India
Sex-selective abortion: Evidence from a community-based study in Western India
Selective abortion of female foetuses has been documented in India as early as the late 1970s when amniocentesis for genetic screening became available (Ramanama and Bambawale 1980) but it was only with the increasing availability of ultrasound technology in the mid-1980s that the practice became widespread. Most of the existing evidence on sex-selective abortion comes from micro-studies in northern India. These have demonstrated a widespread acceptance of the practice and several researchers have documented indirect evidence in the form of increasing sex ratios at birth in hospitals or within communities (Booth and others 1994; Gu and Roy 1995; Khanna 1997; Sachar and others 1990 and 1993; Sahi and Sarin 1996). While abortion (also called medical termination of pregnancy or MTP) on broad social and medical grounds has been legal since 1972 sex selection is not. The state of Maharashtra where the present study was conducted banned prenatal sex selection in 1988; the Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques Bill made sex detection tests illegal throughout India in 1994.
Aging in India: Its socio-economic and health implications
The sharp decline in mortality since 1950 and a steady recent decline in fertility has contributed to the process of population aging in India.
Does economic inequality matter in cases of infectious childhood diseases? An analysis for India
Although remarkable declines in infant and child mortality have been observed in developing countries during the last quarter of the twentieth century the incidence and the prevalence of infectious diseases among children under five years of age still persist at an alarmingly high level especially in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asian countries in the ESCAP region. Over two thirds of the estimated 3.7 million deaths of children in South Asia in the year 2000 were attributable to infections such as pneumonia (acute respiratory infections) diarrhoea and measles (UNICEF 2004; Black Morris and Bryce 2003). In India diarrhoea acute respiratory infections tuberculosis and chronic hepatitis continue to threaten the lives of millions of children.
Nutritional status of children in north-east India
Undernutrition in children is the consequence of a range of factors which are often related to insufficient food intake poor food quality and severe and repeated infectious diseases. The inadequacy is relative to the food and nutrients needed to maintain good health provide for growth and allow a level of physical activity (National Nutrition Policy Government of India 1993). Widespread poverty resulting in chronic and persistent hunger is the biggest scourge of the developing world today. Poverty in turn is closely linked to the overall standard of living and whether a population can meet its basic needs such as access to food housing health care and education. This intersectoral and interrelated cause of undernutrition operates at many levels from the community at large to the household and children within households. Undernutrition is often cited as an important factor contributing to high morbidity and mortality among children in developing countries (Sommer and Loewenstein 1975; Chen Chowdury and Huffman 1980; Vella and others 1992a 1992b). Undernutrition during childhood can also affect growth potential and risk of morbidity and mortality in later years of life.
Price co-movements, commonalities and responsiveness to monetary policy: Empirical analysis under indian conditions
This study aims to empirically establish the co-movement of price indices of seemingly unrelated commodities suggesting that the Central Bank should not decouple fluctuation in the national price index into volatile and core components. An attempt is also made to understand whether monetary policy can influence the factors responsible for price fluctuations in the states of India. The study becomes especially relevant under Indian conditions where flexible inflation targeting has been adopted by the Reserve Bank of India (Central Bank of India) and achieving the targeted inflation is a primary concern of the Indian government. The results of the empirical analysis clearly reveal that unrelated price indices co-move in India and that monetary policy initiatives fail to influence the common factors of the states of India. The empirical results have crucial implications for the Reserve Bank of India and as such a conscious effort is needed to enable policy to influence the price indices of the states of India.
Envisioning tax policy for accelerated development in India
The objective of the present paper is to demonstrate that despite several years of reform the tax-GDP ratio in India is well below international standards and has been static over the last decade. Based on a crosscountry analysis of tax-GDP ratios in 115 countries over the period 2005-2015 an estimate is made of the extent of under-taxation in India. Considering that children in the age group of 0-14 years constitute about 40 per cent of the population of 1.3 billion in India in the paper it is argued that the tax-GDP ratio must be raised to enhance allocation to education health care and physical infrastructure to ensure demographic dividends by providing the increasing workforce with productive employment opportunities. The reforms needed to raise the revenue productivity of the tax system while taking into account the best practice approach to tax reform are identified in the paper.
Contributory factors towards sustainability of bank-linked self-help groups in India
The present study focuses on the Indian flagship financial inclusion scheme – the Self Help Group-Bank Linkage Programme which successfully leverages the social collateral concept and the vast network of bank branches in India to deliver financial services to small cohesive and participatory women’s self-help groups. To develop a deeper understanding of the topic of sustainability of self-help groups we propose a framework that conceptualizes sustainability by integrating the financial and organizational aspects of functioning of self-help groups. Sustainability is assessed in the light of the group’s performance (on set of indicators) with respect to the primary objective of the Self Help Group-Bank Linkage Programme which is financial intermediation. Subsequently we ascertain the effect of plausible contributory factors related to group management practices on the sustainability of self-help groups. The results of regression analysis on primary data captured from a survey of 170 self-help groups show that such factors as equitable access to credit group savings growth in savings loan utilization in income generation activities members depositing a savings contribution or loan installment on each other’s behalf and distance from bank contribute significantly to group sustainability. Accordingly designing suitable measures to monitor and improve group governance and management practices would be a critical policy intervention.
Internal migration in India: Are the underprivileged migrating more?
India embarked on its new economic policy popularly known as the liberalization of the Indian economy in 1991. The basic features of the new economic policy were a reduction in government expenditures in order to reduce fiscal deficit an opening up of the economy for export-oriented growth the removal of government control and licensing and a push for private participation to enhance competition and efficiency. Both supporters and critics of the new economic policy believed that economic reforms would increase internal migration. Proponents believed that the new impetus would boost the economy and job opportunities leading to increased pull factors conducive to accelerated rural-to-urban migration. By contrast the opponents of this policy were of the view that economic reforms would adversely affect the village and cottage industries and impoverish rural populations leading to increased rural-tourban migration (Kundu 1997). Although there was considerable success in achieving economic growth from 2 to 3 per cent of growth in gross domestic product in the pre-reform era to over 6 per cent during the period 1991-2001 the impact of this enhanced growth on internal migration in general and rural-to-urban migration in particular has not been assessed. The latest census of 2001 reveals several interesting results in relation to internal migration its regional pattern and the contribution of rural-to-urban migration to urban growth as discussed by Bhagat and Mohanty (2009). They argue that the push factor has not significantly influenced internal migration. As a result it appears inaccurate to state that the poor and disadvantaged are migrating more than those that are more well off.
Changing demographics, emerging risks of economic-demographic mismatch and vulnerabilities faced by older persons in South Asia: Situation review in India and Pakistan
This paper provides an overview of some important demographic changes in two major South Asian countries India and Pakistan resulting in a situation marked by sustained fertility decline life prolongation and a growth of population in both the young (especially 25 years and over) and old (60 years and over) age groups. The study postulates that these changes may prove significant for both the countries – affecting inter alia the size and clearance mechanism of their labour markets nature of dependencies increasing ratios of young to old etc. The study further postulates that a fair proportion of families in the two countries may find it difficult to endure old-age dependencies owing to increasingly widespread casualization of employment and jobless growth. Enduring old-age dependencies may also be difficult due to limited work opportunities for older persons functional disabilities perpetuating poverty lack of social assistance compression in real public health expenditure etc. The study also postulates that the pro-market changes in these countries may not particularly conform to their age structure changes. It may as well create a situation fraught with a significant economic-demographic mismatch (see appendix 1).
The effect of maternal nutrition and reproductive morbidity on waiting time to next conception in rural Karnataka, India
The role of the public and private sectors in responding to older persons? needs for inpatient care: Evidence from Kerala, India
Determinants of living arrangements of elderly in Orissa, India: An analysis
Demographic trends in many developing countries since the second half of the twentieth century are leading to an unprecedented increase in the absolute as well as relative size of older populations (aged 60 years and older). Simultaneously rapid social and economic changes have occurred that have potentially profound implications for the future of the elderly. At the global level the number of older persons is projected to increase from 603 million in 2000 to 2 billion in 2050. The increase will be especially dramatic in less developed regions where the size of older populations will more than quadruple from 370 million in 2000 to 1.6 billion in 2050 (United Nations 2009).
Breast-feeding and weaning practices in India
Recently considerable importance is being given to the study of breastfeeding practices in different settings in developing and developed countries. Breast-feeding is important particularly in developing countries because of its relationship with child health and birth spacing. It is well documented that mother’s milk is the best food for the newborn child and it has a significant impact on reducing mortality in infants. Apart from these benefits breast-feeding also plays an equally important role in controlling fertility in developing countries.
Determinants of contraceptive method choice in an industrial city of India
Even though India instituted the first national family planning programme in the world its contraceptive prevalence rate is still relatively low. In 1980 a national survey estimated that 35 per cent of the currently married women aged 15-44 years were currently using contraceptives of whom 63 per cent were using sterilization (Khan and Prasad 1983 pp. 112 120). As late as 1984-1985 close to the time our study was carried out oflicial government estimates based on service statistics still showed only 36 per cent of the eligible couples as being currently protected (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Government of India 1986 p. 14); of these 70 per cent were using sterilization (Ibid. p. 187).
Potential for reducing child and maternal mortality through reproductive and child health intervention programmes: An illustrative case study from India
In September 2000 at the United Nations Millennium Summit in New York leaders of the world’s Governments signed the Millennium Declaration and committed themselves to a series of goals and targets that came to be known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Goals include reducing under-five mortality by two thirds (Goal 4) and reducing maternal mortality ratio by three quarters (Goal 5) between 1990 and 2015 (IMF OECD United Nations and World Bank Group 2000). According to the assessment made in 2003 by ESCAP UNDP and ADB among 47 countries in the ESCAP region for which data are available one half (24 countries) have already achieved Goal 4 and four additional countries are expected to achieve the Goal leaving 19 countries (40 per cent) making slow progress or regressing. As for Goal 5 (improve maternal health) of the 42 countries for which data are available seven have already achieved the Goal and another seven are expected to achieve it leaving 28 countries (two thirds) either making slow progress or regressing. Goal 5 (reduction by three quarters) is more ambitious than Goal 4 (reduction by two thirds) and it is not surprising that fewer countries are progressing well towards the first than towards the latter. India is classified as progressing slowly towards Goal 4 and regressing in achieving Goal 5 as of 2003 (ESCAP UNDP and ADB 2005).
Spousal abuse and infant and child mortality in India
Violence against women continues to be a global epidemic that kills tortures and maims physically psychologically sexually and economically. It is one of the most pervasive forms of human rights violations denying women and girls’ equality security dignity self-worth and right to enjoy fundamental freedoms. Violence against women is present in every country cutting across boundaries of culture class education income ethnicity and age. The evidence of the magnitude of the problem of domestic violence in developing countries is growing fast. In recent years there has been a greater understanding of the problem of domestic violence which is one of the forms of violence against women its causes and consequences and an international consensus has developed on the need to handle this sensitive issue in an appropriate fashion.
Household type and poor older persons in India
Economic activity in post retirement life in India
Economic independence, family support and perceived health status of the elderly: Recent evidence from India
The sharp dip in fertility rates in recent years combined with falling mortality rates over the last four decades is leading to an increase in the absolute and relative size of the elderly population in developing countries (Rajan Sarma and Mishra 2003). It has been observed that the speed of population ageing is very fast in some countries of South and South-East Asia (Population Reference Bureau 2006). As a result issues related to ageing are becoming important in those countries (Liebig and Rajan 2003).
Marriage and fertility dynamics in India
Status, decision-making role and expectations of older persons in rural Maharashtra, India
A turnaround in India’s urbanization
Health-care decisions of older persons in India
Status of Women and Family Planning: The Indian Case
The degree of personal autonomy of women in India varies from state to state. Several studies have noted the regional variations in the status of women in India (Karve 1965; Srinivas 1978; Mitra 1979; Dyson and Moore 1983). Women’s personal autonomy is manifested in practices such as veiling (purdah or ghungat) pressures to get girls married at a very young age (partly to protect their virginity and partly to ensure compliance with parents’ wishes in respect of the choice of spouse) denying or limiting educational or employment opportunities to girls attaching differential values to sons and daughters restricting the ability of women to control their fertility by pressuring them to produce children (particularly male heirs) restricting their access to information and economic and health resources etc.
Long-term implications of low fertility in Kerala, India
Low fertility will make it easier to bring about needed improvements in the quality of social services.
Women’s perception of their reproductive health before and after sterilization in rural Maharashtra, India
Few community-based studies in India have investigated the determinants of women’s self-reports of reproductive tract infections and other forms of gynaecological morbidity. One of the most striking findings to emerge from the few that have done so is the strong association between the use of female sterilization or in some cases the intrauterine device (IUD) and reported or diagnosed gynaecological morbidity.
Experiences and perceptions of marital sexual relationships among rural women in Gujarat, India
Sexual behaviour is one of the most central yet mysterious aspects of human life. For many people it is virtually taboo to discuss such matters in traditional Indian settings where attitudes remain by and large conservative (Bang and others 1989). Research into sexual behaviour in India has been almost entirely confined to urban populations particularly among groups of people thought to be at high risk of HIV infection (Pachauri 1992; National AIDS Control Organization 1994). Little is known about the sexual behaviour of people in rural areas who comprise nearly 70 per cent of the country’s population. An understanding of sexuality and gender-based power relations is important to issues of reproductive health because they underlie many relevant behaviours and conditions. Family planning policies and programmes should address a broader spectrum of sexual behaviour and consider questions of sexual enjoyment and risks and confront ideologies of male entitlement that threaten women’s sexual and reproductive rights and health (Dixon-Muller 1993).
Antenatal care, care-seeking and morbidity in rural Karnataka, India: Results of a prospective study
“Pregnancy is special let’s keep it safe” was the theme for World Health Day in 1998. Even if agreement existed on the best way to ensure a safe pregnancy in a resource-poor setting provision is only half the story; the level and nature of the demand for a “safe” pregnancy also needs evaluating. How women themselves perceive the dangers of pregnancy and how they react to those dangers are important questions to answer.
Population ageing and women in Kerala State, India
In this note we examine the ageing of the female population in the State of Kerala India in the light of current and future demographic trends as well as the social and economic implications of this process.
Status of women in India: A comparison by state
The concept "status of women" eludes precise definition and hence precise measurement. Status can be perceived in different ways: the extent of a woman’s access to social and material resources within the family community and society (Dixon 1978) or her authority or power within the family/community and the prestige commanded from those other members (Mukerjee 1975) or her position in the social system distinguishable from yet related to other positions (Committee on the Status of Women in India 1974) or the extent to which women have access to knowledge economic resources and political power as well as the degree of autonomy they have in decision making and making personal choices at crucial points in their life-cycle (United Nations 1975). The idea of status also connotes the notion of equality (Krishnaraj 1986). There can be self-perceived status group-perceived status or objective status (Mukerjee 1975) a situation which can lead to status inconsistency when a person is very high in one type of status and very low in another.
Contraceptive use and intentions among unmarried and married young women undergoing abortion in Bihar and Jharkhand, India
Impact of food inflation on headline inflation in India
A commonly held belief in the 1970s was that price indices rise because of temporary noise and then revert after a short interval (Cecchetti and Moessner 2008). Accordingly policy should not respond to the inflation because of these volatile components of the price indices. This led to the development of the concept of core inflation (Gordon 1975) which is headline inflation excluding food and fuel inflation. It was strongly believed that in the long run headline inflation converges to core inflation and that there are no second round effects (that is an absence of core inflation converging to headline inflation). In recent years however major fluctuations in food inflation have occurred. This has become a major problem in developing countries such as India where a large portion of the consumption basket of the people are food items. Against this backdrop in the present paper an attempt is made to measure the second round effects stemming from food inflation in India using the measure of Granger causality in the frequency domain of Lemmens Croux and Dekimpe (2008). The results of empirical analysis show significant causality running from headline inflation to core inflation in India and as a result the prevalence of the second round effects. They also show that food inflation in India is not volatile and that it feeds into the expected inflation of the households causing the second round effects. This calls for the Reserve Bank of India to put greater effort in anchoring inflation expectations through effective communication and greater credibility.
Factors affecting variations in fertility by states of India: A preliminary investigation
The most recent demographic data collected by India’s 1992/93 National Family Health Survey revealed marked variations in fertility by state. Fertility measured by the total fertility rate (TFR) ranged from as high as 4.82 4.25 4.00 3.99 and 3.90 children per woman in the states of Uttar Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Bihar Haryana and Madhya Pradesh respectively to as low as the replacement or lower level of fertility at 1.90 2.00 and 2.26 in Goa Kerala and Mizoram respectively. The national average TFR was 3.39 children per woman; the TFRs of the remaining 16 states varied between a low of 2.48 children per woman in Tamil Nadu to a high of 3.74 children per woman in the State of Meghalaya (see accompanying figure).
Impact of maternal education and health services on child mortality in Uttar Pradesh, India
Improvements in health services education and provision of safe drinking water all have a desirable impact on child survival
Latin America meets China and India: Prospects and challenges for trade and investment
The high growth levels projected for China and India will make these two countries the most important pole of the global economy for the next few years creating a market of great potential for Latin American and Caribbean exports. These markets had remained largely untapped until recently with the exception of certain South American primary products. Latin America should strengthen its ties with the two Asian countries in order to increase production synergies with them. Free trade agreements and trade and investment partnerships should also be established in order to increase access to both markets and facilitate insertion into Asian production and export chains.
Do slum dwellers have lower contraceptive prevalence rates? An analysis of current use patterns in Calcutta, India
Puberty rituals, reproductive knowledge and health of adolescent schoolgirls in South India
In India programmes and research concerned with women’s health until very recently have focused mainly on the reproductive functions of married women. The recent paradigm shift in the Government’s primary health programme was intended to increase the attention given to gynaecological problems and other aspects of women’s health. Nonetheless the attention given to the health problems of adolescent girls is still meagre even though adolescence is a time when looking after health and nutrition can help to build a buffer against the heavy physical demands of the reproductive years. High rates of gynaecological morbidity have been reported in rural populations adolescents included (Bang and others 1989; Koenig and others 1998). However the health knowledge and problems of adolescents have so far received only minimal attention (Koblinsky and others 1993).
Parental consanguinity and offspring mortality: The search for possible linkage in the Indian context
The main reason for reinvestigating the possible linkage between consanguinity and offspring mortality emerged as a result of the gross disagreement among researchers on this subject. For the purpose of this study consanguinity is defmed as marriage between relatives who share at least one common and detectable ancestor. There is no common consensus in the field of human genetics or demographic research regarding the biological impact of parental consanguinity on the health of their offspring. However in this regard it is possible to recognize three broad schools of thought. Adherents of the first school consider that there is an overwhelming possibility of consanguineous parents having an unhealthy child. According to this school of thought marriage between close relatives is genetically critical because closely related individuals have a higher probability of carrying the same alleles than less closely related individuals. Consequently an inbred child (the progeny of a consanguineous couple) will more frequently be homozygous for various alleles than the offspring of unrelated persons (Whittinghill 1965). To the extent that homozygosity for genes is deleterious consanguineous marriage is deleterious (Sutton 1965). In this respect the genetic load of deleterious recessive genes usually known as the lethal equivalent would cause death if present in homozygous combination (Cavalli-Sforza and Bodmer 1971). A number of studies on this subject have focused on an increased level of morbidity (Bemiss 1858; Rao and others 1977; Ansari and Sinha 1978) and mortality (Farah and Preston 1982; Bundey and Alam 1993; Bittles 1994) among the offspring of consanguineous parents. Survey results from a few other sources have also identified a linkage between consanguinity and spontaneous abortion (Neel and Schul 1962; Al-Awadi and others 1986) and intrauterine loss (Saheb and others 1981).
The impact of maternal work participation on duration of breastfeeding among poor women in South India
Breastfeeding is important because of its relationship to child health and birth spacing. It has been well documented that mother’s milk is the best food for the newborn child and that it has a significant impact on reducing infant mortality. In developing countries breastfed infants experience substantially lower morbidity and mortality risks than infants who are not breastfed particularly in the first year of life (Knodel and Kinter 1977; Palloni and Millman 1986: Pebley and Stupp 1987: Retherford and others 1989; Shall and Khanna 1990). The advantage of breastfeeding in terms of savings on expenditures on alternative food is also important in poor families. There are advantages for the mother too. Not only does breastfeeding help to establish a closer relationship between the mother and infant but it also helps to delay the resumption of ovulation and thus promotes spacing of births (Van Esterik and Greiner 1981). Bongaaits and Potter (1983) have pointed out that in populations without access to modern forms of contraception birth intervals are determined primarily by duration of breastfeeding.
Male sexual debut in Orissa, India: Context, partners and differentials
First sexual intercourse is a significant event in a man’s life whether or not it happens within the context of marriage. In the wake of the HIV pandemic sexual initiation before marriage has become a focus of attention. From an intervention point of view the proportion of young people who are sexually active especially before they form stable partnerships is an important area of concern. Early age at sexual debut and the number of pre-marital partners have been shown to be correlated with risk behaviour later in life (White and others 2000). Contextual data on sexual partners and circumstances are needed to understand and assess the risk associated with early sexual experiences and thereby design appropriate policies and programmes.
Does retirement affect healthy ageing? A study of two groups of pensioners in Mumbai, India
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as a state of complete physical mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Among the many concerns of humankind the ability to lead a life free from illness or disability during old age is a dominant one. Health is thus a key factor to livability. For older persons health determines their ability to perform the tasks that facilitate their participation in society. Society for its part depends on the good health of its members to enable them to perform their roles adequately be they of an economic community or family nature.
Recent fertility declines in China and India: A comparative view
China and India are the two most populous countries in the world and together they account for almost 38 per cent of the global population. China’s population has already crossed the 1.2 billion mark and India’s is expected to exceed 1 billion around the turn of the century. However in recent years the annual growth rate of the Chinese population has slowed down to about 1.1 per cent whereas in India it continues to be almost 2 per cent. The available evidence shows that China has experienced a large and remarkably rapid fertility transition in recent years whereas although fertility in India has also fallen the decline has been much smaller. Why has India not been as successful as China in achieving a fertility decline?
Indicators of women’s empowerment in India
Women’s empowerment or autonomy is a multifaceted concept. In a patriarchical society as exists in large parts of India men are placed in a more advantageous position than women. The family lineage and living arrangements are centred on men and inheritance and succession practices tend to neglect women as well. The state of male supremacy is reflected in the child rearing and caring practices. The celebrations for the birth of a male child and the differential treatment meted out to boys bears ample evidence of this. Access to nutrition child care and education all favour boys over girls. From a very early age a girl is socialized to give priority to the needs of the male members in the family. The cumulative effect of these practices is a tilt in the power relations in favour of males. Women’s empowerment is essentially an effort to rectify this imbalance and attain gender equity.
Maternal health-care service use among rural-urban migrants in Mumbai, India
Previous studies of migrants’ health-seeking behaviour have demonstrated that migrants under-utilize health services in their new environment owing to problems of access urban assimilation and the continuation of traditional rural practices (Tam 1994; Zulkifli and others 1994; Bender and others 1993; Davidson 1983; Uyanga 1983). Migrants however have been shown to increase their utilization of services relative to those remaining in rural areas (Tam 1994). This study examines the maternal health-seeking behaviour of rural-urban migrants in a slum pocket of Mumbai. The objective of this study is to identify and compare the nature prevalence and typology of maternal and child health service utilization by rural-urban migrant and non-migrant populations in Maharashtra India. At the same time the research aims to identify key social cultural and economic influences on service utilization and suggest possible ways to increase the use of maternal health-care services among recent migrants to Mumbai.
Age at marriage in India
Demographers and other social scientists from less developed countries have shown interest recently in the study of the age at marriage. especially of women as a prime determinant of fertility in countries where contraception is not widely practised. The age at marriage is also considered one of the best indicators for studying the status of women in developing countries (Vag-liani 1980).
Sequence of fertility treatments among childless couples in Ranga Reddy District, Andhra Pradesh, India
Despite its well-established links to other aspects of reproductive illhealth such as sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unsafe abortion (Berer 1999) infertility is the most neglected component in the reproductive health programmes of many developing countries.
Gender, health, marriage and mobility difficulty among older adults in India
Recent evidence from India suggests a growing prevalence of morbidity and poor health status along with significant increases in longevity in the elderly population (Alam 2000). Yet barring a few exceptions most studies about the health and functional ability of older persons in India are based on impressionistic findings and rarely provide empirical evidence addressing the factors that are associated with morbidity and functional limitations.
Unmet need for public health-care services in Mumbai, India
The rural urban disparities in health outcomes in India are often attributed to urban bias in allocation of resources and location of health-care services. Statistics clearly show that the bed population ratio is higher in urban areas and that those regional inequalities have not seen any significant decline over time (Duggal and others 1995). This regional imbalance is there in both the public and the private health sector. Further public spending on health care is also disproportionately higher in urban areas. However while critiquing the regional bias it is to be examined whether the urban areas in India where 22 per cent of the population is residing in slums has the required number of public health-care facilities. Unlike other urban areas the matter requires special attention in an urban metropolis in India that is characterized by poor living conditions making the public more vulnerable to diseases and where poverty levels are likely to be similar if not worse than that in rural areas. This could be understood by examining who utilizes those services and for what reasons.
Raising corporate debt in India: Has foreign ownership been an asset or a liability?
The impact of international R&D on home-country R&D for Indian multinationals.
Extant research on internationalization of research and development (R&D) has not examined what the impact of foreign R&D investments is for the investing corporate parent firms in particular on domestic R&D investments. The aim of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of international knowledge sourcing through foreign R&D in an empirical analysis of the effects of foreign R&D investments on domestic R&D intensity for a panel of Indian firms. The paper specifically investigates the importance and impact of the role and the location of foreign R&D centres on parent-company R&D by analysing differences between foreign-technology-seeking and foreign-technology-exploiting R&D and between centres in advanced countries and in developing countries. The analysis finds contrasting results between advanced and developing countries and between technology-exploring and technology-exploiting investments.