Structural Adjustment In India Research Articles

C. H. Hanumantha Rao and Hans Linnemann (eds). Economic Reforms and Poverty Alleviation in India. New Delhi: Sage Publications, 1996. 271 pages. Hardbound, Indian Rs 350.00; paperback, Indian Rs 195.00.

The book under review is an edited collection of eight papers presented at a seminar on “Structural Adjustment and Poverty in India: Policy and Research Issues”, and is Volume 17 in the Indo-Dutch studies on Development Alternatives. The book evaluates the impact of economic reforms on poverty alleviation in India. In the “Introduction”, the editors describe the main theme of the book and propose some policy measures for poverty alleviation in the light of the findings of the papers included in the book. The paper, “Structural Adjustment in India—What about Poverty Alleviation?”, by Pieter A. van Stuijvenberg, evaluates the impact of India’s Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) on the poor and suggests some policy corrections to mitigate the adverse effects of this adjustment on the poor. He observes an improvement in the balance-of-payments position and foreign exchange reserves without a simultaneous fall in gross domestic product under the SAP. His major concerns are the large size and composition of fiscal deficits (dominated by revenue deficits). The large size of fiscal deficits, according to van Stuijvenberg, drive up real interest rates and endanger investment-led growth. He observes that social indicators of the social safety net, employment, and rural development programmes have not improved much due to expenditure cuts on rural infrastructural investments. He suggests a reduction in the size and composition of the public sector, elimination of all explicit and implicit subsidies, and discouraging rent-seeking behaviour for a successful implementation of economic reforms.

State and Social Responsibility of the Corporate: Analysis of the Role of State in India

The present article aims to underscore the role of state in developing the context within which corporate social responsibility (CSR) has emerged in India. The paper traces the trajectory of the Indian economy through the five year plans which were considered to be its backbone and which have now been jettisoned. In addition, it takes a critical look at the public rhetoric of the political class to justify CSR in India. The analysis shows that Indian state since Independence has been dominated by the bourgeoisie class and hence even while focusing on planned development, it continued to create pockets of want in the social sector which have eventually been used to provide justification for the mandated CSR in India. The state had neglected the social sector throughout the plan periods. With the onset of privatization, liberalization, and globalization under the structural adjustment in India, the involvement of state in social sector was likely to reduce further. The state therefore pushed for mandatory CSR to fill the likely gap and the political class of the country provided necessary rhetorical justification for the same.

State and Social Responsibility of the Corporate: Analysis of the Role of State in India

The present article aims to underscore the role of state in developing the context within which corporate social responsibility (CSR) has emerged in India. The paper traces the trajectory of the Indian economy through the five year plans which were considered to be its backbone and which have now been jettisoned. In addition, it takes a critical look at the public rhetoric of the political class to justify CSR in India. The analysis shows that Indian state since Independence has been dominated by the bourgeoisie class and hence even while focusing on planned development, it continued to create pockets of want in the social sector which have eventually been used to provide justification for the mandated CSR in India. The state had neglected the social sector throughout the plan periods. With the onset of privatization, liberalization, and globalization under the structural adjustment in India, the involvement of state in social sector was likely to reduce further. The state therefore pushed for mandatory CSR to fill the likely gap and the political class of the country provided necessary rhetorical justification for the same.

Policy reforms, institutions and the poor in rural India

Structural adjustment in India was a response to the macro‐economic crisis of early 1991. Anticipating unfavourable short‐term effects of the policy reforms on the poor, outlays on anti‐poverty programmes were stepped up, and in 1992, the landmark 73rd Constitutional (Amendment) Act restructured local government councils, or panchayats. Whether this restructuring made any difference through the better design and implementation of anti‐poverty programmes is the focus of the present study.

Liberal Democracy and the Political Management of Structural Adjustment in India: Conceptual Tensions in the Good Government Agenda

Summary Why has India been able to sustain for four years an economic reform programme that many had predicted would fall prey to the realities of political competition in a democracy? The answer to this question reveals a tension between two of the central tenets of the good government agenda, as defined by international financial institutions and donors: the government's competence in formulating and implementing policy reforms rests largely on its ability to employ political tactics which involve a decided lack of transparency. Drawing on detailed case material, the article argues for a more realistic appraisal of democracy's practical utility and analyses the implications for donor policy. RESUMELa democratie liberale et la gestion politique de l'ajustement structurel en Inde: les tensions conceptuelles dans la poursuite de bon gouvernement Comment l'Inde s'est-elle trouvee capable de maintenir, depuis quatre ans, un programme de reforme economique qui, selon les predictions de nombreux commentateurs, courait le risque de devenir proie aux realites de la concurrence politique dans les democraties? La reponse a cette question revelerait une tension entre deux articles de foi centraux d'un programme de bon gouvernement tel que defini par les institutions financieres et les donateurs internationaux: la ‘competence a gouverner’ du gouvernement dans la formulation et la mise en place des reformes politiques serait largement conditionnee par les capacites d'un tel gouvernement a deployer des tactiques politiques qui impliquent un manque decide de “transparence”. Faisant appel a des informations derivees d'etudes de cas detaillees, l'auteur se prononce en faveur d'une evaluation plus realiste de l'utilite pratique de la democratie, et il analyse les implications en termes de la politique chez les pays donateurs. RESUMENLa democracia liberal y el manejo politico del ajuste estructural en la India: tensiones conceptuales en la agenda de buen gobierno ?Por que la India ha podido mantener durante cuatro anos un programa de reforma economica que segun muchas opiniones deberia sufrir a merced de las realidades de la competicion politica en una democracia? La respuesta a esta pregunta revela la tension existente entre dos de las premisas centrales en la agenda de buen gobierno, tal como las han definido las instituciones financieras internacionales y los donantes: la ‘competencia’ del gobierno para formular e implementar reformas descansa en gran medida en su habilidad para emplear tacticas politicas que implican una decidida falta de ‘transparencia’. Usando ejemplos detallados de casos concretos, este articulo aboga por una evaluacion mas realista de la utilidad practica de la democracia y analiza sus implicaciones para las pautas de asistencia.

Women and Structural Adjustment in India

Women and Structural Adjustment in India