Key Notes: Rural Development | Economics Class 12 - Commerce PDF Download

Introduction:

• Rural development aims to improve economic and social conditions in rural areas.
• Key areas of improvement: employment opportunities, agricultural productivity.
• Significance: Over two-thirds of the population dependent on agriculture, one-third living below the poverty line.

Objectives of Rural Development:

• Enhancing agricultural sector productivity.
• Creating supplementary sources of income.
• Improving education and healthcare facilities.
• Developing infrastructure.
• Enhancing human resource development.
• Mitigating poverty.

Key Initiatives in Rural Development:

• Crop diversification.
• Organic farming.
• Human resource development.
• Improved healthcare.
• Sustainable livelihood alternatives.

Rural Credit in India:

• Historical dependence on moneylenders.
• Introduction of social banking in 1969.
• Role of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
• Various financial institutions supporting rural credit.

Sources of Rural Credit:

• Informal sources (moneylenders, relatives, traders).
• Formal sources (cooperative credit, commercial banks, government institutions, NABARD, self-help groups).

Reasons for Rural Credit:

• Extended time lag between sowing and revenue.
• Input purchases (seeds, fertilizers).
• Personal expenditures.
• Support for agricultural marketing.

Agricultural Marketing:

• Involves assembling, storing, processing, transporting, and distributing agricultural commodities.
• Measures to improve marketing: regulated markets, cooperative marketing, infrastructural facilities, standardization and grading.

Policy Instruments:

• Minimum Support Price.
• Buffer Stock.
• Public Distribution System.

Diversification of Agricultural Activity:

• Promoting crop diversification and non-agricultural activities.
• Animal husbandry, fisheries, horticulture, IT industries.
• Goal: Sustainable livelihoods beyond farming.

Role of IT Industries in Agriculture Development:

• Information technology's impact on agriculture.
• Predicting food insecurity and vulnerability.
• Circulating information on technologies, prices, and weather.
• Making every village a knowledge center.

Organic Farming:

• Cultivation without synthetic chemicals or GMOs.
• Advantages: affordability, export potential, nutrition.
• Disadvantages: lack of awareness, infrastructure, high production costs.

Operation Flood:

• Milk cooperative network launched in 1966.
• Focus on milk collection through cooperatives.
• Success in increasing milk production and market value.

Conclusion:

• Rural sector development is crucial.
• Need for diversification into various industries.
• Infrastructure development, farmer-friendly policies, and communication are key to rural transformation.