Since Independence India has made a significant progress in various sectors of rural development. Efforts have been made to bring about rapid and sustainable development and socio-economic transformation in rural India with an integrated approach towards improving the quality of life of rural poor and ensuring equity and effective people’s participation. The thrust of rural development programmes has been to make a frontal attack on poverty through special employment generation programmes, productive asset transfer through institutional credit and subsidy programmes and programmes of rural housing, drinking water and sanitation. Strong thrust has been given to social security programmes for providing assistance to the destitutes and poor families. The Government has undertaken development of wastelands, desert and drought prone areas and land reforms in the country. Assistance and encouragement to voluntary agencies and training of functionaries of rural development forms part of the emphasis on accelerated rural development. Any strategy for rural development must involve the people themselves and their institutions at all levels. The need for revitalising Panchayati Raj Institutions has, therefore, been recognised as an instrument for participative planning and implementation of various development programmes at grassroot level. The Government is constantly endeavouring to empower the Panchayati Raj Institutions in terms of functions, powers and finance. Agriculture plays an important role in the rural development. The Agricultural Sector provides livelihood to about sixty-four per cent of the labour force, contributes nearly twenty-six per cent of Gross Domestic Product and accounts for about eighteen per cent share of the total value of country’s exports. It supplies bulk of wage goods required by the non-agricultural sector and raw materials for large section of industry. The Volume studies the problems, policies and programmes of rural development. It has a wide coverage and includes papers written by experts spread over the whole country. It is hoped that the book will prove very useful to the researchers and students of Economics, government executives concerned with the formulation and execution of policies for rural development, parliamentarians and legislators, and the common readers interested in rural development.

Table of Contents:
1. Reforming Rural Credit Institutions in Uttar Pradesh 2. Marine Product Exports from India Under Economic Liberalization Policy 3. WTO and India’s Export of Agricultural Products : Challenges and Opportunities 4. Agricultural Policy in Tenth Five Year Plan 5. Public Distribution System and Food Security 6. Forests Policy in Tenth Five Year Plan 7. Promotion of Rural Employment 8. Special Employment Programmes for the Rural Poor 9. Bio-Mass Energy Resource Development in India : with Special Reference to Uttar Pradesh 10. Progress, Problems and Prospects of Floriculture : An Economic Analysis with Special Reference to West Bengal 11. Rural Development Schemes –Panchayati Raj –Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana –Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana –Employment Assurance Scheme –Rural Housing –National Social Assistance Programme –Training –Council for Advancement of People’s Action & Rural Technology (CAPART) –DRDA Administration –Monitoring and Evaluation –Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission –Centrally Sponsored Rural Sanitation Programme –Drought Prone Areas Progamme –Desert Development Programme –Wastelands Development –Land Reforms (LR) –Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Computerisation of Land Records –Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Strengthening of Revenue Administration and Updating of Land Records (SRA & ULR)