Rural Development

Aims and Objectives

Rural development aims at improving rural people’s and scheduled tribes’ livelihoods in an equitable and sustainable manner, both socially and environmentally, through better access to assets (natural, physical, human, technological, and social capital), and services, and control over productive capital (in its financial or economic forms) that enable them to improve their livelihoods on a sustainable and equitable basis.

Strategies and programs for rural development

The rural economy is an integral part of the overall Indian economy. A the majority of the poor reside in rural areas, the prime goal of rural development is to improve the quality of life of the rural people by alleviating poverty through the instrument of self-employment and wage employment programs, by providing community infrastructure facilities such as

• Health Facilities
• Education
• Safe Drinking Water
• Employment
• Rural Housing
• Natural Calamities and Disasters
• Latest Agriculture Techniques

Health Facilities:

Rural individuals, belonging to all age groups and backgrounds pay adequate attention to their health conditions. Elderly individuals are required to make visits to healthcare centers on a regular basis to get their check-ups done. But in the case of severe health problems and illnesses, individuals are even required to make visits to urban areas. When individuals spend their savings on medical treatment, then they do experience financial constraints in meeting other requirements. Hence, taking care of health care needs may use financial resources, thus giving rise to poverty.

Education:

One of the root causes of poverty is a lack of education. Access to education is integral to lifting people out of poverty, as education reduces inequality and drastically improves the opportunities students obtain as they age. In India, where 45% of the poor population is illiterate, improving access to education in rural areas is vital.

Education is a social issue that is prevalent among rural individuals, especially those belonging to deprived, marginalized, and socio-economically backward sections of society. This social problem is not only detrimental to the lives of individuals but imposes impediments within the progression of the entire community. When rural individuals are illiterate and do not even possess the basic literacy skills, and then they not only experience problems within the course of the implementation of their tasks and activities, but also remain unaware of their rights and duties. The individuals are unable to understand the causes of problems and challenges that may take place within the course of their daily lives. They are unable to acquire employment opportunities. As a result of illiteracy, they also remain unaware in terms of policies, programs, and strategies that have been put into operation to promote their well-being.

In rural communities, the system of education is not in a well-developed state. The school’s environmental conditions are not amiable and suitable to the needs and requirements of the students as well as other members. In schools, there is a lack of facilities and amenities that are required to facilitate the acquisition of education among students in an appropriate manner. These include clean drinking water, restrooms, cooling, and heating equipment in accordance with the weather conditions, furniture, teaching-learning materials, and so forth. The classroom environmental conditions do not possess the essential materials and equipment, which would facilitate learning. Hence, due to a lack of educational facilities, teachers and students experience problems in the implementation of teaching-learning methods.

Safe Drinking Water:

Less than 50 percent of the population in India has access to safely managed drinking water. The quality of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) have a significant impact on improving health outcomes and ameliorating the economic condition of rural masses. Especially, the present worldwide outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has strongly demonstrated the critical role of sanitation, hygiene, and access to clean water in protecting human health by preventing and containing diseases.

Access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene is an important indicator of the level of socio-economic development of a country. In fact the richer a country, the more access it has to these basic amenities of life and health and vice-versa. The adequate provision of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) are crucial to achieving sustainable development. It can contribute greatly to the eradication of poverty, hunger, and disease in a country like India where more than one-fourth rural population still lives below the poverty line.

Latest Agriculture Techniques:

Due to many challenges such as variations in climate, biotic and abiotic stress conditions at the peak period of crop, natural calamities loss the crop yield when we used the traditional farming systems. New techniques and systems are used by the farmers but the rate of adaptation of new technologies by the farmers is slow due to a lack of awareness among the farmers in some rural areas. New techniques such as organic farming. Genetically modified crops, vertical farming, polytonal farming, greenhouse farming, and creating new scopes for application of precision agriculture (PA) using satellites and multi-crop farming are important that help to combat today’s and future food demand.

Employment:

Rural individuals are usually residing in conditions of poverty to a significant extent. They have the primary objective of alleviating the conditions of poverty. Due to this, they give more preference to employment opportunities. From the stage of early childhood, they train their children to get engaged in various forms of employment opportunities in accordance with their skills and abilities. For instance, when they are in the family business, then they provide training to their children in terms of production processes. Whereas, in other cases, children are involved in other jobs as well, such as plantations, factories, industries, and so forth. Hence, due to engagement in employment opportunities, they are unable to get enrolled in schools and pursue education.

Natural Calamities and Disasters:

The occurrence of natural calamities and disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, droughts, and Tsunamis are detrimental to the lives of individuals to a great extent. As a consequence, the individuals experience immense loss of life, wealth, and property. Therefore, when they experience natural calamities and disasters, the loss of wealth and property causes poverty.

Women’s Empowerment:

Since many women are often denied access to education and healthcare, their employment opportunities are limited. Furthermore, employment is not a guarantee of equal treatment. In fact, pay inequalities result in men making 65% more than women for the same labor. Although gender equality in India is a constitutional right, many women are unaware of their rights and of the ways they can support themselves financially.