Children constitute a sizeable proportion of India's population. Despite progress along many fronts, Indian children continue to face many deprivations. Statistical indicators reveal that differences in well-being among children in India are narrowing, yet almost 43 per cent of children below 5 years were undernourished in 2005-6, and, even today, over a million babies die before their first birthday. Similarly, there are stark inequalities in the well-being of children across states, between rural and urban areas, and within communities. Through the entry point of new opportunities available to children in India and old challenges still faced by them, the book raises several key questions that are central to policy debates in India: what does poverty mean when viewed from the perspective of access to basic services for children and realization of children's basic capabilities? How should it be measured? How do we address the challenges of investment in public service expansion and delivery required to ensure equitable outcomes for children irrespective of their economic means, social group, or geographical location? Underpinning this collection of essays is the centrality and importance of designing social policies with regard to children's rights.

The issues and questions addressed in this multidisciplinary set of essays draw on a wide array of data sources. Primary and secondary data-quantitative and qualitative, numerical and textual-are marshalled by the contributors, who have not just raised questions, but also used evidence to provide informed opinions on the direction of India's social policies in the coming decade.

Table of Contents:
List of Tables and Figures Foreword by Louis-Georges Arsenault List of Abbreviations Child Rights, Equity, and Social Policy: An Introduction Ramya Subrahmanian, A.K. Shiva Kumar, and Preet Rustagi Part I: Measuring Poverty and Deprivations from Children's Perspective 1. Recognizing Child Well-being: The Need for a Double Paradigm Shift Ashwani Saith and Rekha Wazir 2. Child Well-being and Deprivations in India Preet Rustagi, Sunil Kumar Mishra, and Balwant Singh Mehta 3. Economic Status and Child Deprivation: Findings from Village Surveys Madhura Swaminathan and Venkatesh Athreya 4. Demographic Transition, School Attendance, and Changing Activity Structure in Urban India Amitabh Kundu and P.C. Mohanan Part II: Macro Context and Policy Spaces 5. Achievements and Challenges in Legal Protection for Child Rights Asha Bajpai 6. Rising Food Prices and the Global Financial Crisis: Tracking Impacts on Women and Children S. Mahendra Dev 7. The Tryst Compromised: India's Fiscal Policy and Its Impact on Children Praveen Jha and Subrat Das Part III: Gender, Family, and Marriage 8. Adverse Child Sex Ratios and Gender Discrimination: Challenges for Law and Policy Mary E. John 9. Delaying Age of Marriage: Social Norms and Policies Priya Nanda and Sonvi A. Khanna 10. Parent-Child Communication and Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters Shireen J. Jejeebhoy and K.G. Santhya 11. Universal Day-care Services: Meeting the Intersecting Needs and Rights of Women and Children Neeta Misra and Ramya Subrahmanian 12. Conditional Cash Transfers for the Welfare of the Girl Child: The Indian Experience T.V. Sekher Part IV: Social Exclusion and Human Development 13. Engaging with Caste: Academic Discourses, Identity Politics, and State Policy Surinder S. Jodhka 14. Assessing the Inclusiveness of Government Flagship Programmes: The Case of National Rural Health Mission Kaveri Gill 15. Caste and Social Exclusion: Concept, Indicators, and Measurement Sukhadeo Thorat and Nidhi Sadana Sabharwal 16. The Political Economy of Development and Adivasi Children and Society Virginius Xaxa 17. Literacies and Power: Looking for Adivasi Voice in Education Shivali Tukdeo 18. Addressing Deprivations of Scheduled Tribe Children: A Perspective from Odisha Soumya Kapoor Mehta Index About the Editors and Contributors