Growth of Rural Indebtedness in Punjab

Abstract

The problem of indebtedness among the rural households of Punjab was become more serious in the last two decades. A large number of studies were carried out in India and abroad to look into the problem of rural indebtedness and its consequences but most of these studies are either based upon a very small sample of a few districts or cover the farmers only. The present study would be wider in scope as it was also included artisans, agricultural labourers (non- cultivators) along with the farmers (cultivators). This study analysed the situation of Punjab as a whole and district wise analysis was done. Therefore, in the present study, an attempt was made to analyse the growth of indebtedness among the rural households in Punjab and attempt was made to explain the utilisation pattern of loan used by rural households and tried to trace out how the situation of household indebtedness in the Punjab evolved and changed over the course of about ten years. The study will be helpful to planners, academicians, researchers as well as policymakers for solving the problem of indebtedness among rural households for the betterment of the society as a whole. It is suggested that encouragement should be given to subsidiary occupations, improvement in access to health at subsidised rate in rural areas to curb the indebtedness and to monitor the informal mechanism of credit by Government and financial institutions along with availability of the appropriate delivery of credit into the agricultural as well as non-agricultural sector of rural areas by eliminating costly sources of money lenders for the accurate functioning of the economy.