Questions

Documents from Western India –Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra –record petitions sent bywomen to the village panchayat, seeking redress and justice. Wives protested against the infidelity of their husbands or the neglect of the wife and children by the male head of the household, the grihasthi. While male infidelity was not always punished, the state and “superior” caste groups did intervene when it came to ensuring that the family was adequately provided for. In most cases when women petitioned to the panchayat, their names were excluded from the record: the petitioner was referred to as themother, sister or wife of the male head of the household.

• The Department of Economic Affairs, Finance Ministry of India presents the Economic Survey in the parliament every year, just before the Union Budget.

• It is prepared under the guidance of the Chief Economic Adviser, Finance Ministry.

• It is the ministry's view on the annual economic development of the country.