Above all, trust in government is the key to successfully implementing difficult decisions during emergencies.
This March marks five years since the world stopped. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Covid a pandemic. On March 24, the Government of India declared a nationwide lockdown, one of the most stringent globally. With five years and much water under the bridge, it is easy to forget the gasping breaths, millions of deaths, and shuttered businesses. That is, until the next disaster strikes. Can we learn from that painful experience to prepare for the next disaster, whether it is a black swan event like the pandemic, a tsunami, or a drought?
This paper explores ‘gatekeeping’, the phenomenon where access to a sample person in the household is controlled by another person. Gatekeeping of female persons is especially an issue in societies governed by gendered social norms. It can increase survey error by reducing response rates and potentially increasing non-response bias, and can increase measurement error when gatekeepers insist on providing proxy responses. We contribute to the sparse literature on gatekeeping by using data from a telephone survey of migrants in India and focusing on the sample of female married-out migrants. We estimate the prevalence of gatekeeping, compare outcomes of calls made to gatekept versus non-gatekept cases, and model the likelihood of a proxy interview. We estimate that gatekeeping of females in telephone surveys is in the range of 56%–65%, with gatekept calls much more likely to result in proxy interviews. We find that older and more-educated women are less subject to gatekeeping and that male and married interviewers are associated with a greater likelihood of gatekeeping. We discuss implications of these results for survey practice.
We investigated how adolescents’ time allocation across daily activities influences their body mass index and well-being by paying explicit attention to gender and activities relevant to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We hypothesized that the inequitable domestic burden shouldered by girls adversely affects their health and well-being. Using data from three waves of the Young Lives Longitudinal Survey (2009, 2013, and 2016) tracking 1891 children aged 8, 12, and 15 from predominantly rural, low-income households from South India, we analyzed gendered time use patterns and their implications. Girls spent more time on caregiving, housework, and studying at home, while boys allocated more time to school, leisure, and sleep. Random effects models revealed that time spent on caregiving and housework increased the likelihood of being overweight or obese among girls, whereas leisure time reduced it. Time in school was positively associated with girl’s thinness, as was time spent on sleep for both boys and girls. Gender moderated the effects of time spent on housework and unpaid economic tasks on thinness, reducing its likelihood for girls. Subjective well-being improved with time spent in school and studying for all adolescents. Fixed effects models revealed it worsened for girls engaged in paid work and boys engaged in leisure. Longer sleep hours improved boys’ well-being. These findings underscore that gendered time use patterns, particularly girls’ unequal burden of domestic responsibilities, contribute to their increased risk of overweight and obesity. Addressing these disparities is crucial for improving adolescents’ health and well-being in resource-poor settings in LMICs.
This book provides a comprehensive analysis of India’s social and economic transformation in the decades leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic and explores both resilience and vulnerabilities in Indian society.
It provides an in-depth look into diverse aspects of how Indians live, earn a living and care for their children by examining vital indicators such as poverty, malnutrition, health and marriage and family relationships, among others. Analysing the data from the India Human Development Surveys, it presents a complex picture of India’s transformation and large economic and educational gains, while exploring the reasons why these have not translated into social transformation of a similar magnitude. The volume also describes the backdrop against which the COVID-19 pandemic crippled the Indian economy. In effect, it foreshadows the challenges that need to be addressed on the road to recovery. It argues that in order to reduce the scarring and ensure recovery for all, it will be important to focus on the underlying conditions faced by the most vulnerable sections of the Indian society as policymakers seek to effectively tend to issues of socio-economic inequality and marginalisation in the long run.
Rich in data and analysis, this book will be useful for scholars and researchers of economics, political economy, sociology and development studies.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1| India’s Social and Economic Transformation
Pallavi Choudhuri, Sonalde Desai, Amaresh Dubey
Chapter 2| Why Did Poverty Decline in India?
Carlos Felipe Balcázar, Sonalde Desai, Rinku Murgai, Ambar Narayan
Chapter 3 | Do Income and Income Inequality Have Any Impact on Morbidity? Evidence From the India Human Development Survey
Sohini Paul
Chapter 4| Excess Weight in India
Pushkar Maitra, Nidhiya Menon
Chapter 5 | Does the Growing Private Sector Deliver Schooling for All? Role of Gender, Parental Altruism and Family Wealth
Pushkar Maitra, Sarmistha Pal, Anurag Sharma
Chapter 6 | Private Schooling in India
Suvarna Pande, Amaresh Dubey
Chapter 7| Expectations of Support From Daughters in India
Abhijit Visaria
Chapter 8| Are the Young and the Educated More Likely to Have “Love” Than Arranged Marriage?
Manjistha Banerji
Chapter 9| The Impact of Household Membership in Community-Based Organisations on Child Health and Education in Rural India
Mugdha Vaidya, Meghna Katoch Rana, Nabanita Datta Gupta
The two decades since the passage of the act have seen tremendous changes
The year 2025 marks the 20th anniversary of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The programme design, resulting from a unique collaboration between bureaucrats and civil society, reflects a rights-based approach where 100 days of manual labour are to be provided to any rural household. It is the largest government programme with its budget reflecting 17% of the total budget for centrally sponsored schemes.
