in population and area in India, it’s fast development transformation is of crucial importance to India’s economic development.”

— K.P. Kannan
Former Professor and Director, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, and Member, Erstwhile National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector; Chairman, Academic Committee, Laurie Baker Centre for Habitat Studies, Thiruvananthapuram; Chairman, COSTFORD, Thrissur | Thiruvananthapuram