Chapter 5: Growth and Development of the Social Sector in India

Free India inherited a dilapidated and shattered economy with rampant poverty and retrogressive socio-economic antecedent of a monolithic population. Not only the income needed to be pushed up, but it needed to be fairly distributed. The socio-economic traits of the population needed to be braced up to make growth inclusive. The social sector is based on a welfare motive that has an imperative role to support the economy and society so that it leads to the reduction of regional disparities and poverty alleviation through employment generation. Earlier, human development incorporated health and education as the major components, but recently, with an ever-rising concern of the government and policymakers, the development of infrastructure and other components of the social sector are also considered extremely important ingredients for economic development (Nayak & Mishra, 2014).