CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF INFRASTRUCTURE IN RURAL INDIA

India’s soul lies in the villages. India is an agricultural country.  According to the 2011 census, the total population of our country is 121.02 crores. Majority of India i.e. 68.84% resides in the village. Infrastructure has a vital role in the socio-economic development of any country.

Even today, in the villages of India, agriculture and its related industries are the main pillars of livelihood and employment. In such a situation it is unfair to talk about the progress and development of the village without prosperity of the farmers. According to Charles Metcalfe “ The Village Communities are Little Republic ”.

For the economic and social development of any country basic infrastructure like housing, electricity, roads, water, health and education are essential. The economic prosperity in rural India can be achieved if the critical issues of physical connectivity, electronic connectivity and knowledge connectivity are addressed effectively. Critical Appraisal of the current infrastructure available in the village and the efforts made by the government.

Housing is the basic necessity for any individual. The Government took major step towards ensuring that people can get house within their financial capability. The Government launched Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Gramin (PMAY-G). This scheme will help to achieve housing for all in rural areas. The housing scheme will have linkages with Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or national cleanliness mission to ensure toilets in each house.

The Central Government constructed Sansad Aadarsh Gram Yojana to provide advanced infrastructure and better opportunities to the people living in the villages. Every Member of Parliament (Sansad) has the responsibility to develop a basic and institutional structure in three villages by the year 2019. Hereafter, five such ideal villages (one village every year) will be selected and their development work will be completed by 2024.

To provide the facility of electricity, the Central Government has introduced Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana. The goal of this scheme is to develop different feeder facilities for agricultural and non-agricultural consumers in the villages.

A large part of India especially mountainous areas and remote villages are cut off from the network of roads, which need to be connected. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana has connected remote hamlets to the national highways. Due to this road connectivity, it is possible for producers of perishable produce such as milk, vegetables etc. to sell these to consumers in nearby town or city.

To bring uniformity in investment in irrigation the Government launched Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana. Under the scheme, those states will also get a chance to grow good crop, where there is no rain.

To provide more options to farmers for selling their agricultural products Rashtriya E-Krishi Bazaar Yojana is launched. At present, farmers can sell their produce only in mandis, where they have to pay a variety of taxes. The online agricultural market is expected to allow farmers to sell their products through both mandis and online platforms.

The Government launched Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. The advantage of this scheme is that the risk of the crop from sowing to harvesting and bringing the produce to the barn is included it means in any case, if there is any damage to the crop until the crop or harvesting arrives the farmer’s house then the farmer will get the full benefit of the insurance.

The Council for the Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART) was founded with collaboration of two Agencies – Council For Advancement of Rural Technology (CART) and People’s Action for Development (India) (PADI). CAPART makes a big contribution to the expansion of rural development in India, whose programs include planning, public cooperation, rural technology, empowerment, youth entrepreneurs, Prime Minister Rural Development Fellows Scheme etc.

The Government launched Deen Dayal Upadhyaya gramin Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY). This scheme aims to skill rural youth who are poor and provide them with jobs having regular monthly wages or above the minimum wages. It is initiative of Government of India that seeks to promote rural livelihoods. It is a part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission(NRLM) – the Mission for poverty reduction.

Even if there are infrastructure facility like roads, electricity, water etc. but nothing is possible without mobile and internet. Information and communication technology plays very important role for the development of India. Keeping this in view, the Government is establishing public and community information centers in every village of the country, where facilities of computer and internet are available.

India is the land where the majority of the people live in the villages. So the prosperity of India will never be complete without the prosperity of Rural India. For the economic development and better future of the country, the road of the villages should be linked to the city, strengthen the communication system, ensure clean drinking water, rural housing facility and facility of electricity should be provided. If we have to stop the migration from the village then priority will be given to develop the village. People should be encouraged to stay in the village as living in the village is not only cheap but it is also good for health because of being friendly environment and this will not increase the burden on the cities.