This handbook examines 25 years of decentralised governance and development in India. It provides a historical overview of developments since the introduction of decentralisation reforms (73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts) and critically assesses the measures initiated to strengthen decentralised institutions and deepen grassroots democracy. It also discusses the status of service delivery and identifies the issues and challenges involved in achieving development at the local level. The volume studies themes such as the devolution of powers in India, administrative and fiscal decentralisation, decentralised planning, Panchayats in scheduled areas, the sociological aspects of decentralisation, caste, gender and local democracy, capacity building, ICT for local governance, urban local governance, workfare and decentralisation, and decentralised natural resource management. It also looks at Panchayati Raj institutions from a Gandhian perspective.
The first of its kind, this handbook will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of decentralisation and development, development studies, fiscal decentralisation, political studies, political sociology, Indian politics, Indian government, public policy and governance, political economy, South Asian studies, and South Asian politics.
D. Rajasekhar is the HAG Professor in Economics at the Centre for Decentralisation and Development, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bengaluru, India. He obtained his PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India (through the Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum). He was Visiting Scholar at the universities of Oxford, Melbourne, Hitotsubashi, Sussex, and at the Centre for Development Research, Copenhagen. He worked extensively on decentralisation, social protection, and microfinance and served in policy bodies constituted by the government. He has published 27 books and 89 articles in national and international journals and as book chapters. His paper (co-authored) on ‘Motivating Knowledge Agents: Can Incentive Pay Overcome Social Distance?’ was published in The Economic Journal. His paper (co-authored) on ‘Collusion, Co-option and Capture: Social Accountability and Social Audits in Karnataka, India’, published in Oxford Development Studies, was awarded the Sanjaya Lall Prize for its contribution to development studies. He is currently collaborating with researchers from the London School of Economics, and the universities of Bristol, Melbourne, Tsuda, and Hitotsubashi in research relating to decentralisation and poverty reduction, delivery of public services, and social protection. His recent books include Decentralised Governance, Development Programmes and Elite Capture (2018) and Cooperatives and Social Innovations: Experiences from the Asia Pacific Region (2020).
