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AbstractChild labor has majorly been analyzed through the socio-economic lens, because the deterministic cultural factors have not received much attention. This study attempts to understand the cultural influences on children’s involvement in traditional economic activities. Applying a cultural sociological approach, an intrinsic case study was conducted on the nomadic Nat tribe in India that generates its livelihood through children’s involvement in acrobatics. Findings suggest that the cultural existence of the tribe significantly determines children’s involvement in socio-economic exchanges. Policy attempts toward child upliftment must consider the cultural aspects essential for the tribe’s survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been considerable interest in studying the effect of female labor market outcomes on intrahousehold bargaining. This paper examines the effects of local labor market opportunities in India on a variety of female bargaining characteristics, including domestic violence and intrahousehold discussion of important issues. Specifically, I utilize district-level data on employment in various occupations to calculate an employment shift-share index that proxies gender-specific labor demand. I find that improvements in labor market conditions for women lead to a decrease in perceptions of domestic violence, whereas improvements in predicted demand for male employment have little or negative effects on women's household bargaining power. When disaggregated by indicators of initial bargaining power, women that have lower levels of initial bargaining power either see no effect on bargaining or experience a backlash effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Till now, studies have determined the existence of process innovation using survey data; however, in this paper, we use secondary data to empirically establish its presence in low-tech industries. Our empirical approach consists of data envelopement analysis in the first step followed by regression analysis in the second step. We use a cross-sectional dataset, i.e., Annual Survey of Industries, 2017–2018 for our study. Our results suggest that among Indian low-tech firms, investment in computer equipment and software is the most popular strategy to trigger process innovation followed by investment in plant and machinery. We find that these factors have a greater impact on firms that export products and import inputs, than on firms that export products but do not import inputs. In other words, the export-import orientation of firms induces a differential impact of these factors on process innovation. One policy implication from the study is that government should encourage and incentivize low-tech firms to improve the capabilities of its labour force. This is the first paper in the Indian context that uses secondary data to empirically determine the existence of process innovation in low-tech industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delivering specialised care for major burns requires a multidisciplinary health workforce. While health systems ‘hardware’ issues, such as shortages of the healthcare workforce and training gaps in burn care are widely acknowledged, there is limited evidence around the systems ‘software’ aspects, such as interest, power dynamics, and relationships that impact the healthcare workforce performance. This study explored challenges faced by the health workforce in burn care to identify issues affecting their performance. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with a purposively selected sample (n = 31, 18 women and 13 men) of various cadres of the burn care health workforce in Uttar Pradesh, India. Inductive coding and thematic analysis identified three major themes. First, the dynamics within the multidisciplinary team where complex relations, power and normative hierarchy hampered performance. Second, the dynamics between health workers and patients due to the clinical and emotional challenges of dealing with burn injuries and multitasking. Third, dynamics between specialised burn units and broader health systems are narrated in challenges due to inadequate first response and delayed referral from primary care facilities. These findings indicate that burn care health workers in India face multiple challenges that need systemic intervention with a multipronged human resource for health framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Home-based work is among the largest forms of employment in the informal economy in India and is overwhelmingly represented by women. Employing a social reproduction framework that reframes what is counted as labor, this article asks how women's unpaid work activities are appropriated as labor in subcontracted home-based work. Applying this analytical framework, it becomes clear that domestic work in the home, often completed by women, is needed and exploited in this production process as a result of gendered constructs of care. The contribution considers how unpaid work is directly appropriated by capital as surplus value. The context of informal work is key here because of the irregular and fragmented production process, the space where work occurs, and the use of unpaid family workers. The goal of this research is to offer empirical evidence that broadens analytical perspectives to account for the context of informality in the Global South. HIGHLIGHTS Subcontracted home-based work in India relies on a gendered, fragmented, and precarious labor force. Unpaid caregiving and household work directly contributes to profit-making. Western analytical concepts of the economy need to be reexamined in the context of the postcolonial informal economies. Research tools that measure economic participation need to capture how unpaid activities directly or indirectly contribute to economic processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low rates of caesarean delivery (CD) (<10%) hinder access to a lifesaving procedure for the most vulnerable populations in low-resource settings, but there is a paucity of data regarding which factors contribute most to CD rates. We aimed to determine caesarean delivery rates at Bihar's first referral units (FRUs) stratified by facility level (regional, sub-district, district). The secondary aim was to identify facility-level factors associated with caesarean delivery rates. This cross-sectional study used open-source national datasets from government FRUs in Bihar, India, from April 2018–March 2019. Multivariate Poisson regression analysed association of infrastructure and workforce factors with CD rates. Of 546,444 deliveries conducted at 149 FRUs, 16961 were CDs, yielding a state-wide FRU CD of 3.1%. There were 67 (45%) regional hospitals, 45 (30%) sub-district hospitals, and 37 (25%) district hospitals. Sixty-one percent of FRUs qualified as having intact infrastructure, 84% had a functioning operating room, but only 7% were LaQshya (Labour Room Quality Improvement Initiative) certified. Considering workforce, 58% had an obstetrician-gynaecologist (range 0–10), 39% had an anaesthetist (range 0–5), and 35% had a provider trained in Emergency Obstetric Care (EmOC) (range 0–4) through a task-sharing initiative. The majority of regional hospitals lack the essential workforce and infrastructure to perform CDs. Multivariate regression including all FRUs performing deliveries demonstrated that presence of a functioning operating room (IRR = 21.0, 95%CI 7.9–55.8, p < 0.001) and the number of obstetrician-gynaecologists (IRR = 1.3, 95%CI 1.1–1.4, p = 0.001) and EmOCs (IRR = 1.6, 95%CI 1.3–1.9, p < 0.001) were associated with facility-level CD rates. Only 3.1% of the institutional childbirths in Bihar's FRUs were by CD. The presence of a functional operating room, obstetrician, and task-sharing provider (EmOC) was strongly associated with CD. These factors may represent initial investment priorities for scaling up CD rates in Bihar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global population is ageing rapidly, with low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) undergoing a fast demographic transition. As the number of older adults in LMICs increases, services able to effectively address their physical and mental health needs will be increasingly important. We review the health and socioeconomic resources currently available for older people in South Asian countries, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, to identify gaps in available resources and assess areas for improvement. We conducted a search of grey and published literature via Google Search, Compendex, EBSCO, JSTOR, Medline, Ovid, ProQuest databases, Scopus and Web of Science. Data on population demographics, human resources, health funding and social protection for older people were extracted. Local informants were consulted to supplement and verify the data. In the study countries, the number of health professionals with expertise in elderly care was largely unknown, with minimal postgraduate training programmes available in elderly medicine or psychiatry. Older adults are therefore cared for by general physicians, nurses and community health workers, all of whom are present in insufficient numbers per capita. Total average healthcare expenditure was 2.5–5.5% of GDP, with 48.1–72.0% of healthcare costs covered by out-of-pocket payments. Pakistan did not have a social pension; only India and Nepal offered financial assistance to people with dementia; and all countries had disproportionately low numbers of care elderly homes. Inadequate healthcare funding, a shortage of healthcare professionals and insufficient government pension and social security schemes are significant barriers to achieving universal health coverage in LMICs. Governing bodies must expand training programmes for healthcare providers for older adults, alongside increasing social protection to improve access to those in need and to prevent catastrophic health expenditure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite income growth, fertility decline, and educational expansion, female labour force participation in rural India dropped precipitously over the last decade. Nation-wide individual-level data allow us to explore if random reservation of village leadership for females affected women's access to job opportunities, their demand for participation in the labour force, and income as well as intra-household bargaining in the short-and medium term. Gender reservation of local leadership affected female but not male participation in public works and regular labour markets, their income, and their influence on key household decisions with a lag, suggesting that such reservation affected social norms and stereotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diversifying household livelihoods and increasing women's labor force participation is a major developmental challenge in South Asia. Multi-sectoral development approaches can provide better economic opportunities and women's employment simultaneously. This study provides evidence on the livelihoods and women's labor supply impacts of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM), a $5.1 billion livelihoods initiative. The study matches primary data from 4,202 households and 726 villages using the 2011 Population Census and the 2012 Socio-Economic and Caste Census. The instrumental variable estimates suggest that participation in NRLM is associated with an improvement in the number of household livelihoods by 0.707, livelihood diversification by 0.13σ, and women's working participation rate (WPR) by 15.4 percent. The study identifies two sets of channels, namely, formation of productive assets and access to formal credit, through which NRLM influenced livelihoods and women's WPR. Heterogeneous program effects suggest that women in socially and economically deprived households benefitted most. HIGHLIGHTS The study highlights India's National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM), the world's largest livelihoods initiative. NRLM improved opportunities for women's gainful employment in farm and nonfarm productive activities. The program's impact reflects the efficacy of multi-sectoral development interventions. It relies on a unique multi-sectoral approach that mobilizes rural poor women into SHGs and their federations. The study argues for interventions that influence gender roles in the context of rural growth and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While trade opening is generally welfare enhancing, it requires a reallocation of capital and labor across sectors and firms. The empirical evidence on how this reallocation works is still relatively thin. Our paper contributes to this literature by studying how the labor's share of income adjusted due to trade liberalization in India's formal manufacturing sector during the period 1998–99 to 2007–08. Our baseline model suggests that a fall in output tariffs led to an increase in the labor share while a fall in input tariffs brought about a decrease in labor share. However, once we control for factor and technology intensity of production, we find that this differential impact of tariff reduction on labor share aligns with these classifications. Tariff liberalization led to a decline in labor share in technology and capital-intensive sectors while in labor-intensive and low-tech sectors it brought about an increase. This suggests that following trade opening, demand for labor improved in labor-intensive and low-tech sectors but deteriorated in capital-intensive and high-tech sectors. India's manufacturing bias towards the latter explains the overall decline in labor share in the post-reform period. Furthermore, we find that labor adjustment occurred more efficiently in states with flexible labor laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines India's defence expenditure over the past ten years. In so doing, it provides a public finance perspective to explain the recurring resource crunch being faced by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The article reasons that a substantial augmentation of resources for the MoD in the past has faced stiff barriers due to lack of tax buoyancy and also the political, economic and other exigencies that have led to greater public spending outside the traditional areas of expenses, including defence. It argues that the MoD needs to re-balance its expenditure, especially in areas pertaining to manpower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reflecting on the economic growth and its constituents, Raghuvir Kelkar and Kaliappa Kalirajan examine whether India has achieved its potential in merchandise exports and analyse the role of governance structures in facilitating enhancing export efficiency. The health sector over the same period improved its share from 1.2 to 1.6 percent of GDP, but the allocation in this sector too stayed below the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission. With an impressive economic growth rate averaging around 7.0 percent during 2003-2004 to 2019-2020, India is currently the fifth largest economy in the World. [Extracted from the article]

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to major learning about the social and economic losses that an external shock to the system can cause. In this paper, we examine some sustainability issues focusing on three key focal points of sustainable development – economic growth, poverty and inequality in the context of climate change. We focus on the inter-relationship between economic growth, investment, labour force participation, energy consumption, poverty and inequality under alternative scenarios using the global framing of Shared Socio-Economic Pathways (SSPs). An econometric model is used for estimating the relationship between GDP and its determinants along with fitting a General Quadratic and/or Beta Lorenz curve using the World Bank's Povcal software for determining the relationship between income, poverty and inequality. Alternative GDP growth paths, redistribution assumptions and poverty lines are used for simulations which reveal the extent of sensitivity of the developmental targets to scenarios up to 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the determinants of hours worked by Indian women, by means of a sample-selection model, with a special emphasis on the role played by social and institutional factors. We empirically confirm that social and institutional factors considerably affect women's labour supply. A woman, who is empowered within the household, has trust in government institutions and is socially connected, is more likely to participate and given participation, a woman who in addition has an adequate support system in terms of better amenities and sharing of household duties by other members, tends to work longer hours. From an economic point of view, the need to earn income seems to be the major reason for work, leading to a reduced participation even as own education rises except at the post-secondary level. Demand-side considerations show that women in family farms and businesses or in the service sector tend to work longer hours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 'tea tribes' in Assam have a unique socio-cultural history. They were the prime labour force of tea plantations in colonial Assam. Originally, they were migrants brought in by British tea planters in different phases during the eighteenth to mid-nineteenth centuries from different parts of India. Colonial engagements with these labourers in tea gardens were akin to slavery. Construction of the 'coolies' community in colonial India had broader implications for the community in post-colonial India. Constitutional provisions and state mechanisms to uplift the community from the margins have never borne fruits on the ground. This underdevelopment, coupled with the colonial legacy of an 'outsider within', catalysed the larger 'Adivasi consciousness' among the tea tribes in Assam. In this article, we argue that attributing every problem faced by tea tribes to the colonial system is an elitist attempt to undermine the role of the post-colonial state and society in excluding and reproducing these community as the 'other' in the wider social structure. Seven decades of post-colonial experience have not changed the sociabilities of these tea tribes who still live in the margins of Assam's social landscape, causing them to unify within the 'Adivasi' consciousness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role of service climate (SC) in the link connecting human resource management practices (HRMP) to commitment to service quality (CSQ). Data were collected from 1236 hospital staff working in different private hospitals in India. The model linking HRMP to CSQ with the moderation of SC was tested using Hayes PROCESS. Results revealed that human resource management practices found to be influencing CSQ and with the interaction of SC the effect is further augmented. The interacting role service climate has been found to be significant at mean and high levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used data from a cluster-randomized trial in rural Rajasthan, India to evaluate the impact of providing access to a community-based daycare program on women's economic outcomes two years later. The sample included 2858 mothers with age-eligible children. Providing access to daycare led 43% of households to utilize them. The intervention reduced time on childcare by 16.0 minutes/day (95%CI=-10.6, 42.5) and increased the probabilities that women were paid in cash and spent time during the prior day on paid work by 2.3 (95%CI=0.0, 4.5) and 2.6 (95%CI=0.9, 4.4) percentage points. Other indicators of labor force participation and income were unaffected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In-service nurse mentoring is increasingly seen as a way to strengthen the quality of health care in rural areas, where healthworkers are scarce. Despite this, the evidence base for designing large-scale programs remains relatively thin. In this capacity-building article, we reflect on the limited evidence that exists and introduce features of the world's largest program, run by CARE-India since 2015. Detail on the mechanics of large-scale programs is often missing from empirical research studies, but is a crucial aspect of organizational learning and development. Moreover, by focusing on the complex ways in which capacity-building is being institutionalized through an embedded model of in-service mentorship, this article bridges research and practice. We point to a number of areas that require further research as well as considerations for program managers designing comparable workforce strengthening programs. With careful planning and cross-national policy learning, we propose that in-service nurse mentoring may offer a cost-effective and appropriate workforce development approach in a variety of settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indian women's labor force participation is extremely low, and women are much less likely than men to work in the nonfarm sector. Earlier research has explained women's labor supply by individual characteristics, social institutions, and cultural norms, but not enough attention has been paid to the labor market opportunity structure that constrains women's labor market activities. Using data from the India Human Development Survey (IHDS) in 2004–05 and 2011–12, this study examines how village transportation infrastructure affects women's and men's agricultural and nonagricultural employment. Results from fixed-effect analysis show that access by paved or unpaved roads and frequent bus services increase the odds of nonagricultural employment among men and women. The effect of road access on nonfarm employment (relative to not working) is stronger among women than among men. Improved transportation infrastructure has a stronger positive effect on women's nonfarm employment in communities with more egalitarian gender norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India has experienced steady economic growth over the last two decades alongside a persistent decline in women's labor force participation (LFPR). This paper explores the relationship between economic development and women's labor supply using state-level data spanning the period 1983–4 to 2011–2. While several studies suggest a U-shaped relationship between development and women's labor force participation, our results suggest that at the state level, there is no systematic U-shaped relationship between level of domestic product and women's LFPR. On examining the relationship between the structure of the economy and women's economic activity, we find that it is not economic growth but rather the composition of growth that is relevant for women. Further, our results suggest that aggregate changes in the proportion of women in the workforce can be mostly attributed to the movement of the workforce across sectors rather than changes in the proportion of women workers within a sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to find the multinationality and performance relationship for the largest Indian software companies. It further tests the moderating influence of internationalization motives (marketing- versus labor-seeking) and resources on this relationship. Results show an inverted U-shaped relationship between multinationality and performance for Indian software firms. Additionally, this relationship is moderated by the internationalization motives of these firms. In the process, we add to the literature with our unique context and moderating variables. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In 2007–2008, short-term migrants (STMs) constituted 4.35% of the rural workforce in India and a total of 9.25 million rural households included STMs. Using nationally representative data for rural India, this paper examines differences in consumption expenditure across households with and without a household member who is a STM. We use an instrumental variable approach to control for the presence of a STM in a household. We find that households with a STM have lower monthly per capita consumption expenditure and monthly per capita food expenditure compared to households without a STM. STMs are not unionised, they work in the unorganised sector, they do not have written job contracts, and state governments are yet to ensure that the legislation protecting them is properly enforced. This could be one of the reasons why we do not observe higher levels of expenditure in households with such migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose:Developing countries need to plan growth or expansion of education so as to provide required trained manpower for different occupational sectors. The paper assesses supply and demand of professional manpower in Indian agriculture and the demands are translated in to educational requirements. Methodology:The supply is assessed from the output from agricultural education. The demand in various sub-sectors is assessed employing a mix of quantitative and qualitative forecasting tools. Based on the manpower gaps and extensive interactions with stakeholders, the manpower needs are translated into educational requirements. Findings:The demand–supply gap in agricultural professionals would cumulate to about 200,000 by 2020, which would need additional annual supply of 10,000 each of diploma holders and graduates. Practical implications:The study makes three main recommendations: first, to increase the supply of graduates and para-staff to cater to the emerging demand; second, agricultural education needs to meet the changing occupational structure; and third, responsibility for meeting agriculture education to be shared with the private sector. Originality/value:The paper proposes a mixed method that could be used to forecast human resource requirement in number of sub-sectors having differential information availability and growth patterns in terms of quality and quantity. Since the approach facilitates forecasting in situations of data limitations, it has potential for similar applications in many developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In India, women are entering the formal labour workforce in unprecedented numbers, yet as a proportion of the workforce, the percentage of women workers is declining [Twelfth Five Year Plan(2012–17), Planning Commission, Government of India, Volume III – Social Sectors; Table 22.8 at page 133 notes that the labour force participation rate of women workers has declined both in the rural as well as in the urban areas from 2004–05 to 2009–10]. More than ever before, India as a country of contradictions presents a challenge to women in the work force. Deep-rooted ideologies of gender bias and discrimination remain the most pervasive and persistent form of inequality in the world today. The global economic crisis, characterised by increasing de-regularisation, privatisation and outsourcing of jobs down the supply chain is leading to a transformation of employment relationships. These changes resonate in Indian workplaces as well, creating a counter movement towards the invisibilisation of workers, more particularly women, what we call in India the movement of women workers from the formal sector to the informal sector. The rapidly changing work environment also reinforces the increasing importance of job security, social protection, decent work, financial regulation and fair taxation as the key to a more just world order enhancing the participation of women in the workforce. It is in this context that we must view the emerging challenges that working women face. In the light of these developments, there is, more than ever before, a pressing need for the rights of women to be respected, protected and fulfilled, particularly in the workplace. The right to work encompasses the right to work free from sexual harassment. This article examines the key provisions of the Sexual Harassment at The Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (2013 Act) and the Sexual Harassment at The Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Rules, 2013 (The Rules) [The 2013 Act came into force on 9 December 2013, vide notification issued by the Central Government (S.O. 3606(e)). On the same date, the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Rules, 2013 have also been notified]. The article scrutinises some of the weaknesses and strengths of the said law and it is from this perspective that it approaches the rights of working women, attempting to include within this rubric the widest possible range of women. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In a developing country like India, the formal sector is a coveted employment destination. However, in the present scenario, the formal sector is unable to absorb the entire workforce. In view of these labour demand constraints in the formal sector, this paper sets out to explore the opportunities for the promotion of informal sector employment. It measures employment trends and patterns in the informal sector in India and estimates the sector's employment determinants using a large and nationally representative sample of individual data. The estimation also tests the hypothesis that the determinants of informal sector employment vary with the states’ development levels. Our findings reveal that individuals without any general or technical education have a greater probability of entering the informal sector. As education increases, this probability decreases in all the states irrespective of their development level. In some cases, results for the underdeveloped states contrast with the developing and developed states. For instance, individuals in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category who always stay in the same employment catchment area have a greater probability of finding a job in the informal sector in the developed and developing states, while they have no exposure to finding a job in the informal sector in the underdeveloped states. Education (both general and technical) and migration are the main policy variables for the promotion of employment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

India is experiencing an epidemiological transition with non-communicable and chronic diseases becoming the leading causes of death. There are at least 1.5-2 million cancer cases; two-thirds of them are in an incurable stage of disease. The adult HIV prevalence is approximately 2.5 million. The development of palliative care has been patchy. Vast majority of India does not have access to palliative care but in a state like Kerala, effective coverage and involvement led to designation of centers such as Institute of Palliative Medicine (IPM), Calicut and Trivandrum Institute of Palliative Sciences (TIPS), Pallium India as the Collaborating Centers of WHO for Community Participation in Palliative Care and for Training and Policy on Access to Pain Relief, respectively. A lack of health policy, lack of training and awareness, and opioid availability are barriers to palliative care. India does not have a national policy on palliative care. The National Cancer and AIDS Control Programme mentions palliative care but with ineffective implementation. Kerala is the first state to introduce a state health policy. Andhra Pradesh includes palliative care for cancer in its state health insurance scheme. The major barriers to opioids availability include stringent regulatory issues, attitude, and knowledge. Efforts led to 14 states simplifying the regulations. Lack of training and awareness is a challenge. The Medical Council of India recently approved palliative medicine as a specialty. The Indian Journal of Palliative Care has become an indexed journal. Many International organizations such as the International Network in Cancer Treatment and Research (INCTR) and the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC) are playing roles in bringing changes. Recognition of non-communicable diseases as a priority and palliative care as a specialty is expected to bring major change in palliative care scenario in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three different factors accounted for colonial encounters between Indians and Indonesians in the first half of the twentieth century: (1) desire to profit from the colonial plantation industry in North Sumatra, (2) scholarly imaginaries of an ancient Indian colonialization of the archipelago and (3) common interest in socio-cultural reform on the basis of alternative education integrating the best from East and West. It was the last two factors that led to real exchange and more enduring relations between Indian and Indonesian as well as Western intellectuals, particularly in the wake of Rabindranath Tagore's visit to Java and Bali in 1927. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Labor force surveys have undergone several changes over the years in order to better estimate the size and understand the characteristics of the work and labor forces. It is frequently argued, however, that these surveys still tend to underestimate the workforce, particularly women and certain productive activities that they perform. By comparing the findings of the National Sample Survey Organisation's 1999–2000 employment–unemployment survey in India with the findings of the 1998–9 pilot Indian Time Use Survey, this study shows that the latter survey has some built-in advantages that lead to improved estimates and understanding of the workforce. The case of India illustrates how a time-use survey can provide improved estimates of and better information on the workforce in a developing country, particularly capturing women's participation in informal employment, including subsistence production. Documenting this work is important, since it is increasingly common as developing and developed economies are informalized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this paper is to study market (outside the home) and non-market (domestic) child labour in rural India and see how this is influenced by a mother's participation in the labour force. The paper also investigates whether this participation has a different impact on sons as compared with daughters. The empirical analysis is based on household survey data from rural households in northern and eastern India. The results show that a mother's labour is not a substitute for, but a complement to, market and non-market child labour, while a mother's education, along with the father's education, reduces the likelihood of child labour. Gender-based analysis lends support to existing literature regarding the gender bias in domestic child labour. Additionally, a mother's participation in the labour force is found to increase the likelihood of daughters working outside the home as well. Thus, an increase in the opportunity for mothers to work in the labour-intensive agricultural sector makes child labour more likely. The results of this paper have important policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the role of physical and social infrastructure in economic growth in India after controlling for other important variables such as investment, labour force, and trade, using the Two-Stage Least Squares (TSLS) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) techniques, for the period 1970 to 2006. In this context we develop a composite index of physical infrastructure stocks and examine its impact on output. We find that physical and social infrastructures have a significant positive impact on output apart from gross domestic capital formation and international trade. Further, the causality analysis supports the results, revealing unidirectional causality from infrastructure development and human capital to output growth in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This literature review focuses on the socio-economic development of low-income women in India. The study describes how non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in India attempt to fill gaps in governmental support for marginalized women in the Indian workforce. Some scholars have recommended expanding the boundaries of human resource development (HRD) to include multiple topics in a variety of contexts to investigate the holistic development of individuals. Gaps exist in current HRD literature regarding the status of low-income women in India. This article argues that many Indian NGOs are capable of serving the needs of women in informal work sectors and in addition, they can provide a broad non-traditional context for investigating HRD processes and services at a national level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigate the role of infrastructure in economic growth in India for the period 1970-2006 on the basis of the empirical framework developed by D.A. Aschauer (Is public expenditure productive? Journal of monetary economics, 23 (2), 1989, 177-200). In this context, we develop an index of infrastructure stocks and estimate growth-accounting equations to investigate the impact of infrastructure development on output. Overall, the results reveal that infrastructure stocks, labour force and total investment play an important role in economic growth in India. More importantly, we find that infrastructure development in India has a significant positive contribution toward growth than both private and public investments. Further, causality analysis shows that there is unidirectional causality from infrastructure development to output growth. From a policy perspective, there should be greater emphasis on infrastructure development to sustain the high economic growth which the Indian economy has been experiencing for the last few years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following article examines the first and only ship load of indentured Indians to the Danish West Indian island of St. Croix between 1863 and 1868. The article shows why Indians were recruited, how they were shipped and documents their Caribbean indentured and post-indentured plantation experience. The argument is that although indentured Indians were one segment of the post-emancipation Virgin Islands labour force, their entrance into St. Croix demonstrates the Danish government's desire and confidence to rely on labour from India to resolve the labour shortage. However, the abuse of Indians led to the collapse of the indenture system on St. Croix. Unlike in the British, Dutch and French Caribbean, Indian indenture was never resumed on Danish St. Croix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Any technological development in an organization leads to great change at an individual and organizational level. The new demanding responsibilities during an information technology (IT) intervention tend to create mental unrest, fear, and friction in the workforce, more so in a developing country like India. The unique issues faced by India could be rooted in its history of information communication technology (ICT) development in purely Indian origin organizations. The IT growth in this context has been unbridled and too fast paced, taking the workforce by surprise in a short time span. From basic rudimentary IT systems in the country, these organizations have moved to sophisticated packages such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) to address the business pressures, information integration issues, and expectations arising from competition with multinationals operating in the same space. In this context it becomes important to test and evaluate the required elements in a change program to ensure better outcomes, keeping in mind the Indian context and its sociocultural differences. This article describes the evolution of evaluation framework, summarizes the relevant ERP literature, and attempts to choose the change factors that should be included in a multistage change program to achieve an individual impact level of outcome irrespective of the origin of the organization. This framework would need to be further tested in an Indian corporate scenario through a survey of change recipients with focus on any particular weak link in the stages of change, and the differences, if any, would need to be studied by comparison with Western origin organizations that have adopted robust multistage change programs resulting in high individual level change outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dramatic reductions in trade barriers during the past 10 years have caused unprecedented economic growth in India. Little is known about the impact of globalisation on the informal labour market, especially the impact on women. We interviewed women working in four occupations in Mumbai's informal labour market, gathering information about their daily lives, job responsibilities, and how the circumstances of their jobs have changed over the last 5 years. We construct a typical day in the lives of these women, discuss similarities and differences in the issues they face, and consider the policy implications of our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women's share of agricultural wage employment is rising across the Indian sub-continent. Studies examining this process of feminisation tend to be divided along the lines of an ideological debate following either the 'poverty-push' or the 'demand-pull' argument. This debate, however, has largely ignored the institution of patriarchy. In this study we revisit the debate with a focus on gender relations. The study is based on data collected from 291 households in the state of Andhra Pradesh. We find that, despite increased labour market participation, women's household status, her wages and working conditions remain acutely depressed. Women labourers with access to productive assets, however, are effectively expanding their agency within both the household and the labour market. Their experiences, we argue, have implications for transformative policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the population touching 1.2 billion, half of which is around 25 years of age, India is set to be among one of the top countries for human capital in the next two decades. While the country has been making rapid progress economically, human capital additions may remain marginal and may not keep up with the pace of economic growth unless accompanied by planned development of manpower. The Indian corporate sector was the first to start a dedicated HR function 30 years ago and the nation was the first to have a Ministry of HRD 20 years ago. Despite the early start, the last two to three decades have provided a mixed bag of experiences and expectations. Conservative HRD policies have not helped India's skill base to develop at the same rate as economic progress. An inadequate research base and the low quality of people entering the HR profession have prevented corporate HRD from becoming more productive than it is now. A lot of attention is directed towards recruitment, retention and compensation strategies rather than to talent multiplication. At the same time, innovative leaders and chief executive officers (CEOs) who have taken up the mantle of HR have made a mark. The future of human capital formation will be bright at the national level if the government makes more intense efforts to build human capital and becomes more innovative and expansive. At the corporate level, the credibility of HR is still suspect as it has not been able to match its steps with those of India's more innovative leaders. Preparation of a new breed of HR professionals combined with education of CEOs in what good HR can do may go a long way in helping Indian HR develop a strong footing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's labour force ranges from large numbers of illiterate workers to a sizeable pool of highly educated and skilled professionals. Labour welfare activities in India originated in 1837. They underwent notable changes during the ensuing years. This article is a description of these changes and the additions which were included over this period. On the whole, it paints a picture of the Indian Labour welfare scene. The 10 Five Year Plans have had a tremendous impact. Further, the Indian Planning Commission has laid down measures to enhance the welfare of workers in various areas such as child labour, bonded labour, female labour and occupational safety and health. Welfare work in India (broadly defined) is carried out by various government and non-government organisations of which the most important are National Government, State Government, Trade Unions, the Public Sector and Private Sector nongovernment organisations. Activities in this area include provision of housing facilities, education, occupational safety and health, prevention of child and bonded labour, and enhancement of working women's welfare. Private Sector welfare measures are of a similar nature. Notable companies taking initiatives in this regard are Tata and Larsen and Toubro. The article points out that the structure of a welfare state rests on its social security fabric. Government, employers and trade unions have done a lot to promote the betterment of workers' conditions. However, a great deal still needs to be done. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is an account of the growth and development of HRD function in India. What started in the mid-1970s as a conceptualization of an integrated HRD system to change the performance appraisal systems in a large engineering company, resulted in the establishment of HRD departments in many firms. Further dissemination and perseverance resulted in the establishment of a centre for HRD, and subsequently the birth of a professional body and, later, an academic institution. The authors describe the growth in eight stages and conclude the path for future is in moving towards national HR policies and other social sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women's status in India is mixed, with many positive and negative indicators. The devaluation of daughters leads parents to resort to sex-selective abortions and infanticide—practices currently spreading to previously unaffected areas. In relation to this negative picture, interviews with women employed in the Information Technology (IT) sector in Bangalore suggest its opposite: a partial reversal of daughter devaluation is currently emerging in the families of young women in India's high-tech sector. Studies on employment in the IT sector in India have not adequately considered important long-term, intergenerational impacts of this new development on the whole culture of daughter devaluation. This article strives to fill this gap by illustrating that when young women find opportunities to improve their financial autonomy, mobility and social acceptance in a male-dominated society, there are far-reaching implications for social demographic change, and also for gender equality, through the evolution of the two-income family model departing from the concept of the male breadwinner. This change may have wider social repercussions, upgrading the image of daughters in the minds of their parents, creating a different family model with important demographic implications and outcomes. All these feed into a current debate about the role of labor force participation in women's empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence regarding non-tax incentives is sparse. To promote industrialisation in the backward areas of the country, growth centres providing infrastructure incentives to enable the states to attract industries, were set up by India in 1988. The impact of GCs on unemployment is examined, accounting for the simultaneity of GC status. The findings are that the change in population of a district and its growth potential are significant in determining actual GC status. The impact of demographic and socioeconomic factors on changes in a district's unemployment, is studied. The novel finding for a developing country is that it is not demand for labour, but the supply of labour, represented by population, that is the constraint in reducing the unemployment rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Higher Secondary Vocational Education programme in India was introduced in 1976–77, to boost the supply of manpower trained to an intermediate skill level. This paper uses data collected during a study of the impact of vocational business courses in the three states of Kerala, Goa and Haryana. The study collected information on a range of indicators of student background, their views on the vocational education programmes, their employment status following completion, as well as some idea of their reasons for enrolling. The study considers the findings from the three states and places this in context by drawing on the extensive literature in this area. As with many studies of this nature, there are limitations placed on our interpretation of the data. However, the main findings do support the view that a destination of continued education and training may act as a form of hidden unemployment for the most disadvantaged who graduate from vocational education and training programmes; reflecting a wider need for policies that ensure buoyant local labour markets, with sufficient and appropriate demand for labour, alongside vocational education and training programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the role of farm women in Indian agriculture. Women constitute 32 percent of the labor force in the preparatory work before cultivation. They are also involved in sowing seeds, transplanting, transporting crops from the fields, traditional food processing and dairying at the national level. As of 2001, the share of the women labor force in agriculture increased from 35.1 to 39 percent.

Manual labour has become less prevalent in western contexts, but livelihoods based on physical work remain pervasive in many developing countries. It is such a world of seasonally migrating manual labourers in India that this paper explores. It focuses on how seemingly vulnerable and malnourished bodies in this rural context are enabled to labour. The necessity of mobilising bodies to perform crucial labouring implies that bodies are primary resources for the working poor. I do not wish to suggest a reductionist understanding of the body as a strictly corporeal asset, as is often presupposed in nutritional modelling. Emerging labouring performances emanate from the body, but they are derived from far more than mere flesh and bones. Work capacity may be theoretically predictable from nutritional status, but work capacity is not synonymous with labouring performance. Such labouring performances are enabled through a whole suite of social, cultural, environmental and political capacities that are inflected into individuals to become the resource that is conveniently packaged as ‘the body’. The research for this paper is drawn from 10 months of grounded ethnography in Maharashtra focused on 22 case-study households. Through an exploration of these families' work experiences, food intakes, habituated learning, psychological realms and cultural beliefs and practices, this paper contributes to our understanding of how labourers are able, can choose, or are allowed to apply their bodies at work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compares human resource management (HRM) practices in Indian public- and private-sector organizations. The investigation is based on a questionnaire survey of 137 large manufacturing firms (public sector = 81; private sector = 56). The key areas of analysis include the structure of human resource (HR) department, the role of HR function in corporate change, recruitment and selection, pay and benefits, training and development, employee relations and emphasis on key HRM strategies. Internal labour markets (ILMs) are used to make the comparative analysis. The statistical results show a number of similarities and differences in the HRM systems of Indian public- and private-sector organizations. Against the established notion, the results of this study reveal that the gap between Indian private- and public-sector HRM practices is not very significant. Moreover, in a few HR functional areas (for example, compensation and training and development), Indian private-sector firms have adopted a more rational approach than their public-sector counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses the impact of revenue risk on the hiring-out behaviour of owner-cultivators. Since hiring-out is not certain, labour market risk is also allowed for. A large sample of owner-cultivators residing in semi-arid regions in India, and hence subject to high production and labour market risks, is used for this purpose. It is found that, possibly because production risks carry forward into the local labour market, households are unable to use the labour market as a hedge against production risk. We also find that labour force participation is positively affected by increases in the real wage rate, a result that is contrary to the findings of earlier studies using data from less developed agriculture. Several other insights also result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There remains no doubt in the minds of investors that India must be in their future. As one of the few untapped markets, with its ever exploding consumer base, its highly and technically skilled workforce, and its low standard of living, much opportunity awaits those willing to bear burdens and overcome hurdles. Along with these opportunities comes weak intellectual property laws and political bureaucracy second to none. The debate rages on whether India must immediately update its intellectual property laws to ensure the inflow of foreign investment and its accompanying development. Relentless pressure on the part of industrialised nations may occasion India to forgo the mutually agreed upon year 2005 deadline negotiated into the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property. However, it remains unclear whether the Western basis behind intellectual property laws is valid for India, or even whether India's lax laws affect foreign investment to any significant extent. The author sets out the progression of these laws; in terms of cultural, political and socio-economic factors, brings out the ultimate concern-what is in the best interests of India and Indians, sets out the changes that are currently underway in terms of legislation, and finally discusses whether the intellectual property laws really are a major determinant in decisions to invest in India. He concludes that India's intellectual property laws are at best a minor factor in the decision making process and have had an insignificant effect on the actual flow of foreign investment into India. As such, the author urges for the gradual implementation of more stringent intellectual property laws, consistent with TRIPs, to attenuate to the year 2005. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the educational development of women in India covering the decade 1970 to 1980. Compared with the pre-independence era, educational opportunities have been broadened to women of all social classes in India. Literacy rates increased for women starting 1970. The number of female teachers and students at various levels rose. Based on economic data, however, men occupy a greater number in the labor force than women. Beyond the educational sector, educated women in India have yet to make their mark in other occupations.

The biases of technological change, factor substitution and economies of scale in four major manufacturing industries (viz. cement, electricity and gas, cotton textiles and iron and steel) in India are examined. The translog cost functions are estimated using annual time series data covering the period 1960-61 to 1982-83. The study reveals that technical change has been biased towards the use of labour and materials and against the use of capital and energy in electricity and gas industries. In cotton textiles, the technological change has shown the opposite biases. Significant economies of scale exist in the production of electricity and gas. Enough evidence of substitution possibilities among factors of production in all the four industries was also found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]