Ruth Meinzen-Dick and Mark Svendsen (eds). Future Directions forIndian Irrigation: (Research and Policy). Washington, D. C.:International Food Policy Research Institute. 1991. xiv + 333pp.

The editors of the book have divided their subject matter intofour broad categories. The first category deals with irrigationdevelopment in India, focusing on important issues confronting the useof water resources and on alternate scenarios for future development.The second category examines the improved performance of the existingirrigation system and emphasizes the need for improvement. The thirdpart highlights the issues relating to the process and sustainability ofmanagerial improvement in system management. The last category pinpointsthe special problems related to irrigation in Eastern India. The bookcomprises twenty chapters, with a brief chapter of introduction and fourothers that present overviews of each of the categories. Fourteen of theremaining chapters cover the main body of the text, with a concludingchapter on a model that promises to resolve the irrigation issues. Theoverview before each category is quite lucid and often critical, leavinglittle room for review. However, brief comments are presented for theinterested readers.