This book reviews the fulfillment of two Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), namely poverty and inequality, in the Indian subcontinent. It examines the complex interplay among development, inequality and poverty in relation to corruption, environmental resource management, agricultural adjustment to climate change and institutional arrangements, with a special focus on the Northeastern region of the country. The topics covered offer a blend of theoretical arguments and empirical data with regard to the three main themes of the book, while also providing agricultural and environmental perspectives. The book also provides guidelines for policy initiatives for harnessing the region’s potential in the areas of industry, trade, sustainable use of mineral, forest and other natural resources, nature-based tourism through proper infrastructure development, and resolving land issues to achieve inclusive development. In addition to introducing some new questions on the development-ethnic conflict interface, it uses sophisticated tools such as the Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition method in consumption expenditure to show the endowment, and return to endowment effects; and techniques like spatial correlation-regression to analyze regional variation, co-integration, vector autoregression, the panel data technique and the adaptation index to climate change, to understand socio-economic complexities and the effect of the concerned variables on entrepreneurship and human development. The book offers a timely contribution to our understanding of major MDGs and highlights their successes and failures. It also includes analytical frameworks that are key to future policy initiatives. Further, it disseminates approaches and methods that improve livelihoods and standards of living through poverty reduction and promoting inclusive development along with sustainable utilization of available natural resources. Putting forward various ideas for creating a more sustainable future, it inspires and encourages readers to pursue further studies to address the gaps that still remain. CONTENTS Part I: Inequality, Growth and Development 1. Does Economic Growth Increase Inequality?: An Empirical Analysis for ASEAN Countries, China and India / Partha Gangopadhyay, Biswa Nath Bhattacharyay 2. Does Institutional Quality Affect Foreign Direct Investment? A Panel Data Analysis / Girijasankar Mallik, Mamta Chowdhury 3. An Empirical Verification of Kuznets Hypothesis in India / Aadil Ahmad Ganaie, Sajad Ahmad Bhat, Bandi Kamaiah 4. An Inquiry into the Dynamics of Inequality from the Perspective of Caste / Anoop S. Kumar, P Yazir 5. Can Horizontal Inequalities Explain Ethnic Conflicts? A Case Study of Bodoland Territorial Area Districts of Assam / Rupan Boro, Rajshree Bedamatta 6. Selection and Performance of Self-Help Groups in West Bengal: A Case Study / Archita Ghosh, Tithi Bose 7. Financial Inclusion Through Kisan Credit Cards in Arunachal Pradesh—The Truth Behind Aggregating Numbers / Samir R. Samantara 8. Insurance and Banking Habits Regulating Economic Stability of the People of Char Areas (Riverine) in Lower Assam / Kishore K. Das 9. Institutional Barriers to Development in the State of Nagaland / Chothazo Nienu Part II: Poverty at State Level with Focus North-East 10. A Study of Multidimensional Poverty in Northeast India / Supravat Bagli 11. Poverty, Inequality and Relative Deprivation Among Northeastern States of India: Evidence from NSS / Mohammad Kashif Khan, Balakrushna Padhi 12. Deprivation of Women in Northeast India: An Exploratory Study / Papita Dutta 13. Levels of Living in the North Eastern States of India / Anika M. W. Kshiar Shadap 14. Urban Poverty Reduction Through Local Governance in Nepal / Dil Nath Fuel 15. Rural Poverty and Employment Guarantee Scheme: Reflections from West Bengal / Manjima Mandal, Amal Mandal 16. Poverty in Rural West Bengal: Trend Over Four Decades / Arindam Chakraborty 17. A Study on Spatial Statistical Method of Poverty and Sustainable Development of North-Eastern States of India / Manoshi Phukon, Rajeshwar Singh 18. Hunger, Governance Failure and Its Outcome: An Analysis of the Historical Experience of the Mizo Hills District of Undivided Assam / Malabika Das Gupta 19. Conflicts Leave a Trail of Poverty and Malnutrition: Evidences from Assam / Kalyan Das Part III: Agricultural and Environmental Perspectives 20. Integrating Management for Land–Water Ecosystem for Augmenting Productivity, Income, and Sustainable Livelihood / A. M. Puste, S. K. Gunri, K. Jana, B. Ray Pramanik, S. K. Acharya, M. Dasgupta et al. 21. Family Farming in Amazon: Solution to Food and Regional Competitiveness / Alex Rotta Romani, Flávio de São Pedro Filho, Jeoval Batista da Silva, Janilene Vasconcelos de Melo, Jayashree Patil-Dake 22. Farm Growth in Northeast India and Its Effect on Poverty / K. U. Viswanathan, Anannya Gupta 23. Socio-Economic and Environmental Performance Across North-Eastern States of India / Rakesh Saxena 24. Adaptability of Farmers in Assam Towards Extreme Climate Effects: An Empirical Investigation / Utpal Kumar De, Kamal Bodosa 25. Dynamics of Forest Resources: Some Empirical Testing on Assam’s Forest Cover / Gunjan Kumar 26. Is Indian Agriculture Shifting Towards Feminisation? A Study on Recent Trend in Indian Agriculture with Reference to the Selected States of Northeast India / Banjul Bhattacharyya, Udaybhanu Bhattacharyya