Chapter 8: Problems, Government Measures, and Policy Implications

Ever since independence, poverty alleviation has been India’s top priority. Our social objective is to eliminate poverty and hunger and guarantee a decent level of living for the majority of people. All of the Five Year Plans have placed a strong emphasis on the significance of reducing poverty and fulfilling other basic requirements of all (Dev, 2000).

In the early years of independence, India envisaged a trickle-down approach to embark on the path of development and followed the inclusive growth strategy. Especially since the Sixth Five Year Plan, social sector development has taken precedence over other developed issues. It is also realised that to fulfil the objective of social justice, the government requires multiple efforts to achieve inclusiveness in all dimensions (Dev & Mooij, 2004). Although, since independence, many programmes and policies have been formulated, success lies again in their proper implementation. India aimed for inclusive growth so that everyone, from the top down to the bottom up, may participate in the process of development.