Articles by L C Jain

Persuasive empirical evidence is becoming available for what decentralisation can do for India, especially to universalise elementary education, which formidable centralisation failed to accomplish within the one decade mandated by the Constitution. Even five decades later we have not been able to universalise primary education to our children. The failure lies so much not in centralisation as in over-centralisation.

L C Jain There is literally no public participation in the working of the public distribution system (PDS) network, even in an advisory capacity. The village population for whom certain essential consumer items are despatched, is kept in the dark about the items, their quantities, quality and price. The administration feels uneasy with what it regards as a meddlesome public.

Monitoring Public Investment A Creative Initiative THANKS to Kamarajnagar, public sector policy is again in the headlines. Given ihe peaks and slopes of our social stratification on the one hand and the choice of mixed economy on the other, a continual and conflicting discussion about the place of public sector in our development design is unavoidable and indeed necessary. But after 40 years of ground experience, it is by no means sufficient to talk merely of policy. The discussion must be informed by a dispassionate account of the performance of major projects/investments.

Poverty, Environment, Development A View from Gandhi's Window L C Jain Patterned as it is after the Mahalanobis model of development, the Indian economy presents a picture of growth and achievement on many fronts: a tremendous increase in the output of what, in official circles, are regarded as development goods; considerable expansion in the communication, transport and irrigation infrastructures; a steep rise in agricultural and industrial production; a high volume of foreign trade, buffer stocks and bank deposits; a steady growth in investment and savings, These are all achievements that exceeded by far 'the best dreams of the early planners'. But in what measure have these investments and outputs mitigated the problems of poverty and unemployment? More specifically, what effect have they had on the diets of the poor, to whom, as Gandhi said, 'god appears in the form of food'?

A Heritage to Keep The Handicrafts Industry, 1955-85 L C Jain Significant changes have taken place in the handicrafts sector during the period 1955-1984. This paper presents the highlights of these changes using available aggregative data together with the results of micro studies of selected crafts in about 40 locations in the country covering about 4,000 craftsmen. Against the background of these changes, the author critically examines government policies towards handicrafts and pinpoints the major areas calling for more effective policy intervention.