Encyclopaedia of Social Development and Planning

The social problems of contemporary India are the result of a complex nexus between the factors of exclusion and inclusion rooted in history, values, and cultural ethos. Many of these problems based on the policy of segregation have not been addressed by the development strategy launched since Independence. India has the distinction of having the first sub-national State Human Development Report (SHDR) for the state of Madhya Pradesh in 1995. Since then, the State has published its SHDRs twice in 1998 and 2002. Fourteen other States of Assam, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Sikkim, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Punjab, Nagaland, Orissa, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Kerala have launched their SHDRs.