ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

Articles by Srinivas GoliSubscribe to Srinivas Goli

Do Fewer Births Bring More Prosperity?

Decline and Prosper! Changing Global Birth Rates and the Advantages of Fewer Children by Vegard Skirbekk, Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2022, pp 396, `1,192.

Intimate Partner Violence

Unless India acts on all important causes, including intimate partner violence, that are hindering improvements in reproductive, maternal, and child health outcomes, the sustainable development goals related to health will remain difficult to achieve. Using the National Family Health Survey 2015–16, it is found that intimate partner violence has adverse impacts on the pregnancy outcomes, maternal and newborns’ health, and related healthcare access.

Demographic and Health Diversity in the Era of SDGs

Despite the progress achieved in demographic and health-related indicators, achieving targets in the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 remains a demanding task. This study acts as a perfect benchmark for monitoring several demographics and health-related indicators in the era of the SDGs. There is a need to advance the right sources of data and cutting-edge tools for measuring and monitoring progress. The efforts to reduce regional disparities in demographic and health-related indicators are hindered by the lack of adequate funding to the programmes and the absence of reliable micro-level evidence-based policy.

 

Economic Independence and Social Security among India’s Elderly

Given that a majority of India’s elderly population lacks adequate social security or old-age pension, India needs a robust social security system that addresses decisive ageing challenges such as decent living arrangements, economic independence and social support to ensure active ageing. India needs to facilitate interstate convergence in old-age pensions under social security schemes for the elderly population, and revisit and re-evaluate existing multisectoral policy initiatives aimed towards their welfare.

Unreliable Estimates of Child Malnutrition

In a large country such as India, efforts to generate evidence on developmental parameters at the micro level will strengthen efforts to design evidence-based policy and help in initiating remedial measures.

Population Challenges in India

Population Concerns in India: Shifting Trends, Policies, and Programs by Krishnamurthy Srinivasan, Delhi: Sage Publications, 2017; pp 293, ₹ 850.

 

Road Traffic Accidents and Injuries in India

Road traffic fatalities constitute 16.6% of all deaths, making this the sixth leading cause of death in India, and a major contributor to socio-economic losses, the disability burden, and hospitalisation. An attempt to measure catastrophic levels of health expenditure on accidental injuries, road traffic accidents, and falls, finds that the burden of out-of-pocket expenditure is the highest for such injuries. The financial burden is particularly high for poorer households in rural areas, and those seeking treatment at private health facilities with no health insurance. Public health facilities for trauma care and health coverage for low-income groups could help these vulnerable households.

Identity Equations and Electoral Politics

The changes in landownership pattern, educational mobility, and occupational diversification among socio-religious groups in Uttar Pradesh provide crucial insights into the contemporary nature of political mobilisation in UP. Based on a survey of over 7,000 households, representing all socio-religious groups in 14 districts of the state, the article assesses these changes and points to the disparities between the various groups and, more importantly, to the intra-group inequalities that exist within each group. To effectively mobilise support, political parties will have to look beyond the numbers and recognise the acute differences existing within castes.

Does Untouchability Exist among Muslims?

Untouchability forms a crucial criterion for inclusion in the list of Scheduled Castes. It is rarely discussed with reference to Muslims. A household survey was conducted in 14 districts of Uttar Pradesh to examine contradictory claims about the practice of untouchability by non-Dalit Muslims and Hindus towards Dalit Muslims in Uttar Pradesh. A section of Dalit Muslim respondents report existence of untouchability in dining relations, habitation, social interaction and access to religious places. Surprisingly, a higher proportion of non-Dalit Muslims corroborate these claims.

Explaining the Skewed Child Sex Ratio in Rural India

Examining the direct relevance of the landholding-patriarchy hypothesis to the dynamics of sex discrimination and family-building strategies in rural India, this paper presents evidence that indicates the child sex ratio varies greatly when stratified by size of household landholdings. The results suggest that this hypothesis can be effectively used to study the future implications of the process of demographic masculinisation in the country.

Family Welfare Programme in India: Expenditure vs Performance

Since the launch of the reproductive and child health policy regime in 1998-99, there has been a massive rise in government expenditure on family welfare programmes in India. This paper makes a systematic effort to assess the performance of the family welfare programmes vis-à-vis the trends in expenditure. The trends in key performance indicators for India and selected states reveal that progress has been slow and limited in the post-rch policy regime. Child immunisation coverage has decelerated, and the increase in the contraceptive prevalence rate and institutional delivery coverage have stalled. Consequently, the pace of reduction in the total fertility rate and infant mortality rate has slowed. Overall, the progress in key programme indicators is found to be incommensurate with rising expenditure.

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