Orient BlackSwan

About the BookAbout the Author

India is a large country with significant social, cultural and ecological diversity reflected in the realities of its rural society and developmental processes. The economic policies and developmental initiatives since independence, pursued largely from a common national perspective, have helped in the political and economic integration of various states and regions. Inter-regional differences nevertheless persist and the disparities have significantly changed in the last six decades. Regions have transformed and have become more complex, with disparities now visible even at a sub-regional level.

This Report explores certain facets of rural transformations in their regional contexts. It brings together existing research by eminent scholars who have done extensive work on regional disparities on the following themes:

Natural resource endowments and groundwater irrigation
Backwardness within regions and districts
Market integration and development of commodity markets
Non-farm employment
Inclusion of dalits and adivasis in the business economy
Social movements and regions

The Report goes beyond studying regional disparities and constructs regional typologies in order to formulate policy. This is because it has become clear that ‘one-size-fits-all’ policies do not work. The emergence of new regions requires appropriate policy changes to accommodate diverse needs and aspirations.

The Report also provides a comprehensive update on the state of rural development based on various new data available in the public domain since the release of the previous India Rural Development Reportin2013.

It will continue to be an invaluable resource for policy-makers at the Centre and in the states, local bodies and corporates engaged with the rural sector. Students, scholars and researchers too will find it immensely useful.

DFC Rural Development Network

What is IDFC Rural Development Network?

IDFC Foundation has partnered with three leading institutions to form the IDFC Rural Development Network.

IDFC Foundation

IDFC Limited was incorporated in 1997 as India’s first specialised infrastructure financing intermediary in order to address the growing requirements of various infrastructure sectors. IDFC Foundation’s activities, which are aimed at strengthening the delivery of public infrastructure services, include policy advocacy and research, programme support and advisory services, capacity building and community engagement programmes

The Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS), Hyderabad

The Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA)

The Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR)