Posted On: 2022-02-04 15:09:47
What is a Rural area?
Rural areas are also known as the 'countryside' or a 'village' in India. It has a very low inhabitants density. In rural areas, agriculture is the chief source of livelihood along with agriculture, fishing, cottage industries, pottery etc.
The quest to discover the real rural India continues in great earnest. Almost every financial agency today has a description of rural India. According to the Planning Commission, a town with the highest population of 15,000 is considered rural. In these areas, the panchayat makes all the decisions. More than 70% of India’s population lives in rural areas.
From 2008 to 2018 there has been a steady decline in the percentage of the population living in rural areas of India, due to migration. A lockdown was enforced in India starting from 24th March to 31st May 2020 to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Forced by the pandemic, the threatening choice between ‘life’ and ‘livelihood’ had to be made and many were left with no alternative but to migrate back to their villages which was their most familiar place which raised a lot of risks and troubles for the migrants.
Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between the total population and the urban population. The combination of urban and rural populations may not add up to the total population because of different country coverages.
India's rural population for 2020 was 898,024,053, a 0.29% increase from 2019.
India's rural population for 2019 was 895,386,227, a 0.34% increase from 2018.
What is the status of the rural area?
Despite several development policies embraced by the government, the widening economic, provincial and gender disparities are posing challenges for the health sector. About 75% of medical infrastructure, medical manpower and other health resources are concentrated in urban areas where 27% of the population live while the rest stay in rural areas. Contagious, infectious and waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea, amoebiasis, typhoid, infectious hepatitis, worm infestations, measles, malaria, tuberculosis, whooping cough, respiratory infections, pneumonia and reproductive tract infections dominate the morbidity pattern, mainly in rural areas. However, non-communicable diseases such as cancer, blindness, mental illness, hypertension, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, accidents and injuries are also on the rise. The health status of Indians, is still a cause for grave concern, especially that of the rural population. This is reflected in the life expectancy (69 years), the infant mortality rate (80/1000 live births), the maternal mortality rate (438/100 000 live births). As per 2019 records(pre covid), there were 9.3 deaths per 1,000 population in rural areas, compared to 6.3 in urban areas.
Lack of awareness, knowledge and hesitation to submit to change and treatment make the rural population more susceptible to many diseases, especially during covid spread and the problem is compounded by the fact that most of the medical infrastructure, especially the tertiary centres, is focused on the cities, where serious patients from the villages are headed, in the hope of finding treatment.
Why is it important to develop the rural area?
The rural economy holds considerable potential for creating proper and productive jobs and contributing to sustainable growth and economic growth. It accounts for a significant share of employment and output in many developing countries but is widely represented by severe decent work deficits and poverty, hosting nearly 80 percent of the world’s poor.
According to the National Sample Survey (NSS), rural women make up 81.29% of the female workforce in India. The statistic includes both marginal and main workers. In today’s world skill development in rural India is highly important. Lack of proper education and skill development restricts people from the opportunities for self-advancement by limiting their access to well-paid employment. Hence this deters them from making influential assistance to economic growth and from having opportunities in their lives to build a satisfying and healthy lifestyle.
Sustainable rural development is essential and important to the economic sector, social and environmental viability of nations. It is vital for poverty eradication since global poverty is majorly rural. It is therefore critical that rural development endeavours to build endurable livelihoods through measures at the global, regional, national and local levels, as appropriate must be done by coordinating. Techniques to deal with rural development should take into consideration the remoteness and possibilities in rural areas and provide targeted differentiated approaches.
A healthy and vigorous agricultural sector is an important foundation of rural development, developing strong ties to other economic sectors. Rural livelihoods are enhanced through compelling participation of rural people and rural communities in the leadership of their own social, economic and environmental objectives by empowering people in rural areas, especially women and youth, including through organizations such as local panchayats.
Commonly, rural development is centred on the non optimal usage of land-intensive natural resources such as forestry and agriculture. However, today, the developing urbanisation and the difference in global production networks have altered the nature of rural areas.
Rural development remains the centre of the overall development of the country. More than two-thirds of the country’s people are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood, and majority of rural India is still below the poverty line. Therefore, the government needs to be productive and provide enough facilities to upgrade the standard of living in these areas.
Rural development is a term that focuses on the actions carried out for the development of rural areas to improve the economy. However, a few areas that demand more focused concentration and new endeavours are:
Education
Public health and Sanitation
Access to clean water
Women empowerment/ Skill development
Zero Hunger
Infrastructure development (electricity, irrigation, etc.)
Facilities for agriculture extension and research
Availability of credit
Employment opportunities
Rural development is important not only for the majority of the population residing in rural areas but also for the overall economic expansion of the nation.
Rural development is prioritized to be one of noticeable importance in the country today than in the olden days in the process of the development of the nation. It is a strategy that tries to obtain improved productivity, higher socio-economic equality and endeavour, and solidity in social and economic development.
How can Crowdfunding help?
Crowdfunding plays an important role in the rural development sector. Many small NGOs and organizations that have no source to fund their cause, can raise campaigns online and get support from the crowd that believes in the cause. One such NGO is DEEP JANSEVA SAMITI. The mission that they carry is to help the underprivileged sections of society. They have raised a campaign to help the hungry on Filaantro, an online crowdfunding platform. They have supported more than 1000 families by providing them ration kits, medical supplies and other support items. They aim to increase this support with the help of the crowdfunding platform.
To support, click the link below. https://filaantro.org/fundraiser/view/human-distress-issue-Pandemic-times#
Almost half of the population of the world lives in rural regions and mostly in a state of poverty. Such inequalities in human development have been one of the primary reasons for unrest and, in some parts of the world, even violence.
- Abdul Kalam
Author : Lubdha Dhanopia
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