Scheduled Caste Women: Development Policy and Plan Implementation provides a comprehensive analysis of developmental policies and its implementation at grass- roots level. In post independent and post liberal period Scheduled caste women, their empowerment and development are important in social research. This is because fifty percent of human population in India is women and most of them are discriminated and contemptuously treated at home and outside. The conditions of Scheduled Caste Women are still more dejected and warrant a sociological exploration in the pretext of developmental and welfare driven context. The book discuses major government welfare policies pertaining to scheduled caste women and its implementation and operational status. Further, it narrates the changes occurred due to developmental policies resulting some kind of crisis and contradictions in the status of scheduled caste women.

Dr. Narendra Pal Singh has a very luminous academic as well as professional career. He was born on 11 June 1978 and obtained Master of Arts and Master of Philosophy in Sociology from Institute of Social Sciences, Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Agra. He has qualified University Grants Commission's National Eligibility Test in Sociology. He is also Ph.D. in Sociology from Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (A Central University) Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

Dr. Singh commences his professional career as a Assistant Professor in Sociology at Ram Singh Degree College, Firozabad, Surdas Brijrani Mahavidyalaya, Agra and Guest Faculty in Agra College, Agra. Besides teaching he has also served as Research Assistant at Institute of Mental Health and Hospital, Agra.

Presently he is working as a Senior Instructor (Panchayat) at Deen Dayal. Upadhayaya State Institute of Rural Development (Government of Uttar Pradesh) Lucknow.

He has authored more than six research papers in several journals of National and International repute. He is an active and creative researcher who participated and presented several papers in national seminars, conferences and workshop.

He is a life member of Indian Sociological Society, New Delhi, Indian Association for Social Sciences and Health, Mumbai, National Book Trust, New Delhi, Indian Science Congress Kolkata and Student Editorial Board Member in Shodh Prerak: A multidisciplinary quarterly International refereed research journal published from Lucknow.

Women, who constitute half of the population of our society, have been subjected to the patriarchal order of Indian society for centuries. In fact most of them are suffering from the same fate even today after the six decades of our independence. In all walks of life all over the world women face discrimination, hence, they demand equality and justice. Plenty of rights and privileges have been given to women in the constitution, subsequently various legislations, acts and statues have been framed, but in actual practice, they are deprived of even ordinary right and privileges.

The present study Scheduled Caste Women: Development Policy and Plan Implementation A Sociological Study of Agra District of Uttar Pradesh with special reference to Agra district of UP. The scheduled caste women and their development and the empowerment are important issues in sociological research in the post independent era. The reasons for the study important of this topic are obvious: fifty present of human population are women in India most of them, they are badly discriminated and contemptuously treated anywhere at home and outside. The conditions of scheduled caste women are still more miserable.

In a closer observation, the earlier studies have been carried out in so many areas related to scheduled caste women but very meager studies have been seen pertaining to rural scheduled caste women. In spite of several welfare schemes and poverty alleviation programmes being implemented, but the trickledown effect on scheduled caste rural women is not visible.

No development policy or planning can be successful and no action or movement can hold ground unless there is development of women. Their role in field of socio-cultural and in political and in economical movement cannot be ignored. In developing countries, the most important socio-economic problem of today is how to raise the income and standard of living of the women. The Government has now given emphasis to uplift the condition of women. The Government of India made several efforts to improve the socio-economic conditions of schedule caste women. Article 46 spells out that is the responsibility of the state to promote the welfare of the wreakers sections in general and the schedule caste in particular. Keeping in the view this fact, it is essential to analyze the factors, which are creating hindrances in taking the full benefit of developmental programmes by scheduled caste women. No such study has been conducted in this contact in the selected area before. Therefore the present proposed work would be of great use to the scientist, policy-makers and social workers, while suggesting as appropriate approach to uplift the standard of living condition of scheduled caste women.

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