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Purpose: The primary objective of the paper is to examine the asymmetric Cointegration and asymmetric causality between financial development and poverty alleviation on annual data in Indian context over the period from 1980 to 2019. Design/methodology/approach: First nonlinearity test by Brooks et al. (1999) is applied to ascertain the nonlinear behavior of the variables used. Once the nonlinear behavior of variables is confirmed, asymmetric and nonlinear unit root tests by Kapetanios and Shin (2008) are applied to check for the order of integration of selected variables. Next, nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model (NARDL) is employed to analyze the asymmetric Cointegration. Finally, Hatemi-j- asymmetric causality tests is applied to work out the direction of asymmetric causality. Findings: The empirical findings document the existence of asymmetries in the short-run as well as long-run between poverty and financial development. The asymmetry reveals that negative financial development shocks leave a more profound impact on poverty alleviation than their positive equivalents. The findings of Wald's test also confirm the presence of asymmetric Cointegration. The asymmetric cumulative dynamic multipliers used to examine the behavior of asymmetries and adjustments with respect to time lend credence to the results calculated using NARDL estimator. This result exhibits the robustness of the model. Furthermore, the result emanating from recently introduced asymmetric causality test reveals a unidirectional asymmetric causality between negative shocks in financial development and poverty. The findings of the present study necessitate the need for investigating asymmetric and nonlinear effects in finance–poverty nexus, which existent literature has completely neglected, in order to have relevant policy conclusions. Research limitations/implications: The study used "Per capita consumption expenditure" as a measure for poverty due to lack of continuous time series data on headcount ratio. In future, researchers can extend this study by incorporating headcount ratio as a measure of poverty in their respective works. There is further scope of research on this issue by finding out the impact of formal and informal sources of credit on poverty separately. A panel data study for developing countries over a period of time could further confirm/negate the findings of the present study. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge none of the studies in Indian context has scrutinized asymmetric and nonlinear impact of financial development on poverty. To dredge up asymmetric structures at work, the authors have used the highly celebrated NARDL estimator. To enrich the existent body of knowledge along the lines of asymmetric (nonlinear) linkages, the authors have also used recently introduced asymmetric causality test by Hatemi-j-(2012) to find out the direction asymmetric causality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Child labor is considered one of the main social problems that affect the community and has a physical and psychosocial impact on a child's health, growth, and development. The study aimed to describe the sociocultural discourses of children involved in child labor. A macroethnographic approach was used to collect the data from the selected community areas of Punjab, India. Materials and Methods: A community-based qualitative study using purposive sampling was carried out among children engaged in child labor (n = 8). The data were gathered through in-depth or semi-structured interviews and non-participant observation under four phases: community context assessment, egocentric network analysis, validation, and dissemination of study findings. The guide for consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) was followed. Ongoing analysis was conducted using Spradley's analysis approach to identify the themes. Results: Thematic analysis resulted in the emergence of various themes related to child labor, namely, adaptability, money-centric attitude, sense of being underserved, social deprivation, work burden, reduced emotional expression, workaholism, abuse, family shoulder, family cohesion, and sense of industry. Apart from that, inhuman living and working conditions, as well as school deprivation among study subjects, were observed. Poverty emerged as the single most compelling factor for child labor in India. Conclusion: The study concluded that child labor had a negative impact on children's overall development. An effective intervention to stop child labor is if vulnerable children are identified through primary healthcare, and a relationship of trust is built that allows for the provision of health care, education, support, and referral to additional services outside the health sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies educational aspirations and grade achievements of teenagers in India, using Structural Equation Modelling with data from the Young Lives Study. The analysis differentiates direct effects of relevant socio-economic and individual characteristics on educational output from indirect effects through aspirations. In this sample, some student characteristics – parents' education, mothers' caste and the student's gender – have no direct effect on educational output, but an indirect effect on educational aspirations going through abilities. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and in particular girls, are at a disadvantage at age 12 because they have accumulated lower cognitive abilities. Abilities shape aspirations, which then impact educational output beyond the mere effect of abilities. Girls are at a double disadvantage: besides lower average skills at age 12, they developed lower aspirations than boys of the same characteristics. The economic situation of the household was neither directly nor indirectly related with students' achievements in school. These results help distinguish aspirations as drivers of behaviour from aspirations as correlates of other characteristics, and they have relevant policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 2000s, hundreds of government-funded health insurance (GFHI) schemes were introduced in India. These schemes are meant to prevent poorer households from incurring catastrophic health expenditures. Through GFHIs, policy-makers want to mobilize the decision-making powers of private consumers in a liberalized healthcare market. Patients are called upon to act as 'co-creators' of healthcare value by optimizing supply through demand. Based on long-term ethnographic fieldwork with insurance users in South India, we argue that GFHIs fail because people experience the value of insurance in drastically different ways that only partly overlap with how the policy assumes they value insurance. In addition, the hollow promises of health coverage can be experienced as so frustrating that signing up for health insurance actually makes people feel devalued. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty is a product of various deprivations. Gender discrimination is linked with deprivation in terms of socio-economic and political opportunities. This study explores the link between female-headship of a household and its vulnerability towards urban poverty. Further, the most vulnerable sub-sections among the urban female-headed households are identified. The study is based on the 68th round of Household Consumer Expenditure, and Employment and Unemployment Survey, India. Female-headed households were found to have higher odds to be urban poor as compared to their male counterparts. However, this gender-based difference in odds to be urban poor disappears once educational attainment of household-head is controlled for. This highlights that the discrimination in terms of educational attainment is major cause and solution to urban poverty among female-headed households. Further, female-headed households are not a homogeneous group and exhibit significant differences in their vulnerability to urban poverty across different socio-economic and demographic subgroups. The negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic on female education in India is expected to create a long-term gender gap in terms of poverty. Thus, the public policy should stress on skill and educational attainment of females and target the poverty alleviation programmes on vulnerable sub-section of the female-headed households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper uses illustrations from rural India and Bangladesh to develop a critical analysis of practices and experiences of poverty often overlooked in development policies. It challenges the principle measurement, calculative rationality and static representation in anti-poverty interventions that present poverty as a 'problem' to be resolved. It draws on poststructuralist ideas to express poverty differently and shift from problem-solving to problematisation. Drawing on the concept of 'rhizome' it highlights the connectivity, heterogeneity and multiplicity of poverty. Examples from interviews and photo diaries illustrate manifold poverty as a combination of heterogeneous activities, objects and affects that complicate development ethics and challenge the logic of reason in existing policies. The paper explores improvisation, experimentation, hope and repetition as mechanisms for critically evaluating aquaculture-led development and attending to overlooked objects, uncertain outcomes and untold stories of disadvantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To what extent has chronic poverty increased during the pandemic? In July and August 2021, we revisited seven villages of southern Rajasthan (India), where we had studied household poverty dynamics in 2002. We find that in the two decades before the pandemic (2002–2020), people's structural positions improved vastly, chronic poverty fell from nearly half to less than 20% of households. These gains in resilience helped people cope with the pandemic. The majority suffered deep income losses between February 2020 and August 2021, but there is no evidence of any substantive rise in chronic poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on ethnography of one family's life with diabetes in a poor settlement in Delhi's suburbs, this paper examines the relationship between emotional structures of care and kinship in the face of chronic illness. While anthropologists have argued for a relational understanding of care and discussed how, in India, modernity and social transformations have resulted in crises of familial care, less attention has been paid to the emotional terrains of care and its difficulties as they unfold in concrete relationships over time. This paper demonstrates how emotional intensities define the possibilities, limits, and ambivalence of kin care for the chronically ill. Described as care without heart, this mode of attention implies a continuation of care labour that maintains kinship ties and holds the possibility of kin futures, but is disinvested emotionally and feels unsatisfactory. The analytic of care without heart expresses a particular mode of care by which persons navigate dominant moral regimes around gendered family responsibilities and imperatives of love in relationships, but without fully subscribing to them. Care without heart at once signifies an inadequate form of care, invokes North Indian normative moral regimes around family care responsibilities and emotions, and acknowledges the shortcomings of these regimes and norms of relatedness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women in Manipur, India, practice marup to respond to poverty and support each other during a crisis and for planned social events. Based on in-depthinterviews of group members, this article presents a case study of marup. It examines thispractice from the feminist social work lens to discuss implications for feminist social work with groups. The practice of mutual aids, democratic functioning and solidarity in marup develops women's capacities and prioritises economic development. Marup is a robust group framework that strengthens women's social and economic positions of women by creating financial capital, extending their social network and building social support. From the feminist social work lens, marup comes into play to interrupt the power relations between men and women within and outside the household. Through the processes and dynamics of group activities, marup represents a robust framework of a group practice that responds to women's needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of household wealth dynamic remains an important methodology in the identification of poverty traps. To overcome measurement issues in survey data, livelihoods-based approaches of the dynamics of poverty are typically examined using panel regressions of a livelihoods regression on household assets and other socio-economic factors over time. In this paper, we characterise the livelihoods regression as a 'livelihoods technology', and use a latent class-technology approach to account for heterogeneity in how households generate a livelihood. We use a detailed dataset from rural India covering 213 households across 2001–2014, and control for selection issues through a Heckman Selection model. Our results are the first in the wealth dynamics literature to show that substantial heterogeneity exists in the technologies with which households generate their livelihoods. Importantly, we show that accounting for heterogeneity in household livelihoods 'technologies' more readily identifies different equilibria in wealth levels and provides previously foregone information on who is poor and why they remain poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Out of the 1.324 billion people in India (2016), around 12.4% of the population is below the poverty line. In India, out-of-pocket health expenditure (OOP) expenses account for about 62.6% of total health expenditure – one of the highest in the world. High OOP health expenditures push many households into poverty. This study aims to identify the impoverishing effects of OOP health expenditures in India. Methods: Data from the recent national survey by the National Sample Survey Organization – Social Consumption in Health 2014 are used to investigate the effect of OOP health expenditure on household poverty. Poverty headcounts and poverty gaps were estimated at the household level before and after making OOP healthcare payments. A logistic regression model is for predicting the effect of various factors on the incidence of impoverishment due to OOP health expenditures. Results: There were 65,932 households in the sample. The total poverty headcount in the population before making OOP payments was 16.44% and it increased to 19.05% after making OOP payments. This 2.61% increase in the poverty headcount corresponds to 6.47 million households. Logistic regression results showed that medium and large households, household members with increased duration of stay in the hospital, utilization of private health facility and the presence of chronic illness increased odds of impoverishment due to OOP health expenditures. Conclusions: Health insurance programmes must be expanded to cover outpatient and preventive health services, include people above the poverty line, cover the whole household irrespective of the number of members living in the household and the coverage threshold limits must be increased. Urban poor must be enrolled in health insurance programmes without any delay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the level and predictors of life satisfaction in people living in slums in Kolkata, India. Participants of six slum settlements (n = 164; 91% female) were interviewed and data on age, gender, poverty indicators and life satisfaction were collected. The results showed that the level of global life satisfaction in this sample of slum residents did not significantly differ from that of a representative sample of another large Indian city. In terms of life-domain satisfaction, the slum residents were most satisfied with their social relationships and least satisfied with their financial situation. Global life satisfaction was predicted by age, income and non-monetary poverty indicators (deprivation in terms of health, education and living standards) (R2 15.4%). The current study supports previous findings showing that people living in slums tend to report higher levels of life satisfaction than one might expect given the deprivation of objective circumstances of their lives. Furthermore, the results suggest that factors other than objective poverty make life more, or less, satisfying. The findings are discussed in terms of theory about psychological adaptation to poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local political connections form an important channel through which elite capture of public welfare programs takes place. However, the levels of connectedness of households with politicians or political executives and how local power hierarchy wields clout differ in degrees and contexts. This aspect—differences in elite capture by varying levels of local political connections—has been under-studied, if not unexplored. We find households connected to local political executives are more likely to obtain a poverty-alleviating public housing program benefit, namely, the erstwhile Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) scheme, than a non-connected household in rural India. Neither connection to a higher-level elected representative (MP/MLA/Zilla Parishad member) nor connection to a local political party official (who is not in any executive power position) nor some party membership of a family person has a significant effect (than local political connections) on IAY provisioning. Understanding how local power hierarchy or elite connections can influence public program targeting has critical policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments in developing countries struggle to reach intended beneficiaries when targeting social transfers towards vulnerable populations. Rates of eligible individuals not receiving social transfers and ineligible individuals receiving them tend to be high, constraining the effectiveness of such anti-poverty programs. While interventions to incentivize or monitor local agents in charge of selecting beneficiaries are typically expensive, an important complementary and cost-effective approach could be to reform eligibility criteria to facilitate the selection of beneficiaries. Whether reforms should focus on reducing the number of rules, or selecting criteria which are easy to verify, or do both remains an unanswered question. We address this knowledge gap based on India's social pension scheme for elderly poor. We find that making eligibility criteria easier to verify has the potential to achieve a substantial improvement in the targeting performance through a reduction in the exclusion error. Those who meet the relevant criteria have a much higher chance of actually becoming beneficiaries. Since eligibility criteria can be changed at low cost, this suggests a viable route for reform in many developing countries. However, a major caveat remains that criteria must sufficiently well reflect actual poverty if the more accurate selection of beneficiaries according to formal criteria shall also translate into actual poverty reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tribal peoples are among the most marginalised groups worldwide. Evidence on birth outcomes in these groups is scant. We describe inequalities in Stillbirth Rate (SBR), Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR), and uptake of maternal and newborn health services between tribal and less disadvantaged groups in eastern India, and examine the contribution of poverty and education to these inequalities. Methods: We used data from a demographic surveillance system covering a 1 million population in Jharkhand State (March 2017 – August 2019) to describe SBR, NMR, and service uptake. We used logistic regression analysis combined with Stata's adjrr-command to estimate absolute and relative inequalities by caste/tribe (comparing Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) and other Scheduled Tribes (ST) with the less marginalised Other Backward Class (OBC)/none, using the Indian government classification), and by maternal education and household wealth. Results: PVTGs had a higher NMR (59/1000) than OBC/none (31/1000) (rate ratio (RR): 1.92, 95%CI: 1.55–2.38). This was partly explained by wealth and education, but inequalities remained large after adjustment (adjusted RR: 1.59, 95%CI: 1.28–1.98). NMR was also higher among other STs (44/1000), but disparities were smaller (RR: 1.47, 95%CI: 1.23–1.75). There was a systematic gradient in NMR by maternal education and household wealth. SBRs were only higher in poorer groups (RRpoorest vs. least poor:1.56, 95%CI: 1.14–2.13). Uptake of facility-based services was low among PVTGs (e.g. institutional birth: 25% vs. 69% in OBC/none) and among poorer and less educated women. However, 65% of PVTG women with an institutional birth used a maternity vehicle vs. 34% among OBC/none. Visits from frontline workers (Accredited Social Health Activists [ASHAs]) were similar across groups, and ASHA accompaniment of institutional births was similar across caste/tribe groups, and higher among poorer and less educated women. Attendance in participatory women's groups was similar across caste/tribe groups, and somewhat higher among richer and better educated women. Conclusions: PVTGs are highly disadvantaged in terms of birth outcomes. Targeted interventions that reduce geographical barriers to facility-based care and address root causes of high poverty and low education in PVTGs are a priority. For population-level impact, they are to be combined with broader policies to reduce socio-economic mortality inequalities. Community-based interventions reach disadvantaged groups and have potential to reduce the mortality gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internally displaced women are underserved by health schemes and policies, even as they may face greater risk of violence and unplanned pregnancies, among other burdens. There are an estimated 450,000 internally displaced persons in India, but they are not formally recognised as a group. Displacement has been a common feature in India's northeast region. This paper examines reproductive and maternal health (RMH) care-seeking among Bru displaced women in India. The study employed qualitative methodology: four focus group discussions (FGDs) were held with 49 displaced Bru women aged 18–45 between June and July 2018; three follow-up interviews with FGD participants and five in-depth interviews with community health workers (Accredited Social Health Activists – ASHAs) in camps for Bru displaced people in the Indian state of Tripura. All interviewees gave written or verbal informed consent; discussions were conducted in the local dialect, recorded, and transcribed. Data were indexed deductively from a dataset coded using grounded approaches. Most women were unaware of many of the RMH services provided by health facilities; very few accessed such care. ASHAs had helped increase institutional deliveries over the years. Women were aware of temporary contraceptive methods as well as medical abortion, but lacked awareness of the full range of contraceptive options. Challenges in accessing RMH services included distance of facilities from camps, and multiple costs (for transport, medicines, and informal payments to facility staff). The study highlighted a need for comprehensive intervention to improve RMH knowledge, attitudes, and practices among displaced women and to reduce access barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the relationship between dowries – wealth transfers from the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage – and individual-level poverty in rural India. Based on the estimates of a collective household model, we show that the share of household consumption expenditure allocated to a woman is strongly associated with the dowry she paid at the time of her marriage. We compute poverty rates separately for women and men and find that women's poverty relative to men decreases with dowry. Moreover, women who paid dowries are less likely to be poor relative to women who did not, even when their households' consumption expenditures are the same. Our counterfactual policy analysis indicates that abolishing or reducing dowries (through anti-dowry laws or taxes, for example) may have the unintended effect of aggravating intra-household inequality and increasing women's risk of living in poverty after marriage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study on spatial analysis of child labour in India is a macro level analysis on child labour using the census data, 2011 of Government of India. The population census which is conducted once in 10 years only provides district level data on work-force distribution. The study has spatial analysis of child labour in the age group of 5–14 years in India. To assess the magnitude of the children in the labour force, district level data of Census 2011 has been used in the study. The study has made an attempt to identify the districts where there is high level of children in the labour force. This paper aims to estimate the magnitude and trends of children's workforce participation using the census data as it is the only data base, which is available at the district level since 1961 onwards. The study has made an attempt to identify the clustering of child labour across districts in India and how child labour is clustered by different background characteristics. Design/methodology/approach: The study has used ArcGIS software package, GeoDa software and local indicator of spatial association test. Findings: The findings of study reveal that the proportion of rural, total fertility rate (TFR) and poverty headcount ratio is positively associated, whereas female literacy and the pupil-teacher ratio are negatively associated with child labour. It suggests that in the hot-spot areas and areas where there is a high prevalence of child labour, there is need to increase the teacher's number at the school level to improve the teacher-pupil ratio and also suggested to promote the female education, promote family planning practices to reduce TFR in those areas for reducing the incidences of child labour. Research limitations/implications: The study also recommends that the incidences of child labour can be controlled by a comprehensive holistic action plan with the active participation of social workers. Practical implications: The promulgation of effective legislation, active involvement of judiciary and police, political will, effective poverty alleviation and income generation programmes, sensitisation of parents, corporates and media can play effective role in mitigating the incidences of child labour in India. To achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) adopted by world leaders in 2015 to eradicate child labour in all its forms by 2025. Social implications: The study aims to achieve the SDGs adopted by world leaders in 2015 to eradicate child labour in all its forms by 2025. Originality/value: The study is purely original and there are no such studies in Indian context by using the latest software. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Reduction of multidimensional poverty and tuberculosis are priority development agenda worldwide. The SDGs aims to eradicate poverty in all forms (SDG 1.2) and to end tuberculosis (SDG 3.3.2) by 2030. While poverty is increasingly being measured across multiple domains, reduction of tuberculosis has been an integral part of public health programmes. Though literature suggests a higher prevalence of tuberculosis among the economically poor, no attempt has been made to understand the association between multidimensional poverty and tuberculosis in India. The objective of this paper is to examine the association of multidimensional poverty and tuberculosis in India.Methods: The unit data from the National Family Health Survey-4, conducted in 2015-16 covering 628,900 households and 2,869,043 individuals across 36 states and union territories of India was used in the analysis. The survey collected information on the self-reported tuberculosis infection of each member of a sample household at the time of the survey. Multidimensional poverty was measured in the domains of education, health, and standard of living, with a set of 10 indicators. The prevalence of tuberculosis was estimated among the multidimensional poor and non-poor populations across the states of India. A binary logistic regression model was used to understand the association of tuberculosis and multidimensional poverty.Results: Results suggest that about 29.3% population of India was multidimensional poor and that the multidimensional poverty index was 0.128. The prevalence of tuberculosis among the multidimensional poor was 480 (95% CI: 464-496) per 100,000 population compared to 250 (95% CI: 238-262) among the multidimensional non-poor. The prevalence of tuberculosis among the multidimensional poor was the highest in the state of Kerala (1590) and the lowest in the state of Himachal Pradesh (220). Our findings suggest a significantly higher prevalence of tuberculosis among the multidimensional poor compared to the multidimensional non-poor in most of the states in India. The odds of having tuberculosis among the multidimensional poor were 1.82 times higher (95% CI, 1.73-1.90) compared to the non-poor. Age, sex, smoking, crowded living conditions, caste, religion, and place of residence are significant socio-demographic risk factors of tuberculosis.Conclusion: The prevalence of tuberculosis is significantly higher among the multidimensional poor compared to the multidimensional non-poor in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty-alleviation programmes aimed to improved mental well-being among persons living with HIV (PLWH) in low and middle income countries have underscored the importance of understanding how and why such programmes work. We present findings from a six-month ethnographic process evaluation of Kiran, an economic livelihood programme locally designed to improve mental well-being among women affected by HIV in Delhi, India. In addition to benefits of improved economic standing, we found that supportive relationships cultivated among participants (n = 9) and with providers (n = 3) provided respite from worry about their illness and reframed what was relationally and practically possible in the context of living with HIV. In acquiring marketable craft skills with peers, participants challenged internalized scripts of being socially devalued and regained agency about their abilities to contribute to their community and support their children's immediate and future needs. We found that the benefits of Kiran weighed less on the direct alleviation of mental distress and more on the instillation of hope for their children. Our findings exemplify the importance of re-visiting a priori theories that inform interventions for PLWH and highlight the methodological merits of ethnographic approaches that underscore how theory and intervention praxis are bidirectionally informed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Conventional indicators used to access the nutritional status of children tend to underestimate the overall undernutrition in the presence of multiple anthropometric failures. Further, factors contributing to the rich-poor gap in the composite index of anthropometric failure (CIAF) have not been explored. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of CIAF and quantify the contribution of factors that explain the rich-poor gap in CIAF. Methods: The present study used data of 38,060 children under the age of five years and their biological mothers, drawn from the nationally representative Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey of children and adolescents aged 0–19 years in India. The CIAF outcome variable in this study provide an overall prevalence of undernutrition, with six mutually exclusive anthropometric measurements of height-for-age, height-for-weight, and weight-for-age, calculated using the World Health Organization (WHO) Multicenter Growth Reference Study. Multivariate regression and decomposition analysis were used to examine the association between covariates with CIAF and to estimate the contribution of different covariates in the existing rich-poor gap. Results: An overall CIAF prevalence of 48.2% among children aged aged under 5 years of age was found in this study. 6.0% children had all three forms of anthropometric failures. The odds of CIAF were more likely among children belonging to poorest households (AOR: 2.41, 95% CI: 2.12–2.75) and those residing in urban area (AOR: 1.06, 95% CI 1.00–1.11). Children of underweight mothers and those with high parity were at higher risk of CIAF (AOR: 1.51, 95% CI: 1.42–1.61) and (AOR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.08–1.22), respectively. Children of mother exposed to mass media were at lower risk of CIAF (AOR: 0.87, 95% CI: 0.81–0.93). Conclusion: This study estimated a composite index to assess the overall anthropometric failure, which also provides a broader understanding of the extent and pattern of undernutrition among children. Findings show that maternal covariates contribute the most to the rich-poor gap. As well, the findings suggest that intervention programs with a targeted approach are crucial to reach the most vulnerable groups and to reduce the overall burden of undernutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Government of India initiated different programs to reduce neonatal mortality. However, the variability of neonatal deaths occurs among states of India. Objective: This study aimed to identify the differential determinants associated with neonatal deaths in northern and southern regions of India. Materials and Methods: Bivariate analysis and Cox regression analysis have been performed to evaluate the predictors of neonatal mortality from National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) data. Results: For neonatal mortality, mother and child factors became more consistent in the southern region than northern regions of the country, while household factor was almost the same in both regions of India. Conclusions: Primary intervention is also required to reduce public health problem as neonatal mortality. It should be focused on education of mother, birth interval, age at birth, antenatal care, poverty reduction programs, and proper heath facility to pregnant mothers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In India, most healthcare expenses are patients' out-of-pocket payments to private sector providers. Catastrophic health expenditures drive millions of families deeper into poverty. To save poorer households, hundreds of government-funded health insurance schemes have been introduced since the 2000s. These "demand side" schemes suggest that treatments in the private sector will be fully reimbursed. Fieldwork in one of India's largest hospitals shows that GFHIs overpromise. GFHIs are designed to turn patients into co-creators of healthcare value, but instead they deepen individuals' lack of market transparency. Poor patients pay the price for the state's lack of trust in them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women in the developing country of India have started on the long road to emancipation, at both the family and societal levels. In this context, we study what may be perceived as a key sign of emancipation regarding marriage and motherhood: childlessness. Using micro-level regressions, we show that a woman’s probability of ending her reproductive life without children exhibits a U-shaped relationship with her educational attainment. This indicates that poverty and sterility are not the sole determinants of childlessness and that better economic opportunities and empowerment within couples also matter. This result is robust to the introduction of important control variables, such as the development level of the state where women live, the husband’s education, age at marriage, religion, and caste. India appears to be joining a list of countries whose adjustments to childlessness go far beyond simply responding to boom-and-bust poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Multidimensional child poverty is notably more prevalent among STs and SCs. • Standard of living, ECD, and WASH are the dimensions that need committed thrust. • STs and SCs contribute more to the national MCP than their share of the population. • Head of household characterised by female gender, older age, and higher level of education is associated with a lower likelihood of MCP. • MCP tends to be more pronounced in nuclear families, households with 7+ members, rural areas, and central and eastern regions. Children are among the most vulnerable groups worldwide, bearing a disproportionate share of the burden of poverty. One-third of children, compared to one-sixth of adults, are multidimensionally poor. Experiencing poverty in childhood can have long-term negative consequences across generations. As a result, multidimensional poverty measures have recently been investigated in the child poverty literature. This study analysed multidimensional poverty among children (0–59 months) in India using the Alkire-Foster's counting approach and looked into how it differs across the country's well-known social stratification, the Caste system. The determinants of multidimensional child poverty (MCP) have been determined using multiple logistic regression. By using National Family Health Survey, 2019–21 data, the study revealed that the incidence of MCP in India is 32 %; highest among Scheduled Tribes (STs) (50 %), followed by Scheduled Castes (SCs) (37 %), Other Backward Classes (OBCs) (30 %) and 'Others' (22 %). Across all the Castes highest rates of deprivation were recorded in the indicators of standard of living and early childhood development (ECD) dimensions; together, they contribute more than 50 % to the MCP index (MCPI). The contribution of the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) dimension in MCPI of STs is also noticeably higher (20.2 %). Of the 15 indicators considered, availability of TV/Radio, followed by immunisation, sanitation, cooking fuel, housing condition, and stunting, are the leading contributors with a combined contribution of more than 55 %. A child being a male, of higher birth order and born to a mother with higher years of schooling was more likely to experience multidimensional poverty. The household head's sex, age, and years of schooling were significantly associated with MCP. Across all castes, children from nuclear families, 7 + household members, higher number of children per woman, rural areas, central, eastern and north-eastern (except STs) regions were more likely to experience multidimensional poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper is to investigate the economic determinants of female-owned proprietorships for 52 metro cities in India. The National Sample Survey (NSS) unit-level data are used for the analysis. The descriptive results show that women's proprietorship is much lower than its counterpart. The Probit regression results at the individual level show that women entrepreneurs do not have a bank account or computer but use the internet, are not registered under any act or authority, and do not expand considerably. They operate within household premises with a limited number of months and duration of a day, undertaking mainly contract basis. They also face several problems that hinder their activities. City-level factors such as work participation rate, consumption expenditure, higher levels of general and technical degrees, and vocational training are essential. The likelihood of becoming a female entrepreneur is negatively impacted by the two agglomeration variables of population size and participation in mixed activity. City-level poverty and inequality also adversely affect it. State-level Human Development Index, Gender Development Index, and Gender Inequality Index are also significant. Finally, we propose important policies to enable the city environment to improve women's entrepreneurship activities for higher and sustainable economic development. • Female-owned entrepreneurship (FOE) is essential for sustainable and inclusive economic growth in developing countries. • The agglomeration size, unequal economic distribution, and less female-friendly society discourage becoming FOE. • Knowledge spillovers, labour pooling, availability of public services, and infrastructure encourage FOE. • Cities need to increase investment, employment, level of education, and delivery of public services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Naxalite violence and impoverishment combine to limit learning outcomes in India. • Conflict reduces tutoring and increases school absences. • Conflict also affects presence of local teachers and praise of children. • However, some girls experience improved learning outcomes due to Maoist ideology. • Education policy should tackle supply- and demand-side constraints during conflict. This paper investigates the relationship between violent conflict, poverty dynamics and learning outcomes in India. Generalized ordered logistic regressions indicate that Naxal violence is associated with lower outcomes in basic literacy and numeracy, though with variations by gender and poverty trajectory. Mixed methods data, involving panel analysis alongside in-depth interviews in conflict-affected areas, point to supply- and demand-side constraints especially for children in impoverished households. Harassment of girls increased school absence, while interactions with Naxals when travelling to school prompted many boys to stay in hostels during holidays thus limiting absences. Conflict also modified teacher incentives. Understanding how conflict affects acquisition of basic skills is critical in contributing to policies better tailored for marginalised girls and boys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Early marriage has been declined over the decade, but still, the particle remains high in Rajasthan compared to India. • Wealth index and education contribute significantly to the inequality in early marriage among women. • Achieving further improvements in reducing early marriage among girls requires to focus on increasing birth and marriage registration. Child marriage in India is still a major concern to attain the sustainable development goal. Although child marriage or early marriage is a violation of human rights and has many demographic and health consequences, it remains high in many parts of the country, and the state of Rajasthan, one among them, needs attention. Hence, this study attempted to analyze the trend in child marriage and used a social-ecological framework to examine predictors of early marriage in Rajasthan. The study used various rounds of NFHS data collected from 1992/93 to 2015/16. The study is focused on currently married women of 20–24 years. The results revealed that although child marriage has declined over the period, a higher prevalence is in Rajasthan. Results from the logistic regression delineate that being not educated either of the partners and belonging to a poor household increased the risk of getting married early. Regionally, the high rural population, and the gender gap in literacy followed by social tradition practices increase the risk of early marriages in the districts of Rajasthan. Findings suggest that facilitating educational opportunities for girls, economic support to poor families, and increasing awareness in rural areas will push to a positive impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Around 59% of the children are suffering from anaemia in India. • Overall, 36.8% of mother–child pairs are suffering from anaemia. • In India, higher double burden of anaemia is seen in Jharkhand and Haryana states and lowest in Mizoram state. • After controlling for significant background factors, poor household at higher risk of double burden of anaemia in India. The prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women in India continues to be high despite efforts to address the issue through iron-folic acid supplements under the national health program. It is estimated that about 50% of pregnant women, adolescent girls and children are anaemic. Anaemic women are at a significantly higher risk of morbidity, mortality, postpartum haemorrhage, and low birth outcomes, in addition to low birth weight and preterm birth of their babies due to poor intrauterine growth. The purpose of this study is to investigate anaemia among mother–child pairs — known as a double burden — in poor and non-poor households in India. The study uses data from the fourth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS). The survey collects information on the haemoglobin levels in mothers and children. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to determine the risk of anaemia in mother–child pairs among poor and non-poor households. Our survey found that, respectively, 57.1% and 58.7% of the mothers and children were suffering from anaemia; and the double burden was 36.8%. The double burden of anaemia was much higher among poor households (41.0%) as compared to the prevalence in non-poor households (33.1%). This pattern was observed across the background characteristics of the mothers, such as age, place of residence, education, caste, religion, Body Mass Index (BMI) and selected child factors. The adjusted odds for poor households, after controlling for significant background factors of the mothers and children, was found to 11% (OR:1.11, p-value:<0.001; 95%, CI:1.09–1.14) with higher odds of double burden as compared to non-poor households. The findings of the study point to the need for policies that are targeted at addressing the double burden of anaemia in poor households in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Poverty and child labour have a positive relationship in India. • Agriculture employs more than half of all child labourers in India. • The average age at which children begin working is 16 years, with and average of 6 to 8 years of education. • Children from economically disadvantaged families and the Muslim community are more likely to engage in child labour. Child labour continues to be a major concern in India despite the implementation of various policies and programmes aimed at its eradication. This study investigates factors that influence child labour in India with a focus on regional differences. The data is drawn from the 2019–20 Periodic Labour Force Survey. Binary logistic regression is used to identify factors that influence child labour. The findings show that children with pre-primary and primary education are less likely to be in the workforce, whereas children with secondary and higher secondary education are more likely to be in the workforce. This reflects the higher rates of secondary school dropouts attempting to enter the labour force. Likewise, poor families are more likely to send their children to work. Similarly, children from economically and socially disadvantaged communities, and Muslim households are more likely to be sent to work. The findings suggest that increasing children's educational attainment and providing financial assistance to poor families could effectively eradicate child labour in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• I collect annual district level data across India to estimate the effect of MGNREGA employment on women empowerment. • I use annual district level data on women demand for microfinance through self-help groups and incidents of sexual harassment and interpersonal violence as my indicators for women empowerment. • Using a difference-in-differences model, results indicate that the demand for microfinance among women increases and violence against women decreases as MGNREGA employment increases in a district. • These results align with a broad literature on the benefits of MGNREGA, which identifies important changes to household decision-making as women earn income across India. In many countries, women do not share the same decision-making power as the men around them. This preexisting discrimination suggests an imbalance in decision-making power in the household, which makes empowering the role of women a necessity for the health and development of our communities. Studies have noted how income growth across genders can shift decision-making power in the household. To investigate income growth and its effect on women empowerment, I analyze the Mahatmas Gandhi Employment Guarantee Act of 2005, which offers guaranteed employment to rural households throughout India. Its gradual implementation in three phases over a two year period allows for the use of a difference-in-differences analysis regarding the effects of guaranteed employment by men and women across districts. I analyze two outcomes variables related to women empowerment beginning in 2002 to 2017, including the demand for microfinance and violence against women. Results show that as women take up employment in a district, the demand for credit and savings increases and violence against women decreases. Each result aligns with a broad literature that identifies how income growth and employment empowers the health, social, and economic of status of women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]