Böcker av Anjal Prakash

Technology, Policy and Inclusion looks at the intersections between public policy and technology in India. It explores the barriers in instituting effective governance and examines how these can be mitigated through technological interventions in developing countries.Increased digitization of the economy has added to the development challenges in India and issues such as exclusion and social inequality. This volume stresses the need for governments to leverage technology to bring more vulnerable and marginalized groups into the fold of financial and social inclusion. It also focuses on the importance of regulation for a responsible integration of technologies and minimizing risks. The book includes examples and case studies from different areas including management of the COVID-19 pandemic through digital means, real estate digital infrastructure, digital census, e-markets for farmers and government interventions that uses technology to deliver financial services in remote areas of the country. It also outlines various solutions for fostering equity and socio-economic development.The volume will be of interest to students and researchers of public policy, political science, development studies, and sociology as well as policy professionals and technocrats.

Falling or stagnant agricultural growth, increasing dependence on groundwater, climate variability, swift industrialization, and unplanned and unregulated urbanization in South Asia have spawned a variety of challenges for water resources governance, management and use: groundwater overdraft; insufficient, ill-managed and poor-quality freshwater supply vis-à-vis escalating demand; and water pollution. Water policies in each of the South Asian countries thus call for a more holistic understanding for the efficient management, equitable distribution and sustainable use of this scarce resource.Analyzing the economic, demographic and ideological context in which water policies are framed and implemented, this book argues for an integrated framework in formulating and implementing water policies in South Asia. It also highlights some common missing links in the national policies: problems of techno-centric and blueprint approach to water management, growing influence of international donor agencies and inadequate concern for issues such as equity, sustainability, gender sensitivity, accountability, regional diversity in property rights regimes and water management practices, and regional conflicts over water access. The innovative and nuanced knowledge on water resources produced from detailed case studies in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be useful for professionals, academics, policymakers and activists as well as those in development studies, environmental studies, natural resource management and public administration.

This cluster of books presents innovative and nuanced knowledge on water resources, based on detailed case studies from South Asia-India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. In providing comprehensive analyses of the existing economic, demographic and ideological contexts in which water policies are framed and implemented, the volumes argue for alternative, informed and integrated approaches towards efficient management and equitable distribution of water.