Ajit Kumar Singh Author & Editor

Ajit Kumar Singh is retired director, Giri Institute of Development Studies, Lucknow. He holds degrees of MA and PhD in economics and PG Diploma in national and international development from the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague. He has been the faculty of economics at University of Lucknow and RML Avadh University, Faizabad. He was member of Second State Finance Commission, UP, Committee on Unfinished Agenda on Land Reforms in India appoint¬ed by the Ministry of Rural Development Government of India, 2008. Dr Santosh Mehrotra is currently Professor of Economics, Centre for Informal Sector and Labour Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Prior to this, he was the Director General of Institute of Applied Manpower Research, New Delhi, the only research institute of the Planning Commission, Government of India. He was first Head of Rural Development Division, and then Head, Development Policy Division, Planning Commission, from 2006 to 2009. He was one of the authors of India’s 11th Five-Year Plan (2007–12) and of the 12th Plan, and also led the team on the  India Human Development Report 2011. Dr Mehrotra held a three-year appointment at the Centre for Development Studies, University of Bath, UK, as Parkin Visiting Professor (2010–13). He has worked with the United Nations Development Programme and UNICEF too. He is a human development economist, and his research interests have spanned industry and trade issues, the impact of macroeconomic policy on health and education, the informal sector, and the economics of health and education. His books include Asian Informal Workers: Global Risks, Local Protection (2007, co-edited); Eliminating Human Poverty: Macro-economic Policies for Equitable Growth (2007, co-authored); The Economics of Elementary Education in India (2006, edited); Universalizing Elementary Education in India: Uncaging the Tiger Economy (2005, co-authored); Development with a Human Face: Experiences in Social Achievement and Economic Growth (1997, co-edited, translated into French); and India and the Soviet Union: Trade and Technology Transfer (1990). His latest books are: Seizing the Demographic Dividend: Polices to Achieve Inclusive Growth in India; India’s Skills Challenge: Reforming Vocational Education and Training; and Land Policies for Equity and Growth: Transforming the Agarian Structure in Uttar Pradesh. The current book is the third by Dr Mehrotra for SAGE publications.