CONTENTS Preface vii 1. Rural India: An Introduction 1 1.1 Man and Environment 1.2 Sustainable Development 1.2.1 India's Development Experience 1.3 Rural Nature of Indian Economy 1.3.1 Work Force Participation Rates 1.3.2 Occupational Structure 1.4 Agriculture: Backbone of Rural India 1.4.1 Subsistence Farming 1.4.2 Low Productivity 1.5 Declining Share of Agriculture in GDP 1.6 Economic Reforms and Rural India 1.7 Information Technology and Rural India 2. Poverty and Poverty Eradication Programmes in India 20 2.1 Poverty in India 2.2 Incidence of Poverty 2.3 Causes of Poverty 2.4 Major Poverty Eradication and Employment Generation Programmes 2.4.1 Jawahar Rozgar Yojna 2.4.2 Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana (PMGY) 2.4.3 Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) 2.4.4 Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) 2.4.5 Rural Housing Schemes 2.4.6 Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) 2.4.7 Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) 2.4.8 Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY) 2.5 Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12) on Poverty 3. Rural Industries 33 3.1 Importance of Small and Village Industries 3.1.1 High Employment Potential 3.1.2 Widely Dispersed Entrepreneurial Base 3.1.3 Relatively Low Capital Investment 3.1.4 Regional Balanced Development 3.1.5 Export Potential 3.2 Problems of Small Industries 3.2.1 Technological Obsolescence 3.2.2 Inadequate and Irregular Supply of Raw Material 3.2.3 Imperfect Knowledge of Market Conditions 3.2.4 Inadequate Availability of Finance and Credit 3.2.5 Lack of Infrastructural Facilities 3.2.6 Deficient Managerial and Technical Skills 3.3 Policy Measures to Help Small and Village Industries 3.3.1 Reservation of Items for Exclusive Production by Small-scale Industries (SSI) 3.3.2 Priority in the Disbursement of Loans by the Financial Institutions 3.3.3 Other Concessions 3.4 Handlooms 3.4.1 Availability of Working Capital 3.4.2 Availability of Quality Raw Materials 3.4.3 Training and Technology 3.4.4 Marketing and Publicity 3.4.5 Infrastructure Development 3.4.6 Encouraging Organisation of Weavers 3.4.7 Social Security 3.4.8 Better Governance 3.4.9 Other Measures 3.5 Handicrafts 3.6Powerlooms 3.7 Silk and Sericulture 3.8 Unorganised Wool Sector 3.9 Khadi and Village Industries (KVI) 3.10 Coir Industry 3.11 Food Processing Industries 3.12 Conclusion 4. Rural/Agricultural Credit 55 4.1 Credit Needs of the Rural People 4.2 Co-operative Banks 4.2.1 Classification of Co-operative Banks 4.3 Rural Co-operatives 4.3.1 Short-term Rural Co-operatives 4.3.2 Long-term Rural Co-operatives 4.4 Rural Co-operatives: History and Recent Policy Measures 4.5 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) 4.6 Task Force on Revival of Rural Co-operative Credit Institutions 4.7 NABARD and the Co-operative Sector 4.7.1 Credit Extended by NABARD 4.8 Micro Credit Programme 4.8.1 Regional Spread 4.8.2 Graduation of Mature SHGs into Micro-enterprises 4.8.3 Micro-finance and the Government: 4.8.4 Micro-finance and the RBI 4.9 Kisan Credit Cards (KCCs) 4.10 Advisory Committee on the Flow of Credit to Agriculture and Related Activities from the Banking System, 2004 4.11 Moneylenders 4.12 Agricultural Credit: Recent Policy Announcements 4.13 Agricultural Credit in the 2006-07 Budget* 4.14 Conclusion 5. Rural Infrastructure 84 5.1 Constitutional Provisions 5.2 Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) 5.3 Rural Electrification 5.3.1 Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY), April 2005 5.3.2 Progress of Implementation of RGGVY (till February 9, 2007) 5.4 Rural Housing 5.4.1 Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) 5.5 Rural Water Supply 5.6 Rural Sanitation 5.7 Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) 5.8 Bharat Nirman Programme for Rural Infrastructure 6. Rural/Agricultural Insurance 94 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Comprehensive Crop Insurance Scheme (CCIS) 6.2.1 Drawbacks of CCIS 6.2.2 Experimental Crop Insurance Scheme (ECIS) 6.3 National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS) 6.3.1 Operational Modalities 6.3.2 Rainfall Insurance Scheme Varsha Bima: 6.4 Pilot Scheme on Seed Crop Insurance 6.5 Farm Income Insurance Scheme (FIIS) 6.6 Livestock Insurance 6.7 Non-crop Insurance Schemes 6.8 Agriculture Insurance Corporation 6.9 R.N. Malhotra Committee (1994) on Rural Insurance 6.10 Summing up o7. Special Area Rural Development Programmes 110 7.1 Development of Wastelands 7.1.1 Wastelands Atlas, 2005 7.2 Area Development Programmes 7.3 Integrated Watershed Management Programme 7.3.1 Livelihood Orientation 7.3.2 Cluster Approach 7.3.3 Scientific Planning 7.3.4 Coordination and Synergy 7.3.5 Institutional Framework 7.4 Integrated Wastelands Development Programme (IWDP) 7.4.1 Background 7.4.2 Objectives 7.4.3 Physical and Financial Progress 7.5 Drought Prone Areas Programme 7.5.1 Objectives 7.5.2 Physical and Financial Progress 7.6 Desert Development Programme 7.6.1 Objectives 7.6.2 Physical and Financial Performance 7.7 Technology Development Extension and Training (TDET) Scheme 7.8 National Mission on Bio-diesel 7.9 National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy, 2007 7.10 Distribution of Ceiling Surplus Land 7.10.1 Distribution of Bhoodan Land 7.10.2 Distribution of Government Wastelands 7.11 Conferment of Ownership Rights on Tenants 7.12 Consolidation of Holdings 7.13 Prevention of Alienation and Restoration of Alienated Tribal Lands 7.14 Computerization of Land Records (CLR) 7.15 Strengthening of Revenue Administration and Updating of Land Records 7.16 National Land Records Modernization Programme (NLRMP) 7.17 International Cooperation 7.17.1 International Workshop on Land Acquisition and Resettlement 7.17.2 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and China 8. Recent Initiatives for Rural Development 138 8.1 Agricultural Workers 8.2 Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) 8.3 Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) 8.4 National Food for Work Programme (NFFWP) 8.5 National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), 2005: Main Provisions 8.5.1 Minimum Entitlement of Labourers 8.5.2 Creation of Durable Assets 8.5.3 Implementation of the Act 8.6 National Rural Health Mission 8.7 Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) 8.8 Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) 8.9 Mid-day Meal Scheme 8.10 National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) 8.11 Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) 8.12 Backward Regions Grant Fund 8.13 Bharat Nirman and its Components 8.13.1 Irrigation 8.13.2 Roads 8.13.3 Drinking Water 8.13.4 Rural Electrification 8.13.5 Housing 8.13.6 Rural Telephony 8.14 National Commission on Farmers 8.15 Development of Food Processing Industry 8.16 Crop Diversification Measures 8.16.1 Emphasis on Horticultural Crops 8.17 Initiatives to Boost Plantation Sector 8.17.1 Tea Plantation 8.17.2 Coffee Plantation 8.17.3 Rubber Plantation 8.18 Marine Fishing Policy, 2004 8.18.1 Policy Objectives 8.18.2 Main Provisions of the Policy 8.19 Tenth Plan (2002-07) on Agriculture 8.20 Eleventh Plan (2007-12) on Agriculture Bibliography 171 Index 177