ABSTRACT
The Global Gender Gap Index, on which India ranks low, assigns weightage to economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. Women-led development is a social and economic imperative. The efforts in the southern Indian States are being replicated in other parts of India, with similar results in poverty reduction. The Rural Livelihood Mission has expanded to nearly all the districts of the country. The feminization of labour is happening in southern India under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme which pays lower than market wages. Universal well-endowed creches will greatly facilitate women’s work participation. Market-led energy pricing was adopted for good reasons to reduce the burden on the State exchequer and keep its fiscal deficit in check. Extremely high food and fertilizer subsidies need phased withdrawal to free up resources for education, health, nutrition, skills, and livelihoods.
