Rural Masses Research Articles

ROLE OF RURAL BANKING: A STUDY

Rural masses have lack of awareness about banking facilities. Banks provide loans to farmers and entrepreneurs in rural areas. Rural people use mobile phones but they are not interested in mobile banking. Banks provide financial assistance to rural masses. Banks emphasize to increase banking habits among rural masses. Rural people are not interested in digital banking due to lack of knowledge. Rural people suffer due to inadequate number of bank branches in rural areas. Rural masses face difficulties in availing the banking facilities due to poor infrastructure. Bank employees are not able to provide banking services accurately to rural customers. The study is based on primary data and secondary data. Primary data has been collected from rural areas. Secondary data has been collected from journal articles. In this paper, an attempt has been made to find out the role of rural banking.

Politics of vision: Storytelling and staring in Cut Out the Eyes (2014)

This article explores the shifting dynamics between folk practitioners and cultural elites in rural China from the Maoist to post-Mao eras through the figure of the blind storyteller. During the Maoist era, blind storytellers, alongside other grassroots propagandists, acted as intermediaries between party authorities and rural communities, with their blindness serving as a poignant reminder of class oppression. In the post-Mao countryside, however, the storyteller’s visual impairment becomes a site for interpretation and remediation. Within this context, I focus on Xu Tong’s 2014 documentary Cut Out the Eyes, which captures the life and work of Erhousheng, a contemporary blind storyteller who turned the traumatic experience of having his eyes gouged out into a signature performance. On one hand, Xu sensationalizes Erhousheng’s show by zooming in on his eyes and inserting graphic photographs. On the other, the documentary facilitates the circulation of looks among self-aware performers, on-screen rural masses, the filming crew, and the film’s audience. I argue that by conflating the epistephilia mode of documentary filmmaking with auteurist camerawork, Cut Out the Eyes fosters an evanescent exchange across social strata.

Value Chain Analysis of Cattle Feed Market in Banaskantha District, India

India has vast resources of livestock and poultry, which play a vital role in improving the socio-economic conditions of rural masses. Livestock sector contributed 4.90 per cent of total GVA in 2020-21. Birthal and Jha [1] has found feed scarcity as the main limiting factor to improving livestock productivity. Therefore, to increase the productivity potential of milch animals the use of commercial compound feed is inevitable as supply of feed & fodder is shortening due to shrinking pasture land in the country. The Indian feed industry is about 57 years old. India is deficient in fodder and its availability is shrinking day by day due to decrease in cultivable area and increased share in food crop production so more thrust should be directed towards compound feeds by identifying the constraints and removing them.This study focused on the effectiveness of the feed industry and the performance of the value chain when mapping the cattle feed value chain in the Banaskantha district of Gujarat state. Total of ten feed manufacturing units and 120 farmers were selected for the study. The study was based on primary data and secondary data, the primary data were collected through personal interviews with the help of a structured survey schedule. Secondary data on livestock population were collected through the livestock census, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India. A multi stage random sampling method was adopted as an appropriate sampling procedure for the study. Banaskantha district was purposely selected for the study as Banaskantha district has highest livestock population in overall Gujarat State. Four talukas from Banaskantha district were selected randomly and feed manufacturing units were selected by snowball sampling method. From each taluka, five villages were selected randomly. From each village, six farmers were selected randomly. The study focused on buying behavior of farmers regarding cattle feed purchase and to estimate demand for concentrated feed requirements for the future in Banaskantha district. The study found that among the eight explanatory (independent) variables, five variables viz., livestock population, farm size, feed price, income from livestock, total feed fed per day were found to be significantly associated with expenditure of cattle feed price per animal per month and other variables such as average age of the animal, technology adoption and distance from buying location were statistically non-significant. The required feed demand for future livestock populations in Banaskantha district are 3651480 metric tonnes, 4487461 metric tonnes, 5514543 metric tonnes, 6774097 metric tonnes and 8315523 metric tonnes for the year 2024, 2029,2034, 2039 and 2044 respectively.

Transforming Indian cattle industry for building sustainable future

India is one of the 17 global mega-biodiversity hotspots and harbours a rich diversity of flora and fauna with more than 212 breeds of various livestock species registered at the national level. Livestock sector contributes immensely to the national GDP of India with appreciable annual growth in dairying sector. The cattle population in India is mainly concentrated in its northern and western regions. Raising cattle is deeply ingrained into the social, cultural, and traditional fabric of many communities in India. It forms an important source of livelihood for rural masses. India faces a twin challenge of sustainable management of its huge cattle inventory while improving the productivity of animals and profitability of farmers within the minimum possible time. It is coupled with other challenges in terms of the limited resource base and changing agro-climatic trends along with the ever-looming threat of climate change. The profitability of rearing cattle has increased gradually since independence mainly due to staunch efforts made during the White Revolution and subsequently its carry-over effect. The adult female cattle population of India has increased 1.67 times from 54.4 million in 1951 to 145.12 million in 2019. There is an utmost need for improvement of productivity of cows using modern genetic approaches coupled with improvement in different facets of breeding, feeding and healthcare management. Streamlining the marketing channels, expanding the market network, and establishing a suitable farmers’ co-operative system across the country for dairy products offer opportunities for improved income of the dairy farmers besides providing nutritional security to rural masses. The present policy paper attempts to traverse through the important milestones and programmes in the cattle sector that led India to the stage of self-sustenance, besides analyzing the current threats and challenges faced by the industry along with possible solutions

Economic Analysis of the Export Trends of Livestock and Livestock Products in India

Livestock provides livelihood to two-third of rural masses and employs about 8.8 per cent population of India. While dairying ensures livelihood to 70 million farm families. The study utilized export data from government sources and conducted a statistical analysis to assess trends and stability. Data revealed that the overall export value increased significantly from ₹22,092.62 crore in 2011-12 to ₹48,947.55 crore in 2021-22, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.90%. Buffalo meat emerged as the leading export product, while dairy products exhibited a notable growth rate while dairy products and other categories showed varied growth. The instability index for the total exports was 19.02%, indicating moderate stability. State-wise analysis indicated Uttar Pradesh as the leading exporter, followed by Maharashtra and Haryana, with these three states together accounting for 85% of the total exports in 2021-22. The average growth rate of exports across states was 3.57%, demonstrating a stable growth pattern. Despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the sector showed resilience with a 13.98% growth in exports for 2021-22, aided by government initiatives. The analysis of dairy product exports highlighted a significant increase from ₹2,382.91 crore in 2020-21 to ₹4,742.70 crore in 2021-22, marking a 99% growth. The primary export destinations were the USA, Bangladesh, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Malaysia. A transitional probability matrix revealed shifts in market shares, with notable increases in the USA and Bangladesh. Trade performance from 2011-22 showed that India's export share in dairy products improved from 0.03% to 0.135%, while import share decreased significantly. The instability index for exports was 63.53%, reflecting high volatility. Investing in advanced breeding technologies to increase productivity, and enhancing market access through trade agreements and promotional activities. Additionally, policies to manage volatility, such as price stabilization measures and export incentives, could further support industry growth.

Some Common Plants in Uncommon Uses in India

There are still large number of species being employed by rural masses whose records of exploitation is not exhaustively available in the published literature. The authors have collected data on uncommon uses reported in Newspapers and from other indigenous resources which are presented in this paper.

Morels as a source of Food, Medicine and Income in Himachal Pradesh - A North West Himalayan Region, India

Himachal Pradesh is situated in north India between 300 22’ to 330 12’ N latitudes and 750 47’’ to 790 04’ E longitudes within the Western Himalayas in northern India. The elevation varies from 450 meters to more than 7,026 meters above the mean sea level. Tribal and indigenous communities of Himachal Pradesh are associated with collection of wild mushrooms for edible, medicinal and sale purpose. The Morels (Morchella spp.) are fungi belong to family Morchellaceae commonly known as Guchhi in Himachal Pradesh. The traditional people of Himachal Himalayan Region (HHR) cooked it as food and used in medicine and health care system. Traditionally, it has been used for gastric problems, as a tonic, to cure cuts and wounds, and reduce joint pain. The native people gather it from the forest regions and sold it to nearby merchants after drying it at home. Presence of nutrients like amino acids, vitamins and minerals, the Guchhi mushrooms are in high demand not only in India but also in various foreign markets such as Switzerland, France, the USA, Italy etc. Commercial cultivation of Guchhi mushrooms will help rural masses and farmers obtain benefits due to their high demand.

Development of Eco-friendly Handmade Paper and Paper Board from Soft Bamboo, Whole Banana & Pine Apple Leaves Fibre- Available in N.e. Region of India

The studies were carried out to established suitability of lingo-cellulosic raw materials namely Soft Bamboo (Dendrocalamus arundinacea), Banana (Musa Sapientum) & Pineapple (Ananas Comosus) for making pulps for handmade paper industry which are abundantly available in north eastern part of India. This should help in providing a cost effective, good quality cellulosic raw material as an alternate to cost prohibitive traditionally used cotton hosiery waste traditionally used for manufacturing good quality handmade paper & it’s products. This will help in improving the cost economics & competitiveness of the Indian paper industry in the global market besides addressing the problems of environment & global warming. The Studies thus carried out provide useful information about the nature of these raw materials, suitable pulping process to produce an eco-friendly handmade paper and board & converted products. The research work provides a good quality cost effective lingo-cellulosic raw material for handmade paper industries with a possibility of replacement of the expensive and traditionally used cotton hosiery waste. The paper thus produced using environmental friendly pulping and bleaching process is characterized for its strength properties like tensile, tear, bursting, folding endurance and other parameters. Further the study will be useful in providing opportunities for employment generation and income enhancement among the rural masses as well as addressing the bio-mass dumping.

Have the Power Equations Changed in the Rural Mindset? Gender Stereotypes Over Three Decades

Culture distinctly separates the role of man and woman in the society. India which is the homeland of several tribes has ultimately turned the country into cultural plurality with different tribes practicing different belief system regarding gender stereotype with 90% of the population living in villages, and over 730 scheduled tribes notified under article 342 of the Indian constitution, it was felt very strongly by the researchers to explore the gender stereotype of the typical Indian male and female as perceived by the rural masses: The real India. With the country marching into the 21st century and the huge campaign of women empowerment, gender equity all around, it became all the more salient to explore whether the changes in power equation in the urban educated sector have a spillover effect on the less talked about and underrepresented rural males and females, over three decades. The present research paper thus makes an attempt to see if the perception of the rural males and females have changed from nineties to twenty- twenty-four. The data of three studies on adult rural males and females in nineties has been compared with the data obtained in a study on a similar sample (N= 800). All studies centered on Uttar Pradesh (the largest state known for its diverse tribal communities in India). In terms of the sample characteristics of illiteracy, the same tool of picture story test (Bhatnagar & Poptani, 1991) has been used in all the studies. What appears rather intriguing is that the mindset of the rural masses remains traditional over three decades. This study on the one hand, opens a window for further research on different tribes and states of India to explore their perception of gender stereotype. On the other hand, the present findings have a message for policy makers that for obtaining the goal of gender equality, we need to work towards exploring and changing the neural wiring of the masses creating zones of acceptance for gender equity and equality in place of gender bias.

Consumption Pattern of Information and Communication Technology in Agriculture: A Study of Jaipur District

The study was conducted in Girdharipura and Mehla villages of Jaipur district of Rajasthan. The study analyzes how ICT is used for agricultural information in rural regions and evaluates the information and relationship between various ICT tools and farmers. In this research, we used a sample size of 100 farmers with a random selection of 50 farmers from Mehla village and 50 farmers from Girdharipura village, all between the age group of 20 and 55 from June 2021 to December 2021. ICT holds huge potential in the dissemination of agriculture-related information to rural masses for their capacity building. Thus, ICT is rightly hailed as a potentially useful tool for agricultural reforms. Farmers often engage in numerous forms of media consumption and do not limit themselves to a single one. This study suggests that farmers engage in various media consumption such as electronic media, folk media & print media, and ICT tools for agriculture purposes, and weather information. Mehla village was using more electronic media than Girdharipura.

Institutions as Images of Political Authority and Power Hierarchies: Understanding Land Tenure Dynamics of State-making in Zimbabwe and Uganda

The intricate link between political power and land rights is a historical axiom and Zimbabwe and Uganda present two conflicting yet analogous situations of what happens in agrarian societies, where socio-economic life is organised around access to and use of land. In such communities, institutions of land tenure are powerful mediums that shape political relations, electoral choices and the whole landscape of political interactions that happen in rural communities. This article seeks to examine how the post-colonial state in Zimbabwe and Uganda deliberately and systematically manipulated ‘insecure’ land tenure regimes by deploying institutions as instruments of political control and relevance. We argue that while the British coloniser framed the two counties differently, that is Zimbabwe as a settler colony and Uganda as a native colony, post-colonial land tenure regimes in the two countries were framed as institutional configurations purposefully designed and redesigned by national leaders as instruments of building state authority, organising the rural masses politically and shaping state-citizen allegiances. In this context, we argue that the land reforms in both countries perpetuated economic and regional disparities, inherited from colonial economic policies, and the ethnic and racial divisions, as foundations of state-making. In that regard, the connection between land and political authority may appear delinked and far-fetched, yet, as the Ugandan and Zimbabwean cases illustrate, there is compelling evidence to confirm this contention.

The Historicity of Food Habits as Imagined in the Folk Literature of Erstwhile Kalingo: A Study through the Folk Songs of Chati-Ghoda of Odisha and Bitiali of West Bengal

An effort to get a glimpse of a world-view can be seen through the prisms of rural folk music. They are not only a medium of entertainment for the rural masses, but also a reflection of the untainted rural society that has remained untouched by the humdrum of modernity even today. The rural people live by the age-old practises, beliefs, rituals, and wisdom of traditional knowledge. This paper aims to reproduce the concept of folk music and its typical characteristics, replete with nuances of those pearls of wisdom, that have remained a guiding force for the country people for generations, and how folk music, other than being the prime source of entertainment, is a storehouse of knowledge about the customs, food habits, rituals, and other social behaviours that resonate with the life and living of the populace. This will also highlight some of the extensive citations from the available oral traditions of music.

Effect of Feeding Milk Replacer on Growth Performance and Stress Physiology of Ghoongroo Piglets in Tropical Climate

Background: The pig is the most efficient feed-converting animal among all livestock and plays a crucial role in improving the socioeconomic status of rural masses. of India. The present study was to develop a best-suited milk replacer for piglets and its effect on growth performance and stress physiology of Ghoongroo piglets. Methods: The experiment was conducted on 20 Ghoongroo piglets divided into four groups, each containing 5 piglets, i.e., 3 treatment groups and 1 control group maintained at Livestock Farm ERS-IVRI, Kalyani. Control group (T0) piglets kept with sows and looked after under standard management practices. Whereas, three treatment groups (T1, T2 and T3) piglets were fortified with 3 different kinds of milk replacers and piglets were fed through bottle feeding for 28 days, thereafter, creep feed was started and gradually, milk replacer was stopped. Result: Significant difference (P less than 0.05) was observed in average body weight (kg) and daily body weight gain (g/day) on 56 days of age between the treatment and control groups. It was also found that feeding milk replacers had no stress on piglets. So, it can be concluded that feeding milk replacers showed improved economic return along with a higher growth rate till weaning without any stress on the piglets.

Spatial and temporal distribution of donkey and mule population in India

The donkeys and mules are members of the Equidae family. Spiti, Halari and Kachchhi are registered breeds of donkeys in India. They are well acclimatized to the different agro-climatic conditions to which they belong. Donkeys and mules constitute about 37% of the total Indian equine population and play multifarious roles in human life, especially for the poorest of the poor section of society. They are mainly reared by underprivileged and weaker communities of the society and used for various purposes like transportation of goods, farm produces, pack animals at brick kilns, transportation of garbage, building materials and by nomadic pastoralists etc. The severe decreasing trend observed in Livestock Census elicited us to understand the present status of donkeys and mules. The total donkey and mule populations decreased by 61.23% and 57.10%, respectively in 2019 over the last census. This can be due to their decreased working utility, as alternate economic sources of mechanization are available. Further, motorized vehicles are replacing donkeys and mules in plains and hilly regions where there is a road network. Presently, donkeys and mules are more in rural area than urban area of the country, indicating their utility still exists among rural masses and rural transport depends on these equids. The density of mules is high in the hilly states of India, indicating their utility in difficult hilly terrains.

APPROACHES OF COMMUNICATION AMONG THE SELF-HELP GROUP MEMBERS OF LOWER SUBANSIRI DISTRICT IN ARUNACHAL PRADESH, INDIA

For any developing country, its asset lies in the development of the rural masses by providing equal economic, social and educational opportunities to both men and women. With clear emphasis on rural development, there has been a plethora of developmental programmes launched in an intensive and coordinated manner. One of them being Self Help Groups. SHGs across the nation has created a platform for sharing experience, collecting knowledge, having collective decision-making and enabling the members of the group to gain socio-economic benets out of united and mutual responsibility. But, it needs to be also considered that the effectiveness of such programmes or schemes greatly rely upon several combinations of factors, of which effective communication system being one of the very crucial factors. It is a vital element that can help in creating awareness about technologies and to mobilize people in creating links between government agencies and the rural masses as well as amongst each other. As a matter of fact, inputs from the communication aspects are being progressively undertaken by the various developmental programmes and initiatives. This paper aims at studying the approaches of communication adopted by the members of SHGs of Lower Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh

Vikaspur Knowledge Centre: Micro-Politics in a Community-Based Organization

The knowledge centres (KC) established by Development Research Foundation (DRF) were part of an ambitious project to disseminate valuable information to the rural masses. The KCs purpose was to bridge the digital divide, which was supposed to be run by the local community. The Vikaspur KC initiative had a lot of potentials, but due to local politics and conflict among a few stakeholders, it faced many problems. The differences among the volunteers were the core issues that ultimately led to the lockout of the KC. There was a lack of proper managerial structure at the ground level. The local village dynamics also influenced this issue. The political structures and dynamics also influenced the conflict at the Vikaspur KC at the micro-level (village level) and the meso-level (provincial level).

A Study on Constraints of Ericulture in Dhemaji District of Assam

Sericulture might be considered as an important area for uplifting the economy of rural masses of Assam as the nature has endowed with favorable climatic and environmental conditions for various silk producing worms and their food plants. The research study was undertaken in the purposively selected Dhemaji districts of Assam during the year 2022 with the objectives to study profile characteristics of Eri rearers and to explore the problems faced by them. A total of 120 farmers were selected as respondents and data were collected by following simple random sampling technique by the personal interview method using standardized structured interview schedule. Constraints faced by the Eri silkworm rearers were majorly categorized into five broad categories, viz., personal problem, non-availability of resources, problems during rearing of silkworm, marketing problems and problems related to post cocoon sector of sericulture Appropriate statistical tools viz. frequency, percentage, mean was employed to analyze the data. Findings revealed that majority of the respondents termed “lack of capital” (2.86), “unavailability of rearing equipment” (2.66), “could not get seed in time” (2.88), “involvement of middle men” (2.75) and “lack of availability of spinning machine” (2.73) as the most serious problem under each category.

Determinants of Rural Poverty in Pakistan: A Micro Study

Using micro survey data obtained from a Punjab village we study a large number of rural-specific and household-specific variables besides landholding, in an attempt to determine their role in raising levels of living of rural masses. We investigated the reasons as to how some of the landless households managed to escape poverty whereas some cultivating households failed to do so. The main factors responsible for this outcome were found to be favourable/unfavourable distribution by size of landholding, household size, educational attainment, dependency ratio, participation rates, female-male ratio, and age of the household head. The landless households escaping poverty, however, remained in a low-income category. Whereas our analysis highlighted the importance of institutional setting for a better distribution of assets and access to resources, at the same time it pointed to the fact that numerous non-farm activities also enable the rural households to generate incomes and thus avoid poverty.

“Burning Villages”: Leo Katz’s Novels on the 1907 Romanian Peasants’ Revolt and the Question of Antisemitism

This article explores the Jewish question in the context of the 1907 Romanian Peasants’ Revolt through the novels of the Austrian Jewish communist Leo Katz. Katz witnessed the uprising as a youth from his native village situated on the border between the Habsburg Empire, Romania, and Tsarist Russia. He wrote two novels about the revolt: one in 1940 and the other in 1946. The present study examines the violent clashes that unfolded at the border and how the writer approached the concept of antisemitism in the context of the revolt. Relying mainly on Katz’s personal papers, the article shows that Katz’s understanding of antisemitism was related to his communist beliefs. This changed following debates on antisemitism that he and other German-speaking communists had while in exile in Mexico, where Katz spent most of World War Il. Although Katz includes more details on antisemitism in his second novel, he does not address the anti-Jewish violence perpetrated by the rural masses, which is an aspect otherwise well documented by the Austro-Hungarian border authorities. Katz’s novels are the most comprehensive Jewish narratives on the 1907 Romanian Peasants’ Revolt and represent a Jewish intellectual’s struggle to make sense of the rising antisemitism in that tri-border area at the turn of the twentieth century.

POLICIES, PERFORMANCE AND POLITICS OVER SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES (SEZS): THE CASE OF INDIA FOR VALUE CREATION

ABSTRACT This paper analyzes the evolving role of special economic zones (SEZs) in India following the SEZ Act, 2005 and their contribution to regional development, urbanization, employment, export activity, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow and productivity. Despite criticisms of preference to industry over agriculture and forceful acquisition of land causing displacement and migration of rural masses, the SEZs have registered a positive impact through value creation. Their relevance has become more emphatic in the context of the UNCTAD’s launching of the Global Alliance of SEZs (GASEZ). The final segment of the paper offers a prescriptive recommendation to adherence of policies over politics. Keywords Special Economic Zone, employment, urbanization, international trade