Social Development in Independent India: Paths Tread and the Road Ahead provides an overview of social development in India in the past 60 years and also deals with the emerging issues in the 21st century. The book discusses how social development has acquired a global significance and how it has the potential to unleash hitherto dormant development forces. Principally written for research students, bureaucrats, politicians and NGOs, this book will appeal to all who have a professional or academic interest in development issues. The text reviews the existing policies and gives some indication of the current development scenarios, using quantitative as well as qualitative data.