RURAL DEVELOPMENT – SHORT NOTES
1. COMMERCIAL BANKS - RBI directs banks to give short, medium & long-term farm loans. -
Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) for short-term credit. - Poor farmers struggle to get loans due to lack of
collateral. - Many villages lack bank branches.
2. REGIONAL RURAL BANKS (RRBs) - Joint venture: Central + State governments. - Provide
loans to rural people at low interest. - Operate in rural areas.
3. CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES - Self-governing, non-profit institutions (e.g., Amul). - Membership
voluntary; each member contributes. - Provide fair prices & low-interest loans without collateral. -
Managed democratically.
4. NABARD - Established in 1982 as apex rural finance institution. - Funds rural credit institutions;
trains staff. - Evaluates & supervises RRBs, cooperative banks, etc.
5. INFORMAL CREDIT SOURCES - Include moneylenders, friends, traders, landlords. - Easy
access but high interest, exploitation, debt traps.
6. PROBLEMS WITH FORMAL CREDIT - Banks demand collateral, documents. - Poor seen as
non-creditworthy. - Limited village branches.
7. SELF HELP GROUPS (SHGs) - 10–20 women form savings & loan group. - Provide microcredit,
promote savings & self-employment. - Help women’s empowerment. - SHG funds act as collateral
for bank loans.
8. RURAL CREDIT – APPRAISAL Advantages: - Boosted rural output, food security, employment. -
Supported Green Revolution, new tech adoption. Disadvantages: - Poor loan recovery, defaults,
weak deposit mobilization.
9. PRADHAN MANTRI JAN DHAN YOJANA (PMJDY) - 2014: Financial inclusion mission. -
No-minimum-balance accounts, RuPay card, insurance, overdraft ■10,000. - Enabled DBT,
insurance & pension schemes. - 40+ crore accounts opened; ■1.4 lakh crore mobilized.
10. PROBLEMS IN AGRICULTURAL MARKETING - Cheating, low prices, lack of storage & roads.
- Too many middlemen → low farmer profit.
11. GOVERNMENT MEASURES FOR MARKETING - Regulated markets for fair trade. -
Infrastructure: roads, warehouses, cold storages. - Cooperative marketing societies. - MSP, Buffer
Stocks, PDS to stabilize income & prices.
12. FARMERS’ MARKETS - Direct sale to consumers → no middlemen. - Examples: Apni Mandi
(Punjab), Rythu Bazar (Telangana). - Contract farming ensures stable prices.
13. AGRICULTURAL DIVERSIFICATION - Shift from rice/wheat to varied crops + allied activities
(livestock, poultry, fisheries). - Reduces dependence on monsoon, increases income.
14. ANIMAL HUSBANDRY - Mixed crop-livestock system; provides food, manure, fuel. - Source of
income for 70+ million farmers.
15. OPERATION FLOOD - Boosted milk production tenfold (1951–2016). - Cooperative model
ensures fair prices (e.g., Amul). - Major milk states: Gujarat, UP, AP, Maharashtra, etc.
16. FISHERIES - 65% inland, 35% marine output. - Contributes 0.9% to GDP. - Issues: poverty, low
earnings, illiteracy. - Need for SHG/cooperative-based credit.
17. HORTICULTURE - Grows fruits, vegetables, spices, flowers. - 1/3 of agri output; 6% of GDP. -
Improves farmers’ income, provides jobs (esp. women). - Needs better tech, credit & cold storage.
18. FORESTRY - Scientific use of forest resources for income.
19. SERICULTURE - Rearing silkworms for silk. - Reduces rural poverty & unemployment.
20. NON-FARM ACTIVITIES - Reduce land pressure, provide off-season jobs. - Help poverty
reduction & income stability.
21. IMPORTANCE OF DIVERSIFICATION - Reduces monsoon risk & disguised unemployment. -
Improves income & living standards.
22. ORGANIC FARMING - Uses bio-manure & pest control; no chemicals. Benefits: eco-friendly,
soil health, export demand, job creation. Limitations: low yield, lack of awareness, marketing &
inputs.
23. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT - Helps locate food-insecure
areas. - Provides farmers info on crops, tech & markets. - Generates rural jobs.