This book examines the social welfare policies and programmes devised to address different societal issues and concerns across the South Asian countries. It focuses on the design and delivery of social welfare policies related to women, children, the elderly and groups living below poverty level. It brings a wide array of themes to the fore - empowerment of vulnerable populations, globalization and inclusive development, intervention in Northeast India, employment of elderly teachers in Sri Lanka, regulations in prisons, ageing South Asia and elderly care, social exclusion and urban poor, girl child education in India, child protection in Bangladesh and women panchayat leaders - to provide an evidence-based understanding of social policy formulation, implementation and monitoring in South Asia.

Comprehensive and topical, this volume will be useful to scholars and researchers of political studies, sociology, development studies and public policy, and also to practitioners and those in the development sector, NGOs and think tanks.