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Rural Development in India is an important segment of economic development. Although, thousands of crores of rupees have been spent on rural development during the last 57 years, the problem is as grave as it was. Yet, the importance of this subject has enhanced.

Rural India is real India. Over Seventy-six per cent of the total population of India lives in villages. Rural India still contributes about half of the national income. Agriculture is the basic occupation which sustains the rural areas. Rural development is not simply an economic proposition; it has social, psychological and cultural dimensions as well. It is a multi-dimensional as well as multi-directional concept.

To be precise, rural development is a programme designed to improve the socio-economic living conditions of the rural poor. It aims also at raising their cultural level and reorienting their rich traditions. It seeks to achieve increase rural production and productivity, greater socio-economic equity and a higher standard of living for the rural poor. It is partly ameliorative and partly development-oriented. Development is interlinked with motivation, innovation and the active participation of the beneficiaries, inter alia, this calls for organisation and management. Rural development recognizes the importance of improved food supplies and nutrition, as well as the importance of such basic services as health, housing, education and expanded communications, which will go a long way in enhancing the productivity of the rural poor. Moreover, it aims at providing gainful employment, so that the rural people too may contribute their mite to the national product.

Rural development implies a fuller development of existing resources, including the construction of infrastructure, such as roads and irrigation works, the introduction of new production technology, the revival of traditional arts and crafts, and the creation of new types of institution s and organisations.

Contents : 1. Introduction. I. Rural India: 2. Socio Economic Structure of Rural India. 3. Rural Poverty. II. Rural Development: 4. Meaning and Content of Rural Development. 5. Rural Development: An Overview. 6. Early Attempts at Rural Development. 7. National Programmes of Rural Development. 8. Community Development Programme. 9. Employment Guarantee Scheme. 10. Issues in Rural Development. III. Present Rural Development Programmes: 11. Wage Employment Programme. 12. Self-Employment and Entrepreneurship Development. 13. Special Area Development Programmes. 14. Rural Housing Programmes. 15. National Social Assistance Programme. 16. Rural Water Supply Programme. 17. Rural Sanitation. IV. Approach to Rural Development: 18. Agriculture and Rural Development. 19. Imperatives for Wise Water Management. 20. Energy Management. 21. Modern Agricultural Technology. 22. Social Forestry. 23. Rural Industrialisation. 24. Land Reforms and Rural Development. V. Financing Rural Development: 25. Credit Needs of the Rural Poor. 26. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development. 27. Techniques of Lending to Agriculture. 28. Area and Project Approach to Bank Lending. 29. Decentralised Credit Planning. 30. District Credit Plans. 31. Block Level Planning. 32. 20-Point Programme and Rural Development. VI. Rural Management: 33. Agencies for Rural Development. 34. Role of Voluntary Agencies. 35. Vikas Volunteer Vahini. 36. Council for Advancement of People`s Action and Rural Technology. 37. Rural Management. 38. Training for Rural People. VII. Future of Rural Development: 40. Future of Rural Development. 41. Rural Development in the 21st Century. Section Eight : Experiments in Rural Development. 42. Case Studies. Annexures. Select Bibliography.