Synopsis Empowerment of Women is a much debated issue. Various programs were introduced under different names starting from Community Development (CD) to Integrated Rural Development (IRD) and Area Development. Social Welfare as a plan component has acquired great significance, as evidence by its widening interface with Government and increasing participation by voluntary agencies. From the Fifth Plan onwards, emphasis has been on the promotion of preventive and developmental services. As a result, several programmes in the areas of women and child welfare, namely: nutrition, health, education and recreation for children have launched by the Government. Developmental efforts, through successive Five Year Plans, have attributed a great deal towards commendable improvements in the women’s status. Even the community development programme accorded an important role to the organization of women, who constitute nearly half of our population, so that their participation in various rural development activities could be effectively ensured. These organizations of women, known as Women’s Group or Mahila Mandals came to be established in a phased manner in different states. All these issues in the context of Empowerment of Women have been discussed in the present book in detail. Certainly, this will be a very useful volume for all concerned.