India 2018

462 India 2018
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Rural and
Urban Development
INDIA has been a welfare state since independence and the primary objective
of all governmental endeavours has been the welfare of its people. The policies
and programmes have been designed with the aim of alleviation of rural poverty
which has been one of the primary objectives of planned development in India.
It was realized that a sustainable strategy of poverty alleviation has to be based
on increasing the productive employment opportunities in the process of growth
itself. Elimination of poverty, ignorance, diseases and inequality of opportunities
and providing a better and higher quality of life were the basic premise upon
which all the plans and blue-prints of development were built. Rural
development implies both the economic betterment of people as well as greater
social transformation. In order to provide the rural people with better prospects
for economic development, increased participation of people in the rural
development programmes, decentralization of planning, better enforcement of
land reforms and greater access to credit are envisaged. Initially, main thrust
for development was laid on agriculture, industry, communication, education,
health and allied sectors but later on it was realized that accelerated development
can be provided only if governmental efforts were adequately supplemented
by direct and indirect involvement of people at the grassroot level.
Accordingly, in 1952, an organization known as Community Projects
Administration was set up under the Planning Commission to administer the
programmes relating to community development. The Community
Development Programme, inaugurated in 1952, was an important landmark in
the history of rural development. This programme underwent many changes
and was handled by different ministries. In October, 1974, the Department of
Rural Development came into existence as a part of Ministry of Food and
Agriculture. In August, 1979, this Department was elevated to the status of a
new Ministry of Rural Reconstruction. That ministry was renamed as Ministry
of Rural Development and again converted into a Department under the
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. It was later rechristened as
Ministry of Agriculture in September, 1985. In 1991 the Department was
upgraded as Ministry of Rural Development. Another Department viz.,
Department of Wasteland Development was created under this ministry in 1992.
The Ministry was again renamed as the Ministry of Rural Development in
1999 with three departments viz., Department of Rural Development,
Department of Land Resources and Department of Drinking Water and
Sanitation. The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation was made a
separate Ministry from July 2011. Presently, the Ministry of Rural Development