1. Local Self-governments in India
1.1 Constitutional Provisions Regarding Local Bodies
1.2 Decentralisation Initiative, 1992
1.3 Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992
1.4 Constitution (Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act, 1992
1.5 Women in Local Governance Structures
1.5.1 Proxy Politics
1.5.2 Amendment to Article 243T of the Constitution to Provide for 50 percent Reservation for Women in Urban Local Bodies
2. Constitutional and Legal Provisions Regarding Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs)
2.1 Constitutional Provisions Regarding Panchayats
2.2 Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA)
2.3 Areas Not Covered under Part IX
2.4 Role of the States
3. Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) and its Programmes/Schemes
3.1 Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR)
3.2 Number of Panchayats and Elected Representatives
3.3 Devolution of Powers, Responsibilities and Resources to Panchayats
3.3.1 Activity Mapping of Functions Devolved by States to Panchayats
3.3.2 Schematic Interventions
3.3.3 Panchayat Devolution Index
3.3.4 Delegation of Powers in Centrally-sponsored Schemes to Panchayats
3.4 Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) Programme
3.4.1 Introduction
3.4.2 Management of the Programme at the State Government Level
3.4.3 Special Provisions for States and Districts not covered under Parts IX and IX-A of the Constitution
3.4.4 Fund Flow Mechanism and Tracking of Funds under the BRGF
3.4.5 BRGF Development Grants
3.4.6 BRGF Capacity Building Grants
3.4.7 Constitution of District Planning Fund Committees (DPCs)
3.4.8 Technical Support for DPCs to Prepare District Plans
3.4.9 PlanPlus Software Application
3.4.10 Action Soft
3.5 Capacity Building and Training (CB&T)
3.5.1 Initiatives for Capacity Building
3.5.2 National Capability Building Framework (NCBF)
3.6 Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA)
3.7 E-Panchayat
3.8 Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas Act, 1996 (PESA)
3.8.1 Scope
3.8.2 Powers of Gram Sabha
3.8.3 Challenges
3.8.4 MoPR Initiatives
3.9 Panchayat Awards
3.9.1 Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar
3.9.2 Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha (RGGS) Award
4. Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA)
4.1 Objectives
4.2 Modalities
4.3 Activities
4.4 Integration with Swachh Bharat Mission
5. Economic, Social and Political Empowerment of Women
5.1 Economic Empowerment
5.1.1 Vicious Circle of Poverty and Gender Inequality
5.1.2 Gender Discrimination in Wages
5.1.3 Strategies for Economic Empowerment of Women
5.2 Social Empowerment
5.2.1 Women and Health
5.2.2 Women and Education
5.2.3 Women and Media
5.3 Political Empowerment
6. Women Representation in PRIs
6.1 Representation of Marginalized Sections
6.2 Image Building by Women
6.3 Role of Reservation for Women
7. Illusion of Inclusion
7.1 Surrogate Participation
7.2 Panchayats versus Higher Level Governments
7.3 Essentials for Democratic Functioning of PRIs
7.4 Gram Sabha Meetings
7.5 Training for Women
8. Opportunities and Challenges for Women in PRIs
8.1 Opportunities for Women
8.1.1 Self-empowerment
8.1.2 Social Mobilization with Gender Focus
8.1.3 Training Programmes
8.2 PRIs and Traditional Institutions
8.3 Problems/Challenges Faced by Women in Panchayats
8.4 Village Level Planning
9. Women, Micro Finance and Self-help Groups (SHGs)
9.1 Meaning and Role of Micro Finance
9.2 Why Should Micro Finance Focus on Women?
9.3 Self-help Groups (SHGs)
9.3.1 Structure of a SHG
9.3.2 Alternative Models of Micro Finance/SHGs
9.3.3 Benefits of SHGs
9.4 Women Self-help Groups (WSHGs)
9.4.1 Problems and Challenges
9.5 SHG-Bank Linkage Programme
9.5.1 Graduation of Mature SHGs into Micro Enterprises
10. Women in PRIs: Indian Experiences
11. Women in PRIs: A Case Study of Bihar
11.1 Bihar: An Introduction
11.2 Schedules for Interview
11.3 Qualitative Survey
11.4 Rationale for Selecting the Districts for Study
11.5 Findings of the Study
11.5.1 Socio-Demographic and Economic Profile of Elected Women Representatives
11.5.2 Study of Zila Parishad Chairpersons
11.5.3 Mukhiyas: Study of 30 Panchayats
11.5.4 Involvement
11.6 Recommendations
12. Local Governance Experiences of India and Pakistan
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Political Commitment and Sincerity
12.3 Features of Local Governments in Pakistan
12.4 Local Governance in India
12.5 Global Experiences of Local Governments
Appendix: National Policy for Empowerment of Women (NPEW)
Bibliography/References
Index
