Social and Economic Change in Rural Bihar and the Emerging Policy Framework

This document presents a summary of the initial findings from a research programme on inclusive growth in Bihar, carried out by the Institute for Human Development, New Delhi. The study aims to understand to what extent and in what ways has the population of rural Bihar participated in and benefited from India’s development over the last 30 years; How have the benefits been distributed between classes and castes, between regions, between men and women, between generations, between rich and poor; the triggers to change in rural Bihar in recent decades; the impact on people’s lives of specific policy interventions aimed at reducing poverty, improving capability and raising productivity. This study is mainly based on data from village and household surveys carried out between November 2009 and February 2010. It also draws on data collected in earlier years, which makes it possible to explore not only the patterns and relationships observed in 2009- 10, but also the changes over three decades. This study focuses on rural areas where almost 90 per cent of Bihar’s population live.