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BRDE-101

RURAL DEVELOPMENT : INDIAN CONTEXT

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Attempt any five of the questions

2 . Discuss major objective and various facts of development ?

SOLUTION

The development process must be visualised in its broadest context if it is to meet the expectations of the
citizenry for a more elevated standard of living. Accordingly, the most all-encompassing goal of development is
the progressive realisation of the abilities and talents of each individual for his/her own satisfaction and
enhancement of the good of the community and the nation. This is what is meant by the concept of human
development, or people-centered development.

This overall concept and goal is adopted as the principal guiding orientation of the National Development
Strategy. Fulfillment of the following broad national objectives has been established as a precondition for the
achievement of that broad goal:

a) Rapid growth of incomes of the population in general.

b) Poverty alleviation/reduction (rapid growth of the incomes of the poor).

c) Satisfaction of basic social and economic needs.

d) Sustainment of a democratic and fully participatory society.

Given the still-lagging state of our economy, substantial increases in incomes, in the sense of purchasing
power, will be essential to permit our citizens to realise their talents and aspirations. For that reason,
promotion of economic growth has to play a central role in the Strategy. As many countries' experiences have
shown, from the East Asian "Tigers" to Mauritius, Ghana, Cyprus and Jordan, and from Chile to Costa Rica,
rapid growth above all leads to creation of employment and increases in real wage earnings.

However, growth alone is not a sufficient objective, particularly if it does not involve all segments of the
population. For that reason, the objective of poverty alleviation/reduction has equal standing, for special
emphasis will be placed on raising the incomes of the poor more rapidly than for the population as a whole.
This is the distributional aspect of the growth process. It is a commitment to attaining growth in a highly
equitable manner.

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There are two approaches to poverty alleviation/reduction: a) temporary subsidies to enable the lower
income groups to have access to sufficient amounts of food and other basic necessities; and b) creation of an
economic environment that will enable them to secure those necessities through exertion of their own
abilities. The latter is the preferred course, although the former approach is a necessary complement in the
interim, until the income-earning capacities of the poor are expanded sufficiently. The long-run aim is clear:
the strengthening of self-reliance, the eradication of poverty at its roots rather than policies with force a
continuation of handouts to relieve poverty.

The distributional question has a spatial dimension as well. It is fully recognised that the populations in interior
regions of the country, especially the Amerindian groups, have tended to become marginal players in the
country's development process. This Strategy intends to remedy that situation while putting in place
guarantees that the Amerindians may follow their own choices of lifestyles.

The third fundamental objective, that of satisfaction of basic social and economic needs, is an essential
component of the Strategy because higher incomes alone do not guarantee sufficient access to pure water,
health services, education and other forms of social infrastructure, including opportunities for cultural
enrichment. A recent survey by IICA and IFAD has shown that in the coastal areas of the country 51 percent of
the poor do not have their basic needs met, and an additional 19 percent of the non-poor also suffer that kind
of deprivation, so the problem is rather widespread and its occurrence is not always linked to poverty per se. It
is undoubtedly more serious yet in interior regions, but it also is increasingly evident in the capital, where the
piped water supply leaves much to be desired from a viewpoint of public health and where disposal of sewage
and solid wastes does not meet environmental health standards.

The fourth fundamental objective, of sustaining a democratic and fully participatory society, can be achieved
in part through continuing to uphold the national commitment to an open political process, but the economic
strategy also can be designed in a way that favours widespread participation in economic decision making and
a more active role by local organisations, both governmental and non-governmental, in all the policies, plans
and projects that affect their communities. This approach can be contrasted with one that encourages
monopolies, public and private, and relies solely on centralised decision-making. To illustrate how this
objective is put into practice, one of the policies utilised in this Strategy to achieve this participatory goal is
broadening the basis of ownership of the country's economic capital, and another one is strengthening the
financial basis of municipalities and local governments.

On the basis of the fundamental orientation provided by these four basic objectives, more detailed objectives
have been specified for each sector, and their fulfillment effectively constitutes the means of achieving the
four principal objectives.

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3 what do you mean by human development index ? describe its important features ?

SOLUTION

The HDI was created to emphasize that people and their capabilities should be the ultimate criteria for
assessing the development of a country, not economic growth alone. The HDI can also be used to question
national policy choices, asking how two countries with the same level of GNI per capita can end up with
different human development outcomes. These contrasts can stimulate debate about government policy
priorities.

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of
human development: a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and have a decent standard of living. The
HDI is the geometric mean of normalized indices for each of the three dimensions.

The health dimension is assessed by life expectancy at birth, the education dimension is measured by mean of
years of schooling for adults aged 25 years and more and expected years of schooling for children of school
entering age. The standard of living dimension is measured by gross national income per capita. The HDI uses
the logarithm of income, to reflect the diminishing importance of income with increasing GNI. The scores for
the three HDI dimension indices are then aggregated into a composite index using geometric mean.

The HDI simplifies and captures only part of what human development entails. It does not reflect on
inequalities, poverty, human security, empowerment, etc. The HDRO offers the other composite indices as
broader proxy on some of the key issues of human development, inequality, gender disparity and poverty.

A fuller picture of a country's level of human development requires analysis of other indicators and
information presented in the statistical annex of the report.

The key features to remember about the HDI are:

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HDI focuses on three key measures of human development: longevity (how long people live), basic education
and minimal income

The HDI tracks progress made by countries in improving these three basic development outcomes

The inclusion of education and health indicators is a sign of successful policies in providing access to merit
goods such as health care, sanitation and education

The three measures in the index are:

1. Knowledge: First an educational component made up of two statistics – mean years of schooling and
expected years of schooling

2. Long and healthy life: Second a life expectancy component is calculated using a minimum value for life
expectancy of 25 years and maximum value of 85 years

3. A decent standard of living: The final element is gross national product (GNP per capita adjusted to
purchasing power parity standard (PPP)

How Countries are Classified Using the HDI

The UNDP classifies each country into one of three development groups:

Low human development for HDI scores between 0.0 and 0.5, Medium human development for HDI scores
between 0.5 and 0.8 High human development for HDI scores between 0.8 and 1.0

Countries with the Highest HDI

The data from the 2015 HDI showing the countries with the highest HDI is shown below:

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Countries with the Lowest HDI

Not surprisingly, some of the poorest countries appear in the list of the lowest HDI:

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Some Key Features of Changes in the HDI

The world average HDI rose to 0.68 in 2010 from 0.57 in 1990 The fastest progress has been in East Asia & the
Pacific, followed by South Asia and Arab States. All but 3 of all countries have a higher level of human
development today than in 1970 The exceptions are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia and
Zimbabwe From 1970 to 2010 real per capita income in developed countries increased 2.3 per cent a year on
average, compared with 1.5 per cent for developing countries Life expectancy at birth has increased due to
lower infant and child mortality, fewer deaths due to HIV/AIDS and also better nutrition

Limitations of the HDI

Any measure of economic development is bound to have its limitations and criticisms. For the HDI the
following points are commonly made:

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The standard HDI measure does not take into account qualitative factors, such as cultural identity and political
freedoms (human security, gender opportunities and human rights for example)

• The GDP per capita figure – and consequently the HDI figure – takes no account of income distribution.
• If income is unevenly distributed, GNI per capita will be an inaccurate measure of people’s monetary well-
being
• Purchasing power parity (PPP) values used to adjust GDP data change quickly and can be inaccurate or
misleading

4 . Define sustainable development . describe important strategies for sustainable rural development in
india.

SOLUTION

Sustainable development is the organizing principle for meeting human development goals while at the
same time sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem
services upon which the economy and society depend. The desired result is a state of society where living
conditions and resource use continue to meet human needs without undermining the integrity and stability of
the natural system. Sustainable development can be classified as development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations.

While the modern concept of sustainable development is derived mostly from the 1987 Brundtland Report, it
is also rooted in earlier ideas about sustainable forest management and twentieth century environmental
concerns. As the concept developed, it has shifted to focus more on economic development, social
development and environmental protection for future generations. It has been suggested that "the term
'sustainability' should be viewed as humanity's target goal of human-ecosystem equilibrium (homeostasis),
while 'sustainable development' refers to the holistic approach and temporal processes that lead us to the end
point of sustainability".Modern economies are endeavouring to reconcile ambitious economic development
and obligations of preserving natural resources and ecosystems, as the two are usually seen as of conflicting
nature. Instead of holding climate change commitments and other sustainability measures as a drug[ to
economic development, turning and leveraging them into market opportunities will do greater good. The
economic development brought by such organized principles and practices in an economy is called Managed
Sustainable Development (MSD).
The concept of sustainable development has been—and still is—subject to criticism, including the question of
what is to be sustained in sustainable development. It has been argued that there is no such thing as a
sustainable use of a non-renewable resource, since any positive rate of exploitation will eventually lead to the
exhaustion of earth's finite stock; this perspective renders the Industrial Revolution as a whole unsustainableIt
has also been argued that the meaning of the concept has opportunistically been stretched from 'conservation

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management' to 'economic development', and that the Brundtland Report promoted nothing but a business
as usual strategy for world development, with an ambiguous and insubstantial concept attached as a public
relations slogan

Rural development aims at the quality of life that is the key factor of sustainable growth in the effectiveness of
the agricultural production. To achieve enhanced production and productivity in the rural areas there must be
a spatial balance in the social and economic development. So the main target of the sustainable rural
development is to bring about improvement in the ecological environment so that it may lead to growth and
happiness and to encourage the community participation in the process of development. Here the objective of
our study is to find out various programmes undertaken by the Government of India for the rural development
and currently what steps are taken by them to improve the areas like agriculture, technology, education and
infrastructure. Several poverty alleviation programmes have been launched by the central government for the
rural poor, comprising small and marginal farmers, landless labourers and rural artisans such as IRDP, NREP,
TRYSEM, RLEGP, JGSY, Antyodaya Programme, DDP, DWCRA, PMRY, JPRGY, etc. Sustainable Rural
development is a sequence of four, clearly identifiable development phases: diagnostic (or explorative) phase,
a phase of political negotiations (consensus building), the planning phase and the implementation phase. This
paper also throws light on the challenges that are being faced by the Government in the rural development.

5 Discuss important features and functioning of co operative in rural areas ?

SOLUTION

India is mainly an agrarian society with more than half of its population still residing in the villages. Rural
sector is the major contributor to the overall GDP of the nation and hence lack of development in villages
means lack of development in India. Cooperative societies are playing significant role in this and share a major
credit in the growth of rural sector which along with government and private sectors contribute to the overall
economy of India. Cooperatives cover more than 97%of Indian villages, some run by its members and some by
the government
Needs of rural people are served by different forms of private and government organizations including
partnership firms, co-operatives, companies and charitable trust. Government each year spends lakhs to
crores of rupees on rural development. But co-operatives working in rural areas are playing noteworthy role in
this. Gujurat’s Dairy co-operative and Maharashtra’s sugar co-operative prove their contribution

Cooperatives originated in the West during the middle of the last century and from there these came to India.
Formally co-operatives were introduced to India in 1904 when the Indian Co-operative Societies Act was
promulgated. Moreover rural indebtedness was the major force behind the initiation of chit funds and

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cooperatives in India. Initially these were just to provide credits to the farmers in the form of credit societies
and gradually these start working in other fields such as banking, processing and marketing. The meager funds
of farmers were pooled in to run cooperative and it was an attractive way to solve their financial problems.
After independence role of cooperative societies grew to encompass socio-economic development and
eradication of poverty in rural India. It became an integral part of five year plan. With this co-operative
societies became a fundamental part of our economy.
Non-credit societies came in 1912. Importance of co-operative was also highlighted in the Royal Commission
on Agriculture in 1928. With the formation of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 1935, developing more
cooperative societies was given due importance.
Main aim of the cooperative was to get the poor and indebted farmers out of poverty and out from the
clutches of money lenders. Within short span of time, role of cooperatives extended beyond agricultural
credit. It started covering activities such as production, farming, marketing and processing. Cooperatives are
now playing a very significant role in the socio-economic development of our country especially the rural
India.
In 1951 there were 1,81,000 cooperatives of all kinds in India and this number increased to manifold within
short span of time. During 2007-08 there were 1,50,000 primary credit cooperatives and some 2,60,000 non-
credit primary societies of all types. In India there are four major types of cooperatives –
• The Primary agricultural credit or service societies
• Agricultural non-credit societies
• Agricultural co-operative marketing societies
• Co-operative farming societies
Though the expansion and reach of cooperatives is highly impressive but their way of working is not Except for
few co-operative societies most of these lack motivation. These are merely run by the government without
motivation and enthusiasm of their members. Some of these even lack in the required funds. Other factors
that lead to the slow progress of these societies are – mismanagement, manipulation, restricted coverage,
lack of awareness, and political interference. But this does not mean the downfall of the massive projects.
Despite all this, cooperatives are really helping poor in becoming self-reliant. Scope of cooperative societies in
rural India can improve further with women participation.

Cooperatives provide credit to the farmers, the most needed thing in the farming. Apart from this
cooperatives help farmers by providing top quality fertilizers, seeds, insecticides, pesticides etc at reasonable
price. Farmers also get marketing, warehousing facility and transportation support from the cooperatives.
Service cooperative societies help the poor and marginal farmers with tractors, threshers etc on rent. Rural
cooperative societies are now entering into real estate, power, insurance, healthcare and communication
sector. If these keep on working with an objective of development then days are not far when quality of rural
life would be far better than urban India.

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7 Describe the concept ,type and functions of voluntary organizations ?

SOLUTION

Official agencies admittedly form an essential constituent of the governmental set-up in every country, but
nowhere can they perform at the functions and tasks, which the people expect of them. The role which such
agencies play has to be supplemented by non-official or voluntary organizations comprising workers inspired
by the spirit of social am national service, without any expectations of regular salaries or other material
rewards and Perquisite.

Such agencies make a substantial contribution to positive and constructive activity, filling in the gaps and
carrying on other useful activity the importance of which is being increasingly recognized in the modern State.

For several decades the Government of India was indifferent to voluntary organizations. The vital impact of
volunteers' work during the country's freedom struggle was forgotten. Most of the national activity in those
years was conducted on a voluntary basis; at best some of the workers received a petty subsistence allowance
to keep their body and soul together.

In these connections we may recall the work done in the rural areas, caste-ridden societies, the tribal regions,
and among women to facilitate their social transformation, by voluntary organization! established by G.K.
Gokhale, Mahadev Ranade, Bal Gangadhar Tilal and Lala Lajpat Rai.

As a matter of fact, India has for decades been famous for its voluntary agencies, their mechanism and
methods of collaboration. Some of the well-known voluntary organizations currently doing valuable public
service are the Harijan Sevak Sangh, the Bharatiya Depressed Classes League, the Indian Red Cross Society, the
Ramakrishna Mission, the Servants of India Society and the Social Work Centre (Rajasthan).

Official recognition of the vital role, which non-official agencies can play, was indicated recently through the
Central Government's policy clarification. The Government now seeks the widest possible participation of
voluntary organizations in the whole range of nation-building and development activity.

The Government has called for voluntary action for women's uplift, child welfare, family planning, and in
health, sanitation, educational, social and economic fields. This alone can involve massive involvement in
programmers; in fact, such schemes are ineffective unless mass participation and community action are
assured.

In the area of rural reconstruction and poverty eradication, in particular, the contribution of voluntary
organizations has been considerable. These workers command the local people's confidence while officials of

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various categories are regarded as outsiders merely carrying on their prescribed duties and then disappearing
like birds of passage.

Voluntary bodies, especially those working at the grassroots level, can render service of which official agencies
and their staff is incapable. Unfortunately, many high officials, for reasons, which smack of prejudice and
mistrust, dislike voluntary organizations. During the Emergency (1975-77), for instance, most of the voluntary
agencies became suspect.

Very often there is lack of encouragement by the Government and the necessary atmosphere conducive to
voluntary work is lacking. As a result, according to a recent study, substantial funds sanctioned under various
schemes for voluntary work have remained unutilized.

It is now officially conceded that the selection of intended beneficiaries (the individuals and groups for whom
certain economic assistance and constructive employment programmes are drawn up) is better in every way
and the people's genuine participation is also greater if voluntary agencies are brought into the picture in a
planned manner.

Implementation of Government programmes implemented through officials suffers from various

shortcomings and deficiencies bureaucratic attitudes, red tapism, delays, complacency, lack of earnestness
and of sincerity among the workers, waste and leakage of funds, corruption. No wonder the overall results are
poor despite the heavy expenditure.

Human beings are nowhere perfect, but experience has shown that voluntary workers, especially when they
are given certain incentives, provided with the requisite facilities and are not looked upon with disfavour by
officials, can ensure better results in the social and economic arenas. They have shown initiative as well as
enterprise. They have adopted new paths and motivated large sections of the masses while officials are able
to create only temporary fervour and enthusiasm.

The tragedy is that many voluntary organizations, except those, which enjoy the patronage of high-ups at the
Central or State levels, have been compelled to fold up owing to several adverse circumstances, including
intense rivalries and lack of adequate funds and workers.

Unless, they are regarded as partners in progress and accorded their due place (just as the role of the private
sector in the planned economy is described as vital), they cannot function without let or hindrance. Since the
field is now wide open for voluntary organizations, the prospects of expediting national reconstruction are
brighter.

Some of these objectives and functions of Voluntary Organisations may be discussed as follows:

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In a democratic, socialistic and welfare society, voluntary organisations are indispensable and they perform a
number of functions for the welfare of its members, the development of the country and integration and
solidarity of the society and nation.

(i) Man is by nature gregarious. The urge to act in groups is fundamental in him. People therefore form groups
and associations voluntary for their benefit as also of others with a view to lead a full and richer life as is
reflected in voluntary associations formed for promotion of recreational and cultural activities, social services,
professional interests etc.

(ii) A pluralistic society with a democratic system requires multitude of independent, voluntary non-
government associations as buffer between the individual and the state preventing the government from
developing monopoly in various fields. Voluntary organisations involve citizens in noble affairs and avoid
concentration of powers in the hands of government and thus serve as power breakers. Sharing of power by
voluntary group restrain government from developing monopolistic approach to organisation of services.

(iii) They enable the individuals to learn the fundamentals of groups and political action through participation
in the governing of their private organisations.

(iv) Organised voluntary action helps groups and individuals with diverse political and other interests,
contributes to strengthening of feeling of national solidarity and promotes participative character of
democracy.

(v) The state does not have the requisite financial resources and manpower to meet all the needs of its
citizens. It can therefore have the responsibility of providing them minimum needs. The voluntary
organisations by raising additional resources locally ca meet uncovered needs and enrich local life.

(vi) Voluntary organisations also help the state in the area which are its exclusive responsibility but for which it
has limited sources and perform such functions in much better way as compared to the state organisations.

Education for example is the responsibility of the state but the educational institutions being run and
managed by voluntary organisations far outnumber the government institutions and excel the latter in quality
of service also in view of the flexibility, ability at experimentation, pioneering spirit and other virtues.

Same is the case in respect of the provision of health services which is again the responsibility of the state. But
the hospitals sponsored by philanthropic and charitable institutions are well known for better care and
concern comparison to government owned hospitals.

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(vii) Voluntary organisations thus have not only a role to play ii the field of accepted state responsibilities but
they can also venture into new needs, work in new areas, unveil social evils and give attention to hitherto
unattended and unmet needs. They can act as sappers and miners of unfolding development revolution.

They can function as reconnaissance squads. They can be fore-runners of change and anticipate and take
action to make it less painful. They can work for progress development and consequently in course of time
they can help the state in extending its activities over wider areas, thus raising the national minimum.

(viii) They provide avenues for activities to those persons why do not relish participation in the activities of the
state through politics and government, but organise into voluntary groups thus making their talent,
experience and spirit of service available t society in bringing about changes in it with a view to meeting the
needs and aspirations of the people concerned and enriching the lives.

(ix) They act as a stabilising force by welding together people with such groups as are not politically motivated
and are no concerned about the fortunes of one or the other political party i capturing government power but
are above party politics and are interested in other areas of nation building and thus contribute t national
integration and concentration on non- political issues.

(x) They also perform the functions of educating the members and the public at large about the policies an
programmes of the government about their welfare, their right and obligations and also are in a position to
offer constructive criticism in respect of wrong policies and activities of governor without any fear and with
courage of conviction obliging the government to make necessary adjustments to accommodate the
viewpoints of the public likely to be affected by such policies and actions as has been the experience in the
case of programme concerning scheduled tribes and environment conservation and preservation.

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