Rural Development in India

Identify and explain the concept from the given illustration:

Kusumtai knowingly set up her business enterprise in the rural area so that people living there could be gainfully employed.

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below :

Rural development is one of the thrust areas of administration. As Mahatma Gandhi rightly said, “India lives in villages and the development of the nation cannot be achieved without the development of the villages”. The need of the hour is the convergence of all development interventions, at the grassroots level which can be possible through effective governance at the village level. The movement towards the decentralization of the National and State governments through the Panchayati Raj system needs to be strengthened through lessons learned from the successful stories of ‘Model villages’ around India. Though India is progressing in the right direction in reducing education inequalities and increasing literacy levels, there is still a lot that needs to be done. An understanding of social issues is important for effective planning and policy development. Self-governance ensures that Indian citizens, even the previously marginalized, can participate in decision-making.

1) Explain in short Mahatma Gandhi’s views on rural development.

2) Highlight the role of the government in achieving rural development.

3) What measures have been suggested to achieve rural development?

4) Express your idea of a ‘Model Village’.

Complete the following statement:

Small farmers are unable to access rural credit provided by banks due to _________.

Choose the wrong pair :

Assertion (A): Indian economy is pre-dominantly rural economy.

Reasoning (R): As per 2011 census, the country’s rural population is almost 83.25 crore (68.8% of the total population)

Complete the following statement:

Productive loans are economically justified because___________

Assertion and Reasoning – choose the correct answer from the following :

Assertion (A): Non-institutional finance forms an important part of rural credit.

Reasoning (R): Small farmers are unable to access bank credit because of borrowers' unfriendly products.

Rural credit system assumes importance because ______.