RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Table of Content
1. Introduction
2. What is Rural Development?
(a) Process of Rural Development
(b) Evaluation of Rural Development
3. Rural Credit
(a) Sources of rural development
(b) Non-Institutional sources
(c) Institutional Sources
4. Women and Rural Development
(a) Women and Self-Help Groups
(b) Kudumbashree
(c) TANWA
5. Critical Appraisal of Rural Banking
6. Agricultural Market System
(a) What is agriculture marketing?
(b) Measures to improve agricultural marketing
(c) Alternative marketing channels
7. Diversification of agricultural activities
(a) What is agricultural diversification
(b) Need for agricultural diversification
(c) Benefits of agricultural diversification
(d) Types of diversification
8. Non-farm areas of employment
(a) Animal husbandry
(b) Dairying
(c) Fisheries
(d) Horticulture
(e) Information technology
9. Sustainable development and organic farming
(a) Scope of organic farming in India
(b) Future Perspective of organic farming
(c) Benefits of organic farming
(d) Challenges before organic farming
10. Schemes for Rural Development in India
 (a) DAY-NRLM
(b) MNREGAS
(c) PMAY-G
(d) JJM
(e) PMGSY
(f) Saubhagya
(g) Mission Antyodaya
(h) KCC
(i) PMJDY
11. Conclusion
12. Bibliography

Introduction
The future of India lies in its villages. – Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi once said that the real progress of India did not mean simply the growth
and expansion of industrial urban centres but mainly the development of the villages. This
idea of rural development being at the centre of the overall development of the nation is
relevant even today.
It is because 65 per cent (2021 data) of the country’s population lives in the rural areas and
47 per cent of the population is dependent on agriculture for livelihood. Yet, it has grown at
a meagre rate of 2.7% in the last 50 years. During 2007-12, agri. Output has grown at 3.2%.
About 22% of our total population still lives in abject poverty. majority of the poor live in
rural areas where they do not have access to the basic necessities of life.
That is the reason why we have to see a developed rural India if our nation has to realise
real progress.

What is Rural development?

Rural development is the continuous and comprehensive socio-economic process of
improving all aspects of rural life. Traditionally, rural development has been focused on
the exploitation of land-intensive natural resources such as forests and agriculture.
However, growing urbanisation and changes in global production networks have changed
the character of rural areas today.
The term rural development includes not only agri. Development, but it involves all those
aspects, which improve the quality of life of people. It aims at improving the economic and
social conditions of people living in the villages. It is a strategy aimed at achieving
increased productivity, greater socio-economic equality and aspiration, and stability in
economic and social development.
Rural development seeks to improve remote people’s lives sustainably, both socially and
ecologically. This is maintained through improved access to natural, physical, human,
technological, and social capital assets and services, as well as control over productive
capital (in its financial, economic, and political forms), which allows them to reinforce their
livelihoods equitably and sustainably. Rural development programmes have primarily
focused on reducing poverty and unemployment by establishing basic social and economic
infrastructure, training unemployed youth in rural areas, and providing jobs to marginal
farmers and labourers in order to discourage seasonal and persistent migration to cities.
To bridge the gap between local governing bodies and the central authority in order to
improve economic communication. Furthermore, rural development seeks to give
panchayats executives, the power to carry out expert-created policies.
Finally, the goal of rural development is to maximise economic advantage for residents by
utilising natural resources within a region. This also involves significant land reform
measures aimed at improving agricultural production and efficiency for all individuals
involved.

Process of Rural Development

1. Human Resource Development: The quality of human resources must be improved
through: 
 Proper attention to literacy (particularly female literacy), schooling and skill
development,
 Better health facilities for physical growth, and
 Sanitation facilities in homes and workplaces.
2. Infrastructure Development: Infrastructure development involves improvement
in electricity, irrigation, credit, marketing, and transportation facilities, and improved
agricultural research, extension, and information dissemination.
3. Land Reforms: Its objectives include the elimination of exploitation from land relations,
realisation of the ‘land to the tiller’ objective, widening the rural poor’s land base
that improves their socioeconomic circumstances, and improving agricultural productivity.
4. Poverty Alleviation: Approximately 22% of the total population is still poor or below the
poverty line, and approximately 75% of the total poor (approximately 27.82 crores) reside
in rural regions. Specific measures/schemes for poverty relief must be implemented.
5. Development of Productive Resources: Productive resources in each rural location are
to be identified and developed so that existing resources can be used to their full potential
and opportunities for investment and employment in farm and non-farm areas can be
developed.
Evaluation of Rural Development

The rural sector of the country will remain backwards until the authorities make some
spectacular changes. Some of the changes that are required for rural development are as
follows:

1. Stress on Diversification: Rural areas should be made more vibrant by diversifying into

poultry, dairy, fishery, fruits, and vegetables.
2. Better Facilities: It is essential to make proper efforts for the development of state
agricultural departments, infrastructure elements such as marketing and credit, farmer-
friendly agricultural policies, and constant appraisal and dialogue between farmers’
groups.
3. Rural and Urban Linkage: It is also necessary to make efforts to link up the rural
production centres with the foreign and urban markets in order to realise high returns on
the products’ investment.
4. More emphasis on Sustainable Development: The need to invent or procure different
alternatives of eco-friendly technologies leading to sustainable development in various
circumstances has also developed.

Rural Credit
Growth of rural economy depends primarily on infusion of capital, from time to time, to
realise higher productivity in agriculture and non-agriculture sectors. As the time gestation
between crop sowing and realisation of income after production is quite long, farmers
borrow from various sources to meet their initial investment on seeds, fertilisers,
implements and other family expenses of marriage, death, religious ceremonies etc.
Thus, Agricultural Rural Credit refers to any loan taken for agricultural reasons or small
home enterprises in India’s rural regions .
Sources of rural credit
With growing modernisation of agriculture during post-green revolution period, the
requirement of agri. Credit has also increased in the recent years. Broadly, there are two
types of sources, from which the farmers can raise loans ; Non-Institutional sources and
Institutional sources.
Non-Institutional Sources
Historically, non-institutional sources satisfied or fulfilled the majority of farmers’
credit requirements due to their simpler loan procedures and willingness to give
even for unproductive purposes. However, due to restricted resources, they were
unable to satisfy their medium and long-term needs. These sources accounted for
roughly 93% of the full credit score requirement of the agricultural people in 1950-
51 and at present account for 30% of the most effective credit score requirement.
They used to take advantage of small and marginal farmers by asking high rates of
interest and manipulating accounts to keep them in debt.
The major non-institutional sources of rural credit are:
1. Moneylenders: Moneylenders have long been a source of credit for many
agricultural households in India’s rural credit environment. However,
they exploit peasants through high rates of interest and even manipulate
their accounts to keep them in debt.
2. Traders and Commission Agents: Traders and commission agents give
loans to agriculturists for productive reasons before crop maturity and
then compel farmers to sell their harvests at very low rates to them while
charging a high fee. This form of loan is typically used for cash crops. 
 3. Relatives: In times of crisis, cultivators frequently borrow funds from
their own relatives, either in cash or in kind. These are informal debts
that have no interest and are usually repaid after harvest. 
4. Rich Landlords: In India, small and marginal cultivators and tenants are
also accepting loans from landowners to satisfy their financial
requirements. This source has been following all of the bad practices of
moneylenders, merchants, and so on. Landless workers are sometimes
forced to work as bonded laborers. 
Institutional Sources
 It accounted for the most efficient 7% of the general credit score requirement at
the start of the main five years plan (in 1950-51), but it is now due for
approximately 70%. 
Some of the Institutional sources of rural credit are as follows:
1. Co-operative Credit: The main goal of co-operatives is to free Indian
peasants from the clutches of moneylenders and provide them with
credit at low interest rates. This is the most cost-effective and essential
source of rural financing. It was established with the goal of facilitating
small and medium-sized farmers’ complete financing requirements. 
2. Land Development Banks: These institutions lend money to farmers in
exchange for a lien on their property.  Loans are available for permanent
property improvement, the purchase of farming tools, and the
repayment of past obligations. 
3. Commercial Bank Credit: Commercial banks initially played a minor part
in promoting rural credit. However, after nationalisation in 1969, they
extended their rural branches and began directly financing farmers. 
4. Regional Rural Banks: India is an agriculturally oriented nation with a
large population engaged in the agricultural sector. Thus, in order to
utilise this sector and connect Indian farmers with banks in order to
facilitate financial transactions, the Government of India established
Regional Rural Banks. (RRB). Regional rural banks in India play a key role
in providing banking facilities to farmers living in remote areas. 
5. National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development
(NABARD): National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
(NABARD) is the Apex Bank which has to coordinate the functioning of
various financial institutions that are working for the expansion of rural
credit. The basic objective of NABARD is to promote the health and
strength of credit institutions including commercial banks, cooperatives,
and regional rural banks. It also provides assistance to the non-farm
sectors for the promotion of integrated rural development and prosperity
of backward rural areas.
6. Self-Help Group (SHG) Bank Linkages Programme for Micro Finance: The
primary emphasis of SHGs is on the rural poor, who lack long-term access
 to the formal banking system. Therefore, the targeted customers of SHGs
include small and marginal farms, agricultural and non-agricultural
workers, artisans, and so on. SHGs encourage thrift in small portions by
asking for a minimal contribution from each member. Credit is granted to
needy members at fair interest rates, to be returned in small instalments
from the pooled funds. 
As the banking system expanded rapidly, it affected the rural farm and non-farm
output, income, and employment positively. After the green revolution, farmers
could use credit facilities to avail of different loans in order to meet their
production needs. Besides, famines have become an event of the past with the rise
in buffer stock.

Women and Rural Development

When women are economically and socially empowered, they become a potent force for
change. In rural areas of the developing world, women play a key role in running households
and make major contributions to agricultural production. But the inequalities that exist
between women and men make it difficult for women to fulfil their potential.

Women in SHGs
By May 2019, nearly 6 crore women in India have become member in 54 lakh women SHGs.
As on 30th June,2022, about 8.39 crore women have been mobilized into more than 79.94
lakh SHGs.
About Rs. 10,000-15,000 per SHG and another Rs. 2.5 lakhs per SHG as a Community
Investment Support Fund (CISF) are provided as part of renovating fund to take up self-
employment for income generation. Such credit provisions are generally referred to as
micro-credit programmes.
SHGs have also helped in the empowerment of women. However, borrowings are mainly
confined to consumption purposes and negligible proportion is borrowed for productive
purposes.

Kudumbashree
Kudumbashree is a women-oriented community-based poverty eradication and women
empowerment programme implemented by the State Poverty Eradication Mission (SPEM)
of the Government of Kerala. The name Kudumbashree in Malayalam language means
‘prosperity of the family’.
Kudumbashree was set up in 1997 following the recommendations of a three-member Task
Force appointed by the State government. Its formation was in the context of the
devolution of powers to the Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs) in Kerala, and the Peoples’ Plan
Campaign, which attempted to draw up the Ninth Plan of the local governments from below
through the PRIs.
Kudumbashree has a three-tier structure for its women community network, with
Neighbourhood Groups (NHGs) at the lowest level, Area Development Societies (ADS) at the
middle level, and Community Development Societies (CDS) at the local government level.

TANWA
  Tamil Nadu Women in Agriculture (TANWA) is a project initiated in Tamil Nadu to
train women in the latest agricultural techniques and in organic farming.
 It induces women to actively participate in raising agricultural
productivity and family income.
 In the late 80s, a number of women agricultural officers were roped in to take the
benefits of natural farming far and wide in Tamil Nadu, apart
from Odisha and Madhya Pradesh.
 At a Farm Women’s Group in Thiruchirapalli, run by Anthoniammal, trained women
are successfully making and selling vermicompost and earning money from this
venture.
 Women are forming Farm Women’s Groups, which function like SHG.
 Many other Farm Women’s Groups are creating savings in their group by functioning
like mini banks through a micro-credit system.
 With the accumulated savings, they promote small-scale household activities
like mushroom cultivation, soap manufacture, doll making, or other income-
generating activities.
 The skills taught under TANWA include increasing fertilizer use efficiency, organic
manure conservation Farm Yard Manure (FYM), compost-enriched , use of
biofertilizer, tree cropping, field identification of pest/diseases, seed treatment, rat
control, and grain storage.

Critical Appraisal of Rural banking

The rural banking system has provided support to the farmers and has helped in
rural development, directly and indirectly. With it, the farmers can now avail credit
at cheap rates of interest from the formal sources of rural credit. It has also helped
the farmers in increasing rural farm and non-farm output, income, and employment
in rural areas. Besides these benefits, the agricultural credit structure of the
economy faces a lot of problems. Some of these problems include:
1. Insufficiency: As compared to the demand for rural credit, its volume in
India is still insufficient.
2. Inadequate Coverage of Institutional Sources: As the institutional credit
arrangements have failed to cover the country’s rural farmers, they
remain inadequate.
3. Inadequate Amount of Sanction: Besides credit arrangements, the
amount sanctioned by the sources of rural credit is inadequate, because
of which the farmers divert the loans for different unproductive
purposes. As a result, the basic purpose of such types of loans gets
diluted.
4. Less attention to Poor or Marginal Farmers: Under the rural banking
system, the credit requirements of poor or marginal farmers have been
given less attention. It is because the demand for credit by these needy
farmers gets rejected by banks and other institutional sources, as they do
not have collateral. However, because of better creditworthiness, well-
to-do farmers get more attention.
 5. Growing Overdue: Overdue is one of the major problems in agricultural
credit that keeps on growing. The basic reason behind it is the poor
capacity of farmers to repay the loan amount, because of which credit
agencies are now becoming more cautious while granting loans to the
farmers. It is presumed that the rise in agriculture loan default is because
the farmers are refusing to pay back loans. Therefore, this issue has now
become a threat to the smooth functioning of the rural banking system
and hence needs control. 

Because of the above-stated problems, the expansion and promotion of the rural
banking system have been slow after the reforms. The formal institutions except
the commercial banks have failed to develop a culture of lending to needy farmers,
deposit mobilisation, and effective loan recovery.
In order to improve such situation, the banks should change their approach and
build banking relationship with the borrowers instead of just being a lender.
Besides, they should also encourage the farmers to inculcate saving habit and make
efficient use of their financial resources.

Agricultural Market System

What is Agricultural Marketing?

Agricultural Marketing refers to the process of assembling, storing, processing,

transporting, packaging, grading, and distributing different agricultural
commodities across the country.

The agricultural marketing system plays a crucial role in farmers’ lives as it allows
them to dispose of their surplus produce at a fair and reasonable price. Besides,
agricultural marketing also includes different activities that help in the movement
of fair produce from the producer to the ultimate consumer.
Problems faced by Farmers
The farmers used to face a number of problems. Some of them are as follows:
 Manipulations by Big Traders: Before independence, the big traders used
to manipulate farmers by making them suffer from the faulty weighing of
goods and manipulation of accounts while buying produce from them.
 Lack of Storage Facilities: To keep their produce in storage to sell them
later at a better price, the farmers didn’t also have proper storage
facilities. This problem is still present, as 10% of the goods produced by
farmers in the farms get wasted due to lack of storage.
 Lack of Market Information: As the farmers didn’t have proper
information on the prevailing prices for their goods, they were forced to
sell at low prices.
Measures to Improve the Agricultural Marketing System

The Indian government has taken several measures to improve the agricultural
marketing system. Some of the measures are:
1. Regulated Markets:
Regulated markets or Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) were
established to ensure fair prices for the farmers and prevent exploitation by
middlemen. The APMCs are responsible for regulating the buying and selling of
agricultural products and ensuring that the farmers receive a fair price for their
produce and to benefit the consumers too.
2. Infrastructural Facilities:
The government has also focused on developing infrastructural facilities such as
storage, transportation, and marketing. Storage facilities such as warehouses and
cold storage help in reducing wastage and preserving the quality of the produce.
Transportation facilities such as roads, railways, and airports facilitate the
movement of agricultural products from one place to another. Marketing facilities
such as mandis and haats provide a platform for farmers to sell their produce
directly to consumers.
3. Cooperative Marketing:
Cooperative marketing is a system where farmers come together to form a
cooperative society and sell their produce collectively. This helps in reducing the
dependence on middlemen and ensures a fair price for the farmers. The
cooperative societies also provide access to credit and other support services to the
farmers.
Benefits gained by farmers from Cooperative Marketing:
 As the farmers sell their produce together through one agency,
Cooperative Marketing improved the bargaining power of farmers.
 Cooperative Marketing Societies also provide farmers with credit
whenever they have immediate cash requirements.
 The Cooperative Societies often have storage facilities through which
instead of selling their produce in a hurry, the farmers can wait for better
prices and then sell their produce.
 Cooperative Marketing System also provides the facility of bulk
transportation at a cheaper price.
Besides these benefits, the Cooperatives received a setback during the recent past
times because of the following reasons:
 Inefficient Financial Management
 Inadequate coverage of farmer members
 Lack of proper link between marketing and processing cooperatives
4. Different Policy Instruments:
The government has also implemented different policy instruments to improve
agricultural marketing. These include price support policies, minimum support
prices, and direct procurement from farmers. Price support policies ensure that
farmers receive a fair price for their produce, while minimum support prices
guarantee a minimum price for crops. Direct procurement from farmers ensures
that the farmers receive a fair price for their produce and reduces their
dependence on middlemen.
 Minimum Support Prices (MSP): The Minimum Support Price is the price
at which the government purchases crops from the farmers to ensure
that they receive a fair price for their produce. The MSP is fixed by the
government based on the recommendations of the Commission for
Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and is announced before the sowing
season.
 Maintenance of Buffer Stocks: The government maintains a buffer stock
of essential food items such as wheat, rice, and sugar to ensure that they
are available during times of scarcity and to stabilize the prices in the
market.
 Public Distribution System (PDS): The Public Distribution System is a
government initiative that provides essential commodities to the poor
and needy at subsidised prices. It includes items like rice, wheat, sugar,
and kerosene oil, which are made available through a network of Fair
Price Shops across the country.

Alternate Marketing Channels

In recent years, alternative marketing channels such as farmers’ markets and

alliances with national and multinational companies have emerged as viable
options for farmers. These alternative channels provide farmers with a direct link to
consumers, eliminating middlemen and ensuring a fair price for their produce.
1. Origin of Farmers Market:
Farmers’ markets are community markets where farmers sell their produce directly
to consumers. These markets have been in existence for centuries and were the
primary mode of marketing agricultural products before the advent of middlemen.
Farmers’ markets provide consumers with fresh and high-quality products and
farmers with a fair price for their products. Some examples of Farmers’ Markets are
Hadaspar Mandi in Pune, Apni Mandi in Punjab, Rajasthan, and Haryana, 
2. Alliance with National and Multinational Companies:
Alliances with national and multinational companies are another alternative
marketing channel for farmers. Under these alliances, companies partner with
farmers to source their agricultural products directly, eliminating middlemen and
ensuring a fair price for the farmers. These alliances also provide farmers with
access to technology, credit, and other support services.
In the year 2020, the Indian Parliament passed three Agriculture Acts to reform the
agriculture marketing system. However, a section of farmers opposed the Act
because of which it was taken back in 2021.
It can be concluded that even though agricultural marketing has come a long way
with the government’s intervention, it is still dominated by the private traders like
rural political lenders moneylenders, rich farmers, and big merchants. Also, only
10% of the total agricultural product is handled by government agencies and
consumer cooperatives, and the rest of the portion is handled by the private
sector. 

Agricultural Diversification

What is agricultural diversification?

Agricultural Diversification means changing cropping pattern or shifting the
agricultural workforce into other non-agricultural activities.
The process of diversification involves diversifying an economy’s revenue sources
away from a single source and towards an ever-increasing range of industries and
markets. Diversification into other industries is essential because it would give
residents of communities’ long-term alternatives for a living while retaining
ecological balance. The creation and distribution of economic resilience
measurements, strategies, and tools benefit from diversification by encouraging
the exchange of experiences and opportunities. 

Need for Diversification

 Every economic activity has a workforce absorption limit beyond which
not only potential is underutilised but also productivity stops growing. 
 The majority of agricultural operations flourish throughout the Kharif and
Rabi Seasons. Those that rely solely on agriculture do not earn enough to
feed themselves for the rest of the year.
 During agricultural production, a farmer may face several kinds of
adversities and climatic vagaries such as unpredictable rainfall, stone hail,
drought, flood, and so on. Issues like post-harvest losses, storage, and a
lack of accessible effective marketing are worsening the situation.
 For more than five decades, Indian agriculture has faced serious issues
due to a rise in input costs to increase production..
 Farmers have been utilising the common government-promoted Green
Revolution cropping pattern rice-wheat-rice to increase production for a
long time. Following the same cropping plan over a longer period of time
has extracted specific nutrients from the soil, resulting in soil
 deficiency in those nutrients as well as a drop in soil microfauna
population. 

Benefits of Diversification
Most of the agricultural employment activities take place in Kharif Season.
Therefore, during the Rabi Season, it becomes difficult for the farmers to find some
gainful employment opportunities in the areas which lack adequate irrigation
facilities. Therefore, it becomes essential for the farmers to diversify into other
sectors to:
 Provide supplementary employment which is gainful for them.
 Enable them to earn higher level income, and 
 Enable the rural people in overcoming poverty and other troubles.

Types of Diversification
1. Diversification of Crop Production
This represents a change in cropping patterns which implies a shift in the
proportion of an area committed to different crop production. In simple terms, it
means shifting the cropping system from a single-cropping system to a multi-
cropping system The diversification involves shifting the cropping pattern from food
grains to cash crops.
The basic aim of the diversification of crop production is the promotion of a shift
from subsistence farming to commercial farming. In India, there is still a dominance
of subsistence farming in the agriculture sector and for the cropping system, the
farmers give more importance to cereals such as rice, wheat, maize, etc. 
With the help of a multi-cropping system, the farmers can reduce their dependency
on one or two crops as with this system they can now grow a wide variety of crops.
Therefore, it is essential to encourage the farmers in growing a wide variety of
crops as it will also increase their income in return.
Besides, with the diversification of crop production, the risk in farming caused by
the price fluctuations in crops can be minimised, along with a reduction in the risk
happening because of the failure of monsoon.
2. Diversification of Productive Activities
The necessity of the hour is diversification through worker shifts towards different
channels of production. It can be met by directing workers towards either
agriculture-related activities or non-farm activities. Employment in non-farm
activities can help in providing alternate avenues of sustainable livelihood to the
farmers and in increasing their income level. 
There are several segments in non-farm activities. Some of these segments have
dynamic linkages permitting healthy growth, while the other segments are in
subsistence and low productivity propositions. Some of the dynamic sub-sectors
consist of food processing industries, agro-processing industries, tourism, etc. Also,
the sectors which have the potential but lack infrastructure and proper support
consist of traditional household-based industries such as crafts, pottery,
handlooms, etc.

Non-Farm Areas of Employment

Non-farming producing activities are related to those economic activities that do
not directly relate to agricultural activities. Generally, marginal farmers and
landless laborers are getting benefits from these activities, which provide them a
good source of income and employment. 
Note from book

Sustainable Development and Organic Farming

Organic farming is the from of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop
rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control,
It is a type of farming that maintains and improves the natural balance of the
environment. To put it another way, this farming technique is based on the usage
of organic fertilizers. As a result, this method of farming is used to create toxin-free
food for consumers while also maintaining soil fertility and contributing to
ecological balance. This form of farming promotes environmentally responsible,
long-term economic development.

Scope of Organic farming in India :

 Organic food is in high demand with rising domestic market, India is set
for faster growth. The growth of India’s domestic markets is crucial to the
organic movement’s success.
 Organic farming has emerged as an alternative system of farming that
may not only address quality and sustainability concerns, but also
ensures a debt-free future, with increasing awareness about the safety
and quality of food, long-term sustainability of the system, and
accumulating evidence of being equally productive.
Organic farming is also a sustainable and environmentally beneficial production
strategy that benefits small-scale farmers in particular. Organic farming is
appropriate for small farmers in developing countries like India. According to the
available evidence, Organic agriculture helps to poverty reduction and food security
through a variety of factors, including:
 Increasing yields in locations with low inputs;
 Biodiversity and natural resources conservation on the farm and in the
surrounding environment;
 Increasing revenue and/or lowering costs;
 Creating food that is both safe and diverse;
 Having a long-term sustainability.
Future perspectives of Organic Farming:  
Despite the fact that commercial organic agriculture, with its stringent quality
certification system, is a relatively new market-controlled, consumer-concentric
agriculture system around the world, it has grown at a rate of almost 25% to 30%
per year for the past ten years. Despite predictions of a recession, the expansion of
organic farming continues unaffected. The movement began in the developed
world and is now spreading to developing countries. Demand, however, remains
concentrated in industrialized and affluent countries. In the area, organic cuisine is
growing more popular. With a rising domestic market, India is primed for stronger
growth. The growth of India’s domestic markets is critical to the organic
movement’s success.
Although India has long been known for its organic agriculture, the rise of
contemporary scientific, input-intensive agriculture has pushed it forward. Organic
farming has risen to prominence as a viable alternative to conventional farming
that not only solves quality and ecological concerns, but also ensures debt-free
operation.
Crop insurance support has also been revamped in order to reduce farmer losses
and provide single-window comprehensive risk coverage for a variety of crops. In
the 2016-19 period, 30 percent of the entire cropped area in the country was
covered, compared to a target of 50 percent. Farmers’ access to new knowledge
and skills is also being improved. For example,  652 Agricultural Technology
Management Agencies have been formed across the country to provide farmers
with the most up-to-date technologies. During 2016-17, these agencies reached out
to 1.2 million farmers, half of whom were women.
Organic farming is popular in India, and it is ranked ninth among the top ten
countries with the most organic land. In India, there are over 600,000 organic
farmers. Organically cultivated crops in India include rice, wheat, lentils, spices, tea
and coffee, herbal and medicinal plants, cotton, oil seeds, and a range of fruits, dry
fruits, and vegetables. Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and
Karnataka have the highest certified organic farming acreage in India.
India produced 1.7 million metric tonnes of the aforementioned crops in 2017-18.
In the same year, exports to the United States, Canada, the European Union, South
Korea, Japan, Australia, and Israel totaled over 4.6 lakh metric tonnes.

Benefits of organic farming

Challenges before organic farming

Schemes for Rural Development

Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihood Mission
(DAY-NRLM)
The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM), aims to
enable economically weak households to access gainful self-employment and skilled wage
employment opportunities resulting in sustainable and diversified livelihood options for
them. This is one of the world’s largest initiatives to improve the livelihoods of the poor. The
cornerstone of the Mission is its ‘community-driven’ approach which has provided a huge
platform in the form of community institutions for women empowerment.

Rural women are at the core of the program which is extensively focused on their socio-
economic empowerment. Nearly 4 lakh Self Help Group (SHG) members have been trained
as Community Resource Persons (CRPs) (viz. Pashu Sakhi, Krishi Sakhi, Bank Sakhi, Bima
Sakhi, Poshan Sakhi etc.) help in the implementation of the Mission at the ground level. The
Mission has mobilised a total of 8.7 crore women from poor and vulnerable communities
into 81 lakh SHGs.

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

(MGNREGS) 
Under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) a
total of 5.6 crore households availed employment and a total of 225.8 crore person-days
employment has been generated under the Scheme (until 6 January 2023). The number of
works done under MGNREGS has steadily increased over the years, with 85 lakh completed
works in FY22 and 70.6 lakh completed works so far in FY23 (as on 9 January 2023). These
works include creating household assets such as animal sheds, farm ponds, dug wells,
horticulture plantations, vermicomposting pits etc., in which the beneficiary gets both
labour and material costs as per standard rates. Empirically, within a short span of 2-3 years,
these assets have been observed to have a significant positive impact on agricultural
productivity, production-related expenditure, and income per household, along with a
negative association with migration and fall in indebtedness, especially from non-
institutional sources. This, the Survey notes has long-term implications for aiding income
diversification and infusing resilience into rural livelihoods. Meanwhile, the Economic Survey
also observes a Year-on-Year (YoY) decline in monthly demand for Mahatma Gandhi
National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) work and this the Survey notes
is emanating from normalisation of the rural economy due to strong agricultural growth and
a swift bounce-back from Covid-19.

Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana –Gramin (PMAY-G)

The Government rolled out “Housing for All by 2022” to provide shelter with dignity for
each and every one. With this target, the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana –Gramin (PMAY-
G) was launched in November 2016 with the aim of providing around 3 crore pucca houses
with basic amenities to all eligible houseless households living in kutcha and dilapidated
houses in rural areas by 2024. Under the scheme, landless beneficiaries are accorded the
highest priority in the allotment of houses. A total of 2.7 crore houses have been sanctioned
and 2.1 crore houses have been completed by 6 January 2023 under the Scheme. Against
the total target of completion of 52.8 lakh houses in FY23, 32.4 lakh houses have been
completed.

Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM)

On the 73rd Independence Day, 15 August 2019, the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) was
announced, to be implemented in partnership with States, to provide by 2024, tap water
connection to every rural household and public institutions in villages like schools,
Anganwadi centres, ashram shalas (tribal residential schools), health centres etc. At the time
of the rollout of the JJM in August 2019, about 3.2 crore (17 per cent) households out of the
total of 18.9 crore rural households had a tap water supply. Since the launch of the Mission,
as of 18 January 2023, of 19.4 crore rural households, 11.0 crore households are getting tap
water supply in their homes.

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana 

Since its inception, the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana helped create 1,73,775 number
of roads measuring 7,23,893 km and 7,789 Long Span Bridges (LSBs) against the sanctioned,
1,84,984 roads measuring 8,01,838 km and 10,383 Long Span Bridges (LSBs) under all its
verticals/interventions points the survey. The survey observes that various independent
impact evaluation studies were carried out on PMGSY, which have concluded that the
scheme has had a positive impact on agriculture, health, education, urbanization,
employment generation etc.

Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana

 SAUBHAGYA- Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana, was launched to achieve
universal household electrification by providing electricity connections to all willing un-
electrified households in rural areas and all willing poor households in urban areas in the
country. The connections were given for free to economically poor households and for
others, Rs 500 was charged after the release of the connection in 10 instalments. The
Saubhagya scheme has been successfully completed and closed on 31 st March 2022. 

Antyodaya
Adopted in Union Budget 2017-18, Mission Antyodaya is a convergence and accountability
framework aiming to bring optimum use and management of resources allocated by 26
Ministries / Department of the Government of India under various programmes for the
development of rural areas. It is envisaged as state-led initiative with Gram Panchayats as
focal points of convergence efforts.

Annual survey in Gram Panchayats across the country is an important aspect of Mission
Antyodaya framework. It is carried out coterminous with the People’s Plan Campaign (PPC)
of Ministry of Panchayat Raj and its’ purpose is to lend support to the process of
participatory planning for Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP).

Kisan Credit Card (KCC)

The Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme is a credit scheme introduced in August 1998 by Indian
public sector banks to issue kisan credit card to the farmers of India. This model scheme was
prepared by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on the
recommendations of the R. V. Gupta Committee to provide advances for agricultural needs.

Its objective was to meet the comprehensive credit requirements of the agriculture sector
and by 2019 for fisheries and animal husbandry by giving financial support to farmers.
Participating institutions include all commercial banks, Regional Rural Banks, and state co-
operative banks. The scheme entails short-term credit for crops and term loans.

Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)

Objective of "Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)" is ensuring access to various
financial services like availability of basic savings bank account, access to need based credit,
remittances facility, insurance and pension to the excluded sections i.e. weaker sections &
low income groups. This deep penetration at affordable cost is possible only with effective
use of technology.

PMJDY is a National Mission on Financial Inclusion encompassing an integrated approach to

bring about comprehensive financial inclusion of all the households in the country. The plan
envisages universal access to banking facilities with at least one basic banking account for
every household, financial literacy, access to credit, insurance and pension facility. In
addition, the beneficiaries would get RuPay Debit card having inbuilt accident insurance
cover of र 1 lakh. The plan also envisages channelling all Government benefits (from
Centre / State / Local Body) to the beneficiaries’ accounts and pushing the Direct Benefits
Transfer (DBT) scheme of the Union Government. The technological issues like poor
connectivity, on-line transactions will be addressed. Mobile transactions through telecom
operators and their established centres as Cash Out Points are also planned to be used for
Financial Inclusion under the Scheme. Also, an effort is being made to reach out to the
youth of this country to participate in this Mission Mode Programme.

Conclusion

Bibliography
NCERT Class 12

Sandeep Garg

www.kudumbashree.org

https://pmjdy.gov.in

https://missionantyodaya.nic.in

http://nirdpr.org.in
https://rural.nic.in

https://pib.gov.in