What are the impediments to rural growth in India? Suggest some solutions.
With a workforce of 70% and a population of 2/3 living in rural regions, India is mostly a rural nation. The rural sector accounts for 46% of total national revenue. Therefore, it is clear that a focus on rural areas and development would not only increase agricultural production but would also aid in attaining inclusive growth, thereby ensuring the Indian economy’s $5 trillion target.
Impediments to rural growth:
- The major cause of rural hardship in India is low agricultural productivity.
- Insufficient investment in agricultural development and modernization.
- Uneven landholdings and the prevalence of small farms makes modern agriculture challenging due to technical and finance constraints.
- The volatility of agricultural input and product prices adds to the problems.
- Inadequate educational opportunities – Access to cutting-edge educational resources like digital learning, computer instruction, and nonacademic publications is either nonexistent for students attending rural schools or limited.
- Lack of effective and transparent rural government.
- Unplanned migration from rural to urban areas in quest of improved economic opportunities. It is also contributing to the feminization of agriculture.
- Panchayats have relatively limited fiscal authority.
- The lack of agreement on rural reform has hampered the sector’s efficiency.
Way forward:
- Empowering and integrating rural women into the agricultural workforce.
- Encouraging the establishment of food processing businesses in rural regions.
- Establishing effective value chains that connect rural communities with the formal economy.
- Contract agriculture
- Direct ties between farms and factories
- Rural digitalization and local e-governance
- Precision and smart agriculture
- Panchayats ought to have more financial freedom.
- The creation and promotion of cooperative credit societies to support self-help groups.
- Promoting cooperative systems in agro-based industries is a good idea.
Conclusion:
Many reforms are being done at the grassroots level as part of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, which is aimed at improving agricultural and associated infrastructure. However, the government must address a number of legislative and administrative issues in order to promote greater rural India’s growth.
Topics: GS-III: Economic Growth Development • GS-III: Inclusive Growth and Issues Arising From It