India Rural Development Report 2012-13/ IDFC Rural Development Network

Chapter One: Rural Dynamics ........................................................................................................................3
1.1 Increased Blurring of Rural-Urban Boundaries...............................................................................3
1.2 Smallholder Farming Has Become the Bedrock of Rural Life .......................................................4
1.3 Increasing Agrarian Commercialisation and Risk ...........................................................................5
1.4 Rise in Rural Non-farm Employment: Distress or Opportunity?.................................................6
1.5 Th e Declining Role of the Agrarian Economy: Social and Political Consequences ....................7
1.6 Exploitation of Natural Resources ....................................................................................................8
1.7 Contours of Regional Inequality and Social Deprivation .............................................................10
1.8 Th e Gradual but Irrevocable Movement Towards Political Decentralisation ............................11
Chapter Two: Livelihoods.................................................................................................................................................... 17
2.1 Rural Income and Employment: Paradoxes, Challenges and Prospects.......................................................... 18
2.2 Features of the Agrarian Economy....................................................................................................................... 18
2.2.1 Phases of Agricultural Growth and Policy Interventions ..................................................................... 20
2.2.2 Growing Fragmentation of Landholdings .............................................................................................. 21
2.2.3 Shift Towards Commercial Farming and Livestock............................................................................... 22
2.2.4 Continued Prevalence of Dryland and Rainfed Farming ...................................................................... 23
2.3 Key Issues in Sustaining Farm Livelihoods......................................................................................................... 24
2.3.1 Land............................................................................................................................................................. 24
2.3.2 Access to Credit ......................................................................................................................................... 25
2.3.3 Lack of Productivity Breakthrough ......................................................................................................... 27
2.3.4 Increasing Cost of Cultivation.................................................................................................................. 27
2.3.5 Viability of Smallholder Farming ............................................................................................................ 28
2.3.6 Agricultural Marketing ............................................................................................................................. 29
2.4 Responding to a Changing Agrarian Economy .................................................................................................. 30
2.4.1 Sustainable Agriculture............................................................................................................................. 30
2.4.2 Collective Farming ..................................................................................................................................... 31
2.4.3 Diversification: Growth of Livestock....................................................................................................... 32
2.4.4 Insurance..................................................................................................................................................... 33
2.5 Significance of the Rural Non-farm Sector......................................................................................................... 33
2.5.1 Non-farm Sector is the Source of Most New Rural Jobs ..................................................................... 34
2.5.2 What is Driving Non-farm Growth? The Debate................................................................................. 34
2.5.3 Types of Non-farm Jobs and Key Trends............................................................................................... 35
2.5.4 The Marked Casualisation of the Labour Force..................................................................................... 38
2.5.5 The Evolving Social Dynamics of the Village......................................................................................... 38
2.6 Barriers to Rural Non-farm Livelihoods............................................................................................................. 39
2.6.1 Financial Exclusion.................................................................................................................................... 40
2.6.2 Marketing of Non-farm Products............................................................................................................ 41
2.6.3 Skills............................................................................................................................................................ 42
2.7 National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM): Aajeevika................................................................................ 43
Chapter Three: Inclusion...................................................................................................................................................... 57
3.1 Growth, Poverty and Inequality ........................................................................................................................... 59
3.1.1 Growth in Real Consumption.................................................................................................................. 59
3.1.2 How is Growth Distributed?.................................................................................................................... 59
3.1.3 Trends in Inequality .................................................................................................................................. 59
3.1.4 Trends in Incidence of Poverty................................................................................................................. 61
3.1.5 Depth and Severity of Poverty ................................................................................................................. 63
3.1.6 Poverty Across States................................................................................................................................ 63
3.1.7 Poverty Among Social and Occupational Groups................................................................................. 65
3.1.8 How Responsive is Poverty to Growth?.................................................................................................. 67
3.1.9 What Does the Recent Consumer Expenditure Survey 2011–12 Reveal? ........................................ 68
3.2 Human Development............................................................................................................................................ 69
3.2.1 Human Development Index..................................................................................................................... 69
3.3 Education ................................................................................................................................................................ 71
3.3.1 Progress....................................................................................................................................................... 71
3.3.2 Demand for Private Education................................................................................................................. 74
3.3.3 Learning Outcomes................................................................................................................................... 74
3.3.4 What Affects Learning Outcomes? ......................................................................................................... 75
3.3.5 A Critical Review of Policies and Programmes...................................................................................... 77
3.4 Food and Nutritional Security ............................................................................................................................. 78
3.4.1 Nutritional Status...................................................................................................................................... 79
3.4.2 What Causes Poor Nutritional Outcomes Among Children............................................................... 80
3.4.3 Nutritional Security Interventions.......................................................................................................... 81
3.5 Health...................................................................................................................................................................... 81
3.5.1 The State of Rural Health ........................................................................................................................ 82
3.5.2 Regional Disparities in Health Status..................................................................................................... 84
3.5.3 Social Inequities in Nutrition and Health Outcomes........................................................................... 87
3.5.4 Challenges in the Rural Healthcare System ........................................................................................... 89
3.5.5 Government Efforts................................................................................................................................... 90
3.6 Social Protection .................................................................................................................................................... 92
3.6.1 Overview of India’s Social Protection System........................................................................................ 92
3.6.2 Social Assistance Programmes................................................................................................................. 95
3.7 The Way Forward................................................................................................................................................... 99
Chapter Four: Infrastructure............................................................................................................................................. 115
4.1 Rural Infrastructure: An Overview.................................................................................................................... 116
4.2 Roads..................................................................................................................................................................... 120
4.2.1 All-weather Rural Roads ........................................................................................................................ 121
4.2.2 Challenges................................................................................................................................................. 122
4.2.3 The Way Forward .................................................................................................................................... 124
4.3 Energy.................................................................................................................................................................... 126
4.3.1 Electricity.................................................................................................................................................. 126
4.3.2 Use of Biomass for Cooking ................................................................................................................... 130
4.3.3 The Way Forward .................................................................................................................................... 132
4.4 Water and Sanitation........................................................................................................................................... 133
4.4.1 Irrigation ................................................................................................................................................... 133
4.4.2 Drinking Water........................................................................................................................................ 135
4.4.3 Sanitation.................................................................................................................................................. 139
4.4.4 The Way Forward .................................................................................................................................... 143
4.5 Housing ................................................................................................................................................................ 145
4.5.1 Status of Rural Housing ......................................................................................................................... 145
4.5.2 Challenges in Building Permanent Housing......................................................................................... 145
4.5.3 Central and State Governments’ Contribution to Rural Housing ..................................................... 147
4.5.4 The Way Forward .................................................................................................................................... 148
4.6 Telecommunications............................................................................................................................................ 149
4.6.1 Status of Communications..................................................................................................................... 150
4.6.2 Review of Government Programmes and Policies............................................................................... 152
4.6.3 The Way Forward .................................................................................................................................... 153
4.7 Storage .................................................................................................................................................................. 153
4.7.1 Government Interventions...................................................................................................................... 154
4.7.2 Policy for Private Sector Participation not Conducive to Competition ............................................ 155
4.7.3 Warehouse (Development and Regulation) Act, 2007 ....................................................................... 156
4.7.4 The Way Forward .................................................................................................................................... 157
4.8 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................ 157

Inspiring Stories.................................................................................................................between 170–171
Chapter Five: Sustainability.............................................................................................................................................. 174
5.1 Balancing Livelihoods and Natural Resource Conservation........................................................................... 174
5.2 Land....................................................................................................................................................................... 174
5.2.1 Declining Land Availability .................................................................................................................... 175
5.2.2 Land Degradation.................................................................................................................................... 175
5.2.3 Common Property Resources................................................................................................................ 177
5.2.4 Alleviation Efforts.................................................................................................................................... 179
5.3 Forests.................................................................................................................................................................... 181
5.3.1 Changes in Forest Cover......................................................................................................................... 181
5.3.2 The Disenfranchisement of Forest Dwellers........................................................................................ 182
5.3.3 Initiatives for Afforestation and Forest Protection .............................................................................. 184
5.3.4 Legislative Support for Community Management: PESA and FRA................................................ 185
5.4 Water..................................................................................................................................................................... 187
5.4.1 Water Resources: Imbalances in Availability and Use......................................................................... 187
5.4.2 Surface Water........................................................................................................................................... 188
5.4.3 Groundwater............................................................................................................................................ 189
5.4.4 Alleviation Efforts.................................................................................................................................... 190
5.5 Fishery ................................................................................................................................................................... 192
5.5.1 Marine Fishery ......................................................................................................................................... 193
5.5.2 Inland Fishery........................................................................................................................................... 194
5.6 Climate Change.................................................................................................................................................... 194
5.6.1 Impacts of Climate Change.................................................................................................................... 195
5.6.2 Government Action................................................................................................................................. 195
5.6.3 Rural Adaptation to Climate Change.................................................................................................... 196
5.6.4 Funding Climate Change Projects......................................................................................................... 197
5.7 The Way Forward................................................................................................................................................. 19
Chapter Six: Pris for Local Self-Governance and Rural Development................................................................... 209
6.1 The Need for Bottom-up Governance............................................................................................................... 210
6.2 The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992............................................................................................. 211
6.3 Assessing Two Decades of PRIs Under the 73rd CAA................................................................................... 213
6.3.1 Implementing the Letter and Spirit of the Act..................................................................................... 213
6.3.2 Challenges in PRI Functioning .............................................................................................................. 220
6.3.3 Assessing PRI Performance in Flagship Programmes......................................................................... 224
6.4 Extending the 73rd CAA to Marginalised Populations.................................................................................. 227
6.4.1 The Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) (PESA) Act, 1996 ............................................... 227
6.4.2 Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights)
Act, 2006 (FRA)...................................................................................................................................... 228
6.5 Where Do We Stand Two Decades Later?....................................................................................................... 230
6.6 The Way Forward................................................................................................................................................. 231
PART 2
Chapter Seven: Performance of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme......... 239
7.1 MGNREGA: A Vision for Employment Guarantee and Beyond................................................................. 240
7.2 The Letter and Spirit of the Act......................................................................................................................... 240
7.3 Bottom-up Implementation Framework .......................................................................................................... 242
7.4 Nationwide Coverage and Effectiveness............................................................................................................ 243
7.4.1 Registration and Issuance of Job Cards................................................................................................. 245
7.4.2 Demand, Actual Participation and Unmet Demand........................................................................... 246
7.4.3 Comparing Effectiveness Among Phase 1 and Phase 2 and 3 Districts............................................ 249
7.5 On-the-Ground Insights on Implementation................................................................................................... 250
7.5.1 Possible Reasons for Unmet Demand or Job Rationing ..................................................................... 251
7.5.2 Labour Standards and Worksite Facilities............................................................................................ 252
7.5.3 Wage Payments........................................................................................................................................ 253
7.5.4 Delays .................................................................................................................................................... 254
7.5.5 Livelihood Security.................................................................................................................................. 255
7.5.6 Leakages and Corruption........................................................................................................................ 256
7.6 Assessment of the Scheme’s Broader Objectives and Their Impact............................................................... 257
7.6.1 Planning .................................................................................................................................................... 257
7.6.2 Creation of Durable Assets..................................................................................................................... 258
7.6.3 Women’s Participation............................................................................................................................. 260
7.6.4 Impact of MGNREGS Wages and Labour Markets.......................................................................... 262
7.6.5 Migration .................................................................................................................................................. 264
7.6.6 Promoting Decentralised Development and Grassroots Democracy................................................ 264
7.6.7 Social Audits as Instruments of Transparency and Accountability................................................... 265
7.7 The Way Forward................................................................................................................................................. 267
7.7.1 Addressing the Immediate Implementation Challenges ..................................................................... 267
7.7.2 Addressing Unmet Demand................................................................................................................... 269