Public Policy is truly significant in any economy and more so in the Indian economy. The progress of any country depends to a great extent on the policies formulated and implemented by the government and its specialised agencies. Public policy issues are many and varied. Broadly speaking, they are both regulatory and promotional, the aim being bringing about behavioural changes among various players both in the private and public sectors. They provide for innovative interventions in the form of mandates and incentives in respect of innumerable economic activities with the objective of bringing about desirable socio-economic changes. The domain of public policy being very wide, the current edited volume focuses on a few aspects of public policy in areas like agriculture, industrial labour, international trade, development paths, regional development, poverty alleviation and basic minimum income, environment, gender justice, etc. 

Public Policy in India is a collection of essays written by experts from the universities and research institutes in honour of Professor B.S. Sreekantaradhya, Former Professor, Department of Studies in Economics and Co-operation, University of Mysore, Mysuru. All the authors who have contributed articles for this edited volume are established writers with many publications to their credit.

The book will interest not only academics, policymakers and general public but will be particularly useful for students of policy sciences, economics, public administration, commerce and management.

1 Introduction / Krishna Raj and Abdul Aziz

2 Moving towards a Rational Policy Regime in India’s Agricultural Sector / R.S. Deshpande and Khalil Shaha

3 Promoting Agricultural Tenancy Policy Measures in India and Elsewhere / G.V. Joshi

4 Cash Transfers for Poverty Alleviation: Feasibility and Options for India / S.T. Bagalkoti

5 Changing Contours of Labour Policy in India / D.S. Leelavathi

6 Public Policy for Inclusive Growth and Spatial Disparities in India: Why is it Such a Hard Nut to Crack? / K.V. Ramaswamy

7 Role of Institutions in Redressing Regional Disparities: The Experience in Karnataka / M. Devendra Babu

8 Dr B.R. Ambedkar: A Man of the Millennium for Social and Economic Justice / S. Bisaliah

9 India’s Development Trajectory: Some Landmarks / V.K. Natraj

10 China’s Low-Carbon Economy and Lessons for India’s ‘Smart Cities’ / Krishna Raj

11 India’s External Sector: Performance and Suggestions / H.A.C. Prasad

12 Gender Policy Perspectives in India: Women and LGBTQ Predicament / M. Umapathy

13 Financial Inclusion and Performance of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) / T.R. Manjunath

14 Food Processing Industry and Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises: A Look at the Promotional Policy / M.G. Basavaraja

15 Economic Estimation of Health and Productivity Impacts of Traffic Congestion: A Case of Bengaluru City / Vijayalakshmi S. and Krishna Raj

16 MGNREGA Ombudsman: A Forlorn Scare Crow: Issues and Way Forward in Karnataka / Sanjiv Kumar, S. Madheswaran and B.P. Vani

17 Corporate Investment in India: Recent Trends and Patterns / K. Dhananjaya and Krishna Raj

Krishna Raj is Professor at Centre for Economic Studies and Policy, Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bengaluru. He obtained PhD in Economics from the University of Mysore. Most of his research work is in the field of Environmental Economics. Earlier, he served as Indian Council for Cultural Relation (ICCR) Chair Professor on Indian Economy under the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) Seoul, South Korea. He was also a Visiting Scholar at University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, USA. He was awarded with Sir Ratan Tata Trust Research Fellowship for collaborative research with University of Wisconsin, USA. 

He has served as the expert committee member to both state and central governments. Currently, he is the expert committee member of National Green Tribunal (NGT), Government of India. He is also expert committee member of the Karnataka State Wetland Conservation Authority, Government of Karnataka. He was invited as a keynote speaker to more than ten conferences. Dr Krishna Raj's work has been featured in national and international media. Besides five books, he has authored numerous articles, reports, book reviews and popular articles in newspapers.