Building from the Bottom: Infrastructure and Poverty Alleviation

Putting the right infrastructure is critical to India’s plans for inclusive growth. Increasingly, responsibilities for infrastructure development will be decentralised to the local governments, whether rural or urban. There is now an increasingly urgent need for large-scale environmental improvement programmes and for strengthening governance and the capacity of local institutions to plan, implement, and finance infrastructure provision and service delivery. Building from the Bottom: Infrastructure and Poverty Alleviation provides critical insights into infrastructure governance from different angles—policy making, urban and rural aspects, technology, connectivity, capacity building and participation. Some of the most distinguished scholars and practitioners have contributed to this volume that encapsulates the key issues in mainstreaming poverty alleviation strategies in infrastructure programmes. Some important questions it seeks to answer are: How can we ensure infrastructure access and affordability for the poor? What are the implications for development planning and decision-making processes? What are the financing options? The book also contains a number of best practice case studies to reflect community participation, innovation and commitment, all vital ingredients to the process of building from the bottom. The book will serve as a useful reference and planning tool for administrators, planners, policymakers and researchers of development economics.