What constitute rural in India is somewhat subjective and what is considered

urban or rural varies considerably among countries. The Brazilian definition,

which is currently a political controversy, is partly based on administrative
divisions, and shows a rural population of19 percent. The OECD, on the other
hand, uses a simple measure of population density of over 150 people per
square kilometre, which would give a rural population of 25 percent. But these
are the figure for Brazil. When applied to the Indian populace, we get a rural
population of only 9 percent- quite in contrast to the normal Indian view of being
70 percent rural.
In India 576 persons out of 1000 petrsons employed are engaged in the
agriculture forestry and fisheries group, followed by 72 persons in the
construction group and 67 in the manufacturing group of industries.

And why confine this idea of rural to farming alone? As data from a recent NSSO
report shows the even so-called agricultural households-which have at least one
family member employed in farming-derive over 40% of their average monthly
income from non-farming sources. A Credit Suisse report market analyst) in 2012
estimated the share of agriculture per se in rural GDP has dropped to roughly a
quarter, from almost half at the start of the century. In other words, while
agriculture may be 95% or more rural, rural is becoming less and less
agriculture. This growing urbanization of the rural should be welcomed for the
simple fact that agriculture cannot support the 69% Indians living in rral areas.
Growing fragmentation of holdings has led to farming becoming unviable in
terms of employing entire households. Indeed agricultures own future lies in
moving people away from farms, so as to ensure minimum viability of holdings
that makes it worthwhile to invest in mechanization and other yield-enhancing
technologies. The last few years has seen the economy grow at a positively 8.3%
a year precisely because of the diversification of the rural economy. Threefourths of all new factories during this period came up in rural India.
With the idea of rural becoming dynamic and organic, the larger question raised
is how to keep pace with this dynamism? How exactly to appeal to this rural folk?
How to bring in genuine benefit for them all ad finally, how to win them over?
Holistic and overall development entails such progress aimed at all the four
fronts, namely education, health, employment and infrastructure. These
invariably are what formed the basis for the Multi Dimensional Index, formulated
by Prof.Amartya Sen to arrive at an assessment of the actual status of
development of the nation as a whole and the study area(region, city, district or
state) in particular.Let us, at first, take up the idea of education which is what
forms the backbone of a society. Educate a child and you can uplift the entire
populace in the vicinity of the child.Ideas as such, propagated from the days of
yore (yore because Independent India is over a 60 years old now) by our Prime
Minister Pt. Nehru and more still, by our very own Bapuji, found expression in the
Constitution in its Directive Principles and implemented through projects like the
SarbaSikshaAbhiyan or the National Literacy Mission. From eradicating illiteracy

to promoting education, India has still miles to go. For illiteracy in India sill looms
high, at a dismal rate of ......%. It is here w=here we can differentiate between
what ensues from the head and what the heart, painstakingly, seeks. We do
not need enrolments followed by school drop-outs. We do not need education
that cannot realise a childs dream of becoming financially independent later on
in life. Nor do we need a lifetime devoted to rote learning that is not
commensurate with the profession (s)he manages to acquire. Now that is
speaking my heart out! My heart yearns for an education that manages to give
four year old Mahesh from Rameswaram village in Tamil Nadu the sense of
empowerment owing to a stable profession. Such education that provides
economic sustenance for himself and his family. My heart seeks such a Mid Day
Meal Scheme that promises Raina from Koithalkuchi in Nalbaridistict, Assam a
nutritious diet to help gain the stamina for studying late in the night for the
upcoming Board exams. Because only then can she think of joining one of the
coveted seats in the good engineering institutes. My heart seeks encouraging
and motivating teachers, selfless workers and an efficient atmosphere at school.
Most importantly, I need to be able to participate in public discussions/ political
meetings so as to be able to voice my opinion from within the system; an opinion
that chooses to reform what is disdainful, initiate the idea of change and
reinvigorate the passion and spirit necessary to bring in the change. For the
sound functioning of democracy does not end with balloting and elections alone.
It instead thrives on public reasoning and the power to influence public choice. In
India, this idea finds its origin and practice in the early Indian Buddhists, who had
a great commitment to discussion as a means of social progress. That
commitment produced, among other results, some of the earliest open general
meetings in the world. The so-called Buddhist councils, which aimed at settling
disputes between different points of view, drew delegates from different places
and from different schools of thought. These councils were primarily concerned
with resolving differences in religious principles and practices, but they evidently
also addressed the demands of social and civic duties, and furthermore helped,
in a general way, to consolidate and promote the tradition of open discussion on
contentious issues. The association of emperor Ashoka in this context as
particularly significant as he was committed to making sure that public
discussion could take place without animosity or violence. This idea was therafter
strongly supported by the Mughal king Akbar by his stress on the pursuit of
reason rather than reliance on tradition. Public reasoning, which is central to
participatory governance, is part of a bigger picture thus. True education in rural
India will be possible only if it is complemented by active participation and
representation of students and children in such public discussions conducted by
the respective Ministry in collaboration with the Gaon Panchayat.
Which then is followed by the need for employment. The overall unemployment
in India is 9.4 percent and in the rural sector it is 10.1 percent. This percentage
is calculated on the total employed population in every sector, which comes to
37 persons per 1000 population in rural areas. The MGNREGS is a massive
project to achieve the same launched by the then UPA govt in 2005, it beingthe
brainchild of intellectuals and learned bureaucrats. The lopsided view is that

this scheme has been riddled with instances of embezzlement of funds and of
discrepant records. Sanskritisation of corruption in India has seeped deep into
the minds of its people, with corruption being an art inculcated in every family to
be professed and administered later on in life. Coming back to this idea of
winning rural India, I seek obliteration of this idea from deep within every soul. I
want that if I have the eligibility and the qualification, I will be chosen for the
post or the job thereof. As a sincere suggestion, direct recruitment to different
posts in the government departments, right from the job profile of a driver to the
supervising staff should take place through conduct of entrance exams on a
regular basis by such competent bodies comprising of retired veterans, learned
professionals not from within the political plethora. To check malpractices of
corruption, we need to reinstate vigilant and neutral bodies at the grassroots
level, wherein such practices are rampant. The porter today pays money
amounting to several thousands to get his licence for work. It is a pity we deem
ourselves to be free from the licence Raj only to be trapped by our own in the
guise of the same. I seek a complete overhaul of the system through
computerization of records, bringing in technical competency at the workplace
and replacement of the status quo, laid back as it is with electronic tools and
techniques. Taking a cue from the ways of the banking sector in India which has
been seen to be transparent and clean in its functioning, the success owing to
the shift from manual deskwork to ICT and electronic services sets for us a
precedent.

When it comes to health, we need a more holistic understanding of as to what

constitutes health. For if we mean food security, the society is witness to plenty
of government schemes namely the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, with an outlay
of Rs. 2500 crore or the National Food Security Mission of Rs. 6000 crore. That
goes for the head. What we actually need is ensuring nutrition security in the
truest sense of the term. If we are providing Mid Day Meal Scheme to small
children let us make sure we have it provided in the meal the essential nutrients
and supplements. Let us not address the issue of an empty stomach alone. Let
us make sure the total health of the child improves. Hidden hunger caused by
the deficiency of micro nutrients like iron, iodine, zinc, vitamin A, Vitamin B12 is
affecting over forty percent of the population. The most cost effective and
speedy way for overcoming this problem is thgrough hortivculture remedies. At
the same time animal nutrition also requires greater attention because if the
latter are underfed, nutrition will be a far fetched dream. Fodder and food banks
need to be developed with the help of local Self Help Groups. Green house
horticulture needs to be promoted besides Soil Carbon Banks through fertilizer
trees, which enhance soil nutrition status. Social forestry which involves
community partcicipation, agro forestry where both agriculture and forest trees
are grown need to be given impetus. A village resource centre with Satellite
connectivity to bring in preparedness against climatic calamities that could harm
crops also needs to be established in every rural area. Seed Banks containing
alternate seeds to be sown in the advent of failure of a particluar crop, Fodder
and Feed Bank to cater to the needs of the farm animals should be set up.

Technical training to atleast a group of individuals regarding crops, methods of

cultivation and protection against climatic risk should be imparted on a regular
basis by such NGOs in collaboration with the MoRD and Gram Panchayats. In this
context the role of the potato and hence forth the stratehy to target potato
cultivation, it being a nutritious and versatile food item, and less susceptoible to
the vagaries oif the international markets. Moreover this crop is suited to land
which is limited, harsher climates, a fit case for India where such land is aplenty.
A medium size potato, far from being fattening,, when boiled with the skin,
provides about 100 calories, 26 grams carbohydrates, zero cholesterol, about 4
grams of protein, 3 grams of fibre, about half the daoily adult requirements of
Vitamin C, as well as significant amounts of iron, potassium, zinc, thiamine,
niacin and Vitamin B6.
Soil testing, green manuring, use of quality compost should be encouraged over
prevalent methods and practices.
When it comes to food and nutrition security, the concern with storage and
distribution of food grains, vegetables and pulses is a lurking issue. The Minimum
Support Price is a strategy of the government to make sure the farmers get a
remunerative price for their produce, the former being declared for 25 crops. But
sadly what has happened in India is that MSPs have become a matter of choice,
than being the case of the last resort, which was the basic idea behind their
introduction. This ha sled to serious distortions. Instead the government should
direct subsidies to the farmers in the form of seeds, fertilizers, irrigation so that
we increase the area under cultivation and the yields simultaneously so that
farmers get higher income without distorting the prices. In fact migration to
pulses and oilseeds should be rewarded with incentives such as more supply of
water. Because the need of the hour is increasing the productivity of th eland,
the yield per hectare and the case of nutrition security. Then comes the issue of
stirage and procurement of foodgrains and pulses. The Food Corporation of India
should make use of the electronic spot and the futures market, such that beyond
a stipulated limit, the farm produce are sold in the open market through spot and
futures. Thus the procurement costs are reduced, private players can directly
buy, henc e reducing wastage of the produce in the store houses and also
mitigating the upperhand the big farmers enjoy by way of buying the excess
from the small farmers at nominal rates. Infact the government should allow
farmers to take part directly in the spot and the futures market to sell their
produce. This will go a long way in overhauling the entire agriculuture scenario in
In dia.