Rural Planning in India

Rural Planning in India is an area of prime importance for the Ministry of Rural Development. As part of the Planning objectives in India, Rural Planning needs to reflect growth and social justice. Growth in the rural sector is the key to social and economic development of India.

The Government of India has stated its policy objective as achieving 'Samagra Gramin Vikas' which means catering to the basic necessities and demands of the rural scenario. Hence, the Ministry of Rural Development has been playing a key role in organizing life improvement programs and other schemes for the development of rural India.

The departments of the Ministry of Rural Development established to facilitate rural needs have been enlisted below:

Department of Land Resources- (i) Land Reforms Division and (ii) Wastelands Development Division

Department of Rural Development

Department of Drinking Water Supply

Rural Planning in India is based on various issues. The chief areas of development include:

Rural infrastructure habitant development
Poverty reduction
Provision of basic minimum service
Employment generation
Making available basic necessities

In order to meet these needs of rural India, the Indian Government had launched various rural schemes. A brief description of those schemes has been given below:

Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana (SGRY): A self employment program for the rural people in which all necessary financial help, infrastructure, training, etc is given

Rural Housing (Indira Awaas Yojana): A former sub-scheme of Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme, IAY facilitates the construction of houses for the rural homeless and deprived. The vision is to establish pucca houses for all by the arrival of the 11th Plan.

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY): A scheme aiming at increasing connectivity to unreached rural areas with a population of minimum 500 and hilly and desert areas having a population of minimum 250.

Training Schemes: Institutions like NIRD have taken up endeavours in training, seminars, workshops, and international programs.

Other programs and schemes facilitating rural planning are Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme, Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana (JGSY), Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP), and Integrated Wastelands Development Programme (IWDP).

Rural Planning in India has indeed become an integral part of the development of the country's economy and the Ministry of Rural Development is playing a pivotal role in this regard.

Last updated on 4/28/2011