Rural Development In India Research Articles

Geographical indications: A first assessment of the impact on rural development in Italian NUTS3 regions

Geographical indications (GIs) are a 25 years old European policy instrument and one objective of GIs is to foster rural development. In this respect, very few studies have quantitatively investigated to what extent this policy is effective. In fact, the literature is mainly focused on specific GIs, examined through case studies, in an attempt to identify which factors are responsible for the success or failure of specific initiatives. By contrast, the aim of the present study is to quantify the impact of such policy instrument on a single indicator of rural development: the agricultural value added. To assess the impact we firstly built an index measuring the number of GI schemes implemented at the NUTS3 level in the Italian regions. Then, following a difference-in-difference evaluation strategy and relying on an explicit theoretical model, a fixed effect estimator was implemented. The choice of the model, as well as the variables considered, was specified using a directed acyclic graph. The results show that an overall positive effect of GI protection on agricultural value added was identified in Italy, thus providing evidence of a positive impact of the European policy on rural development.

A grassroots development in the light of the development theories, a case study in rural India: food for life Vrindavan

In this study, the activities of a volunteer based grassroots development in rural India - Food for Life Vrindavan (FFLV) - are presented. A thorough examination of how it complies with the dimensions established in the scientific literature about grassroots and social innovations and what the characteristics of its activities are in the light of the latest trends in human development is performed. The article is organised into six sections: after a short introduction about the subject, the objectives and the layout of the paper, section 2 presents the timeline of the development industry with a particular emphasis on the process of turning from national economy boosting initiatives to the dimensions of human development. In section 3 the key elements in the literatures on the capability approach and grassroots/social innovations are presented. Section 4 introduces the case of FFLV, followed by a detailed analysis in section 5 where FFLV’s position with regards to the different perspectives is discussed. In section 6, the quantitative analysis is conducted. Concluding the paper in the final section, some reflections on the usefulness of the study are mentioned. Based on the results of the conducted research the following conclusions have been made: 1) In the beginning, Food for Life Vrindavan was an entirely volunteer based grassroots innovation. With a gradual increase in the number of people it served and subsequent expansion in it’s fields of services, it has become a social innovation. 2) The characteristics of FFLV’s activities fit into the dimensions of human development established by the United Nations based on Amartya Sen’s concept of capability approach. 3) The financial resources of FFLV are modest in comparison to the OECD financed development industry, with the former having access to merely a quarter of the latter’s “per capita” funds available for the area of activity around Vrindavan.

Challenges and Opportunities of Food Processing Industries in India-with special reference to initiatives of NABARD in Uttarakhand

India is the world’s second largest producer of food next to China yet only accounts for 1.5% of total worldwide food trade. This indicates vast scope for both investors and exporters. Food processing industry is of enormous significance in this context because of the vital linkages and synergies that it promotes between the two pillars of our economy, industry and agriculture. The industry contributes 32% to the country’s total food market and is ranked fifth in terms of production, consumption, export and expected growth. Having great export advantage, processed food products accounts for 13% of India’s exports. Being an agricultural economy the sector also contributes largely towards rural development of India which is core of our national development. Recognizing the fact, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is providing several initiatives for these industries. These initiatives have relatively greater scope in Uttarakhand which suffered extensive damage in the 2013 deluge. This paper is an attempt to evaluate critically and analytically the drivers and potential barriers to growth of the sector with special reference to initiatives of NABARD in UIttarakhand state. Special emphasis is made on SWOT analysis and thrust areas for future for achieving greater role of the sector in the national economy.

E – Governance and Rural Development of India

E – Governance and Rural Development of India

Infrastructure and Development in Rural India

This article evaluates rural infrastructure facilities in 16 major states of India, and examines their impacts on some income and non-income dimensions of rural development. Despite several public initiatives for infrastructure development in rural India, facilities continue to be poor and progress has been mostly unsatisfactory with differential performance across states. Estimates of regression coefficients of the composite indices and individual indicators of rural infrastructure reveal that improved physical and social infrastructure and livelihood opportunities enhance agricultural productivity and output, improve literacy and life expectancy, and reduce poverty and infant mortality. The results, showing the relative importance of various infrastructures, suggest that the government should prioritise additional investments in electricity, roads, irrigation, housing and telecommunications to enhance overall well-being. JEL Classification: H54, O15, O18, Q19

Rural Development in India: Through Employment Programmes

Poverty alleviation has been one of the objective of the employment generation programmes in India since independence. The five year plans immediately after independence tried to focus on poverty alleviation through sectoral programmes . The second and third five year plans focused on massive state led investments for employment generation in public sector. Government of India has been running many poverty alleviation programmes and some success also achieved in this endeavour over the years. However, even today Government struggle with mass level of poverty and related problems. In this context , the Indian Govt. has implemented MGNREGA. Its introduction was a paradigm shift in India’s history of wage employment generation. It is the country’s largest wage- employment programme

Role of Small Scale Industries (SSIs) in Rural Development of India

In Agro-based economy like India, rural development is none less than its foundation of overall development and small scale industries (SSIs) are similar to bricks used in building this foundation. There are numerous names which establish a small scale unit long ago and today it has turned in to a big group. Throughout their journey, they have given big push to rural development and economy of the country. Even Government has made various initiatives to promote and strengthen SSIs so that they may keep contributing to GDP, consequently rural development is on continuous mode. The present paper deals with the analysis of the factors being responsible for the success of SSIs in playing a significant role in rural development of India. It also discusses the paths through which this development is being put forward by SSIs of India. Finally, it lays some suggestions to correlate SSIs with other requisite developmental plans to accelerate the rural growth of the country. The study is descriptive in nature and banked upon secondary data.

Heritage and patrimony of the peasantry framework to address rural development and its application in Colombia

The theoretical framework “heritage and patrimony of the peasantry” and its suggested operationalization potentially offers an improvement over previous approaches to analyse rural development. The first application of the concept was carried out in Colombia, quantifying rural development indicators in six rural territories. The most critical indicators to define rural development in this context were identified as follows: biodiversity, recycling and communal values. Based on these findings, human patrimony has the lowest level of all the heritages of the Colombian peasantry. Public policies to overcome these matters in the post-conflict era, should be the priority of rural development strategies.

Heritage and Patrimony of the Peasantry Framework and Rural Development Indicators in Rural Communities in Mexico

Abstract: The analytical framework “heritage and patrimony of the peasantry” and its recommended implementation theoretically provide an enhancement over previous methodologies to examine rural development. The current paper measures rural development indicators in six Mexican rural territories, and analyses their interaction in the heritages and patrimonies of the peasantry. The principal indicators that affect the patrimonies in these regions were recognised as Pluriactivity, Social Acknowledgment, Biodiversity and Recycling. Based on these outcomes, the indicators that belong to the Human Patrimony define it as the lowest of all the heritages of the Mexican peasantry. The analysis of the results remarks on the fact that the emphasis of public policies on productive concerns has left out complicated social problems such as the loss of identity, diversity and culture. These matters are becoming the strongest threat affecting the Mexican peasantry to improve their quality of life while respecting their human rights.

Role of Panchayati Raj Institutions in Rural Development: The Study of a Tribal Village in Arunachal Pradesh

Overall development of country is the main objective of Indian government since its independence. In the earlier Plans the main thrust for development was laid on Agriculture, Industry, Communication, Education, Health and Allied sectors but soon it was realized that the all-round development of the country is possible only through the development of rural India. Keeping this in view, Panchayati Raj Institutions have been introduced under the 73rd Amendment Act of the Constitution of India in 1992. Rural Development includes measures to strengthen the democratic structure of society through the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). It also includes measures to improve the rural infrastructure, improve income of rural households and delivery systems pertaining to education, health & safety mechanisms. Government of India has taken many steps to develop rural India and for this, Department of Rural Development has been setup under the control of Ministry of Rural Development. The Panchayats are expected to play an important role in rural development in India, particularly after independence. Plan documents of both the central and state governments and various committees have emphasized the importance of these bodies in the polity. Five-year plans, specially the second five-year plan, laid special emphasis on the role of Panchayats in rural developments. An attempt is made in this paper to study the role of Panchayati Raj Institutions in rural development in general and a tribal village of a backward district in Arunachal Pradesh in particular.

インドの農村開発としてのオペレーション・フラッド計画 ( 「途上国開発と地理学」)

インドの農村開発としてのオペレーション・フラッド計画 ( 「途上国開発と地理学」)

Early life stress of infants in the SPRING home visits intervention promoting child growth and development in rural India (SPRING-ELS): development of stress measures for administration at scale

BackgroundSPRING-ELS (Early Life Stress) is a substudy of the SPRING cluster randomised controlled trial that is assessing a home visits programme in rural India promoting early child development and growth. Early life stress interferes with healthy child development so our aim was to evaluate its role in the SPRING causal pathway. We report findings from the preparatory phase of SPRING-ELS. MethodsTo develop an explanatory model of early life stress in the community, 45 mothers of children under 2 years old took part in eight focus group discussions. To determine potential barriers to sampling, in-depth interviews were done with five mothers and two barbers (to understand cultural beliefs about young children's hair). In addition, five focus group discussions were done with mothers, grandmothers, and barbers. Salivary and hair cortisol (to assess diurnal rhythm and chronic stress) were measured in 13 children aged 11–13 months. The SPRING trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02059863. FindingsCauses of stress included violence, poverty, poor hygiene, neglect and poor care, maternal stress, and carer alcoholism. Consequences included a range of physical and mental adversity. Improved caregiving was seen as the most important prevention method. However, in contrast to previous research, stress was seen to affect older children, who have a better understanding of their environment, than younger infants. Taking saliva samples was straightforward. Mothers preferred to be helped by assessors to take these samples rather than doing it themselves. However, hair sampling was challenging. There are many cultural beliefs surrounding young children's hair and a child's first haircut is a ceremonial occasion: rates of refusal were high (four of 13 families refused). Sample size was adjusted accordingly. InterpretationMeasuring early life stress in the community is feasible and acceptable. Careful introduction in the community has achieved a 14% refusal rate to take hair samples despite major cultural barriers. These stress measures have been integrated into SPRING outcome assessments, which are being performed with a total of 1200 children. Each assessment is done over 2 days when a child reaches 1 year of age. 60 children are being assessed at home each week using salivary and hair cortisol measurments and questionnaires of environmental stressors developed using findings from our explanatory model. To our knowledge, SPRING is the first large child health intervention trial to include measures of early life stress and the first time that hair cortisol will be assessed in South Asian children. FundingWellcome Trust research training fellowship to SB (grant number 107818/Z/15/Z).

The Survey and Analysis of Rural Smart Development Indicators (Case Study: Villages in Binaloud County)

The Survey and Analysis of Rural Smart Development Indicators (Case Study: Villages in Binaloud County)

Enabling Mini-Grid Development in Rural India

Summary Rural electrification rates in India lag behind government goals, in part due to the inability of distribution companies (discoms) to fund central grid expansion. In the absence of central grid electrification, mini-grids offer significant potential for an immediate pathway toward rural electrification and the attendant gains in economic growth and productivity. Yet private investment in mini-grids has been virtually absent in India. Using a comprehensive life-cycle cost analysis, we find that mini-grids based on solar PV power and storage are more economical than incumbent energy services available to households without central grid connection. Under current law, a prospective entrepreneur in India does not require a license or certification in order to build a mini-grid and subsequently provide electricity services in the area covered by said installation. Conversely, there is no legal or regulatory framework that specifies what is to happen if the central grid were to be extended to an area that is already covered by a mini-grid. We report detailed survey evidence from interviews with entrepreneurs, analysts and policymakers whose assessments converge on the same point: mini-grid investments would be jeopardized in the event of central grid extension, precisely because discoms would, by regulatory order, provide electricity services at highly subsidized rates, well below their full economic cost. Our fieldwork suggests that the threat of central grid extension is a gateway barrier preventing mini-grid development in India. The issues associated with the gateway barrier have common elements with the so-called holdup problem as identified in the economics of organizations. There have been two recent federal policy guidelines and one actual state-level policy addressing the regulatory status of mini-grids. We examine the effectiveness of these policies/proposals in terms of an entrepreneur’s willingness to develop mini-grids in the future.

Skill development in rural india- A step towards rural development

Globalized economy intensified the competition in the market that enhanced the need of skilled workers in the organization. Thus skill development has been emerged as the prime need of the economy of every nation. Majority of Indian population lives in rural areas and unemployment has become a burning issue for rural youth. Unemployment in the rural areas leads to poverty. To generate employment opportunity and to make the rural people self dependent it is the crucial need of the government to focus on the skill development of the rural people. Skill training program should be conducted among the rural people that will build up different skills among the people and will make them self dependent to earn their livelihood. It will be a step towards skill India mission. This study has been undertaken to understand and analyse the problem and prospects of skill development in rural India. The study is descriptive in nature and the source of data used for the study is secondary. The study analysed the different skills which are very important for the rural masses for sustainable development of Indian villages such as Plantation skill, Entrepreneurship skills, Marketing Skills, Technical Skills and so on. The study also analysed the different challenges in the rural India such as poor infrastructure, remoteness, illiteracy etc. Study concludes that it is the responsibility of the government to overcome all these challenges and develop skill among the rural people which will bring sustainable development of economy of the nation.

Innovative approaches for rural livelihood security through integrated farming system (IFS)

Indian as well as global agriculture will face several challenges over the coming decades because it must produce more food to feed affluent and growing populations. Improving agricultural productivity while conserving and enhancing natural resources is also another problem in Indian agriculture. The solution of aforesaid problem in changing scenario is sustainability in agriculture production. In India, rural economy suffers from poverty, unemployment, malnutrition, limited diversification of farming and degradation of natural resources such water, land and forest. Livelihood diversification is essential for poverty reduction, food security, rural livelihood security and improved income for rural farming community. Sustainable agriculture policies can better serve the goal of poverty reduction as well as rural livelihood security. The efforts to stimulate and support to the sustainable agricultural growth are essential for the rural livelihood security and rural development in India.

Innovative strategies for the development of rural India through village cottage and agribusiness enterprises

Innovative strategies for the development of rural India through village cottage and agribusiness enterprises

Innovative strategies for the development of rural India through village cottage and agribusiness enterprises

In rural India the village, cottage and agribusiness enterprises (VCA) form the prominent part of the economy, but are still lagging behind in adopting innovative business strategies. The government is focusing more on promoting large-scale industries and paying lesser attention to the VCA. It is essential for the VCA of rural India to create innovative solutions for their sustainable development. These solutions can come in the form of innovative product, structure, process and marketing efforts. Drawing upon this background, this paper aims to explore and understand existing solutions, by analysing selective 'successful sustainable business models' like Amul India, Suguna Chickens, PepsiCo India, ITC e-Choupal, McCain India and Cottage Industry in India. The authors have proposed a model of village, cottage and agribusiness enterprises (VCAe) which can be executed in 'not-so-affluent' Asian and African continents.

NGOs-Key Drivers of Rural Development of India

India resides in its villages. The backbone of country's progress lies in rural development. The rural India's growth is still obstructed by infrastructural hurdles, malnourishment, illiteracy and unemployment. It has led to the migration of youth to cities in search of greener pastures. If we aim to achieve the goal of inclusive growth for all, the villages need to develop in line with their urban counterpart. Rural development is the integration of economic, social and political growth at the grass root level to improve the quality of life. It undertakes to provide equal opportunities in areas of health, sanitation, education and employment. NGOs have experienced a phenomenal growth; there are around 30, 000 organisations working in India alone that channelise 15% foreign funding for alleviating poverty or health and sanitation improvement programmes. With a view to develop rural India, it is important to decentralise the decision-making to NGOs. Governments should review their partnership with non-government institutions for strengthening the formal procedures from planning to implementation and review.

An analysis of key indicators of rural development in Serbia: A comparison with EU countries

In accordance with the strategic aim of Serbia regarding European Union accession, harmonization with European Union rural development policy is an important issue for the creators of rural policy. Accordingly, the basic aim of this paper is to analyse the rural development level of Serbia in comparison to European Union countries, using multivariate statistical analysis. Factor analysis and cluster analysis are applied to extract three factors of rural development: the relative economic significance of rural areas, the general level of economic and agricultural development, and rural development. The results clearly show that Serbia has a lower level of rural development than European Union countries. Therefore defining adequate actions and mechanisms to achieve the policy aims of Serbian rural development is imperative.