Rural development generally refers to the process of improving the quality of life and economic condion of people living in rural areas. To achieve the desired social and economic development of the rural people a number of rural development programmes are being implemented. The prime goal of rural development is to improve the quality of life of the rural people by alleviang poverty through the instrument of self-employment and wage employment programmes and by providing community infrastructure facilies such as drinking water, electricity, road and communicaon connecvity, health facilies, housing and educaon.
Steps have been taken to encourage the rural people to develop themselves and in recent years the pace of rural development iniaves has been accelerated by allocang greater budget resources and fixing melines for quanfiable deliverables. Several targeted programmes have been launched for providing direct employment, self-employment, social security, housing, building rural infrastructure, delivering financial services at an affordable cost and taking healthcare to the doorsteps of the rural people.
Agriculture plays a vital role in the economy for a country like India. India is an agricultural country where, according to census 2011, about 69 per cent of populaon lives in its rural areas and the primary source of their livelihood are agriculture and allied acvies. It has been observed that agricultural diversificaon towards high value commodies will strengthen agricultural growth in future and will result in high remunerave returns to farmers. Besides, horculture and other allied acvies have lot of backward and forward linkages which generate wide employment opportunies & income flow and hence help in the development of rural India. Sustained efforts are being made to reorient the agriculture sector by focusing on an income-centeredness in addion to pure producon centeredness approach. Steps are being taken to strengthen service delivery in all areas from extension to input supply and markeng.
