Rural Development Problems in India and Determinants of Rural Development

 Problems in Rural Development

 As we know the 60-70% of rural population in India lives in primitive conditions. 

 There are many obstacles in the rural development programmes which are as under: 

1. In 21st Century, there is no electricity supply in many villages. 

2. Now also many rural peoples using primitive methods of cooking, living and farming and they have trust on these methods. 

3. By using primitive cook stoves, around 300,000 death/year takes plan due to pollution. 

4. 54% of India’s population is below 25 years and most of them live in rural areas with very little employment opportunities. 

5. Literacy is the major problem in rural development programme.  

6. The poor extension linkage causes slow growth of rural development. 

7. cannot provide satisfactory help to rural peoplesUntrained, unskilled, inexperienced staff in extension linkage . 

8. Every one want to go to the cities, so that rural people’s remains as ignores part by the policy makers also. 

9. Privatization concept is useful for rural development but, government not praying much attention to this aspect. 

10. Policy makes prepared policies, programmes for betterment of rural people but, if these programmes are not implemented very well then have no used.

Major Problems in Rural Development

1. People related: 

            1. Traditional way of thinking.

            2. Poor understanding.

            3. Low level of education to understand                                    developmental efforts and new technology.

            4. Deprived psychology and scientific orientation.

            5. Lack of confidence.

            6. Poor awareness.

            7. Low level of education.

            8. Existence of unfelt needs.

            9. Personal ego.

2. Agricultural related problems:

            1. Lack of expected awareness, knowledge, skill and                  attitude.

            2. Unavailability of inputs.

            3. Poor marketing facility.

            4. Insufficient extension staff and services.

            5. Multidimensional tasks to extension personnel.

            6. Small size of land holding.

            7. Division of land.

            8. Unwillingness to work and stay in rural areas.

3. Infrastructure related problems:

            1. Poor infrastructure facilities like water,                              electricity, transport, educational                                        institutions, communication, health, storage                          facility etc.

4. Economic problems:

            1. Unfavourable economic condition to adopt high                      cost technology.

            2. High cost of inputs.

            3. Underprivileged rural industries.

5. Social and Cultural problems:

            1. Cultural norms and traditions

            2. Conflict within and between groups, castes,                          religions, regions, languages.

6. Leadership related problems:

            1. Leadership among the hands of inactive and                          incompetent people.

            2. Mollified interest of leaders.

            3. Biased political will.

7. Administrative problems:

            1. Earlier, majority of the programmes were                               planning based on top to bottom approach and                     were target oriented.

            2. Political interference.

            3. Lack of motivation and interest.

            4. Unwillingness to work in rural area.

            5. Improper utilization of budget.

Determinants of Rural India

There are many physical, technological, economic, socio-cultural, institutional, organisational and political factors that affect the level and pace of rural development. 

These factors operate at all levels: household, village, district, state, nation and the world as a whole.

Rural Development : Need and Importance

 Importance of Rural Development

 Improvement in the quality of life of rural people is the important agenda of rural development programme. 

 In India – a country where the number of people living in rural areas, rural development programme is necessary aspect. 

 Rural development implies both the economic betterment of people as well as greater social transformation. 

 The basic objective of all rural development endeavours / programmes has been the welfare of the millions. 

 With time and experience, it is realized that accelerated and meaningful development can be achieved only if people of the grass root are involved, “people’s participation” has become the keyword in rural development programmes. 

 To provide the rural people with better prospects for economic development.  

Need and Importance of Rural Development

Rural development is a national necessity and has considerable importance in India because of the following reasons: 

1. To develop rural area as whole in terms of culture, society, economy, technology and health.

2. To develop living slandered of rural mass.

3. To develop rural youths, children and women.

4. To develop and empower human resource of rural area in terms of their psychology, skill, knowledge, attitude and other abilities.

5. To develop infrastructure facility of rural area.

6. To provide minimum facility to rural mass in terms of drinking water, education, transport, electricity and communication.

7. To develop rural institutions like panchayat, cooperatives, post, banking and credit.

8. To provide financial assist to develop the artisans in the rural areas, farmers and agrarian

unskilled labor, small and big rural entrepreneurs to improve their economy.

9. To develop rural industries through the development of handicrafts, small scaled industries, village industries, rural crafts, cottage industries and other related economic operations in the rural sector.

10. To develop agriculture, animal husbandry and other agricultural related areas.

11. To restore uncultivated land, provide irrigation facilities and motivate farmers to adopt

improved seed, fertilizers, package of practices of crop cultivation and soil conservation methods.

12. To develop entertainment and recreational facility for rural mass.

13. To develop leadership quality of rural area.

14. To improve rural marketing facility.

15. To minimise gap between the urban and rural in terms of facilities availed.

16. To improve rural people‟s participation in the development of state and nation as whole.

17. To improve scopes of employment for rural mass.

18. For the sustainable development of rural area.

19. To eliminate rural poverty.

20. To solve the problems faced by the rural mass for their development.

Rural Development : Objectives and Scope

Objectives of Rural Development

The main objective of the Rural Development is improving the living standards of rural people by utilizing the easily available natural and human resources. 

The other objectives of rural development programmers are as follow: 

1. Development of agriculture and allied activities.2. Development of village and cottage industries and 

handicrafts. 

3. Development of socio-economic infrastructure which includes setting up of rural banks, co-operatives, schools etc. 

4. Development of community services and facilities i.e. drinking water, electricity, rural roads, health services etc. 

5. Development of Human resource mobilization. 

Scope of Rural Development

The  scope of rural development is very broad as it encompasses the totality of human life such as:

1. Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry  and Natural Resources Management

2. Micro, Small and Medium Scale Industries

3. Irrigation Development 

4. Domestic Water Resource Development

5. Power and Energy  Utilization

6. Educational Programs and Services

7. Health Programs and Services

8. Credit and Financing Institutions

9. Nutrition Programs and Services

10. Human Rights

11. Religious and Spiritual Development

12. Sports  and Recreation

13. Tourism Development

14. Environmental Protection

15. Forest Management

16. Trading and Marketing

17. Local Governance 

18. Cooperative Development

19. Values Development

20. Infrastructure Development

21. Agrarian Reform

Rural Development : Meaning, Definition and Concept

 Rural Development

As a concept, it connotes overall development of rural areas with a view to improve the quality of life rural people. 

As a discipline, it is multi-disciplinary in nature representing an intersection of agricultural, social, behavioural and management of sciences. 

In short, rural development is a process that aims at improving the standard of living of the people living in the rural areas. 

Definition of Rural Development

Rural development can be defined as, helping rural people set the priorities in their own communities through effective and democratic bodies, by providing the local capacity; investment in basic infrastructure and social services, justice, equity and security, dealing with the injustices of the past and ensuring safety and security of the rural population, especially that of women. 

According to Robert chambers, rural development is a strategy to enable a specific group of people, poor rural women and men, to gain for themselves and their children more of what they want and need. 

 It involves helping the poorest among those who seek a livelihood in the rural areas to demand and control more of the benefits of rural development. 

 The group includes small scale farmers, tenants and the landless. 

 According to Agarwal (1989), rural development is a strategy designed to improve the economic and social life of rural poor.

We shall define rural development as 

A Process leading to sustainable improvement in the quality of life of rural people, specially the poor. 

Concept of Rural Development

 The definition or rural development may be centered around income criterion in which the concept is made to address the problem of rural poverty. 

 The rural poor represents a reservoir of untapped talent a target group that should be given the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of development through improved education, health and nutrition. 

 This is one of the most important definitions of rural development as the provision of social infrastructures could provide the catalyst that would transform the rural areas. 

 Rural development may also be seen as an ideology and a practice. 

 It may mean planned change by public agencies based outside the rural areas such as the national Government and International organization. 

 Rural development as the improvement in the living standard of the rural  dwellers by engaging them in productive activities such as the establishment of rural industries that will increase their income. 

  In essence Rural Development may imply a broad based re-organization and mobilization of rural masses in order to enhance their capacity to cope effectively with the daily task of their lives and with changes consequent upon this. 

  According to the World Bank Rural Development must be clearly designed to increase production. 

 It recognizes that improved food supplies and nutrition, together with basic services, such as health and education, not only directly improve the physical well-being and quality of life of the rural poor, but can also indirectly enhance their productivity and their ability to contribute to the national economy. 

 It is seen by these scholars as a means of raising the sustainable living of the rural poor by giving them the opportunity to develop their full potentials. 

 In order to encourage increased production rural development may offer a package of inputs and welfare services for the rural masses. 

 Such inputs and welfare services include physical inputs (such as the provision of feeder roads, water and electrification), social inputs—(namely health and educational facilities) and institutional inputs such as credit facilities, agricultural research facilities, rural expansion services among others.