Inclusive Growth and Equality of Opportunity Rajesh Pal

There is now a genuine and widespread recognition about the adverse social consequences of rising inequalities in the recent high growth phase, which do not seem to be mitigated through the so called ‘trickle-down ’ mechanism. The government has concerned that high growth alone has not addressed the challenges of ‘growth with social justice’; realizing these facts whole sections in the XIth Plan document of Government of India has been attributed to “Towards Faster and More Inclusive Growth”. Inclusive growth is defined in the XIth Plan as ‘growth process which yields broad based benefits and ensures equality of opportunity for all’. To increase the bargaining power of rural and distressed people National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, recently named as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was passed by parliament in September 2005 and came into force in February 2006. Recent experience shows that the implementation of Right to Information Act holds a great promise for improving the effectiveness of this and similar schemes designed to improve the lot of the poor. Further, Right to Education Act, National Food Security Act and National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was started to bring the neglected sectors into the mainstream of economic development. Exercise of political power by the common people continues to be swayed by considerations of caste, religion, language and region. Notable constitutional legislative and policy reform including the 73rd and 74th amendments have demonstrated the Government of India’s commitment to increase the political participation of marginalized groups