We invite you for the launch of Realising Rights: A Handbook of Welfare in India, edited by the Centre for the Study of the Indian Economy (CSIE), Azim Premji University. 

About the handbook

This Handbook maps the major interventions of the Union government that together constitute India’s welfare regime. India’s welfare architecture affects the lives and livelihoods of crores of people. 

Understanding how these programmes were created, how they have functioned, and the extent to which they achieve their stated objectives is a matter of considerable economic, social, and political importance. This volume seeks to provide a systematic assessment of these interventions and their place within India’s broader development trajectory.

The handbook brings together 17 chapters across the major welfare domains and a set of cross-cutting themes. In addition to the macroeconomics of welfare, the domains covered include maternity entitlements, the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), mid-day meals, the Public Distribution System (PDS), rural employment guarantee, social security pensions, school education, health, Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), the Right to Education Act, PM-KISAN Yojana, and state-level unconditional cash transfers. 

Chapters on social justice, social accountability, decentralisation, and digitisation address the cross-cutting dimensions that shape delivery across the entire architecture. 

The launch and presentation of the Handbook will be followed by a panel discussion on the State of Welfare in India and Future Prospects.

About the panellists

Panellists include Arti Ahuja (Former Union Secretary Labour and Employment, Government of India), A K Shivakumar (Development Economist), P V Ramesh (Former Special Chief Secretary to Government of Andhra Pradesh) and Sobhana K Nair (Senior Deputy Editor, The Hindu). 

The discussion will be moderated by Arjun Jayadev (Azim Premji University, Bengaluru).