TYBA-SEM-6-Paper-7-RURAL-RESOURCE-MANAGEMENT-1-munotes

Page 1

1 1
HUMAN RESOURCES
Unit Structure :
1.0 Objective
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Concept
1.3 Definitions
1.4 Human Developmental Factors
1.5 Importance of Human Resources
1.6 Obstacles in the Development of Human Resources
1.7 Summary
1.8 Self-Study
1.0 OBJECTIVES
a) To study the importance of human resources
b) To study the factors and approach to human resources and development
c) To study the obstacles in the development of human resources
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Human resour ce is considered an important type of resource to attain the
economic development of a country. Human resource means the size of the
population of a country along with its efficiency, educational qualities,
productivity, farsightedness and organizational abilities. By human
resource we mean human capital and it implies skills, abilities, and
technical knowhow of the population of the country. To develop the
human resources of a country it should introduce manpower planning.
Human resource with the attainmen t of economic development must
consider should be considered from both the angles the assets and also the
liabilities. Proper utilization of natural and human resources is very
essential to attain economic development. Production level of national
wealth a nd utilization of natural resources to a great extent depend upon
the efficiency of human resources. Increased population is a barrier for the
development of the country. As a result, study of human resources in
detail is a must to achieve economic welfare . Thus, it is quite important to
know both in qualitative and quantitative terms the rate of growth, the
size, distribution, the composition and all other demographic features of
the population of India. According to Dr. Kallol Guha “A country’s
human reso urce (a set of individuals who make up the workforce of an munotes.in

Page 2

Rural Resource Management
2 organization, business sector or economy) is shaped and conditioned
through its education system. How a given nation will fair can be
predicted by evaluating the state of its primary, secondary and higher
education with special reference to its research orientation of the education
system.”
Human Resource Development is the integrated use of training,
organizational and career development efforts to improve individual,
group and organizational effec tiveness. Herein human resource is the
talent and energies of the people available to an organization as potential
contributors. They contribute to the creation and realization of the
organizations mission, vision, values and goals. And development refers to
a process of active learning from experience that leads to systematic and
purposeful development of the whole person, body, mind and soul.
Nature Of Human Development :
During the second half of the 20th century human development grew out of
global discu ssions on the links between economic growth and
development. By the early 1960s economic growth had emerged as both a
leading objective and indicator of the national progress in many countries.
This paved the way for the human development approach which ex pands
the richness of human life instead the richness of the economy in which
human beings live. This approach focuses on creating fair opportunities
and choices for all the people.
People:
Growth in income is an important means to develop rather than to an end
in itself. Instead of assuming that economic growth will lead automatically
to greater opportunities for all the human development approach focuses
on improving the lives of people.
Opportunities:
Human development means giving more freedom and oppo rtunities to
people and to the lives they value. In simple words it means developing
people’s abilities and giving a chance to use them for their own
development. For example, education is important but if the person doesn’t
have skills useful in the marke t or in demand he or she will be denied of
jobs.

The above diagram shows the fundamental aspects of human development
and aspects that help to create the conditions that allow the people to
flourish. The three fundamental aspects of human development are to live
munotes.in

Page 3

Human Resources
3 a long and healthy and creative life, to have access to knowledge and be
knowledgeable, and to lead a decent standard of living. Other aspects are
also important like creating the right conditions for human development
like participating in the pol itical and community life, environment
sustainability, human security and gender equality. As soon as the basics
of human development are achieved opportunities for progress in the other
aspects of life are opened.
Choices:
Basically, human development is more about choice, about providing
opportunities and not insisting them to make use of it. Nobody can
guarantee to human happiness and it is the concern of the people who have
to make their choices. The process of human development creates an
environment f or the people individually and collectively, to develop the
capacity of the people to their full potential and also to have a reasonable
chance of leading a productive and creative life valued by them.
1.2 CONCEPT OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Human development is a process of enlarging people choices which are
indefinite and changing over time to time. The three essential preferences
necessary for a modest standard of living at all the levels of development
are to lead a long and healthy life, to acquire knowled ge and to have
access to the resources. In addition to the above preferences highly valued
by many people range from social, political and economic freedom to
opportunities for being creative and productive and enjoying self- respect
and guaranteed human r ights. But, one thing should be understood that if
the essential preferences are not available many other opportunities remain
inaccessible. Like every coin has two sides human development also has
two sides: a) formation of human capabilities like good he alth, possessing
knowledge and skills and b) making use of their acquired capabilities the
productive purposes, leisure or for being active in the social, cultural and
political affairs.
If the human development scale does not balance the two sides it results in
frustration. Income is one of the important options but is not the sum total
of lives. Therefore development is not only the expansion of income and
wealth but it should focus on people. The Human Development Resource
1991 has elaborated the concept of human development as “People must
be at the center of human development. Development has to be woven
around people, not people around development. It has to be development
of the people, by the people and for the people.” Absolute consideration
was to given to economic growth on the belief that the benefits of
growth would trickle down to different sections of the society in the
previous concepts of development. But, this hypothesis was not supported
as higher growth does not necessarily bring higher degree of welfare for
every section of the society. Growth should be to make improvements in
people lives. The four major components in the concept of human
development are equity, sustainability, productivity and empowerment. munotes.in

Page 4

Rural Resource Management
4 All people should have access t o equal opportunities and it should be
known that human development is impossible without gender equality.
Development will remain weak and unbalanced if women are excluded
from the developmental process. Productivity is not the only means to
achieve welfa re of the society but herein people should be allowed to
increase their productivity and participate in the process of generating
income and remunerative employment to accomplish higher economic
growth. All forms of capital such as human, physical and envi ronmental
should be restored. Empowerment is also one of the important aspect of
human development. While upgrading the choice of an individual or a
section of a society the choices of other individual or a section of the
society should not be restricted. This calls for equity in human
relationships. Also while improving the lives of present generation the
choices of future generations should not be mortgaged. Human
Development process should be sustainable and should address both
equity within the generati on and among the generations enabling all
generations, present and future, so that they make the best use of their
capabilities.
1.3 DEFINITIONS
Human resource development is an approach that focuses on the people
themselves and the opportunities they have . Human resource development
is a concept about thriving of the human life and focus on the role of the
people themselves to bring a better condition in their life as economic
growth does not bring automatic growth in wealth for everyone. Human
resource development is defined as “A process of enlarging choices –
social, cultural, economic, political. If the focus of development is on
people then the range of choices can be enhanced in all the areas of human
life for every human being. Human resource develop ment is both a process
and an outcome and is not only concerned with the process through which
choices are enlarged, but also focuses on the outcomes of the enhanced
choices.” Human resource development thus defined represents a simple
approach with far-reaching conclusions.
(Becker, 1975; Schmidt & Lines, 2002; Harrison & Kessels, 2004) The
central focus of the human resource development is on the human capital
or the human resource. As the human resource in an organization, based
on their competencies, sk ills, experience and knowledge, they are viewed
as the driving force for the success of an organization.
Swanson (1996), defined HRD as “a process for the development and
skillful human through the organizational and the training programs for
the people of the organization, so that their overall performance could be
enhanced”.
Nadler (1983) defined HRD as “at a given period of time, organized
learning experience so as to bring about the potentiality of change in
performance or growth of the individual and the organization as a whole”.
Sriyen (1997), considered human resource development as a method of
enhancing knowledge, skills and capacity of human resource in the munotes.in

Page 5

Human Resources
5 society. In terms of economy, it could be described as accretion of human
resource and its sustainable investment for the development of the
International Journal of Marketing and Human Resource Management
(IJMHRM)
Michael (2000), the concept of modernization and economic development
represents the implicit and explicit values framework for the ac hievement
of desirable goals. Mahatma Gandhi once said “realization of human
potential”. A country that is unable to develop their human resource in
terms of the enhancement of their skills and knowledge cannot utilize their
abilities for the welfare of th e nation and hence cannot develop anything
else.
McLean and McLean (2001), described HRD is any process that has the
potential to develop over the short or the long period of time.
McLean and McLean (2001), the results could be defined as the abilities
and the recognition for the development of the work -based knowledge, the
expertise, the productivity, and the level of satisfaction.
Tanvir Kayani(2008), The role of development of human resource is to
improve the quality of life. Various economists argue that the human
resources of a country determine the character and growth in the economic
and social development of a country. Not gold and silver but only human
resource of a nation can make a nation a great & strong.
Tanvir Kayani (2008), human resource devel opment has been considered
as one of the most important area of research. The aim of the Human
resource development policy is based on the development of the human
resource.
Human development can be simply defined as a process of enlarging
choices linked t o capabilities and functioning’s on one side and
opportunities on the other side. The functioning’s of a person are the
valuable things the person does like taking part in the community, being
well-nourished and living long life while, the capability of a person stands
for the different combinations of functioning’s a person can achieve. In
short it reflects the freedom to achieve functioning’s. development of
human resources can enhance human capabilities – good education, skill
training, good health and n utrition, etc. It is seen that unless opportunities
exists capabilities cannot be used for productive purposes, for leisure, to
participate in political, social or cultural affairs. Through better access to
productive resources which, include credit and employment and other
resources economic opportunities can be created. Polity and other
conditions require political opportunities.
1.4 FACTORS OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
1. Physical:
Physical wellness encloses a variety of healthy habits that include adeq uate
exercise, proper nutrition, keeping oneself from bad and harmful habits.
Getting regular medical check -ups, protection from injuries and harm,
getting information about and identifying the symptoms of diseases. munotes.in

Page 6

Rural Resource Management
6 Developing healthy habits is an investme nt for the future which would
enhance the life quality.
2. Social:
Social factor refers to our ability to interact effectively and successfully
globally and to live up to the expectations and demands personally. It also
means developing understanding with other people showing respect for
others and yourself, learning good communication skills and create a
support network of friends and family members. It builds a sense of
belonging by contributing to the community and the world.
3. Environmental:
Environmental fa ctor involves in socially responsible activities to protect
the environment. It creates awareness of the unstable condition of the earth
and hoe the wrong daily habits affects the physical environment. It helps to
create maximum harmony and minimum harm to the environment on the
earth.
4. Emotional:
This dynamic state fluctuates frequently with the other six factors. Being
emotional means possessing the ability to feel and express human
emotions viz. anger, happiness and sadness also to love and be loved and
to achieve a sense of fulfillment in life. Emotions incorporate the ability to
share feelings, self-acceptance, self-esteem and optimistic approach.
5. Intellectual Factor :
Like our body our minds too need to be continually inspired and exercised.
This intelle ctual factor encourages creative, stimulating mental activities.
Those people who possess a high level of intelligence continue to learn
and have an active mind. The available resources are used well by an
intellectual person to expand knowledge and improv e skills.
6. Occupational Factor :
Occupational factor successfully integrates a commitment to an occupation
into a total lifestyle which is rewarding and satisfying. It involves
preparing and making use of gifts, skills and talents possessed by an
individual to gain happiness, purpose and enrichment of life. An
individual’s attitude towards the work is related to the development of
occupational satisfaction and wellness. Achieving optimal occupational
wellness helps to maintain positive attitude towards the jo b and experience
satisfaction and derive pleasure in the job.
7. Spiritual Dimension
A spiritual person seeks harmony between what lies within as well as the
forces outside. He possesses a good set of guiding beliefs, principles or
values that help give dire ction to one’s life. It incorporates a high level of
faith, hope and commitment to the individual beliefs providing a sense of
meaning and purpose. munotes.in

Page 7

Human Resources
7 1.5 IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN RESOURCES
a) Appropriate utilization of human resources: To attain economic
development of the country human resources is considered very important
as it is the most active resource of all other resources. It is very essential to
appropriately utilize the natural resources of the country with the help of
Qualitative and Quantitative developm ent of human resources. According
to Prof. Meier human capital formation means “The process of acquiring
and increasing the number of persons who have skills, education and
experience which are critical for the economic and political development
of the country.”
b) Increased Productivity: Human capital plays an important role in the
economic development of a country. Prof. Galbraith says that “The larger
part of industrial growth is gained not from investing more capital but
from human investment and the impro vement brought about by skilled
people.
c) Development of skills: The lack of investment in human capital results
mostly in the slow growth in underdeveloped countries, as these countries
suffer from shortage of technically trained and highly skilled and educ ated
personnel required for its industrial sector and they also face the problem
of surplus labour in its farm sector. The developed countries maintain high
level of investment on the development of manpower resources. Prof.
Meier observes that “Investment in human beings is a major source of
growth in advanced countries, the negligible amount of human investment
in underdeveloped countries has done little to extend the capacity of the
people to meet the challenge of accelerated development.” For the all -
round development of the country the human capital formation is very
essential through adequate volume of investment on human development
is important.
d) Increased volume of output:
The worker tries to increase his output and income with the knowledge
imparte d to him. Developing vocational skills help the workers and all
other categories of manpower to earn more income in various professions.
As a result of human resource development, the production level increases
as the knowledgeable and skilled workers make rationale use of all the
resources that is made available to them. Good health facilities enhance
physical capacity of the workers. Factors like education and training at
higher educational set up enables workers to contribute liberally towards
faster expansion of output in technical, engineering, machine building,
accounting, management etc.
e) Addition to Productive Capacity:
Upgraded technological facilities and improved knowledge and skill
modernize the production technologies and thereby add to the produ ctive
capacity of the country in general. As a result, human resource
development in the form of human capital formation makes necessary
addition to the productive capacity of a country in a pleasant way. Human munotes.in

Page 8

Rural Resource Management
8 capital formation promotes higher growth of the economy by adding
physical stock of the capital of the country and transfer of technology from
foreign countries pave the way for the adoption of modern technology into
production to improve the productive capacity.
f) Raises Per Capita Income:
Human resou rces development through increased formation of human
capital can raise per capita income of the country by imparting knowledge
to improve the productivity of the workers.
g) Tool for Economic Change:
Human resource development not only make the people knowle dgeable
skilled and physically fit but also changes the attitudes of the people and
improve the personal qualities of the people. These changes work as a tool
for economic change and they are useful to the development of innovative
capacity and entrepreneu rship as they motivate people to do research,
work hard, take risks and apply them to produce new products and develop
new processes of production.
h) Improving Quality of Life:
Human resource development paves the way for improving quality of
people’s life i n general and this is possible by making improvements in the
three components of Human Development Index (HDI), viz. rise in per
capita income, higher educational attainments and increase in life
expectancy.
1.6 CHALLENGES IN HUMAN RESOURCE
DEVELOPMEN T
There are many challenges in the human resource development. These
challenges are not related to a single dimension but, they are directed
towards multi -dimensional issues to be dealt with immediate attention and
effect. Following are the broad categori es of the human resource
development challenges:
A) Environmental Challenges
B) Individual Challenges
C) Organizational Challenges
A) Environmental Challenges:
The environmental challenges are threats to management which should be
handled in an ardent manner. These challenges are related to the external
forces that exist in the environment and can influence the performance of
an individual or the organization. These eternal forces are uncontrollable. munotes.in

Page 9

Human Resources
9 Following are the environmental challenges faced by the human
resou rces:
1) Job and Family Roles:
Dual - career family’s number is increasing day by day wherein both the
husband and wife work in order to cope with the hiking prices of the
commodities and fulfill the increasing demands in the family. Due to this
the woman is a lways under burden that she has to give time to her family
also. The working hours at the job place are strict and tight for the
employees that even working men suffer from the employment policies as
they don’t get time to spend with their family. It is necessary to reframe
the policies with this particular challenge and special favorable working
policies for the employee.
2) Lack of skills :
The skills required for the service sector are not up to the mark as per
requirement due to which it affects the employm ent of a worker. Lots of
changes are taking place in the service sector due to many reasons like
change in the tastes & preference of customers, technological change,
legal change etc. Therefore, most of the employees lack the standard
required skills to p erform their duties. It is necessary to look into this
challenge and train the new and old employees so that they become
efficient and effective workers.
3) Legislation :
It is an old environmental challenge faced by the organizations since many
decades. There are certain labour laws declared by the government for the
benefits of the workers but some of these laws are disadvantageous for the
organizations. If any of the law is violated, serious actions is taken by the
relevant government authority resulting in the penalty for the management
of the organization.
4) Work Force Diversity :
The changes in the environment provide the opportunities and threats to
the human resources. On one hand the diversity creates big problem
and on the other hand in the long run the survival and performance is
flourished.
5) Rapid Change :
The human resource plays a basic role in response to the environmental
change. Changes in the world are taking place at a faster rate as a result the
human resource should be quickly adaptive to the chan ging requirement or
new threats of the environment or else they might become outdated from
the market.
6) Technology :
As the technology is growing with great speed especially in the field of
computers and tele-communication the human resource has to constantl y
update the skills and expertise. New methods that have emerged quickly munotes.in

Page 10

Rural Resource Management
10 dominate the old ones and make them outdated. So the skills required by
the employees also change with every changing technology. This compels
the human resource to learn advanced ski lls 3-4 times in a year.
7) Globalization :
One of the major issue human resources faces today is the issue of
globalization. There is a severe competition between the domestic and
foreign companies as the world is converting into global business. These
compet itions result in laying off the effective workforce i.e. the human
resources.
B) Individual Challenges:
Problems related to the individual level challenges are as follows:
1) Ethics and Social Responsibility:
In this challenge, the human resources make an effort and favourable
behavior to benefit to the society. These ethics serve as the basic principle
and as the guidance for the personal behavior.
2) Job Insecurity:
The restructuring and downsizing in the employment places develop a
sense of insecurity of job in t he human resources. They desire to get a
steady job rather than a job with promotional future. The layoff of the
human resources in the period of cut throat competition creates a fear
about the insecurity of their jobs that would hinder their effective
performance.
3) Brain Drain:
The brain drainage is a serious issue in the hi -tech companies. One of the
challenges for human resources management is the detachment of the key
potential employees which link with the competitors for higher
remunerations etc. It is a loss of intellectual property and in many
situations the human resources at higher levels while leaving their jobs
also take with them the potential lower level employees.
4) Productivity:
Productivity is defined as the measure of the value that a human resource
can add to the final product or service. The increased output is reflected as
increased productivity. The two important factors that affect the human
resources are ability and motivation. The ability can be improved by hiring
and replacement along w ith proper training and career development. The
high quality of work life serves as an accelerator to the motivational factor
of the human resource.
5) Empowerment:
It is seen that now a days due to the changes in the work place and
environment the human reso urces exert more control on their work as
compared to their superiors. This individual control of human resources is munotes.in

Page 11

Human Resources
11 called empowerment which helps to work with enthusiasm, commitment
and they learn new skills as normal decisions are taken by them about
their work by themselves as a result, they enjoy their work.
C) Organizational Challenges :
The organizational challenges for the human resources development are
related to the factors located inside the organization. Thought he
challenges are evolved as a bypro duct of the environmental challenges
they can be controlled by the management of the organization to a greater
extent. The human resources manager notices the challenges and takes
corrective measures before they become serious issues. When the human
resour ce is effectively used in combination with the other factor of
production, the opportunities in the environment are availed and the
threats & challenges are eliminated.
The competitive positions can be availed by lowering the costs and
strengthening its cash flows. The labour cost of the organization is
minimized through effective compensation system that adopts innovative
reward strategies. By doing this the organization gets the ultimate
advantage of the favorable behaviors of the employees. The effective
employees selected are given proper training and they stay with the
organization for a longer duration. The work of the employees should be
restored along with the improvement in the health and safety issue of the
working environment.
To improve the proce sses within the organization that would ultimately
result in the improvement of the final product or other services total
quality management programs should be implemented. This quality
improvement can lead the organization to a competitive advantage.
To g ain competitive advantage organization should employ such people
who have recognizable capabilities and can develop extra ordinary
competence in the specific area. Restructuring of the organization is one of
the techniques in which the methods of performin g different functions are
altered positively. Now -a-days the major functioning in some
organizations is outsourced. Human resource department is involved in the
mission oriented and strategic activities for the development of the
organization.
1.7 SUMMARY
Human resource is considered an important type of resource to attain the
economic development of a country. Human resource means the size of the
population of a country along with its efficiency, educational qualities,
productivity, farsightedness and organizational abilities. Proper utilization
of natural and human resources is very essential to attain economic
development. Production level of national wealth and utilization of natural
resources to a great extent depend u pon the efficiency of human resources.
Human Resource Development is the integrated use of training,
organizational and career development efforts to improve individual, munotes.in

Page 12

Rural Resource Management
12 group and organizational effectiveness. Human development is a process
of enlarging pe ople choices which are indefinite and changing over time to
time. The three essential preferences necessary for a modest standard of
living at all the levels of development are to lead a long and healthy life, to
acquire knowledge and to have access to the resources. There are many
challenges in the human resource development. These challenges are not
related to a single dimension but, they are directed towards multi -
dimensional issues to be dealt with immediate attention and effect.
1.8 SELF -STUDY
1) Write short note on human resources.
2) Explain in short the human development approaches
3) Explain the concept of human resources.
4) Give some of the definitions of human resource development.
5) Which are the factors of human development resource?
6) What are the challenges in the human resource development?


munotes.in

Page 13

13 2
POPULATION EXPLOSION
Unit Structure:
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Concept
2.3 Nature of Population Explosion
2.4 Causes of Population Explosion
2.5 Effects of Population Explosion
2.6 Remedies to Control Population Explosion
2.7 Summary
2.8 Self-Study
2.9 Bibliography
2.0 OBJECTIVES
a) To study the concept of population explosion
b) To understand the nature of increase in population
c) To study the causes of population explosion
d) To study the effect of population explosion on the economy of the
country
e) To study the remedial measures on population explosion
2.1 INTRODUCTION
Every nook and corner of India clearly displays the increasing
population – at the railway station, on the road, highway, metro station,
airport, market, shopping mall, bus stop, hospitals, temples, social
gatherings or religious gatherings. All the above places are crowded at any
time of the day or night. This shows that our country is overpopulated.
India is the second most overpopulated country after china. According t o
the 2011 Indian census population of India was 1,210,193,422, which
means we have crossed the one -billion mark till now and by 2025 we will
be the number one populous country.
munotes.in

Page 14

Rural Resource Management
14

Despite the fact that the programs like family planning, population
polici es and welfare undertaken by the government of India have led to a
continuous decrease in the fertility rate, but the actual population control
will take place by 2050 only. Is population explosion a boon or a curse has
been bothering us since the problem of increase in population has come
up. India being a developing country increasing population is a curse as it
is destroying and has become a hindrance to the development of the
country and its society. Lack of resources is a major problem faced by the
developing countries. The rapidly increasing population further
deteriorates this problem of resources leading to increased poverty,
malnutrition and other problems related to increasing population.

Population means the whole number of inhabitants or people in a country
or region and population explosion is a pyramiding of number of a
biological population. Increase in the number of people in a pyramid
related to the increase in the population. As the number of people in a
pyramid increases the problems relat ed to the increased population also
increases. Birth rate, death rate and migration are the main factors
affecting the population change. Birth rate is the ratio between the births
and individuals in a specified population and time and death rate is the
ratio between the number of deaths and individuals in a specified
population and time. Migration is the number of people in a country, place
or locality moving in (immigration) or out (emigration). Population
change is equal to the births + immigration and d eath + emigration.

munotes.in

Page 15

Population Explosion
15 2.2 CONCEPT
Population is defined as a group of individuals of the same species living
and interbreeding within a given space. Population often relied on the
same available resources, is dependent on the same environmental
restraint, a nd also depends upon the availability of other members to
endure over time. Population is examined by how individuals interact with
each other and as a whole interact with the environment in which they
live. Population ecologists depend upon a series of statistical measures
(demographic parameters), to describe that population as a tool for
objectively studying population. Collecting and analysing the number of
population is known as demography. Demography is the study of the
characteristics of populations and includes any statistical factors that affect
population growth or reduction. Population size, age structure, density,
birth rate, death rate and sex ratio are also the important parameters.
Rapidly increasing population has put tremendous strain on our
environment. Increasing demand of the increasing population on our
global environment are threatening the future of sustainable life on earth.
The developed countries pollute the environment and deplete its resource
while the developing countries are unde r pressure to compete
economically and their industrial growth is damaging the environment as
well. Forest are being destroyed at an alarming to support the growing
populations demand for housing areas. Due to unrestrained use of fuel and
energy many non -renewable resources are ending up in depleting. Many
parts of the world suffer from shortage of food and water. Humans
continue to put more stress on the limited natural resources of our planet.
munotes.in

Page 16

Rural Resource Management
16

The depletion of natural resources and biodiversity, produci ng lots of
waste and destroying natural habitats are the serious problems. Global
warming is one of the largest environmental effects of human population
growth which will lead to the rising sea levels and extreme weather
conditions in the future on earth. The above issues need to be taken notice
of to ensure the life on earth to be sustainable throughout the next century.
2.3 NATURE OF POPULATION EXPLOSION
Human overpopulation occurs when there are too many people for the
environment to sustain and it could apply to the population of a specific
region, or to world population as a whole. Scientifically there is
overpopulation when the ecological footprint of a human population in a
geographical area exceeds the carrying capacity of any area. This damages
the environment faster than nature can repair it, possibly leading to an
ecological and societal collapse.

The undesirable condition where the number of existing human population
exceeds the carrying capacity of earth is termed as overpopulation. Certain
factors like reduced mortality rate, better medical facilities, depletion of
precious resources result in overpopulation.

munotes.in

Page 17

Population Explosion
17 Technological advances also have affected humanity. A better medical
treatment facility save lives and has increased lifespan resulting in the
growth of population. In human history the birth and death rate have
always been able to balance each other and have maintained a sustainable
population growth rate. Developing nations face the problem of
overpopulation more than the developed coun tries. Wars, Natural
calamities and manmade hazards couldn’t affect the population on the
earth. Scientist says that the overall human impact on the environment due
to overpopulation, over consumption, proliferation of technology and
pollution has drifted the planet into a new geological epoch known as the
Anthropogenic. It is also believed that waste and over-consumption,
especially by wealthy nations, is putting more strain on the environment
than overpopulation itself.
2.4 CAUSES OF POPULATION EXPLOSION
The recent increase in the world population is due to
1) The increase in birth rates due to improved medical treatments.
2) The decrease in death rates due to better medical facilities and
advancements in the field of medicine.
3) Immigration to the developed count ries due to the reasons like
better job opportunities, pollution free environment, better facilities
and so forth.
Population explosion in India has the following aspects:
It is seen that every fifth living person on the globe is an Indian. India adds
more than 46,500 persons to its population every day. By 2035, India
would be the world’s most populous state. 50 % of the increase in India’s
population in one decade is in the five states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh,
Assam, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh (BIMARU states). The couples
entering the reproductive span than those leaving it is more than three
times i.e the fertility rate of the younger group is three times higher than
those of passing out from the reproductive range. If the population in India
goes on in creasing at this alarming rate life would be miserable for them.
They would be facing with the problems of medical facilities, education,
housing, scarcity of food and half the nation would be below poverty line.
munotes.in

Page 18

Rural Resource Management
18 Causes of overpopulation:
1) Widening Gap between Birth and Death Rates:
The birth rate has shown negligible decline and death rate has gone down
sharply resulting in the increase widening gap of Indian population and is
the root of overpopulation. The population will be steady if the number of
children born equals the number of adults dying. In a way we can say the
discovery of agriculture provided our ancestors the ability to sustain their
nutrition without hunting that paved the way to create first imbalance
between the two rates.
2) A Psychological Component:
Many years ago, a small part of the population had enough money to live
in comfort while the rest part faced poverty and would give birth to large
families to make up for the high infant mortality rate. Poverty, natural
disaster or the need of m ore hands to work are the major factors for
overpopulation. Education makes an individual liberal, broad -minded,
welcoming new ideas and rationale. If both male and female are educated,
they will easily understand the logic of family planning and can plan their
family, but if they are illiterate they would be orthodox, illogical and very
religious minded and would fall prey to anti-social activities.
3) Lack of family planning:
Family planning has a direct link with female education, and female
education is di rectly associated with age at marriage, general status of
women, their fertility and infant mortality rate and so on. Children are
married at an early age resulting in giving birth to many children. A large
number of girls even today are married at an age at which they are not
ready for marriage either socially and emotionally, or psychologically and
chronologically. The reason behind this is illiteracy, living below poverty
line and have very little or no knowledge of family planning. These people
don’t understand the importance of family planning and the harmful
effects of overpopulation. The religiously orthodox and conservative
people are against the use of family planning measures.
4) Better Medical Facilities:
Technical advancements is the main reason to disturb the balance of birth
rate and death rate. With the help of science and technology better means
of producing food was invented to feed the increase number of people.
Medical science made many discoveries to defeat a whole range of
diseases. Vaccines helped to cure many of the diseases taking thousands of
lives. Increase in food supply with very few means of fatality collapsed
the balance and this became the starting point of overpopulation.
5) Advancement in fertility treatment:
Pregnancies have become safer now days due to modern techniques.
Effective medicines have increased the chances of conception leading to
rise in the birth rate. With latest technological advancements it is possible munotes.in

Page 19

Population Explosion
19 for the couples to conceive by undergoing fertility treatment and have
their own babies.
6) Migration:
Migration from rural areas to urban areas or more developed states in the
country where best facilities are available in terms of education, medical
facilities, employment and security is also the cause overpopulation in the
country or anywhere in the world. Difference between the outgoing and
incoming of people is narrowed and leads to more demand of food,
clothing, energy and housing facilities and also gives rise to shortage of
resources available. Overall population r emaining the same affects the
density of population making the place overcrowded.

Poverty is the cause and effect of the population growth. Giving birth to
many children by the poor people in the family indicates the paradox of
population -poverty interrel ationship. Having produced many children to
struggle for the family’s needs the children are forced to stay at home to
do the household chores instead of going to school and support the
families’ household income. These illiterate and ignorant children wil l
follow their fathers’ steps for his family’s survival. It is satirical that a big
family size is the poor man’s only way to struggle with poverty caused by
the population explosion.
2.5 EFFECTS OF POPULATION EXPLOSION
In 1800 the earth’s population was 1 billion but after only two centuries
the global population is 6 billion, half of which lives in urban areas.
Population size is an important factor to measure environmental impact.
The impact of this population explosion is seen from the changes that have
taken place in greenhouse gas emission, extinction of species, pollution,
soil erosion, depletion of natural resources. The combined effects of
population growth, consumption, overuse, wastage and misuse of
resources has strained the capacity of the earth to sustain life.

munotes.in

Page 20

Rural Resource Management
20
Major impacts of overpopulation are as follows:
Overpopulation has caused damage to the physical environment i.e.
land, water, air, soil and minerals. The overuse, utilization and misuse is
due to the growth in human population. More cultivable land has been
made available by clearing forests, reclaiming wet lands, ponds and green
belts to feed the increased population. Advanced agriculture utilizes more
water, more fertilizers and more pesticides which makes the soil infertile.
More population means more space is required to construct houses,
requires more consumer goods, more means of transport, more
consumption of fossil fuels and more pollution. Pollution of land, air and
water cause a number of problems in the physical environment affecting
the biological environment to a great extent.

Air and water pollution :
More and more forests are cleared for housing facility for the increased
population and wood is required for fuel purpose. Deforestation has led to
air pollution, soil erosio n and global warming. The suns heat and carbon
monoxide gases get trapped in the earth’s atmosphere cause greenhouse
effect. Increasing population has not only polluted the air but also water.
Increasing population demands more number of factories leading to air,
water and other types of pollutions. Water and soil pollution also come
from the agricultural sector. More use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides,
fungicides, germicides in the agricultural field also leads to water and soil
pollution.
munotes.in

Page 21

Population Explosion
21
Increased population has increased pollution which in turn is leading to a
more hostile environment for human beings.
Deforestation :
Forest the important natural resource of India have moderate influence
against floods thus protecting soil erosion. They enhance the quality of
environment by influencing the ecological balance by checking soil
erosion, conserving water, maintaining soil fertility, balancing carbon
dioxide and oxygen in the atmosphere, regulating water cycles and floods,
etc. India has a forest cover o f 76.52 million square kms. of recorded
forest area, but the actual forest cover is only 63.34 million square kms.
deforestation on large scale has brought us face to face with a major
ecological and socio -economic crisis.
Depletion of ozone layer :
The ozo ne layer protecting the earth from the ultraviolet rays of the sun has
been ruined by the effect of the Chloro Fluro Carbon (CFCs) gradually.
Chemicals like bromine halocarbons, nitrous oxide from fertilizers also
have harmed the ozone layer. Nitrogen oxid e and methane have adversely
affected the stratosphere ozone layer.

With the increase in the human population the concentration of CFCs also
has increased resulting in the ozone hole. Also other emissions derived
munotes.in

Page 22

Rural Resource Management
22 from human activities have depleted the ozone layer. An enormous big
hole in the ozone layer above the Antarctica has threatened not only the
continent but also many parts of the world of Antarctica’s melting icecaps.
Extinction of many species :
It is due to human activities massive extinction of many species on going.
Modern agricultural practices damage the earth of its thin layer of topsoil
through wind and water erosion. This erosion destroys the precious micro
ecosystem which takes centuries to form and support life on land. Many
species on e arth are of great importance to human beings and all forms of
life as sources of food, fodder, medicines, fuel, building materials.
Around 20,000 species of plants are used for medicinal purpose all over
the world. The recreational, emotional, cultural, spiritual and aesthetic
needs of the people are met by the diversity of nature.
Land or Soil Degradation :
The demand for food, energy and other human requirements depends upon
the preservation and improvement of the productivity of land. Land stores
water an d nutrients required for plants and other living micro -macro -
organisms. The loss of arable land – soil degradation has been caused due
to a number of factors – deforestation, overgrazing, over exploitation of
fuel wood, agricultural activities and industri alization. In order to combat
soil degradation several measures like watershed management, soil and
water conservation, reclamation of waterlogged and saline land, sand dune
stabilization, forest and range management and to restore the soil fertility
in arable lands by using green manures and cultivation of appropriate
crops.
Global Warming and Climate Change :

Global warming is one of the greatest threats to the planet. There is a
worldwide consensus among climate scientist that in the past 140 years the
global temperature has raised about 1F (0.4C – 0.8C). Climate change
evolves so slowly that the difference cannot be seen easily. The IPCC
projects the temperature in the Middle East to increase by 1 – 2C by
2030 to 2050. Nature reserves currently compromi se about 10% of land
munotes.in

Page 23

Population Explosion
23 area globally, but most are small, disconnected from other reserves, and
are exposed to tremendous human pressures. Population size also is an
important factor in measuring environmental impact. The combined
effects of population growt h, wastage and misuse of resources,
consumption and overuse have strained the capacity of the earth to sustain
life.
2.6 REMEDIES TO CONTROL POPULATION
EXPLOSION
The Government of India has initiated a bold population policy to keep the
economic growth of the country in pace with the increasing demands of
the increasing population. To name a few following steps play a major role
in controlling population –
a) increasing the welfare and status of women and girls,
b) encouraging women empowerment,
c) spread of education,
d) sex education,
e) encouraging male sterilization and spacing births,
f) increasing awareness for the use of contraceptives and family
1. planning methods,
g) free distribution of contraceptives and condoms among the poor, h)
more health care centre s for the poor people,
h) open dialogue on abortion and voluntary sterilization,
i) raising awareness among the people regarding family planning and
letting them to know the serious after effects of over population.
Tax Benefits or Concessions also be helpful to control overpopulation and
give positive results. Government should frame policies like to waive
certain part of income tax or to lower the rates of income tax for those
married couples who have single or two children. Also should think of
some other so lutions related to tax exemptions to control overpopulation.

Increasing public awareness and implementing strict population control
norms by the government will pave the way for the country’s economic munotes.in

Page 24

Rural Resource Management
24 prosperity and control of population. India’s strengt hs in the global world
in different sectors may it be in science & technology, medicine & health
care, military, communication, entertainment, business and industry,
literature and so on can’t be overlooked.
2.7 SUMMARY
A population is a group of individu als of the same species interacting
within the same space. The health and behaviour of a population is
determined by the way those individuals interact with each other and with
their surrounding environment. We can determine the status of a
population by m easuring and calculating elements common to all
populations, such as size, density, fecundity, mortality, sex ratio, and age
structure. These demographic statistics provide researchers with
standardized metrics for comparing populations and assessing extin ction
risk. Just as a doctor can't diagnose an illness with only a blood pressure
measurement, we can't manage populations based on demographic
parameters alone. However, demographics provide a baseline for
monitoring population health and offer insight into the mechanisms
driving population declines.

Poverty is the cause and effect of the population growth. Giving birth to
many children by the poor people in the family indicates the paradox of
population -poverty interrelationship. It is satirical that a b ig family size is
the poor man’s only way to struggle with poverty caused by the population
explosion. Population size is an important factor to measure environmental
impact. The impact of this population explosion is seen from the changes
that have taken place in greenhouse gas emission, extinction of species,
pollution, soil erosion, depletion of natural resources. The combined
effects of population growth, consumption, overuse, wastage and misuse
of resources has strained the capacity of the earth to sus tain life. Pollution
of land, air and water cause a number of problems in the physical
environment affecting the biological environment to a great extent.


munotes.in

Page 25

Population Explosion
25 2.8 SELF -STUDY
1) Explain the concept of population explosion.
2) Write short note on nature of populatio n explosion.
3) What are the causes of population explosion?
4) Give the effects of population explosion.
5) Suggest the remedies to control population explosion.
2.9 BIBLIOGRAPHY
 https:// www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/introduction -to-
population -demographics -83032908/#
 https:// www.mapsofindia.com/my -india/india/overpopulation -in- india -
causes -effects-and-how-to-control -it
 https:// www.researchgate.net/publication/237771340_IMPACT_OF
POPULATION_EXPLOSION_ON_ENVIRONMENT
 https://en.wikipedia.org
 https:// www.conserve -energy -future.com/causes -effects -solutions - of-
overpopulation.php
 http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/sp eech/population -explosion -in-
india -causes -and-effects/39364


munotes.in

Page 26

26 3
EDUCATION RELATED PROBLEMS
Unit Structure :
3.0 Objective
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Concept
3.3 Importance Of Education In Human Life
3.4 Population Barriers In The Growth Of Education In Rural India
3.5 Population Problems Associated With Education In Rural India
3.6 Remedies To Solve Problems In Education
3.7 Summary
3.8 Self-Study
3.9 Bibliography
3.0 OBJECTIVES
a) To understand the concept of Education
b) To study the Problems in education due to over population
c) To study the obstacles in education in the process of rural development
d) To Know the methods to improve education in rural areas
3.1 INTRODUCTION
Higher education which was considered to be a safe place, in today’s world
is now being exposed to ambitious forces. Education is factual service.
Effective involvement of the service provider i.e. higher education brand
and the consumer which are students is very crucial. Education in India is
stricken by many difficulties like poor or lack of infrastructure, Access to
villages in remote areas, lac k of financial backing and overall poor quality
of educators. Wide fluctuation in educational attainment and literacy rates
is found around the regions and social classes of India. India has a positive
demographic opportunity having half of its population in the working age
group and education is the tool to realize this demographic potential.
Quality schooling is the basis to ensure the all - round development of a
person, along with nutrition in the childhood days, health care and good
guidance. Good quali ty education not only depends on infrastructural
facilities like classrooms, availability of chairs and desks, provision of
digital learning, water and sanitation facilities, availability of electricity,
availability of chairs and desks but also softer elements like access to munotes.in

Page 27

Education Related
Problems
27 books and learning materials, professional competencies of teachers,
presence of school staff, among others. The density of rural schools in
India and teacher – student ratio have both improved with enrolment ratio
showing an upward tr end. But, at the grass - roots level, the quality of
education in rural India requires much changes.
3.2 CONCEPT
If a country’s rural education sector is working well, it reflects on the
entire economic state of a country. Education plays a crucial role in
shaping an individual’s personality. As Late president of India, Shri.
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has said “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.”
A survey reveals that India’s organized sector has only 34 million people
forming a very small stratum of the total population which says a lot about
the education system and l iteracy rate in India. It is obligatory to make
efforts for the recovery and progress of the rural economy in general and in
particular with a thrust on agriculture for the population living in rural
areas. Education is not only the mirror of the society but also the seed
and flower of the socio -economic development as it transforms the human
being from ignorance to enlightenment, from social backwardness to social
amelioration and from underdeveloped nation to faster social and
economic development.

Trans formational change in rural areas is possible only if education is
linked to such areas to build architecture of a Comprehensive Nation.
Education determines the level of prosperity, welfare and security of the
people in a world based on science and techno logy. Illiteracy is a grave
obstacle to social and economic development but education is the true
alchemy that can bring India its next golden age. The motto of educational
development is “All for knowledge, and knowledge for all.”
munotes.in

Page 28

Rural Resource Management
28 Education is a dynamic p rocess starting from birth as a child is surrounded
by parents and other siblings by experiencing his surroundings and
responding to it. The child tries to learn from the information from the
surrounding physical and social environment and responds to it
accordingly. Rural development in general refers to the process to improve
the quality of life and economic well -being of the people living in isolated
and sparsely populated areas. However, the character of rural areas has
been changed due to changes in the global production networks and
increased urbanization.
3.3 IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION IN HUMAN LIFE
Economic development, physical and social infrastructure and education
play an important role in rural development. There are a large variety of
rural develo pment approaches all over the world as rural areas are highly
distinctive from one another. Rural development actions mainly aim for the
socio -economic development of the rural areas and the rural government
policy is to develop the undeveloped villages. Rural development’s main
aim is to find ways to improve the rural lives with the participation of the
rural people themselves in their sustainable rural development so that they
can meet the requirements of the rural areas. Educational programs
contributing to rural development should be controlled locally, they should
be practical, applied, problem -posing and should focus on functional
specialization. Relevant locally controlled educational programs play a key
role in rural development in developing nations as the outsiders may not
understand the setting, culture, language and other things prevalent in the
local area. They diagnose their needs, assert their rights by taking control
of decisions affecting their lives, it provides trained manpower in rural
areas, they provide trained manpower in rural areas, also providing
employment and income opportunities by linking rural and urban areas, by
increasing labour force productivity and by developing leadership. An
education plays a key role in rural systems of production, supply,
marketing, health care, education, personal maintenance and governance.
Education imparts social change, improves individuals social position and
standard of living, activates participation in rural and cultural development,
proclaim the ir rights, increases critical abilities of rural people to recognize
their needs, take good control of decisions affecting their lives, links rural
and urban areas, provides trained manpower and also increases labour force
productivity, employment and income opportunities in rural areas and
develops leadership. Education has a desirable controlling effect over
development of the rural individual, family, community and society which
leads to reduced poverty, equality in income and controlled unemployment.
3.4 POPULATION BARRIERS IN THE GROWTH OF
EDUCATION IN RURAL INDIA
Taking into account the education system of India not only the highly
advanced educational institutions in the urban sector should be considered
but also the progress of education at the grass roots level is of primary
concern as majority of the schools are located in rural areas. Statistical
records show that rural education in i9ndia has developed to some extent, munotes.in

Page 29

Education Related
Problems
29 but still there are quite a number of serious barriers to the growth of
education in the countryside. Education is the doorway to the wider world
leading to the road to improvement of the society and the nation as a
whole. The first and foremost step to lead the way for the development of
Indian educational system is to identify the barriers in its path.

Following challenges are faced by the growth if Indian rural education:
a) Due to low income of the rural people it is difficult to maintain a family
of 4-5 members. As a result children from these families are not sent to
school a nd are sent to work to assist the earning member so as to add an
extra income to the gross earnings of the family.
b) A major drawback of schools in rural areas is the lack of quality
education which is due to few committed teachers, unavailability of
proper text books and insufficient learning material available in the
schools.
c) Though the numbers of students attending schools in rural areas have
increased, over fifty percent of fifth standard students are not able to
read even a text book of second grade or solve simple mathematical
sums.
d) Unavailability of good transport facility in rural areas children have to
walk miles to reach the government schools which demotivate the
children to attend schools on a regular basis.
e) Inadequate infrastructure in the rural s chools like small classrooms,
inadequate teaching equipment, lack of playgrounds and unclean toilets
is also a reason to drive away the students from school.
Efforts from the NGO’s (Non -Government Organizations) have helped the
local governing bodies in the rural areas to build competently equipped and
well-facilitated educational institutions. They also lend support to
underprivileged children to have access to proper education, thus
contributing to the progress of rural education in India. The right
refor mation can definitely bring about a positive change towards the
development of rural education in India.

munotes.in

Page 30

Rural Resource Management
30 3.5 POPULATION PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH
EDUCATION IN RURAL INDIA
Concept and phenomenon of education based on school going is of modern
origin in India and today it is the most influential agent of modernization
to lead a comfortable life in this fast changing world.
Earlier in the past education was restricted only to upper caste and the
content that was taught was descriptive. While the upper caste had
traditionally enjoyed the advantages of educational attainments in terms of
enrolment and retention in rural India, the lower caste lagged behind in
primary schooling. The children from lower caste were withdrawn from
school at an early age due to the cost of educating and work needs of poor
households.
Income and caste are very much co -related to each other as is seen that
lower castes have less incomes and upper castes with better endowments
in terms of land, income and other resources. It shows there is a clear divide
in the villages based on caste lines and access to schools.
Children from the poor class having low income have to enrol themselves
in government operated schools as they provide a number of incentives
like low expenditure on books, fees, uniforms, etc., while children from
upper caste having high income are sent to private schools giving more
importance to English and computers as it is their perception of private
schools to impart quality education in English medium. The poor rural girl s
are excluded from the schooling process as they enter late in school and
drop out earlier.
Another cause for lack of interest to become literate is the parents
illiteracy. Children enrolled to school from illiterate families are the first
generation learners who have to handle and manage on their own with their
school life, learning languages and other cognitive skills without their
parents help and guidance. Illiterate parents think education is the vehicle
of social mobility, so they do whatever they ca n to educate their children.
Education and subsequent attainment of job in towns and cities is often
looked upon as a means to come out of their position on caste hierarchy by
earning more income.
In India religion has great impact on the minds of the peop le and exerts a
great influence in their behaviour. Religious beliefs and practices of a
community to a great extent affect the attitude, behaviour and motivation
towards education of an individual or a group.
Defects in the present education system:
Accor ding to Amartya Sen, “ Primary education in India suffers not only
from inadequate allocation of resources, but also from terrible state of
management and organization.” According to him the three major defects
in the present educational system are the physical environment, the
curriculum or the content taught, and the teaching method or the teacher,
who is teaching. munotes.in

Page 31

Education Related
Problems
31
1) Physical Environment:
Education should not limit itself to the sphere of the school but should
encompass nearly each and every aspect of life. Education has to be the
foundation for the students to look around the world in a meaningful
manner and to interpret the things they see. Schools should be the places
where the ideas of education are planted in the students.

The present situation indi cates that though the seeds of education are
planted into the children it does not go much further than the school
system. Generally it is thought that school is a place for teacher to instruct
the children on the three Rs’ - reading, writing and arithmetic . The schools
are not considered as places, where the students should be taught the life
skills necessary for them to succeed in their future life endeavours.
munotes.in

Page 32

Rural Resource Management
32 Access to school in India is not a problem as it is within a walking distance
of 1 km. The main problem is that the school system is not prepared for
mass education. In rural areas the classrooms in most of the primary
schools are not made to attract small children, they are typically
uninteresting, have leaking roofs with uneven floors and dirty mats and full
of holes for the children to sit. More than this most of the schools don’t
have electricity, pure drinking water or toilet facilities. In some schools
students of different ages are made to sit in single room as at a given time,
a typical school can have at the most only two teachers to teach the
students of all five primary classes. The teachers use the teaching methods
like they make the students copy or recite from the textbooks. No normal
sounds of joyous laughter, singing or reciting poems, creative play of
words, excited discovery, animated participation or the irrepressible
curious questioning the characteristic feature every child of that age is
found in the primary schools. Everything in school is done mechanically as
if it is a mechanica l race to achieve ‘schooling for all’. The main aim of
education ‘learning for all’ is completely missed out. More emphasis is
placed on establishing schools but not on what goes on inside the school
resulting in high enrolment figure and equally high dropout rate.

The students compulsory have to attend the school and also have to take all
the exams resulting in a sizeable number of students failing and compelled
to repeat classes. These students lose hope and inculcate a sense of despair
among the student s, reducing the potential of their human development.
The main reason for school dropouts and the failure of the school system is
the quality of education and not the parental poverty and disinterestedness.
2) Defects in curriculum:
Present education system in India is teacher centric. In India education
from times immemorial is quite expensive as it is related to gain and
transmit knowledge. Information is the foundation on which knowledge
rests was and is still limited. A teacher, together with a united set of books
is the knowledge base, which anchors the education process is the active
agent, who communicates the information to the students, who are the
passive receptors of information. Learning by memorization is the most
favoured method as the information transferred is highly confused and the
munotes.in

Page 33

Education Related
Problems
33 student is not entirely sure about the motive behind knowing all those
contrasting facts is.

Curriculum -makers in India feel that maximum knowledge should be
given to the children so as to catch -up with the other students in the
advanced countries and try to include as much information and knowledge
as possible in the curriculum. But it is to be understood that the capacity to
understand the explosion of technologies does not grow equally fast
among the children. S o the main aim of children’s education needs to be to
‘promote concept formation and to enhance their capacity for theoretical
built-up. All children are natural observers and they can construct their
own explanations, but the children have a contrast expe rience from the
educational system. Our education system waves of the children’s mind
and personality to develop. The knowledge imparted is not continuous and
is distributed in sections and are arranged in the form of different pieces of
syllabus. The information is fragmented, confused and jumbled.
In Indian education system, whatever is taught is linked with how it is
taught and assessed. The examination system in India is perverted and
discourages good classroom practices by forcing children to answer p hony
meaningless questions, and suppress the curiosity and expressions of the
child from the early age only. Our present education system emphasizes
on written questions based on trivial recall and exempts all activity -based
learning. The curriculum framer s ignore the fact that the natural learning
process in children is far from linear. So the content taught cannot be
determined by what has to be covered in higher classes, but by the
children’s ability to comprehend the concept at a given age.

munotes.in

Page 34

Rural Resource Management
34 Other major drawback is that the curriculum prescribed in the textbooks to
a great extent is irrelevant in context of rural people as the curriculum
makers are from urban areas who believe that the rural children need to be
taught to conduct their lives properly and only positive situations from their
lives should be interpreted. The fact that the rural children are much more
conscious of the conflicts and complexities of life, far more knowledgeable
about the natural world and rural children especially the tribal chi ldren, are
aware of rich bio -diversity around them, which forms a part of their
reality, is absolutely ignored.
There have been attempts to change the elementary school curriculum so
that it would be child - centred, activity -based and joyful. But the chan ges
were only makeover accompanied by song and dance without any radical
restructuring in the content and design. Our education system is highly
monopolistic rigid and controlled by bureaucratic departments resistant to
change and are too inflexible to lea rn from the experiences of those
working in close contact with the children.
3) The Teacher - most important resource:
The most important resource for quality education the teacher actually has
the weakest voice in the matters of concern with primary education and
occupies the lowest position in the hierarchy. The teacher along with the
teaching responsibility has to bear the burden of many other assignments
like census collection, conducting poverty surveys, to make people aware
of the family planning programs , etc. this problem becomes more critical
in village schools having single or at the most two teachers. There is
insufficient number of teachers in many of the schools as there is no new
recruitment, lack of requisite qualification for a teachers post, the number
of female teachers is less which accounts to be one of the causes for low
literacy rate. It is a serious problem if the teachers are academically less
qualified and they have chosen teaching profession as the last option, also
there is lack of moti vation on the part of teachers. In addition the teachers
are burdened with the classes having more children or different class
sitting in one class which cannot be managed, their efforts are not
recognized, miserable working conditions and above that their salary is
very low due to which teacher tend to give up their jobs.
3.6 REMEDIES TO SOLVE PROBLEMS IN EDUCATION
munotes.in

Page 35

Education Related
Problems
35 1) Quality Education:
Memorizing doesn’t mean to learn and is the biggest flaw in our education
system. Our testing and marking systems should be built to recognize
original contributions, problem solving, in the form of creativity, valuable
original research and innovation. Our education system rarely rewards
those deserving highest academic accolades.
Quality education should be provided to the r egular students or to the
hearing impaired or slow learners, so that they meet their needs and
enhance their skills and to get better employment options.
2) Government Funds and Private Capital:
The government cannot afford to provide higher education to all the
people in the country as it is very costly for the government to do so. The
share of GDP towards the educational sector need to be increased, which
at present is 6%. Allowing profit making will encourage serious
entrepreneurs, investors and innovators to take interest in the education
sector. The government doesn’t have enough money to provide higher
education of reasonable quality to all, and it also has no excuse to prevent
private capital from coming into the educational sector.
3) Powerful Central Body :
A powerful central body should be set up to govern all schools and should
have the power to make laws and regulations applicable to them. A
standard medium and standard curriculum must be set by abolishing all
other boards like state boards and other boards. Syllabus of standard
medium should be based on the abilities of a child of a particular age that
will be applied uniformly, but should not neglect local languages. The
schools or institutions will be accredited by the governing body but will be
free t o make decisions for their smooth functioning within the bounds of
powers granted to them. The central body will be solely responsible for
the collection and management of the funds given by the central and state
governments.
4) Inclusive Education System or Personalized Education :
Growth in education sector should incorporate all sections of society like
rural, urban poor, woman Backward classes etc. However Indian education
system is built on the presumption that if something is good for one kid, it
is good for all kids. But it is not taken notice that some kids learn faster,
some are comparatively slow, some are visual learners, some are auditory
learners, while some learn faster from experience. If there is
decentralization of education, there could be an o utburst of new and
innovative courses geared towards serving various niches of learners.
Central regulation kills choice and stifles innovation too. As far as
education is concerned there is close connection between availability of
choices, profitability, entrepreneurship, de -regulation and emergence of
niche courses and these are al interconnected. munotes.in

Page 36

Rural Resource Management
36
5) PPP Model :
Public -Private sources and to encourage the active participation of the
private sector in national development. It is more forcefully advocated
when public resources are projected to be inadequate to meet needs.
6) Laying the Basic structure of Education:
The legislature should enact a legislation which lays down certain basic
regulations in education in consultation with educationalists and all
educati onal institutions across the country should follow it to solve most
of the current problems with the education system in India. The legislation
should aim to bring uniformity in education that is provided by various
institutions.
7) Adoption of Technology:
Effective use of technological tools in teaching will solve many problems
of infrastructure, quality, etc.
8) Education Policy:
Education policy should be updated frequently and should also cover
personality development aspect and also imbibe cultural values an d social
services in students.
9) The International inspiration:
Curriculums should be reviewed and encouraged. “Give a man a fish and
you feed him one day, teach him how to catch fishes and you feed him for a
lifetime.” There should be focus on Value Educati on, Personality
Development, Extra Curricular activities and sports. Independent thinking,
skill development, creativity, vocational training, entrepreneurial spirit,
effective use of technology etc. should be encouraged along with practical
based industry -linked curriculum..
10) Teacher Training :
As the teachers virtually hold the destiny of the future generations in their
hands teachers training one of the most chaotic, neglected and deficient
munotes.in

Page 37

Education Related
Problems
37 sectors of India’s vast education system needs to be taken care of.
11) Lack of effective policies:
The government has to take some strong steps against those policies that
discriminate between sections of the society and have to put more effort to
frame some effective policies to improve the Indian education system. the
educational policies need frequent update.
12) Lack of Quality Teaching:
The teachers should be given training to target areas of learning that can
work on computer -aided teaching and technology led learning.
Technology solutions that reduce the role of the teac her or remove them
from the process will often face resistant. The teacher should continue to
lead the classroom albeit with the aid or use the technology platform that
is provided. Rules for continuous teacher quality upgradation system
should be facilita ted by the government. The teachers should not be
burdened with works like administrative work, election work, etc. other
than education work. Centralization of recruitment, training, incentive
structure, promotions, etc. should be done.
13) Lack of Ethics and Transparency:
The corruption in the education system should be taken seriously and
tackled. Recruitment of people with high ethical standards and right
attitude should be done. Joint effort of government and examination
regulatory bodies should tackle the problem of malpractices in exams
efficiently.
14) Lack of Competitiveness:
To make the education system more relevant and upgraded, Innovation
and research in the system is necessary. Educationalists, academicians and
scholars should be encouraged to join pol icy making process of the
government. Student Exchange Programs should be promoted.
15) Lack of Affordable Education:
Education should bring social equity be it in gender, castes or financial
status. Inclusive Education System should be created and there shoul d be
regulation in fee structure by creating proper guidelines.
16) Redefine the purpose of the education system:
Even -though we have newly acquired skin of modernity, our education
system is still a colonial education system geared towards generating
babus an d pen -pushers. The goal of our new education system should be to
create entrepreneurs, scientists, innovators, artists, thinkers and writers
who can establish the foundation of knowledge based economy rather than
the low -quality service provide r nation that we are turning into.
munotes.in

Page 38

Rural Resource Management
38 17) Take mediocrity out of the system:
Today’s education system encourages mediocrity – in students, teachers
and throughout the system as it is easy to survive. But if we want
excellence mediocrity has to be discarded as an option. Hard work is
always tough and the path to excellence is charged with difficulties. It is
very much essential to make the path of mediocre people so difficult that
excellence is the only output in students, teachers and on the whole the
entire educa tion system.
18) Change of Goal:
India’s rote -based Board Exams are a source of the learning crisis
observed in primary schools. The board exams that measure learning needs
to be corrected as the focus of students, parents and teachers is on
maximizing marks a nd not learning or understanding. This can be changed
and is not so difficult as there are so many exams that can serve as a
benchmark for this change. There is a need to change the goal post by
reforming board exams to test understanding and not recall.

Non-Government Initiatives
E-Vidyaloka, a non -profit organization, connects the rural learners and
teaching volunteers through digital classrooms. The volunteers consist of
a varied bunch like IT professionals, housewives and retired defence
personnel. They organize Skype classes according to the availability of
volunteers and batch sizes. The organization tries to properly channelize
the supply in the sector where there is demand. However, frequent power
cuts and poor internet connectivity in rural areas affect the productivity of
the classrooms.
3.7 SUMMARY
Rural education holds the key to solving many of India’s primary
problems like youth disenchantment, poverty and crime. Education has
improved dramatically over the last three decades. Schools have bec ome
accessible to most children; both student enrolment and attendance are at
the highest level. The RTE Act guarantees a quality education to a wider
range of students. Still challenges in teaching and learning outcomes
across all regional, cultural and s ocio-economic subsets prevent us from
harnessing the true potential of vast human resource and keep the country
educationally backward. We need teachers and students to adopt munotes.in

Page 39

Education Related
Problems
39 computational learning as a way of life. The path involves active guidance
by a master teacher, including giving students practice facing real
problems, testing solutions, making mistakes, seeking help and refining
approaches. Comprehensive dialogues between teachers and students
delineate how reflection -in-action works, what boost it, and behaviour or
attitudes that can avert the development of personality.
3.8 SELF -STUDY
1) Explain the concept of education.
2) Give the importance of education in human life.
3) What is the need of education in rural development?
4) What are the problems in educati on in rural development?
5) Suggest the remedies to solve problems in education.
3.9 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
https:// www.researchgate.net/publication/260 599124_Role_of_Educ
ation_in_Rural_Development
https:// www.financialexpress.com/education -2/why -rural -india -still-has-
poor-access -to-quality -education/1393555/
https: //www.brainbuxa.com/blog/problems -in-rural-education -in-indian -
schools
https:// www.indiatoday.in/education -today/featurephilia/story/5 -ways -to-
upgrade -the-rural -education -system -in-india -1573497 -2019 -07-25

https://targetstudy.com/articles/rural -education -in-
india.html#.Xk0fcw4oeSc.email
https:// www.quora.com/What -are-the-problems -about -rural-education -
and-why-they-not-educated -properly -How -can-we-improve -rural -
education
https://youthincmag.com/growth -of-education -in-rural-india -a-
contemporary -study
https:// www.foradian.com/the -challenges -of-education -in-rural -india/
https:// www .indiatoday.in/education -today/featurephilia/story/india -rural-
education -problems -958214 -2017 -01-31
http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/essay/problems -associated -with-
educa tion-in-rural -areas -in-india/34976 munotes.in

Page 40

Rural Resource Management
40 https:// www.mapsofindia.com/my -india/education/india -needs -education -
especially -rural -education
http://startup.nujs.edu/blog/indian -education -system -what -needs -to-
change/
http://www.studyspectrum.com/blog/education -problems -and-their-
solutions
https:// www.indiatoday.in/education -today/featurephilia/story/10 -critical -
changes -that-could -solve -india -s-government -school -reading -crisis -
1575956 -2019 -08-01
https:// www.slideshare.net/deepbaazigar/solutions -to-the-problems -in-the-
education -sector -of-india
https:// www.khuranaandkhurana.com/2019/01/17/education -in-india -
problems -and-solutions/
https:// www.careerride.com/view/education -in-india-problems -and-their-
solutions -19718.aspx

 
munotes.in

Page 41

41 4
RURAL HEALTH -PROBLEMS AND
REMEDIES
Unit Structure :
4.0 Objective
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Concept
4.3 Rural Health Problems In India
4.4 Health Care In Rural Areas
4.5 Health Facilities In Rural Areas
4.6 Solut ions To Rural Health Issues: Rural Health Care Programs
4.7 Summary
4.8 Self - Study
4.9 References
4.0 OBJECTIVE
1) To understand the concept of Health
2) To know the rural health problems and programs in India
3) To know the health care and health facilities in India
4) To know the importance of health awareness programs
5) To find the solutions to rural health issues
4.1 INTRODUCTION
Rural health is one of the vital elements of rural life. As more than 70% of
the population lives in rural areas have unsatisfactory health facilities and
the mortality ra te due to diseases is at high risk. Rural health care is one of
the gigantic challenges faced by the Health Ministry in India. Healthcare
is the basic right of every individual, but lack of quality infrastructure,
qualified medical functionaries and non-access to basic medicines and
medical facilities prevent the facilities to reach the 60% of rural population
in India. India being a nation of villages requires an intensive approach
towards rural health. To improve the existing condition of health in rural
areas there is need of new practices and procedures to ensure that quality
and timely healthcare reaches the deprived sections of the rural society in
India. Due to loopholes in implementation of the policies and programs
run by the government of India the success and effectiveness of these munotes.in

Page 42

Rural Resource Management
42 programs is questionable. Rural areas have been influenced by various
contagious diseases like worm infestation, diarrhea, measles, amoebiasis,
malaria, whooping cough, reproductive tract infections, hepatitis,
tuberculo sis, typhoid, respiratory infections and pneumonia. The diseases
spread mostly because of the insanitary conditions in the households
further aggravating by the lethargic conditions of the people and
government. Even though the village level institutions t ake care of
sanitation through its outreach services under rural health care the Primary
Health Centre (PHC), still it’s a long way to upgrade our health system in
rural areas. Primary Health Centre is the primary location for diagnosis
and first referral of these patients. To overcome the present challenges
there is need to strengthen the co- ordination between the primary and
tertiary level institutions.
4.2 CONCEPT
The word “Health” refers to a state of complete emotional and physical
well-being and heal th care exists to help people maintain its optimal state
of health. Good health is central to handling stress and living a long and
active life.
Facts of Health:
 In 1986, the WHO clarified that health is “ A resource for everyday life,
not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing
social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities.”
 Health can be defined as physical, mental, social well -being and as a
resource for living a full life.
 It refers not only to the absence of di sease, but the ability to recover and
bounce back from illness and other problems.
 Factors for good health include genetics, the environment, relationships
and education.
 A healthful diet, exercise, screening for diseases and coping strategies
can all enha nce a person’s health.
 In 1948, the World Health Organization (WHO) defined health as
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well -being
and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
 It can be assumed that health is a resource to support an individual’s
function in wider society.
 Many researchers have defined health as the ability of a body to adapt
to new threats and infirmities.
 Mental, Physical, Spiritual, Emotional and Financial health are the
different types of health and are linked to lower stress levels and mental
and physical well -being.
Mental and Physical health are the two most common types of health that
are discussed. Physical health is the one in which the bodily functions are munotes.in

Page 43

Rural Health -Problems
and Remedies
43 working at peak performance due to not on ly of lack of diseases but also
due to regular exercise, balanced nutrition and adequate rest. Treatment is
taken only when necessary to maintain the balance. Mental health refers to
a persons emotional, social and psychological well -being. Both physical
and mental health are linked are important for full and active lifestyle.
If a person is suffering from chronic illness his ability to complete regular
tasks is affected leading to depression and stress. It is not possible to avoid
disease completely, but developing resilience and preparing the body and
mind to deal with problems that may arise is a step to be taken.
4.3 RURAL HEALTH PROBLEMS IN INDIA
As it is seen 75% of the healthcare infrastructural facilities are
concentrated in the urban areas but only 27% of the population resides
there. The remaining 73% of the population lives in rural areas lacking
primary healthcare facilities. The rural healthcare sector in India is
characterized by lack of qualified and quality staff, unavailability of
necessary m edicines and adequate infrastructural facilities, patients are
still in the hands of phony doctors and unscientific medical practices. The
villagers have to travel a long distance to get medical treatment to the
nearest hospitals in case of emergencies and private transport is only
available which many of them can’t afford. There is a steady growth in
private healthcare facilities but, there is a serious deterioration in the
quality in the public healthcare sector.
Factors affecting the rural healthcare sector:
Indian rural community opts for government healthcare facilities due to
monetary issues and unaffordable transport options to the urban centres.
The most important factor is turning a deaf ear to the patients or their
relatives and due to poor literac y their innocence is exploited and are not
allowed to know their rights. Most of the centres in the rural areas are run
by unskilled or semi -skilled paramedics. Rural people get easily cheated
by a group of health workers and middlemen if the patients are sent to the
tertiary care hospital in case of uncontrolled situation. Unavailability of
the basic medicines in rural areas is a constant problem of India’s rural
healthcare.
Other than the above factors the other factors affecting the rural healthcare
sector are as follows:
1) Infrastructure: Lack of adequate infrastructure is the biggest concern
for the rural healthcare system as they are under -financed, use of low
quality equipment, inadequate supply of medicines and lack of qualified
and dedicated human resources. Under -developed roads, railway network
and poor power supply make it difficult to set up a good rural healthcare
facility.
2) Doctor: The rural healthcare infrastructure has a three -tier system
having a sub -centre, a PHC and a CHC. There is shortage of doctors and
trained nurses in rural areas as a result patient is not always treated on time
in rural India. munotes.in

Page 44

Rural Resource Management
44 3) Insurance: Rural healthcare lacks insurance facilities and India has one
of the lowest per capita healthcare expenditures in the world.
4) Affordabi lity: Health has becoming increasingly costly, with the
advancement of technology, high cost of diagnostic facilities and the
commissioned charges. There are limitations on the people as they cannot
afford the heavy costs of the health services when they visit private
hospitals.
5) Unavailability of medical stores: Supply of basic medicines is not
regular and are often unavailable in rural areas.
6) Lack of awareness: There is lack of awareness about proper healthcare
in India. People need to be educated on the i mportance of sanitation,
health and hygiene, nutrition, healthcare policies, their rights, importance
of medical services, need for proper waste disposal facilities, financial
support options, medical insurance facilities.
4.4 HEALTH CARE IN RURAL AREAS
Healthcare is the right of every individual but due to lack of quality
infrastructure, qualified medical functionaries; access to basic medicines
and medical facilities does not reach to 60% of the population of India.
The key challenges in the healthcare se ctor are low quality of care, poor
accountability, lack of awareness and limited access to the medical
facilities. Awareness is about developing an understanding of one's mental
health needs and the potential to be vulnerable to further episodes of
mental illness. Awareness is a developmental process. Awareness is a
complex and individual learning process that involves a growing
understanding of the self and the place of mental illness within the self -
identity. Awareness is a paradox of acknowledging poten tial vulnerability
to future illness, while maximizing mental health and not being
constrained by a mental illness sick role. Awareness is strongly influenced
by attitudes toward mental illness in the community and in services.
Awareness comprises a genera l understanding of one's mental health, but
also more specific knowledge of risk and protective factors for mental
health. Support to develop awareness can be provided through psycho -
education, peer support, and the help of others such as family and carer s
who can learn to read the early warning signs and communicate this
knowledge to the person who is not able to do so.
People take time to develop awareness, and some people may take a
considerable period of time to do so. This can be challenging for famil ies
and care takers, as well as for service providers. Lack of awareness can be
due to incomplete or inappropriate treatment, whereby continuing
symptoms interfere with the development of awareness, and this may
require change to a more effective treatment approach. Some people are
reluctant to develop awareness as a result of a range of personal, social and
cultural barriers, and the use of motivational interviewing may be helpful
to understand and overcome these barriers. For other people, the denial of
awareness is an important coping mechanism at that time, which is a
choice that needs to be respected when it is not harmful. munotes.in

Page 45

Rural Health -Problems
and Remedies
45 There is a need of new practices and procedures to ensure that quality and
timely healthcare reaches the deprived corners of the Indian villages. Due
to gaps in the implementation of the government policies and programs
the effectiveness and success of these programs and policies is
questionable. Maternity deaths in India are also in large numbers of which
majority are in rural areas where rural healthcare is poor. A majority of
people in India go to local private health sector as their first choice of care
due to non -accessibility to public healthcare and low quality of health care
services. But, private healthcare is expensive, una ffordable by low income
rural folks, unregulated and variable in quantity.

To control the spread of diseases and reduce the increasing mortality rate
and provide adequate health facilities, special attention should be given to
the health care in rural are as. Various organizations have come forward to
improve the healthcare and technology plays a crucial role to facilitate
this. Many solutions for the successful implementation of these changes
are provided by the Information and Communications Technology.
Technology and Rural Health :
Many organizations are working alongside the Government and NGOs to
relieve the burden on the public health system by using mobile technology.
Leading Global Organizations of healthcare industry are using mobile
technology to enhance the quality of care and bridge the gaps in the
healthcare services.
munotes.in

Page 46

Rural Resource Management
46 Gram -vani provides cutting -edge mobile and IVR solutions to automate
processes and applies best practices in the field. It provides services to
healthcare sector, social sector and corporate organizations to connect the
markets in the remotest areas. It has built simple technologies on mobile to
suit the needs of different sectors of the society. Mobile and IVR services
give an extensive reach across the demography to enhance the quality of
care and bridge the gaps in healthcare services in rural India.
Improving Healthcare on the ground :
With the use of mobile technology many healthcare projects and quality of
maternity healthcare in India is upgraded as patients perception of qua lity
of care and satisfaction with care are critical to utilization of health
services. By using this technology women are made aware of their rights
to demand good quality of care, accountability is brought by highlighting
lapses in the health delivery pr ocess and there is increasing uptake of
appropriate health services at the right venues.

Mobile technology helps to encourage the members to engage and share
their stories with each other and also to demand grievance redressal and
accountability from the health system.
Campaigns for healthcare accountability are organized on mobile vaani to
understand the present scenario of health facilities, to identify major issues
that people face while going for health services, to review the condition of
PHC infrast ructure and its connectivity to nearby villages and to build
awareness regarding personal and family healthcare. Other social
campaigns on mobile vaani platform are conducted to identify, understand
and get solutions for public problems and social issues.
munotes.in

Page 47

Rural Health -Problems
and Remedies
47
The campaigns are active discussions wherein the community members
contribute their views about different issues and these discussions are then
converted into manageable threads.
Gram Vaani Technology for Advanced Healthcare System Delivery:
Gram Vaani wa s started in 2009 with the intention of reversing the flow of
information to bottom -up instead of top-down.
v Survey: A questionnaire containing multiple -choice questions,
quantitative input questions are created and qualitative audio recordings
are done t hat are broadcast to different contact groups like ASHA workers
( community health workers), AWWs (Aanganwadi workers)


vInform: ASHAs or AWWs are able to send messages on best practices
that are to be followed during ante -natal care, danger signs to look out for,
and ensure that they take expectant mothers for institutional delivery.
vAnswer: It is an extension to vInform technology useful for ASHAs and
AWWs where in if they have any questions or concerns, they can record
their message which can be answer ed by experts live or through
recordings over the phone.
munotes.in

Page 48

Rural Resource Management
48 Gram Vaani work with organizations all across India and other developing
parts of the world.
4.5 HEALTH FACILITIES IN RURAL AREAS
The poor state of the health system in rural areas is not the outcome of a
particular occurrence but a consolidated outgrowth of degraded system.
Poor health system not only signifies lacunae in the existing policy and
infrastructure but blockage in potential development also. The expenditure
on public health is ignored by both the state and common man also. In
view of common man spending on public health is useless as they think
the quality of treatment and medicines in government hospitals is
degraded. Moreover the common man’s investment in health in private
practitioner and private hospitals has worsened public health system in
India. The setback and frustration along with the growing ineffectiveness
of the government sector has driven the poor sector people to seek help
from the private sector.
Inefficient Physical Infra structure: The sub-centre (SC) the most
peripheral institution is the intermediary contact point between the
Primary Health Centre (PHC) and the community. The sub -centres should
take care of basic health needs of the people in its vicinity. PHC provided
integrated curative and preventive healthcare to the rural people laying
emphasis on preventive and primitive aspects. Community Health
Centres (CHC) at upper level provides comprehensive coverage of health
care to the patients referred from the PHC. Above all poor infrastructure
of the hospitals is a serious concern.
Underutilization of existing rural hospitals: The rural hospitals lack
efficient health infrastructure in rural areas on one hand and on the other
the available infrastructure is not utilized by the people. Despite the
availability of comparable medical services rural patients ignore the local
rural hospitals. The rural people often opt for urban hospitals fit for any
kind of hospitalization resulting in the closure of rural hospitals or they ar e
open but without any patient. It is seen that the public doctors quiet often
provide private services instead of going to their designated centres.
Inadequate Human Resources: The rural public health facilities face the
problem of inadequate manpower acr oss all cadres in the rural health
system. Unavailability of trained doctors and medical professionals and
absenteeism of the available staff have paralyzed the rural health facilities.
The fact that there is certainly a serious lack of dedicated administr ative
action towards providing effective service attributes to the frequency of
absenteeism.
Apathetic Attitude of Medical Professionals: Most of the medical
practitioners neglect the Primary Health Care system. doctors in primary
care centres have less co mpetence and make less effort than staff in the
private hospital sector. The medical education does not prepare the
graduate to function effectively in the rural areas. Students who have paid
heavy fees for private medical education, prefer to pursue their career in
such places where they can recover their investment (the fees). munotes.in

Page 49

Rural Health -Problems
and Remedies
49 Dominance of Unregulated Private Medical Professionals: The
insensitivity of public doctors leads to unregulated private practitioners in
health sector. Amongst them some are fake a llopathic doctors in rural
areas, actually having no medical training. This generation of unregulated
and unqualified private providers demands an effective regulatory system.
Non-Preparedness to Fight with Epidemic in Rural Areas: The rural
health system lags behind in its responses to pandemic eradication. Most
of the epidemics like Dengue, Diarrhea, Malaria, Cholera, Pneumonia in
rural areas are not controlled through proper vaccination policies as a
result hundreds of people die. Government hospitals la ck the adequate
facilities that deal with the cases of different epidemics and deadly
diseases. In many places the hospitals are understaffed and even lack basic
healthcare facilities like beds, X -ray machines. Encephalitis is one such
that has crippled th e government efforts to control its expansion in rural
areas. it is estimated that around 20% of the Indian population is not
covered under the vaccination coverage.
High Neonatal Mortality: The death of infants till the age group of 5
years is alarming in rural areas. This frequency of infant deaths among
1 year old is 51/1000 live births. The causes for these deaths are supposed
to be premature birth, low weight, trauma, birth asphyxia, etc. This
problem is corroborated by malnutrition of children and their mothers.
Social factors also contribute towards the neonatal deaths. Several female
infant deaths occur due to the gender bias towards infants. Along with
BIMAROU states Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra are the
worst faring districts in terms o f infant mortality rate. Child mortality rate
is much higher among Scheduled Tribes (STs) than other social groups.
Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) is not a problem of one or two states but of
majority of the states that downgrades India’s position in terms of global
ranking of IMR.
Inequitable Immunization: The government -run immunization
programs are also not equity -based. Particularly households in the districts
having civil disturbances and inaccessible territory or region have very
poor access. Poor a ccess to health services among the STs is partial. The
reason is that they live in remote rural and forest areas having inhospitable
region wherein medical facilities are often unavailable. Even if the medical
facilities are available absence of healthcare providers is high as a result
monitoring becomes difficult.
Inclination towards Home -based Deliveries: The maternal mortality is
still a hindrance in the advancement of rural health. The pervasiveness of
home -based delivery leads to frequent deaths of p regnant women. Most
rural women opt for home deliveries due to poor access to and low quality
of healthcare in the maternity centres.
Lack of coordination between Medical Research Institution and
Health Service Delivery Institution: It is perquisite that t here should be
coordination and cooperation between different research centres and
health service delivery institutions in India. The medical research munotes.in

Page 50

Rural Resource Management
50 institution should update the technical knowledge of existing medical
professionals. Along with diagnosin g the disease, the medical research
institution should formulate epidemic response plan and also can help in
indigenizing global technologies and ensure its availability at economical
rate by partnership development between the community, health service
providers and the government.
Lack of Community Participation: Many a times it is seen that the rural
health system is disconnected from the rural masses requirements. The
demands of community in terms of treatment, diagnosis, prevention of
various diseases, etc. are ignored resulting into pandemic. Lack of
coordination with the locals leads to ineffective monitoring of disease and
maintaining hygiene and sanitation. Therefore it is necessary to involve
the community in designing, staffing and functioning of local primary
healthcare centres and in many other forms of support.
4.6 SOLUTIONS TO RURAL HEALTH ISSUES: RURAL
HEALTH CARE PROGRAMS
Government has taken many steps to institutionalize the existing rural
health framework. Many strategies and missions ha ve been initiated by the
government to improve the rural scenario.
National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) :
NRHM was started in 2005 to address infirmities and problems across
primary health care and bring about improvement in the health system and
the health status of rural people. NHRM works on the principles laid down
in the national and state health policies and the vision of Millennium
Development Goals by providing accessible, affordable, effective,
accountable and reliable healthcare to all the citizens in particular the
poorer and vulnerable sections of the population. NRHM is a scheme of
central government to improve the provision of basic healthcare facilities in
rural India by making changes in the existing degraded healthcare delivery
system and by promoting good health through improvements in nutrition,
sanitation, hygiene and safe drinking water. Through NRHM, the unit
level health care centres like PHC, SC have been strengthened. Various
PHCs have been transformed into 24X7 PHCs with proper medica l
facilities. In addition, the patients have been linked with mainstream health
system through a wide network of ASHA workers across the country.
Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) :
Janani Suraksha Yojana is a flagship programme of Government of India
under NRHM which is intended to promote institutional delivery to reduce
maternal and neo -natal mortality. It provides cash incentives for women to
deliver in a government or accredited private medical facility. Under JSY,
the ASHA workers work as interface between rural health system and
community and increase cases of institutional deliveries through escorting
pregnant women, proper medical facilities for ante -natal care.
munotes.in

Page 51

Rural Health -Problems
and Remedies
51 Health Insurance through Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY)
Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) launched in 2008 is one of
landmark schemes in the area of Rural Health offering a micro -insurance
product for households designated as “below the poverty line (BPL)” and
aims to cover up to 60 million households throughout the country. The
objectiv es of the RSBY are to provide financial protection for households
affected by major health shocks and improve health outcomes for poor
households. RSBY insures BPL families for hospitalisation costs and
allows them to choose between public and private hosp itals. Beneficiaries
must pay a nominal registration fee while the cost of premium payments is
shared by the central and state governments.
The beneficiaries under RSBY are entitled to an insurance cover of INR
30,000 for most of the diseases that require hospitalization. The
Government has fixed package rates for medical and surgical
interventions, or procedures, for a large number of interventions. Pre-
existing conditions are covered from day one and there is no age limit for
the insured. Coverage extend s to a maximum of five members of the
family which includes the head of the household, the spouse and up to
three dependents. The scheme places control over a significant amount of
resources in the hands of the beneficiaries. Every BPL household is now a
potential client from whom the hospitals can earn significant revenues if
they can get themselves empanelled and provide quality health care
Mobile -based Primary Health Care System :
The Mobile -based Primary Health Care System initiated in 2005 is having
crucial role in the area of rural health as it uses a mobile phone to transmit
a person’s vital signs. . Primary health care services based on mobile
devices ensures improved access to primary healthcare. The health
professionals remotely monitor patients suf fering from chronic diseases
across the country offering a wide range of services such as health
education, promotion of nutrition, basic sanitation, the provision of mother
and child family welfare services, immunization, disease control and
appropriate treatment for illness and injury.
Initiative has been taken by a Bangalore -based firm called Centre for
Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC). The Software
components under the development are Patient Database management,
Interaction between doctor and a patient, capture of Medical data
acquisition - such as ECG, images of heart, lung, eye etc. and Scheduling
management. It also provides development of Localization Support in
national and other Indian languages in mobiles by providing interface for
transla tion.
Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana :
Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) aimed to encourage
women to follow Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices
including early and exclusive breast feeding for first six months was
started in 2010. IGMSY a centrally sponsored scheme was implemented
through the state ICDS Cells with 100% financial assistance from the
ministry of Women and Child Development. This scheme promotes the munotes.in

Page 52

Rural Resource Management
52 demand for cash transfers to all pregnant women and lactating mothe rs in
selected districts and also promotes the demand for mother and child care
services through providing incentives based on fulfilment of specific
conditions. Registration within four months of pregnancy was the first
milestone to receive cash benefits of Rs. 1500/ - at the end of 2nd trimester
and every registered mother would have a Mother and Child Protection
Card under IGMSY. The scheme would also ensure accessing provisions
for counselling, iron and folic -acid supplements that are vital for the
healt h of both the mother and the child. IGMSY would strive to ensure
the maximum immunization of every pregnant woman in close
collaboration with the health workers. Research studies all round the world
shows that globally, the universal practice of exclusive breastfeeding for
the first six months of life reduces young child mortality rate by 13%.
Under the complete supervision of Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) the
Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) would support all health
related interventions under the IGMSY in coordination with the
Anganwadi Workers (AWWs).
4.7 SUMMARY
As more than 70% of the population lives in rural areas have unsatisfactory
health facilities and the mortality rate due to diseases is at high risk. Rural
health care is one of the giga ntic challenges faced by the Health Ministry
in India. India being a nation of villages requires an intensive approach
towards rural health. To improve the existing condition of health in rural
areas there is need of new practices and procedures to ensure that quality
and timely healthcare reaches the deprived sections of the rural society in
India. Due to loopholes in implementation of the policies and programs
run by the government of India the success and effectiveness of these
programs is questionable. The word “Health” refers to a state of complete
emotional and physical well -being and health care exists to help people
maintain its optimal state of health. Factors affecting rural health care
system are infrastructure, doctor, insurance, affordability, unavailability of
medical stores, lack of awareness, illiteracy and unavailability of basic
medicines, etc. Various organizations have come forward to improve the
healthcare and technology plays a crucial role to facilitate this.
Government has taken many s teps to institutionalize the existing rural
health framework. Many strategies and missions have been initiated by the
government to improve the rural scenario.
4.8 SELF -STUDY
Q - 1Write Short note on Rural Health in India. Q - 2 Explain the Concept
of rural health in India?
Q - 3 What are the Rural Health Problems in India?
Q - 4 Give an account of the Health Care in Rural Areas.
Q - 5 Answer in detail about the Health facilities in rural areas? Q - 6 What
are the Solutions to Rural Health Issues? munotes.in

Page 53

Rural Health -Problems
and Remedies
53 4.9 REFER ENCE S
 http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/essay/rural -health -problems -in-
india/34992
 https://gramvaani.org/?p=1629
 https:// www.brookings.edu/opinions/india -the-crisis -in-rural-health -
care/
 https:// www.smilefoundationindia.org/Media/rural -healthcare.html
 http://pharmabiz.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?aid=71113&sid=9
 http://www.hrpub.org/download/20150301/IJRH4 -19290324.pdf
 https:// www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6166510/
 http://www.jfmpc.com/article.asp?issn=2249 -
4863;year=2018;volume=7;issu e=6;spage=1157;epage=1162;aulast=K
umar
 https:// www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4014652/ Magtapp
Application


munotes.in

Page 54

54 5
DEVELOPMENT OF INFRASTRUCTURE
Unit Structure :
5.0 Objectives
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Concept of Rural Infrastructure
5.3 Role of Rural Infrastructure in Rural Development
5.4 Transport & Communication
5.5 Rural Electrification
5.6 Safe & Pure Drinking Water
5.7 Summary
5.8 Self-study
5.9 References
5.0 OBJECTIVES
1. To study the rural basic infrastructures
2. To study the problems of the poor and strategy for sustainable
development
3. To know the importance of rural infrastructure in rural development
4. To understand the concept of rural infrastructure
5. To know the role of infrastructure and its development
5.1 INTRODUCTION
Infrastructure plays a crucial role not only for the country’s economic
growth but also in the progress of human development. Rural areas
account for a larger part of the geographical area in India. Census 2011
reports that there are 6.4 lakh villages in India, which shelter more than
two-third of the country’s population. It has been a major problem to
provide basic infrastructure facilities to this large section of the
population, which is spread across 3.28 million square kilometer of the
country’s geographical area. The developing countries having low income
have many rural infrastructural deficiencies despite having a large
variation in t he rural infrastructure. The deficiencies in rural infrastructure
in transport system, energy, telecommunication, etc. leads to poor
functioning of the other related infrastructural facilities. It is very true that munotes.in

Page 55

Developmen t of
Infrastructure
55 the development of rural infrastructure promotes growth and poverty
alleviation and the economic rates of return to the investments are also
high.
A country’s prosperity depends upon the countries agricultural sector, its
market and development in the industrial sector. Electricity, supply of
finance and transport facility, machines, tools and implements, skilled
workers, energy, market place are all important and all the above said
facilities are called as the infrastructures of the economy. The
infrastructure facility is very important from the point of view of
development of the country. India being land of villages developing India
means developing the Indian villages in reality. Infrastructures play an
important role in rural development as transport and communication
connect the villages to the market areas, and energy & irrigation are
necessary for agriculture and village industries. Scientific development,
information technology mobilizes the development of agricultural
industries. Development of human resources depends on the education and
health facilities provided. Investment in rural infrastructure is the need of
today. Planning commission realized the need of the hour and from the
first five years plan it decided to make an increase in the investments in
rural infrastructures. Increase i n the investment in countries infrastructure
is seen as per the necessity.
Social and economic infrastructure is very important in the rural
development. Development is faster due to the infrastructural facilities.
Rural infrastructure plays an important in the development of human
resources - To reduce the rural backwardness, Development of human
resources, Increase, in the momentum of production factors, For the
development of the agricultural sector, Momentum to the rural industrial
sector, Decrease in the poverty, Social and Cultural progress.
5.2 CONCEPT OF RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Rural infrastructure plays an important part in the economic and social
development of the country. Basic infrastructure is the capital of the
society. It is difficult to define social and economic infrastructures because
of their flexibility. Paul, Rosenten, Reigner, and Narks have defined social
and economic as ‘Investment done in the work which is socially
beneficial’. Those social investments that are indirectly beneficial to the
production processes are termed as basic infrastructure. Rural
infrastructure directly does not produce goods but create a favorable
condition for raising the economic level.
To achieve the goal of rural development, to gain momentum in the
development process rural infrastructure plays an important part. Social
and cultural development also depends on the infrastructure. After
adopting the concept of welfare state government is making a large
investment in the rural infrastructure. By adopting the policies of
privatization, liberalization and globalization since 1990 private sector is
investing on large scale on the infrastructure. Due to which there was a
drastic change in the infrastructural facilities. Following factors are
included in the rural infr astructure: munotes.in

Page 56

Rural Resource Management
56 1) Public Amenities -
a) Electricity for the agricultural and industrial sector.
b) Transport and communication – indivisible factor of the
development process.
c) Supply of drinking water through taps for people’s health.
d) Disposal of filth and waste matte r for health and cleanliness.
2) Public construction -
a) Construction of roads for the transport of agricultural produce, raw
material and finished products from the industrial sector.
b) Irrigation projects to supply water to the agricultural sector.
3) Public trans port service -
a) Transport is one of the important factors of the basic infrastructure. It
includes road transport, railway transport, waterways and airways.
Transport service is very essential for transporting the agricultural produce
to the market. Economic and social development takes place because of
transport service.
Q1. Explain the concept of rural infrastructure.
5.3 ROLE OF RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE IN RURAL
DEVELOPMENT
In any country, infrastructure plays a very important role in supporting
nations econo mic growth. Typically, rural infrastructure assumes great
importance in India because of the country’s predominantly rural nature
and the crucial linkages of rural infrastructure to economic growth,
poverty alleviation and human development as a whole in t he country. In
fact, as per Census 2011, there are 6.4 lakh villages in India, which shelter
more than two -third of the country’s population. In such a scenario, the
role and importance of rural infrastructure in India cannot be negated.It is
to be noted t hat rural infrastructure includes irrigation, rural housing, rural
water supply, rural electrification and rural telecommunication
connectivity. In general, rural infrastructure can provide basic amenities
that improve the quality of life of the rural peop le. It is also very crucial for
agriculture and agro -industries. The rural road infrastructure can provide
mobility and connectivity to more than 800 million people living in rural
areas. Rural road infrastructure can help in eradicating poverty in rural
areas as it can provide better livelihood to people and better access to
education and health services and other basic services.
Rural electrification infrastructure can very well cater to the requirements
of agriculture and other activities including irrig ation pump sets, small and
medium industries, khadi and village industries, cold storage chains,
healthcare, education and rural IT. Rural water supply system munotes.in

Page 57

Developmen t of
Infrastructure
57 infrastructure can lead to sustainability of systems and sources and tackle
the problem of water quality, thereby, increasing good health of people.
Rural housing infrastructure can improve the living standard of the people.
Development of rural power, irrigation, water, sanitation and road
infrastructure can increase productivity, savings, income and tourism and
result in better jobs and health of rural people. Thus, better infrastructure
has the potential to promote overall growth of the rural community and
impact the country’s economy as well.
Q. Answer in short - The role played by rural infrastruc ture in rural
development
5.4 TRANSPORT & COMMUNICATION
Transport :
Rural road connectivity is not only the key component of Rural
Development in India, but also recognized as an effective poverty
reduction program. An improved accessibility to all quarter s of a village is
an indispensable prerequisite for the provision of adequate living
conditions in rural areas. The interdependency in change of land use and
transportation is not promoted in rural areas and this keeps the economic
system inactive in these areas. The absence of roads in rural areas leads to
stagnation of socio -economic conditions of the villagers.
The network planning should promote the objectives like accessibility and
connectivity to most of the places in the region. A proper skeleton of road
network will create a promotional impact of land use activity.
Transportation is the movement of people, animals and goods from one
location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable,
pipeline and space. Transport is importa nt because it enables trade
between people, which is essential for the development of civilizations.
Road ways :
A road is an identifiable route, way or path between two or more places.
Roads are typically smoothed, paved, or otherwise prepared to allow eas y
travel, though they need not be, and historically many roads were simply
recognizable routes without any formal construction or maintenance. In
urban areas, roads may pass through a city or village and be named as
streets serving a dual function as urban space easement and route. Road
transport offers a complete freedom to road users to transfer the vehicle
from one lane to the other and from one road to another according to the
need and convenience. It is possible to provide door - to - door service only
by road transport.
Rail Transport
Railways are an important means of land transport. The India railway
system is today the largest in Asia and the second largest in the world. The
Indian railways carry crores of passengers and heavy and bulky goods
from on e part of country to another. Railways connect all the important munotes.in

Page 58

Rural Resource Management
58 towns and cities. Railways provide a cheap and fast means of transport. In
many times of crisis, such as floods, famines and wars, railways carry men
and materials to places where they are mo st needed. In big cities, we have
local train service also. Kolkata is the only city in our country, which has
an underground railway system, called the Metro service. Freight trains
traditionally used boxcars, requiring manual loading and unloading of the
cargo. Railways have directly or indirectly have created employment
opportunities throughout. Transport of goods has become easier from
different parts of the country. It has resulted in the growth of industrial
sector in the country.
Air Transport :
Aero planes are the fastest means of transport. All our major cities are
connected to one another and to almost every part of the world through air
transport. Air transport has made not only our country but also the entire
world very small. Helicopters and Aero planes are pressed into service in
times of floods, other natural calamities or accidents. However, air travel
is expensive. It is also not possible to transport heavy and bulky goods by
air. The development of fast means of transport has increased the trade not
only within the country, but also between different countries of the world.
It is now possible to buy goods produced in other parts of the country, and
the world, from our local market.
Water Transport :
Ships and boats are means of water transport. Ships sail in the oceans and
seas, carrying all types of goods from one part of the world to another.
India has many ports along its long coastline. Steamers and boats sail
along big rivers carrying passengers and goods from town to town, along
their banks in India. Big rivers like the Ganga and Brahmaputra are used
extensively as an inland means of water transport. The backwaters of
Kerala are also widely used for water transport. Water transport may be
slow as compared to road, rail or air transport but i t is a cheap way to
transport bulky goods over long distances. In the same way water transport
is carried out through rivers, lakes, canals, creeks.
Q. Explain the various modes of transport.
Information and Communication technology :
Since early 90s Inform ation and Communication Technologies are playing
a pivotal role in the development process. In the globalization era, India
using ICTs to promote their development programs as well as reaches the
poor to strengthen their livelihood.
Technology is a double - edged sword in present days. It has become a
part of life and livelihood of the people in the country. In the 20 th
century, rapid technological advances led to rising standards of living,
litera cy, health and life expectancy. The promise of Information and
Communication Technologies (ICTs) for the 21st century likewise
presents both opportunities and challenges. ICTs, like all technologies, are munotes.in

Page 59

Developmen t of
Infrastructure
59 tools. In the era of globalization information revolution and the
extraordinary increase in the spread of knowle dge have given birth to a
new era - one of knowledge and information that affects directly economic,
social, cultural and political activities of all regions of the world, including
India.
In easy terms ICT is defined as technologies that facilitate
communi cation, processing and transmission of information in the
electronic format. The progress of any market mainly depends on the
access to information. The Information and Communication Technologies
(ICTs) greatly facilitate the flow of information and knowle dge by
presenting the rural consumers extraordinary opportunities to attain their
own entitlements. There is a comprehensible relationship between ICTs
and the rural consumer empowerment. ICT can be used as an effective
tool for rural consumer empowerment. The rural consumer acting solely
will be able to obtain the information they require once they have access
to Internet. The knowledge obtained is sufficient to begin the process of
identifying and mobilizing proper information resources. It can be used to
create the demand that will generate the detailed information requirements
necessary for the construction of useful information system.
Beneficial for the farmers :
One of the benefits of ICT lies in providing timely and accurate
information. Now the rural consumer can get information about the
weather, including monsoon and threat of floods and other natural
calamities. It reduces the farmer’s dependence on uncontrollable natural
factors and also allows them to plan their crops accordingly. It acts as a
warning signal and helps the farmers to avoid risks. ICT has remarkable
potential to make the information available at the right time thereby
empowering the rural consumer. It is considered as the lifeline of
economic and social development of the rural cons umers.
Hindrances in implementing ICT in rural areas -
a) Due to lack of awareness about information technology and illiteracy it
can be a hindrance in implementing ICT in rural areas
b) Inadequate, inconsistent and unpredictable power supply in the rural
areas poses a serious threat to efficiency of ICT.
c) Non-accessibility of secure, robust and economical broadband
connectivity in rural market continues to hamper the growth of ICT.
d) Poor people and disadvantaged group like women may have restraint in
the use of ICT for their specific purpose.
e) Software packages and content not in local language is another
hindrance for rural consumers as most of the rural consumer are not
comfortable in English language.
f) Short lifecycle of IT assets due to high rate of depreciation and
obsolescence is another factor acting as a threat to the viability of
ICTs. munotes.in

Page 60

Rural Resource Management
60 Developing ICT for Rural Consumers -Planning and Implementation:
Assessing the information needs are very essential elements in the context
of ICT for rural consumers. The market ers and software developers
should keep in mind wide range of resources and applications of ICT that
are of potential use to the consumers. Actually it is the information that
has direct impact on the demands of the rural market so it is of paramount
impor tance that any applications should be developed only after an
accurate assessment of the needs and wants of the rural consumers. The
organizations have to use rapid and participatory rural appraisals and other
survey instruments to ensure timely and accura te information about the
rural market. These tools could be used in the context of ICT initiatives.
Once the information needs of the consumers are assessed, marketing
plan and software applications should be developed with continuous
involvement and feedb ack from rural consumers. For effective utilization
of information about the rural consumers, the information has to be
divided into different information networks and organized accordingly.
The working group of the ministry of IT recommended computer educ ation
at the block level by establishing computer education amenities in rural
areas. This is a segment where investment is required incessantly in order
to improve the educational standards of the rural consumer.
Initiatives for rural consumers need to be approached with a measure of
carefulness. The challenge is to help build the capacity of market
intermediaries or assist in the establishment and promotion of consumer
information centers. To achieve sustainability marketing strategy must
deal with the re al needs of the rural consumers. The rural youth has to be
given a major place in the whole plan. Training the youth to broaden the
concept of ICT successfully is very essential. It should be made
mandatory for the sarpanch to be computer literate. Softwar e packages in
local languages need to be developed to have a wider usage of ICT by rural
consumers. Incentive should be provided to encourage the rural consumer
to adopt the program. The Panchayat can propose the names of few
persons to get training in inf ormation technology. There is also a gender
dimension to the information needed. For instance, quite often women
require specific health related information. The position of women has to
be dominant in the villages. Rural women have proved their mettle in
many endeavors like in the development of cooperatives and SHGs (Self
Help Group). The women have to assume larger responsibilities, as they
are the promoters of tomorrow’s citizens. The rural consumers should
have a sense of ownership of the knowledge management centers;
otherwise it will be difficult to sustain them.
The ICT network should include information on preventive health issues,
to prevent any possible spread of epidemics and other diseases. Ministry
of Information technology (MIT) has also initiated a development project
on telemedicine in association with leading medical institutes. Community
radio and the All India Radio can be of immense help in communicating
up to date information to those who will benefit from it. In order to reach
to the bo ttom of the pyramid level an integrated ICT system is of supreme munotes.in

Page 61

Developmen t of
Infrastructure
61 value. It is very important that the content be made available to the rural
consumer in their local language so that they decipher the content easily.
Mobile phones can be also used as a pote ntial source of growth. Mobiles
allow communication to bridge the digital divide by leapfrogging and
breaking the hierarchical pattern of technology diffusion. Short message
Service (SMS) can be used to deliver a wide range of information to rural
consumer s like crop prices, weather patterns, utility services etc.
Panchayat are the movers of rural economy. To promote ICT in rural
market, the best way is to make panchayat IT savvy. The development of
online panchayat will lead to efficient selling and distri bution of crops.
With the availability of the Internet in rural market, the procurement
process can be reorganized. The requirement of the middlemen will be
reduced to a great extent. Farmers can deal with the end users like the
industrial buyer and consum ers directly. It will bring about synergy of
farmers and manufacturers and equally benefit them. Farmers will
receive more value and the industrial buyer will enjoy less cost and better
quality of agricultural products. This will make panchayat hub of
distribution and selling in the rural market and thus can protect the farmers
from exploitation.
One of the important methods is by arranging seminars at the village level.
Education is the moral fiber of any state. In this regard, exclusive
programs and telev ision channels are dedicated to, direct the education
chapters. This has become possible in rural areas as they cannot leave the
daily employment and come to nearby towns to avail education. In this
regard, educational programs on television are a forward step. Some
private companies have been extremely successful in implementing ICT in
villages. It has brought about exceptional transformation in the rural
market and is helping to lessen the rural seclusion. It has led to more
transparency for farmers and i mproved their productivity and incomes. It
demonstrates that a large corporation can play a major role in organizing
markets and increasing the efficiency of an agricultural system in ways
that benefit both farmers and stakeholders.
The rapid expansion of Information and communication technology will
significantly improve the living standards of the rural consumers. The
need to carry out research on implementation of ICT in the rural market
is of utmost importance. The application of ICT in various sectors of
rural market such as education, health, agriculture, farming and rural
economic development will definitely accelerate the rural growth. Despite
the fact that ICT has significantly entered into all aspects of our lives,
impact of ICT in rural areas is v ery limited. The answer therefore lies in
effective transfer of funds from the urban areas to the rural areas to initiate
the development in the rural areas. At the same time the attitude of rural
consumers also needs to be changed as they think that devel opmental work
is the task of government only. It can be observed that at the village level,
where the panchayats are given money for various projects and they get
the work done by villagers by paying them meager amount. They are thus
exploited because of i lliteracy and general ignorance. Hence the slogan of
consumer involvement works only when the villagers see some tangible munotes.in

Page 62

Rural Resource Management
62 benefits. We can infer from our experience that a close and continuing
association between information providers and consumers is essential for
effective information delivery.
Q. Explain the different means of Communication.
5.5 RURAL HOUSING AND RURAL ELECTRIFICATION
Access to energy is a cornerstone for development and for a better quality
of life. If there is no access to energy it h as negative impact on all aspects
of life like education, health, employment and irrigation. Now India is at
the peak of energy transformation, leading the global progress in
electricity access. Half a billion people gained access to electricity in India
between 2000 -2016, increasing the share of grid-electrified households
from 43% to 82%. Several new efforts are underway at the central and
state levels with the goal of achieving universal household electrification
in order to meet the rapidly increasing demand of electricity. The
Planning Commission’s strategy for the development of rural India and
the United Nation’s Millennium Development goals depends on the
integration of electricity services to achieve a set of varied development
goals.
A new proposed definition of village electrification came into effect in
the year 2004 - 05:
1) Basic infrastructure such as Distribution Transformer and Distribution
lines are provided in the inhabited locality as well as the Dalit Basti /
hamlet where it exists. (For ele ctrification through Non -Conventional
Energy Sources a Distribution transformer may not be necessary).
2) Electricity is provided to public places like Schools, Panchayat Office,
Health Centers, Dispensaries, Community centers etc. and
3) The number of household s electrified should be at least 10% of the
total number of households in the village.
Rural Electrification in India :
After the independence the need for extension of the electricity system to
rural areas was felt. The Rural Electrification Program was launched in
India with two distinct dimensions a) Village Electrification and b)
Irrigation Pump Set Energization. The prior enhances consumer
satisfaction and the latter optimizes crop yield. The main sources of
funding for the rural electrification are a) The Rural Electrification
Corporation b) Plan Allocation to the states c) Funds support from
Government as loan and grant d) institutional financing bodies like
Commercial Banks e) International financing agencies like OECF, etc.
Rural Electrification Corp oration (REC) :
The Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) was established in July 1969
as a public sector undertaking with the main objective to finance Rural munotes.in

Page 63

Developmen t of
Infrastructure
63 Electrification (RE) schemes and promote rural electricity cooperatives for
funding rural electr ification projects across the country.
The main objectives of REC are:
i) To subscribe to special rural electrification bonds issued by SEBI on
conditions to be imposed from time to time.
ii) To promote, develop and finance viable decentralized pow er
system organizations in cooperative, joint, private sector, panchayat
and/or local bodies.
iii) To finance and /or execute works on small, mini and micro generation
projects, to promote & develop other energy sources and to provide
financial assista nce for leasing out the above sources of energy.
iv) To administer the money received from the government and other
sources as grants.
v) To promote and finance rural electricity cooperatives in the country.
vi) To finance survey and investigation of projects.
vii) To promote, organize or carry on the business of consultancy services
and/or project implementation in any field of activity engaged in India
and abroad.
Major Rural Electrification Schemes in India:
Rural Electrification is the backbone of rural economy and also a basic
input for rapid rural development. It is the main infrastructure for ensuring
rapid growth of agricultural sector and agro -based industries in the rural
areas. Some of the rural electrification schemes implemented are as
follows:
Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana (PMGY) :
The PMGY was launched in 2000 -2001 to provide additional financial
assistance for minimum services like rural health, education, drinking
water and rural electrification, by the central government to all states on a
loan (90%) and grant (10%) basis. The PMGY was coordinated and
monitored by the Rural Development Division of the planning
Commission and under this scheme the states had the flexibility to decide
on the inter -reallocation of funds amongst the basic services. This scheme
was discontinued from 2005 onwards.
KutirJyoti Program (KJP) :
KJP was initiated to provide single point light connection (60w) to all the
Below Poverty Line (BPL) households in the country in 1988 -89. KJP
provides 100% grant for oneti me cost of internal wiring and service
connection charges and provision for 100% metering for release of grants.
As of now more than 5.1 million households have been covered under the
scheme. In May 2004 the scheme was merged into the, Accelerated
Electrif ication of one lakh villages and one crore Households and now
merged into the RGGVY. munotes.in

Page 64

Rural Resource Management
64 Minimum Needs Program (MNP) :
The MNP targeted states having less than 65% rural electrification and
provided 100% loans for last mile connectivity. Due to the difficulties in
implementation this scheme was discontinued in 2004 -05.
Accelerated Rural Electrification Program (AREP) :
The AREP, operational since 2002, covers electrification and un -
electrified village and household electrification and provides an interest
subsid y of 4% to the states for RE programs. The interest subsidy is
available to state governments and electricity utilities on loans availed
from approved financial institutions like the Rural Electrification
Corporation (REC), Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and from
NABARD under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF).
Rural Electricity Supply Technology Mission (REST) :
REST was launched with an objective of electrification of all villages
and households progressively on 11th September 2002 and by th e year
2012 to fulfill the objective through local renewable energy sources and
decentralized technologies, along with the conventional grid connection.
REST come up with an integrated approach for rural electrification and
aims to
 To identify and adopt technological solutions
 To promote, fund, finance and facilitate alternative approaches in
rural electrification
 To review the current legal and institutional framework and make
changes when necessary
 To coordinate with various ministries, apex institutions and
research organizations to facilitate meeting national objectives.
After Electrification of one lakh villages and one crore households, MNP
and KJP are merged with the RGGVY.
Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY)
RGGVY is the latest national rural electrification scheme launched in
April 2005 by the Ministry of Power to execute the vision for rural
electrification. The objectives of RGGVY are:
 100% electrification of all village and inhabitations in in the country.
 Free of cost electricity connection to BPL households.
 Electricity access to all households.
To achieve the said objectives RGGVY anticipates creating a 1) Rural
Electricity Distribution Backbone (REDB) with at least one substation
(33/11 KV or 66/11 KV) in each block. 2) Decentraliz ed Distributed
Generation (DDG) systems where the grid is not cost -effective of feasible. munotes.in

Page 65

Developmen t of
Infrastructure
65 3) Village Electrification Infrastructure (VEI) with at least one distribution
transformer in each village / habitation.
RGGVY puts rural electricity as a necessary c omponent for broad based
economic and human development. It also looks at 24 hours supply of
quality grid power to rural areas for spreading industrial activity,
provision of modern healthcare facilities and the use of IT.
Q. Give the importance of rural electrification in rural development.
5.6 WATER SUPPLY AND PURE DRINKING WATER
Water :
Water factor depends on many other factors as it is a limited natural
resource and conservation of it is very essential. Underground water level
can be increased by means of water saving methods like percolating the
water in the ground, by building bunds to stop flowing water and equal
distribution of water, digging trenches to store water and thereby increase
underground water level and most important is to plant more and more
trees to increase the water level. This water can be utilized during the non-
rainy seasons.
Water conservation methods are implemented everywhere to deal with the
water storage problem. Available water is related to the various factors
like soil cons ervation, afforestation, and bunding on the mountain slopes.
The more conservation of water is the more availability of water. Konkan
region receives heavy rainfall during the season still they suffer the
problem of water shortage. Nature gives us water in abundance but it is we
who are responsible for this water shortage problem and not the nature. We
should take more efforts to conserve water through bunding and making
the water percolate in the soil to increase the surface water and the
underground water level. So planning is essential so that we don’t face the
water problem.
More water will be required due to increasing industrialization,
population, urbanization and other reasons. To fulfill these needs millions
of rupees have been invested on various s chemes for the same. Water
facilities were provided to the urban areas through the water schemes from
the rural areas. But the fact is that no measures were taken for water
conservation in the rural areas, which is the greatest demerit of our
planning. Bec ause of this even after 71 years of independence we are not
able to solve the water problem of our country.
There is consistency of rainfall in our country with increase or decrease in
the proportion of rainfall. If the rain -water is conserved and harvest ed at
the time of rainfall we won’t ever face drinking water problem in future.
This gift of nature must be preserved and conserved and utilized in an
organized manner.
Water Supply: Water is absolutely essential to life. It contributes to
the wonder and majesty of the natural world, whether through the
babbling of a small brook or the vast ocean. There are several key munotes.in

Page 66

Rural Resource Management
66 sources of water related to one another through the working of water
cycle.

Water Cycle :
The cycle begins with water particles rising off the ocean waters. Clouds
gather these droplets until reaching the saturation point. Saturation
occurs when a cloud catches so many particles that it must release the
burden as rain. When clouds move over a landmass, the droplets form
rain, ice or snow depe nding on weather conditions. This water source falls
to the earth to enter lakes, rivers and streams. Droplets also become
absorbed into the ground to replenish the ground water. Runoff from the
earth pushes this water source into our lakes, rivers and streams and
eventually back into the ocean to begin the cycle again.

Natural springs :

Earlier we could drink water from the springs without treating it. But now
a day, water from springs has to be tested to make it sure it is free from
chemical toxins and biological organisms. Ozone is added to purify the
water as it reduces to ordinary oxygen normally suspended in water or
released into the atmosphere. This ozone purified water is then bottled to
make bottled spring water. And if it is naturally carbonated it is sparkling
water.
Rivers and Lakes :
munotes.in

Page 67

Developmen t of
Infrastructure
67
Water from rivers and lakes is used as a standard source of water for
human consumption. These sources are restored regularly by the actions
of weather. But this water cannot be used directly for drinking purpo se. It
has to be treated to make it fit for consumption. Water treatment plants
pump water into their facilities, filtering and adding chemicals to purify
the water. Lakes and rivers are the source of tap water. It is purified and
disinfected usually with chlorine, but sometimes fluoride is added. It is
then supplied to the homes across the area for individual homes for
consumption and other uses of water.
Ground Water :
Groundwater lies in pockets beneath the surface of the earth typically
existing betwee n layers of rocks. Those living in rural areas or those who
don’t have access to municipal corporation water supply often use this
ground water source for wells. The water cycle replenishes groundwater
tables at a relatively predictable rate based on clima te. The ground water
levels can be affected during drought conditions. Wells can be either
near the surface or they can draw up water from very deep. They need to
be tested for purity. But some wells offer pure, drinkable water.



munotes.in

Page 68

Rural Resource Management
68 Desalination :

Desalina tion is a process in which the seawater is treated to remove salt
from it. But in this process additional minerals from this water are
removed. Huge processing plants around the world convert seawater to
potable water suitable for human consumption. This type of natural
water source conversion requires extensive treatment and the expensive
use of electricity to run the water processing plants.
Harvested Rainwater:


Rainwater harvesting is a common practice in the more arid regions of the
world. Typical ra inwater harvesting setups include a barrel attached to the
downspouts on the roof a perfect opportunity to collect and store
rainwater for use around the exterior of homes in different places. More
sophisticated collection devices are used like flat, slope d sections of the
roof designed to collect more rainwater per square inch. The rainwater
runs at an angle toward a collection point, funneling water into a catch
basin. This non-potable source of water helps to minimize the costs of
using a potable water s upply for watering crops and general landscape
maintenance. Rainwater is actually pure. It has to be purified as it may get
dirty and contaminated by the roof or surface where it is caught, gutters or
pipes, and storage.
India’s huge and growing population is putting a severe strain on all of
the country’s natural resources. The rural population of India comprises
more than 700 million people residing in about 1.42 million habitations
spread over 15 diverse ecological regions and providing drinking water to
such a large population is a challenge. Characteristics like non-uniformity
in the level of awareness, socio -economic development, poverty, munotes.in

Page 69

Developmen t of
Infrastructure
69 education, practices and rituals add to the complexity of providing water in
India. Provision of clean drinking wat er has been prioritized in the
Constitution of India with the Article 47 conferring the duty of providing
clean drinking water and improving public health standards to the state.
Since independence the government has initiated various programs to
provide s afe drinking water to the rural masses. But still lack of safe and
secure drinking water continues to be a major obstacle and a national
economic burden.
It is estimated that by 2020 India will become a water stressed nation as
the average ability of wate r in the country is reducing regularly with the
increasing population. The pressure of development is changing the
distribution of water in the country on one hand and access to adequate
water on the other has been referred to as the primary factor respons ible
for limiting development. Assuring that the available water is safe for
drinking is a challenge by itself and while accessing drinking water it
continues to be a problem.

Water Resource Management and Procurement Methods
Quality of water is deteriorated by the pollution and over- exploitation,
rapid pace of industrialization and more stress on agricultural growth
combined with financial and technological constraints and non -
enforcement of laws. Non -uniform distribution of rainfall many a times
aggravates the problem of water quality. The sewage discharge, industrial
waste, run -off from agricultural fields and waste water disposal from the
urban areas add to the water pollution and quality of water is affected.
Floods and droughts affect the quali ty of water and also lack of awareness
and education among users degrade the water quality. Aspects like
hygiene, environment sanitation, storage and disposal are the demanding
elements that can maintain the quality of water resources and more over it
is the user involvement in managing the water quality.
To ensure sustainability of the systems, initiatives were taken to
institutionalize community participation in the implementation of rural
drinking water supply schemes through the sector reforms project f rom
“Government oriented supply driven approach” to “People oriented
demand responsive approach”.
munotes.in

Page 70

Rural Resource Management
70
State Government Water
Supply
Planning
Design Execution ▪ Public Health Engineering Departments or
▪ Panchayati Raj Engineering Departments or
▪ Rural Development Engineering Departments or
▪ Public Works Department/irrigation n Department
▪ Water Boards Government of India launched the National Rural Drinking Water Quality
Monitoring and Surveillance Program in 2006. This anticipated the
institutionalization of community participation for monitoring and
surveillance of drinking water sources at the grass -root levels. The
grassroots level includes the Gram Panchayats, Village Water and
Sanitation Committees, followed by checking the positively tested
samples at the district and state level laboratories.
The following figure depicts the institutional structure for water and
sanitation supply in India.

Though not directly involved in the supply chain, the judiciary has also
played a role in resolving conflicts and taking up issues of public interest.
With several institutions involved in water supply, inter -sectoral
coordination becomes critical for the success of any programme. Water
supply and sanitation is a State responsibility under the Indian
Constitution. States may give the responsibility to the Panchayat Raj
Institutions (PRI) in rural areas. At present, states generally plan, design
and execute water supply schemes (and often operate them) through their
State Departments (of Public Health Engineering or Rural Development
Engineering) or State Water Boards. Highly centralized decision -making
and approvals at the state level, the characteristic of the Indian civil
service, affect the management of water supply and sanitation services.
Drinking water supply in India continues to be inadequate, despite
longstanding efforts by the various levels of government and communities
at improving coverage. The level of investment in water, albeit low by
internati onal standards, has increased in size during the 2000s. Access has
also increased significantly. At the same time, local government
institutions in charge of operating and maintaining the infrastructure are
seen as weak and lack the financial resources to carry out their functions.
DDWS MoRD CPHEE O CWC MoWR CGWB MoWR MoHFW MoA NRCD MoEF LIC HUDCO

CPCB / SPCB
Central Government
Financing & Resource Coordination
Research & Training
Water Quality Monitoring
munotes.in

Page 71

Developmen t of
Infrastructure
71 Most water sources are contaminated by sewage and agricultural runoff.
India has made progress in the supply of safe water to its people, but gross
disparity in coverage exists across the country. A number of innovative
approach es to improve water supply and sanitation have been tested in
India, in particular in the early 2000s.Depleting ground water table and
deteriorating ground water quality are threatening the sustainability of
both urban and rural water supply in many parts of India. The supply of
cities that depend on surface water is threatened by pollution, increasing
water scarcity and conflicts among users. In some coastal area’s seawater
desalination is becoming an important source of drinking water supply.

Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) is an approach for the
management of water and related natural resources management at the
community level. The poster demonstrates the good practices for
sustainable use of water.
5.7 SUMMARY
Infrastructure plays a crucial role not only for the country’s economic
growth but also in the progress of human development. The deficiencies in
rural infrastructure in transport system, energy, telecommunication, etc.
leads to poor functioning of the other related infrastructural facilities. Rural
infrastructure plays an important in the development of human resources -
To reduce the rural backwardness, Development of human resources,
Increase, in the momentum of production factors, For the development of
the agricultural sector, Mome ntum to the rural industrial sector, Decrease
in the poverty, Social and Cultural progress. An improved accessibility to
all quarters of a village is an indispensable prerequisite for the provision
of adequate living conditions in rural areas. Transport is important because
it enables trade between people, which is essential for the development of
civilizations. Information and Communication Technologies are playing a
pivotal role in the development process. ICT has remarkable potential to
make the informat ion available at the right time thereby empowering the
rural consumer and is considered as the lifeline of economic and social
development of the rural consumers. Access to energy is a cornerstone for
development and for a better quality of life. The Rural Electrification
munotes.in

Page 72

Rural Resource Management
72 Corporation (REC) was established in July 1969 as a public sector
undertaking with the main objective to finance Rural Electrification (RE)
schemes and promote rural electricity cooperatives for funding rural
electrification projects acros s the country. Provision of clean drinking
water has been prioritized in the Constitution of India with the Article 47
conferring the duty of providing clean drinking water and improving
public health standards to the state. Since independence the governme nt
has initiated various programs to provide safe drinking water to the rural
masses. But still lack of safe and secure drinking water continues to be a
major obstacle and a national economic burden.
5.8 SELF -STUDY
Q-1. Explain the Concept of rural infrast ructure
Q-2. What is the Role of Rural Infrastructure in Rural Development?

Q-3. Write short note on - Transport & Communication.
Q-4. Give an account of Rural Electrification.
Q-5. Write short note on: Safe & Pure Drinking Water
5.9 REFERENCES
https:// www.sun -connect -news.org
https:// www.unicef.org/india/what -we-do/clean -drinking -water
https:// www.slideshare.net/markjoshef/drinking -waterqualityruralindia
http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?menu=1558http://www.u
n.org/waterforlifedecade/waterandsustainabledevelopment2015/pdf
WaterandSD _Vision_to_Action -2.pdf
Water Resources in India: Its Demand, Degradation and Management -
(Atanu Bhattacharyya, S. Janardana Reddy, Manisankar Ghosh and Raja
Naika H) - International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications,
Volume 5, Issue 12, De cember 2015
IOSR Journal of Business and Management Volume 17, Issue 2.Ver. IV
(Feb. 2015), PP 54-59 www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/487X -
17245459 www.iosrjournal s.org 54 | Page A Study of Rural Electrification
Infrastructure in India Dr. Pradeepta Kumar Samanta.
https://www.sun -connect
news.org/fileadmin/DATEIEN/Dateien/New/Rural_Electrification_Infrast
ructure_in_India.pdf
https://mivaatutorials.com/emerging -technologies -ict-rural-development/
https://actascientific.com/ASAG/pdf/ASAG -03-0699.pdf(ACTA
SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE (ISSN: 2581 -365X) Volume 3 Issue 11 munotes.in

Page 73

Developmen t of
Infrastructure
73 November 2019) Science and Technology for Rural Development -
Radh ikaKapur*
Rajnikanth & R.R Prasad, Discovery Publishing House, New Delhi,
2006 - “Rural Development and Social Change”.
Mishra S.K &Puri V.K Himalaya Publishing House, 2006 - Development
Issues of Indian Economics”.
Lalitha.N, Dominant Publishers, New Delh i, 2004 – “Rural Development
in India”.
Magtapp Application





munotes.in

Page 74

74 6
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY FOR RURAL
DEVELOPMENT
Unit Structure :
6.0 Objectives
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Concept
6.3 Use of Science & Technology
6.4 Importance of Science & Technology
6.5 Obstacles in the use of Science & Technology
6.6 Agricultural Researc h and Extension
6.7 Summary
6.8 Self-Study
6.9 References
6.0 OBJECTIVES
1. To study the concept and uses of science and technology
2. To know the obstacles in the use of science and technology
3. To know the system programs implemented by Agricultural Research
and Extension
6.1 INTRODUCTION
Science and technology play an important part in our country to bring
about a social and economic change in our country, especially in rural
areas. Major objectives of rural development are – to improve the living
conditions by providing food, shelter clothing, employment and education,
to enhance productivity in rural areas, to eliminate poverty. It also
involves people in planning and development through participation in the
decision -making process and through decentralizati on of administration,
to ensure justice and equal opportunities to the rural population. For the
development of rural areas, utilization, protection and enhancement of
natural, physical and human resources, it is essential to make long term
improvements in the rural living conditions. The significance of science
and technology has to be recognized, as it also provides jobs and income
opportunities for the rural people while maintaining and protecting the
environment of the rural areas. There has been an inc reasing interest in munotes.in

Page 75

Science & Technology For
Rural Development
75 rural development and systematic efforts are necessary to create better
living conditions within the rural areas as majority of the populations of
the developing countries live in rural areas.
6.2 CONCEPT
Science and Technology have always been an integral part of Indian
culture. The Indian Renaissance, which coincided with our independence
struggle, witnessed great strides made by Indian scientists. This innate
ability to perform creatively in science came to be backed with an
instituti onal setup and strong state support after the country’s
independence in 1947. Since then, the Government of India has spared no
effort to establish a modern S&T infrastructure in the country. The
department of science and Technology plays a vital role in t he promotion
of science and technology in India.
Most of the development in India has taken place with the help of science
and technological factors. Technology plays a major role in the
development of various sectors of rural areas like agriculture, small -scale
industries, houses, buildings, dwellings, education system, medical
facilities, offices and many others. It is only through science and
technology major improvements can be made.
6.3 USE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
The methods of science and the cultu re of technology have to be operated
in a systematic manner. E.g. Observation, classification, measurement,
recording, comparison with the earlier experience, making and testing the
hypothesis by using new and innovative experiences. The culture of
technol ogy must make note of specification for material, the product used
and the process that has been followed, its performance indices, future
plans and effective use of resources, energy, finances and materials. The
upcoming new developments in Space Researc h, Biotechnology,
Computers, Microelectronics and Hi -tech will benefit the rural areas to a
great extent. In case of rural development, only those technologies should
be used that can be easily managed and repaired. Locally available skills,
tools and mate rials are used to sustain the technological factors. In rural
development use of such technology should be made that can be easily
managed and repaired. Technologies used should be economically
sustainable, beneficial and contribute towards a healthy rural population.
Low cost technology with minimal usage and maximum benefit
(Appropriate Technology) should be implemented.
1) Information and Communication technology:
Developing countries use low cost technology wherein the cost of
computers is low. Computers are used on large scale as they are the
technical means i.e. internet is used to find out information regarding any
area, topic, subject or problem.
munotes.in

Page 76

Rural Resource Management
76 2) Energy:
India has abundance of Renewable Natural Resources that can help to
generate energy. Wind, Water, s olar energy from sun, Geo -thermal energy
and Tidal power are the natural sources of energy that can be used to
produce energy. Solar energy with the help of solar cells can be used to
produce electricity, wind energy can be used to generate electricity by
using windmills or wind turbines, hydroelectricity can be generated with
the help of water resources using hydroelectric generator and hydraulic
turbine converts the flowing water energy into mechanical energy. Bio
butanol, biodiesel, biogas and vegetable oil are also considered to be the
sources of energy. Both rural and urban areas can benefit to a great extent
by using renewable source of energy to generate electricity and many
more areas of development.
3) Health care:
Science and technology play a major r ole and is an important tool used by
the Indian government to ensure affordable healthcare for all the Indians
as per the sustainable development goal of the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP). Ministry of Science and Technology
brings interventio ns to make healthcare accessible and affordable like low
cost vaccines to prevent diseases, diagnostic kits to detect diseases and
medicines to treat them. In addition the Ministry focuses on the health care
delivery system with the growing engagement of the private sector,
especially start-ups and small industries and availability of a proper
technology translational mechanism ensures this. Use of technological
factors and advancement in the field of science has made it possible for
medicines and innovativ e machines for their existence in hospitals and
health care centres in rural areas.
4) Agricultural Technologies:
Continuous improvements in digital tools and data along with the
collaborations among the farmers and researchers across the public and
private s ectors have boosted the modern agriculture. More technological
advances have appeared in the agricultural field due to which it is possible
for farmers to utilize scientific data and technology in improving crop
yield and keeping themselves updated with th e cutting -edge methods of
farming.
Mobile technology plays an important role in monitoring and controlling
crop irrigation systems and moisture sensors in the ground are able to
communicate information about the level of moisture present at certain
depths in the soil. Ultra sound not only checks the baby animals in the
womb but also can check the quality of meat of an animal before going to
the market. DNA testing helps the producer to identify animals with good
breed and desirable quality and also can help the farmer to improve the
quality of his herds. Mobile technology helps to keep an eye on the
employees on farm and can also keep a closer eye on the animals when
they are away or home for the night. Crop sensors help in applying
fertilizers in effective manner to maximize the crop production. With munotes.in

Page 77

Science & Technology For
Rural Development
77 optical sensors the farmers are able to see how much fertilizer a plant
requires, based on the amount of light reflected back to the sensor.
5) Construction:
Several technologies have been implemented to develop l ow cost building
materials, designs and construction techniques. For the construction of
houses or buildings; technology such as rammed earth, Dutch bricks and
cob is used, which make the houses and buildings strong, adaptable to
all the environmental cond itions. These materials are easily available and
are not expensive. There is availability of non- erodible mud plaster for
the protection of mud walls from rain. The rural people are able to access
these materials in a manageable way to carry out the const ruction in an
appropriate manner.
6) Cooking:
Cooking stoves that are smokeless and wood conserving lead to greater
efficiency. It saves time and labour, reduces deforestation and has lots of
health benefits. Solar cookers are more beneficial depending on the
climatic conditions and the methods of cooking. With the provision of
electricity in rural areas they are making use of electric stoves to cook
food.
7) Refrigeration:
There is an increase in the temperatures all over the world due to global
warming. Certain food items in rural areas in warm weather conditions
need to be stored in a cool temperature to prevent them from decaying or
spoiling also need of cold water during hot weather conditions has
become a necessity in rural areas also. Due to electricity problems and
fluctuations in the power it is not possible to use a refrigerator in rural
areas, hence pot refrigeration system can be a solution which keeps things
fresh even without electricity.
8) Television & Radio:
Technological means like radio and televisi on have improved the lives of
rural people as they take pleasure of these inventions not only for
entertainment but also to gain knowledge for agriculture purpose, new
advancements in their related field and many more and applying the
appropriate methods i n their occupational field. Television and radio have
become the major source of entertainment. They learn so many things and
apply them in their daily routine work like program on agriculture,
weather forecast, market related news, cooking shows for women ,
educational programs for children, etc.
9) Computers:
Rural youth and students are making use of computers to a major extent to
augment their understanding in terms of various concepts. By using
computers they not only acquire an efficient understanding of the
academic concepts, but also are able to work on their tasks and munotes.in

Page 78

Rural Resource Management
78 assignments efficiently and communicate. Computer centers have been
setup in rural areas so that individuals can work on computers and make
use of other technologies, such as printers and scanners. This scene is
common in the rural areas near to the cities or big villages. But the
situation is different in the remote rural areas. They don’t have access to
regular flow of power supply, internet issue as a result no access to
computers or computer centers and other related facilities.
10) Mobile phones:
Use of mobile phones by different category of people belonging to
different age groups has become a common feature among rural
individuals. They use this technology for various purposes. Even thoug h
they are ill -literate or have low literacy skills they use mobile phones for
communicating and for recreational purpose. It is difficult for the students
to make use of mobile phones for educational purpose as of, they can’t
afford for android phones and even if they have them network issues
prevent them from getting benefit for educational purpose.
6.4 IMPORTANCE OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
The importance of science and technology to the rural societies are being
recognized since a long time. Enormous effort s have been taken in the
development of science and technology in India after independence
and there is an urgent need to deliver it to the most -needy people, so that
they are able to meet the challenges of the technologically refined world.
A profound impact on the society has been produced on a large scale as
the advances in science and technology continue to create newer methods
of communication and information management. S & T offers bizarre
opportunities and challenges for scientific endeavours. Beha viour patterns
and practices, local customs and values are deeply rooted in rural areas
and are not easily displaced by science or modern approaches based on
new knowledge. The S & T policies that are framed should take into
account the nature of the local environment so that the benefits of science
and technology can be effectively delivered to the rural society, which is a
challenge for the management of rural natural resources and environment.
Rural society should explore the socio -economic implications of new
technologies, especially to identify emerging opportunities, the impact of
S & T on the society and mainly the early warning system for natural
disasters can help them to know the coming problems and be ready to face
them. The accelerated growth a nd remarkable influence of new
technologies, the information and communication technology along
with internet are raising global awareness about the power of technology.
By making the technologies accessible by improving the connectivity,
computerizati on and content areas development the digital divide gap
between the rural and rural areas can be minimized. In the same way
harnessing the potential of S & T for systematic and coordinated use of
local resources is of paramount importance in the context of pollution,
degradation of the environment and sustainable development. munotes.in

Page 79

Science & Technology For
Rural Development
79 A multidisciplinary base has to be setup to create awareness in
technological literacy. Education system should be such that a student
should learn everything but specialize in anyone of the subject in short it
should aim at a Jack of All Trades but Master of One. The population at
large appreciates science not for its discoveries, but for the inventions that
spring from the new knowledge. For this we should give not only
technological literacy but also the equipment facilities for testing out
ideas. We need to have this technological literacy in all villages, so that
they can test, adapt and use new technology, having a base of the pro -
requisite skills and technology culture. Effective Rural Development will
promote S & T Growth While S & T is needed for rural development, it is
equally true that S & T growth also needs true rural development.
6.5 ISSUES REGARDING THE USE OF SCIENCE &
TECHNOLOGY

Barriers appearing in the adoption /use of ICTs in rural regions
A) Barriers related to the deployment of network infrastructure in
rural regions are mainly associated with the –
1. Costs that are involved in the deployment of this infrastructure
combined with the lack of sufficient demand (for e.g. the remote,
sparsely populated rural areas) render relative investments that are
financially unsustainable.
2. Dearth of continuous and high speed network connections.
3. Diversity of ICTs applications and the respective network infrastructure
requirements in e-platforms necessary for community -specific ICTs
applications and m-platforms necessary for personalized farm -specific
ICTs applications.

munotes.in

Page 80

Rural Resource Management
80 B) Barriers related to the development of specific ICTs applications
& content in rural areas –
1) Lack of Skilled people to build and run ICTs applications and content.
2) Lack of access of rural areas to hardware and software equipment’s and
the cost that are involved to develop specific applications.
3) Lack of regionally focused and demand driven approach to identify
specific needs that could be relevant for the rural areas.
4) Lack of region specific knowledge and respective needs of the various
rural regions may result to a discrepancy of applications and the
content developed as per the real needs of rural population.
5) Costs that are involved in content development are different as per the
different needs and preferences of different groups that call for a region
specific user oriented content development and adapted to the specific
rural context.
6) Barriers related to the managemen t of the digital content are due to
constraints in coherence and inter -operability of data and information
sources.
C) Barriers associated with the adoption & use of technology by
the end-users in rural areas –
1) Lack of trust to technology at the local societ y.
2) Lack of Skilled human resources.
3) Low level of entrepreneurship in rural regions.
4) Lack of training opportunities or structures offering a chance to rural
population to develop skills and competencies on ICTs and their
applications focused on the specific needs of the rural people.
5) Lack of new technology culture for the older age groups in rural areas
who influence the susceptibility to adopt and use ICTs and their
applications.
6) Lack of knowledge offered by ICTs applications for personal and
business devel opment.
7) Lack of institutional capacity and capacity of the people who are
involved in the information procurement in rural areas.
8) Limited range of e-government services using open IT standards,
introducing barriers to the end -users relating to the necessit y to use
commercial technology or software.
9) Low level of sector -specific applications in rural regions that hamper
the ICTs adoption rates at the business level.
10) Language skill acts as a barrier for rural population and businesses
and limits the benefits derived from the ICTs applications.
munotes.in

Page 81

Science & Technology For
Rural Development
81 11) Lack of ability to build various kind of local partnerships ensuring
that information is accessible by all local stakeholders.
12) High costs of accessories (PCs, mobiles etc.) and use of ICTs for
business and citizens also act as a barrier.
13) Barriers due to culture and traditions of rural social systems in locally
oriented rural economic system may be stronger, while in open,
export oriented rural economic systems it may be weaker. This may
result in reluctance to shift to a new, less controllable regime thus,
blocking social anchoring of ICTs in local rural communities.
D) Barriers related to missing or of limited capacity network
infrastructure –
1) The multiplicity of applications like e-platforms for community
applications, pers onalized applications, satellite technology for farm
management purposes, m-platforms for farmers personalized
applications for specific network requirements in rural areas.
2) Lack of region specific and demand driven approach to network
infrastructure and ICTs applications and content development leads to
a mismatch of network infrastructure and ICTs applications and
content.
E) Barriers relating to the type of network infrastructure selected for
the support of e-applications in each specific rural region -
1) Netw ork infrastructure technology adopted should adjust well to local
pattern of communication or else can place barriers to the rural people
in joining the ‘trip’, due to lack of familiarity, trust, etc.
2) Lack of establishment of multi -device / multi -channel access can
exploit multiple and diverse communication tools that integrate the full
range of existing media.
3) The tendency of deploying network infrastructure focuses more on the
technological aspects than the communication and networking
potential leading to a dominated technology -led service provision
approach. If focused on the generation of good communication links it
can develop a sense of a social entity, than on the technological
attributes of this infrastructure.
4) The other barriers include the costs involved in using the network
infrastructure and getting access to the necessary equipment to join the
network.
F) Barriers related to the type of applications and relating content for
different types of end-users -
1) Matching ICTs applications / content to the s pecific needs of end -users
is a key issue towards the log-in perspective.
2) Lack of effective interaction among the developers of ICTs application
and end-users in rural areas. munotes.in

Page 82

Rural Resource Management
82 3) Lack of users involvement in the design of the various ICTs
applications and cont ent.
4) Lack of simplicity of applications.
5) Lack of multimodal, multi -channel system of digital communication
integrating all media.
6) Over -focus of ICTs application on technological aspects than the
communication and networking potential.
7) Costs involved in the access and use of the ICTs applications and
content.
6.6 ROLE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Importance:
The ultimate objective of both research and extension systems is to
increase agricultural production and their role in generating and
transferring techno logy is complementary. It is essential that the research
institutions must have information on the problems, technology
requirements and socio -economic and ecological environment of
producers to formulate research agendas and to set priorities. Researchers
should interact with the producers continuously during the process of
technology generation. Extension services play a mediatory role between
the farmers and the researchers. An efficient two-way communication
process is necessary for generating and trans ferring technology effectively
and its success is determined by the effectiveness of linkage between
research and extension institutions.
Designing :
The basic study in designing any research -extension system is technology
flow which facilitates diagnosis o f research -extension linkage problems.
the technology flow concept is based on the assumption that technology is
derived from science and flows from research station to users with or
without an intermediary agency like extension service.
Technology Develop ment Processes:
Technology development process includes the technology generation,
testing, integration, production, dissemination and adoption. Technology
generation is the same as applied research, wherein knowledge that is
acquired from basic science research is organized, interpreted,
reformulated and translated into technology. In technology testing results
of new technology in the field are verified to obtain feedback in the earlier
stage through farming systems research (FSR) and On-farm trials.
Extension service help is sought for technology testing as its widespread
network helps in reaching the farmers especially in the less fertile regions.
Technology integration deals with the fine tuning and packaging of
technologies into specific recommendation s and technology production
comprises of designing & producing information materials, improved
inputs, training programs, etc. Technology dissemination delivers the
technology to the farmers. munotes.in

Page 83

Science & Technology For
Rural Development
83 Agricultural research incorporates the activities from strategic research to
technology production while the extension function includes technology
testing to dissemination. Thus we can say technology testing integration
and production play an important role in the linkage between research and
extension.
The Linkage Problem:
Agricultural research institutions concentrate on strategic research and
technology generation and neglect technology integration and production
activities resulting in the critical linkage problems. The additional effort
essential for coordinating and building expertise is also a major constraint.
The linkage problem is more severe where research and extension
functions are performed by separate public institutions. Researchers do not
receive enough information about the environment and resource con straints
under which farmers are operating in the absence of effective linkage. The
linkage problems cause disruptions in technology flow leading to low
adoption rates, increased time intervals between development and
adoption of new technology, reduced ef ficiency in the use of resources,
duplication of efforts, unnecessary competition and the increased cost of
agricultural research and extension activities.
Agricultural research and extension systems:
Agricultural research and extension functions are gener ally organized
under a ministry of agriculture and are hierarchically structured from
national level to field level. Such research extension systems are found
mostly in developing countries. There are separate institutions or
departments within the ministr y for performing these functions and these
institutions or departments may have different organizational structures
and operational procedures. Universities and national research institutes
are generally research centres, while the agricultural department performs
the extension function.
Agricultural Extension Division:
The major activities of Agricultural Extension Division are technology
assessment, demonstration and capacity development through a network
of 11 Agricultural Technology Application Researc h Institutes (ATARIs)
and 721 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs). ATARIs play the role of
coordination and monitoring.
The Agricultural Extension Division at National level is headed by Deputy
Director -General (Agricultural Extension) and supported by two Assist ant
Director -Generals, three principal scientists, one Deputy Secretary and one
Under Secretary.
munotes.in

Page 84

Rural Resource Management
84 Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) – Farm Science Centre Vision –
Science and Technology -led growth leading to enhanced productivity,
profitability and sustainability of agriculture.
Mission –
Farmer – centric growth in agriculture and allied sectors through
application of appropriate technologies in specific agro-ecosystems
perspective.
Mandate –
Technology Assessment and Demonstration for its Application and
Capacity Development
Activities -
 On-farm testing to assess the location specificity of agricultural
technologies under various farming systems.
 Organize Frontline Demonstrations to establish production potential of
technologies on the farmer’s fields.
 Capacity dev elopment of farmers and extension personnel to update
their knowledge and skills on modern agricultural technologies.
 To work as knowledge and resource centre of agricultural technologies
for supporting initiatives of public, private and voluntary sector i n
improving the agricultural economy of the district.
 Provide farm advisories using ICT and other media means on varied
subjects of interest of farmers.
Programs of Division of Agricultural Extension :
On Farm Trials (OFT), Frontline Demonstrations (FLD), Capacity
Development of Farmers, farm women, rural youth and Extension
Personnel, Farmers’ participation in extension activities, Production of
Quality Seeds, Production of Quality Planting Materials, Production of
Quality Livestock Strains and Fingerlings, Testing of Soil, water, plant,
manures samples, Pulses Seed Hubs, Skill Development, Attracting and
Retaining Youth in Agriculture (ARYA), National Innovations on Climate
Resilient Agriculture (NICRA), Farmer FIRST, Mera Gaon - Mera Gaurav
(MGMG) are the p rograms of the Division of Agricultural Extension.
munotes.in

Page 85

Science & Technology For
Rural Development
85






munotes.in

Page 86

Rural Resource Management
86 New Initiatives of Division of Agricultural Extension :
 Knowledge Systems and Homestead Agriculture Management in Tribal
Areas (KSHAMTA) – (KVKs across the country conducted on - farm
trials and frontline demonstrations. Capacity development of
farmers/farm women and extension personnel were done through
training programs. Extension activities were organized by the KVKs.
The technological inputs like seeds, planting material and livestock
strains and fish finger lings were produced by KVKs. Besides, by
analyzing samples of soil, water, plant and manure, mobile advisories
were sent to farmers on various aspects of agriculture.)
 In-situ Crop Residue Management (sensitized people about the harmful
effect of residue burning, benefits of in -situ residue management and
government schemes of availability of subsidized machines)
 Linking KVKs with common service centres (CSCs) (provided
technological solutions to the farmers visiting CSCs with agriculture
related technological problems)
 Role of KVKs in Jal Shakti Abhiyan of Ministry of Jal Shakti
(activities like, discussion on water conservation and efficient water use
including use of micro irrigation systems, live demonstration on drip
and sprinkler irrigatio n systems, Nukkad Natak, farmers scientist
interaction, quiz competition on water management, drawing/rangoli
competition, film shows on importance of water conservation and micro
Irrigation, demonstration on roof top rain water harvesting, sharing of
farm ers’ experiences, method demonstration on measurement of soil
moisture with electronic moisture meter, exhibition, distribution of
saplings of trees, felicitation of farmers, etc. were conducted under this
new initiative) Establishment of District Agricult ural Meteorological
Units (DAMU) under KVKs (Under MoU with India Meteorological
Department (IMD) provided agro-met advisory Services in local
language in the country through KVKs to serve the farming community
in different agro -climatic zones to reduce the risk due to climatic
aberration and improve productivity)
ICT Initiatives :
 Web portal –KrishiVigyan Kendra Knowledge Network Portal was
launched in 2016 for regular monitoring of KVKs and provide
information and advisories to the farmers.
 mKisan Portal – It provides timely and need based information on
weather, market, various farm operations, outbreak of pest and disease
incidence and their control measures, etc. to farming community and
mobile agro advisories are provided farmers by the KVKs using
mKisa n portal.
Types of agriculture and research – extension linkage :
The nature of research – extension linkage problems differ with the
different agroclimatic and socio -economic characteristics of the munotes.in

Page 87

Science & Technology For
Rural Development
87 agriculture in the local areas. The research -extension linkage is well
established in those areas where there is high-input, high yielding
production systems and is found in developed countries and some
developing countries. Overproduction and mounting costs are the
problems faced by the farmers here. A strong linkage between research
and extension exists in the areas that have benefitted from the green
revolution. Here applied research has made a striking impact on food -
grain yields. This sort of agriculture is found in the high -capacity areas of
tropical count ries and has irrigation facility in particular.
As they generate urgently needed foreign exchange and produce food-
grains research and extension systems are organized and managed to meet
the technology demand of the above said category.
There is a need to strengthen the research -extension linkage in those areas
that have poor and diverse resources inheritance and ecological conditions
(low and uncertain rainfall, lack of irrigation, poor infrastructure, low and
uncertain yields, degradation of resources). T he potential to increase
agricultural production is high & unexploited and it is a challenge to
develop sustainable technology for the heterogeneous agro - ecological and
socio -economic conditions in these areas. Here the technology needs of
farmers are mai nly expressed through government policy as the farmers
are not organized.
Specific Operational Reasons for Poor Linkage:
The reasons for poor linkage between research and extension are political,
technical and organizational.
Political :
This is specific to institutional politics and different interest groups. Lack
of external or internal pressure on the institutions and personnel is one of
the demerit for achieving high level performance. Intervention by the
national policy -makers is generally very less exc ept in exceptional
circumstances, like disease outbreaks, major crop shortfalls, etc. But
external pressure can come from national policy makers, foreign donors,
farmers or the private sector. As the farmers are not organized, private
sector is insignifica nt in resource -poor areas the pressure exerted by
resource poor farmers on research and extension is also negligible. The
institutions and personnel involved in research and extension tend to be
motivated by their own social and political needs rather than by the needs
of resource -poor farmers due to lack of effective external pressure leading
to neglect of linkage activities.
Technical :
Technical reasons are pertinent to peculiar types of activities and
methodologies associated with technology development and delivery. To
be effective in less productive and more diverse environments lack of
professionalism and decentralization, integrated with less hierarchical
management. Require more location -specific interpretation of problems
and adaptation to technolo gy. Lack of essential infrastructure compels the munotes.in

Page 88

Rural Resource Management
88 researchers and extension personnel to adopt alternative technologies not
appropriate for the region. Lack of flexibility in initiating the various links
required for different types of technology.
Organizat ional :
Organizational reasons comprise those problems associated to structural
problems, resource problems, communication problems, motivational and
incentive problems.
a) Structural problems :
There are differences in orientation and work style, concerns related to
competence, and level of contact between research and extension
personnel. A particular technology is shoved upon a locality and extension
workers are forced to promote it though it does not correspond to the
local agro-ecological or socio -economic conditions. Linkage activities are
often assigned to an inappropriate institution or department. Excessive
centralization of authority reduces flexibility which is important for
linkage activities, while excessive de -centralization results in meagre
consi deration given to the linkage activities.
b) Resource problems :
Linkage functions like publications, testing of research results and training
of extension workers often lack sufficient financial resources or there may
be sufficient human resources in the orga nization but they may not be
available for linkage activities.
c) Communication Problems :
There is a wide difference in the value systems, educational backgrounds
and communication methods between research and extension workers.
Extension workers anticipate r esearchers as working in ivory towers
producing technologies not useful at farm level and researchers interrogate
extension workers capability to understand research outcomes, to
communicate accordingly with the farmers and contribute valuable inputs.
d) Moti vational and incentive problems :
Extension workers may have little incentive to perform linkage activities
but rewards for journal publication may be higher. As a result the
researchers and extension agents avoid linkage activities such as adaptive
field trials and preparation for written materials for extension agents.
e) Institutional Incompatibilities –
Research by commodity and extension by region; different clientele; or
different time schedules for planning and budgeting – can vigorously deter
linkage development.
munotes.in

Page 89

Science & Technology For
Rural Development
89 6.7 SUMMARY
Science and technology play an important part in our country to bring
about a social and economic change in our country, especially in rural
areas. For the development of rural areas, utilization, protection and
enhancement of natur al, physical and human resources, it is essential to
make long term improvements in the rural living conditions. The
significance of science and technology has to be recognized, as it also
provides jobs and income opportunities for the rural people while
maintaining and protecting the environment of the rural areas. Technology
plays a major role in the development of various sectors of rural areas like
agriculture, small -scale industries, houses, buildings, dwellings, education
system, medical facilities, o ffices and many other. Low cost technology
with minimal usage and maximum benefit (Appropriate Technology)
should be implemented. A multidisciplinary base has to be setup to create
awareness in technological literacy. An efficient two -way communication
process is necessary for generating and transferring technology effectively
and its success is determined by the effectiveness of linkage between
research and extension institutions.
6.8 SELF -STUDY
1. Give the concept of and use of science and technology in rural
development.
2. What is the importance of science and technology in rural
development?
3. What are the Obstacles or Barriers in the use of Science & Technology?
4. Give the importance of agricultural research and extension in rural
development.
5. Write short notes on:
a) Types of agriculture and research – extension linkage
b) Reasons for poor linkage between research and extension
c) Technology Development Processes
d) Barriers associated with the adoption & use of technology by the
end-users in rural areas
6.9 REFERENCES
https:// www.india.gov.in/topics/science -technology#
https://actascientific.com/ASAG/pdf/ASAG -03-0699.pdf
Kurukshetra Vol. 64 No. 09 Pages 52 July 2016
http://yojana.gov.in/Final%2024 -6-16%20Kuru%20July -----.pdf munotes.in

Page 90

Rural Resource Management
90 Science and Technology for Rural India - Amulya Reddy amulya -
reddy.org.in ›
http://www.egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/32223/1/Unit -4.pdf
https:// www.sociologygroup.com/impact -modern -science -technology/
https:// www.researchgate.net/publication/323770475_Usage_of_Technolo
gy_in_Rural_Development/link/5aa9dae10f7e9b88266f6b5a/download
https://journals.openedition.org/netcom/144?lang=en
http://www.fao.org/3/w7508e/w7508e0i.htm#TopOfPage
Magtapp Application


munotes.in

Page 91

91 7
RURAL ENERGY RESOURCES
Unit Structure :
7.0 Objectives
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Concept
7.3 Types of energy sources
7.4 Various forms of Renewable Energy Sources
7.5 Summary
7.6 Self-Study
7.7 References
7.0 OBJECTIVES
1) To understand the concept of Non-conventional sources of energy.
2) To study the types of Non -conventional sources of energy.
3) To know how the Non-conventional source of energy can be used for
rural development.
4) To understand the different factors in rural areas to generate energy
from Non- conventional sources.
5) To review whether Non-conventional sources of energy can be the
alternatives to save the fuel in future.
7.1 INTRODUCTION
Energy is the primary and most universal measure of all kinds of work by
human beings and nature. Energy is the m ajor input that drives the life
cycle and improves it. Whatever happens in the world is the expression of
flow of energy in one or the other form. Progress of mankind is closely
related the energy consumption. Energy resources have a greater
significance in the development process. It is necessary for agricultural
processes, transport, in industries, cooking process, for domestic use. In
India traditional sources of energy are used to fulfill the need for energy.
This includes wood, coal, cow -dung, kerosene , diesel and petrol. As these
sources of energy are available naturally, they are limited. The unlimited
use of these natural resources (i.e. non -renewable source of energy) by
human beings is on the verge of extinction. As a result an imbalance
in the nat ure has been created. A solution to this problem is to find an munotes.in

Page 92

Rural Resource Management
92 alternative source of energy. In other words we can say we have to use
renewable source of energy like solar energy, wind energy,
hydroelectricity, nuclear power for peaceful purpose.
In rural areas the proportion of animals is more compared to the urban
areas, as a result their waste is collected on large scale. In the same way
waste from agricultural products, human excreta are also available which
can be used in the biogas plant. The methane gas produced in this is used
for fuel purpose and the slurry produced from this is used as fertilizer for
crops. The use of slurry increases the fertility of soil and increases the
productivity. Biogas has solved the problem of fuel in the rural areas.
Cutting of wood for fuel has stopped to a great extent and the
environmental has been maintained in the rural areas. Human brain and
human power is also a natural resource that has to be utilized with the help
of science and technology. But while doing this balance in the
environment has to be maintained which will lead to a better future for the
human beings on earth. Energy consumption and the progress of mankind
are closely related. With the growing population there will be an
increasing demand in the impr ovement in the living standard of the
mankind, industrialization of the developing countries and the global
demand for energy.

India to achieve 63% of power capacity from Renewable Energy:
CEA :
Infrastructural development plays a significant role to susta in economic
growth. India has abundant non -conventional sources of energy in the
form of sunlight, water, wind and biomass.
7.2 CONCEPT OF RENEWABLE SOURCE OF ENERGY
Renewable sources of energy are those sources that are continuously
replenished by natural processes and they are also called as non-
conventional energy sources. Solar energy, wind energy, bio -energy, and
hydroelectricity are some of the examples of renewable sources of energy.
The energy obtained from sunlight, wind, falling water, sea waves, tides,
geothermal heat or biomass is converted by renewable energy in the form
of heat or electricity.
munotes.in

Page 93

Rural Energy Resources
93
As most of the renewable energy comes either directly or indirectly from
sun and wind, which is inexhaustible it is called renewable or Non -
conventio nal sources of energy. But much of the world’s energy sources
are derived from conventional sources or fossil fuels like coal, oil and
natural gases which are non -renewable or conventional energy sources.
Though they are extremely large in number, they are finite and will get
exhausted, so renewable energy sources are the best alternative sources of
energy.
7.3 TYPES OF ENERGY SOURCES
1) Potential energy:
Potential energy is the energy which is stored or conserved in an object or
a substance and is based on th e position, arrangement or state of the object
or a substance. When the position, arrangement or state of the object
changes, the stored energy is released. Energy cannot be created or
destroyed, but can be converted from one form to another. The two main
types of potential energy are –
a) Gravitational Potential Energy:

The heaviest of 2 objects at the same height has the greatest gravitational
potential energy.
It is the energy in an object that is held in a vertical position, due to the
force of gravity w orking to pull it down and depends on the height and
mass of the object. It increases as weight and height increases.

munotes.in

Page 94

Rural Resource Management
94 b) Elastic Potential Energy –
A spring stores elastic potential energy because it can be stretched or
compressed.
It is the energy stored in objects that can be stretched or compressed. For
example rubber bands, bungee cords or trampolines. The more an object
can stretch , the more elastic potential energy it has.
2) Kinetic energy:
Kinetic energy is the energy of motion or is the energy of ma ss (an object)
in motion (moving). The faster an object is moving, the more kinetic
energy it has. In other words any object that is moving has kinetic
energy – the moving object has energy because of its motion.

A falling house of cards has kin etic energy.
All movable things and objects have kinetic energy be the motion vertical
or horizontal. The object will always hold the same amount of kinetic
energy unless it speeds up or slows down.
3) Chemical energy:
When a chemical reaction takes place, the stored chemical energy is
released. This energy is stored in the bonds that connect atoms with
other atoms and molecules with other molecules. As it is seen chemical
energy is stored, it is a form of potential energy.

Humans consume chemical energy contained in food.
munotes.in

Page 95

Rural Energy Resources
95 When a chemical reaction takes place heat is produced as a by - product.
This is also called an exothermic reaction. Chemical energy is widely used
all around the world, as it is crucial for the existence of humans and the
natural world.
7.4 VARIOUS FORMS OF RENEWABLE ENERGY
SOURCES ARE
1) Solar energy:
India is endowed with vast solar energy potential. Solar energy is an
inexhaustible energy collected from the sunlight and is clear and basic
source of all other energy. It can be utilized thr ough two different routes
Solar Thermal Route and Solar Photovoltaic Route. In Solar Thermal
Route solar energy is converted into Thermal energy with the help of
devices like solar water heaters, solar cookers, etc. while Solar
Photovoltaic Route also called solar electric route which is made of
semiconductor silicon converting solar energy into electrical energy. Off -
grid decentralized and low-temperature applications are advantageous
from the point of rural electrification. Solar energy has benefitted millions
of rural people by meeting their cooking, lighting and other needs in an
environment friendly manner.
National Solar Mission (NSM) launched on 11th January, 2010 is a major
initiative to promote ecological sustainable growth with active
participati on from states.

The Mission targets installing 100 GW grid -connected solar power plants
by the year 2022. To achieve the target the Indian Government launched
various schemes to encourage generation of solar power in the country
like Solar Park Scheme, VG F Schemes, CPSU Scheme, Defence Scheme,
Canal bank & Canal top Scheme, Bundling Scheme, Grid Connected Solar
Rooftop Scheme etc.

munotes.in

Page 96

Rural Resource Management
96 NON TRADITIONAL ENERGY SOURCES :
Solar powered equipment’s:
a. Solar Cooker :
A solar cooker is a device to cook and heat food faster and conveniently
with the help of solar energy. The three components of the solar cooker
are absorption, concentration and retention. The reflective panels ensure
the concentration of UV rays on a certain point. Black interior panels
absorb the so lar energy and the retention is executed by ensuring that the
solar cooker is insulated in a proper manner. Solar cookers do not require
frequent supervision, are portable, they are easy to clean and devoid of
maintenance costs. Solar cookers are fire -free not causing any harm to the
environment.

b. Solar water heater:

Solar water heater is a heating system device that uses solar energy to heat
water for domestic, commercial and industrial needs. A typical solar water
heating system saves up to 1500 uni ts of electricity for every 100 litres per
day of solar water heating capacity every year. Solar water heaters are
pollution free and are safer than electric geysers as they are located on
the roof.
c. Solar lamp:

munotes.in

Page 97

Rural Energy Resources
97
A solar lamp is a lighting system compo sed of LED lamp, solar panels,
battery, charge controller and an inverter. Solar lamp is also called as solar
light or solar lantern. It operates on electricity from batteries, charged
through the use of solar photovoltaic panel. Solar lamps have low
opera ting costs than the kerosene lamps as renewable energy from the sun
is free. No indoor pollution is produced as of kerosene lamps.
However, solar lamps generally have a higher initial cost, and are weather
dependent.
d. Public solar lighting system:



A modern street light relies on innovative sources of energy. A solar
powered street light (solar street light) is the perfect illustration of modern
light. The street light consists of a solar panel, a light pole, a battery, light
and e xpansion components and smart modules. It works by converting the
energy received from the sun through the panel to the actual light and
emitted through the corresponding LED and CFL diodes on which the
street lights are based.
e. Domestic solar system (Off-grid solar systems):

Off-grid solar systems work independently of the grid having batteries that
can store the solar power generated by the system. This system consists of
solar panels, battery, charge controller, grid box, inverter, mounting
structur e and the balance of systems. The sunlight stored by the panels is
quite enough that can be used in the night. These domestic or off -grid
solar systems are self -sustaining and can provide power for critical loads
in areas where power grid is not available. Grid failures and shutdowns
will not affect the power supply.
munotes.in

Page 98

Rural Resource Management
98 f. Solar mobile charger:

Solar panels are used in the solar cell phone chargers to charge cell phone
batteries. These chargers can be used when there is no electricity supply.
Some chargers can also be used as a conventional charger by plugging into
an electrical outlet. While some chargers have an internal rechargeable
battery which is charged in the sunlight and then is used to charge a cell
phone and others charge the phone directly.
g. Solar water pump:

Solar powered water pumping system is composed of several photovoltaic
panels. Solar cells are the building block for solar panels and each solar
cell has two or more specially prepared layers of semi conducting material
generally made of silicon which produces direct current (DC) electricity
when it is exposed to sunlight. The DC current is collected by the wiring
in the panel and is converted to AC current by using an inverter. This
converted AC current is used to run an AC pump which p umps water
whenever the sun shines and the excess water is stored in the overhead
water tank for the later usage. This system is a suitable solution for grid -
isolated rural areas where there are high levels of solar radiation. Solar
powered water pumping s ystems provide drinking water without the need
for any kind of fuel or the extensive maintenance required by diesel
pumps. Solar water pumps may be especially useful in small scale or
community based irrigation.
h. Rural electrification (single power house):
Rural electrification is the process of bringing electrical power to the rural
and remote areas. Rural communities will be able to reap considerable
amounts of economic and social
munotes.in

Page 99

Rural Energy Resources
99


development if the countries are able to overcome the obstac les and are
able to reach nationwide electrification. Rural areas in India are electrified
non-uniformly, as richer states are able to provide power to majority of
villages, while the poorer states struggle to do so. The Rural
Electrification Corporation Limited was formed specially to address the
issue of providing electricity in all the villages across the country. The
major reasons behind the villages without electricity are poverty, lack of
resources, lack of political will, poor planning and electricit y theft.
The Indian government has set the target of 175GW of installed renewable
energy by 2022 to increase electrification rates. The government is trying
hard to improve the extreme conditions by investing heavily in biogas,
solar and wind energy. Lots of work is being carried out to reduce wastage,
to provide better equipment and improve the overall infrastructure for
electrical transmissions in villages. programs like The JNN Solar Mission
and Pradhan Mantri Gram Vidyut Yojana also known as Saubhagya
Scheme are being implemented to increase the speed of electrification and
to diversify the procedure.
i. Solar torch:
Solar powered torches or flashlights are powered by solar energy stored in
rechargeable batteries. Most of these torches or flashlights u se light
emitting diodes lamps as they have lower energy consumption compared
to incandescent light bulbs. These torches vary in features and their
capabilities. A solar powered flashlight may give several hours of light
after it is charged during the day. A typical solar torch can give
illumination on objects up to 50 metres away, and the beam may be visible
for much longer distances. The solar cells that are used for battery
charging have an indefinite life expectancy.
munotes.in

Page 100

Rural Resource Management
100 j. Pico PV Systems:

Pico solar PV systems or Pico Solar are the smallest, often portable
photovoltaic systems mostly combining a rechargeable battery and charge
controller along with a small PV panel. Music players, fans, portable
lamps, security lights, solar lighting kits, solar lantern s and street lights,
phone chargers, radios, 7 inches LCD televisions that run on less than ten
watts can be solar powered by using Pico Solar PV Systems. This system
is more useful in small, rural communities that require a small amount of
electricity. Pico solar has become an affordable alternative since the
efficiency of many appliances has improved considerably, due to the use
of LED lights and efficient rechargeable batteries.
k)- Solar Photovoltaic Energy or PV solar energy:
PV solar energy directly c onverts sunlight into electricity which uses a
technology based on the photovoltaic effect. When radiation falls on the
surface of photoelectric cell on the solar panel produces an electric voltage
making the electrons flow between one to the other generat ing an electric
current. There are three types of solar panels – a)photovoltaic , generators
of electricity to be supplied to homes; b) thermal , installed on houses to
receive the sun directly; and c) thermodynamic , which operate in varying
weather conditio ns, i.e. at night, when it’s raining or cloudy.
Electricity generated by solar photovoltaic panels contributes to
sustainable development and favours local employment, as it is
inexhaustible and does not pollute. It is a very effective system for remote
and rural areas, where electric power line cannot reach, or are difficult or
costly to be installed. Once the photovoltaic system is installed, the fuel is
free and available lifelong.
TRADITIONAL ENERGY SOURCES :
1. Wind energy:
Wind energy is basically harn essing of wind power to produce electricity.
The kinetic energy of the wind is converted to electrical energy.When
solar radiation enters the earth's atmosphere, different regions of the
atmosphere are heated to different degrees because of earth curvature .
This heating is higher at the equator and lowest at the poles.
munotes.in

Page 101

Rural Energy Resources
101

Since air tends to flow from warmer to cooler regions, this causes what we
call winds, and it is these airflows that are harnessed in windmills and wind
turbines to produce power. Wind powe r is not a new development as this
power, in the form of traditional windmills -for grinding corn, pumping
water, sailing ships - have been used for centuries. Now wind power is
harnessed to generate electricity in a larger scale with better technology.
India now ranks as a “wind super power” in the world and the largest
wind farm cluster is in Tamil Nadu. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,
Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra and Lakshadweep have important wind
farms.
2) Bio energy:
Biomass a renewable energy resource is derived from the carbonaceous
waste of various human and natural activities including the by-products
from the wood industry, raw material from the forest, agricultural crops,
household wastes, etc. Biomass is an integral part of the earth’s carbon
cycle – the process by which carbon is exchanged between all the spheres
of the earth – Atmosphere (gases – the air), Hydrosphere – (all water),
biosphere - (all life) and Lithosphere – (solid earth).

Many functions are performed in a carbon cycle. Carbon regulate s the
amount of sunlight which enters the earth’s atmosphere through
photosynthesis, decomposition, respiration and human activity. After
decomposition the carbon that is absorbed by the soil is released by the
plants through photosynthesis in the biospher e. Carbon is sequestered or
stored in fossil fuels for millions of years. Fossil fuels are extracted and
burnt for energy and they release sequestered carbon in the atmosphere.
Fossil fuels do not re -absorb carbon.
Biomass comes from recently living organi sms and the carbon in it
continue to be exchanged in the carbon cycle.
munotes.in

Page 102

Rural Resource Management
102 Biomass materials like plants and forests have to be sustainably farmed to
effectively allow the earth to continue the carbon cycle process. It takes
decades to re -absorb and sequester or store carbon for plants and trees.
Disturbing the soil or uprooting will disrupt the process of carbon cycle.
To maintain a healthy environment; a steady and varied supply of trees,
crops and other plants is imperative.
Biomass is the most important fue l and accounts for about one - third of
the total fuel used in the country. it is used in over 90%of the rural
households. Energy and manure is derived using only locally available
resources i.e. cattle waste and other organic wastes. Thus we can say
biogas plants are the cheap sources of energy used in rural areas.
Biogas Plants:
Biogas is a clean and efficient fuel, generated from cow -dung, human
waste or any kind of biological materials derived through anaerobic
fermentation process. It consists of 60% methane while the remaining
is mainly carbon -di-oxide. Biogas is safe for cooking and lighting. By -
product from the biogas plant is used as a high -grade manure. Components
of biogas plant:
1) A digester in which the mixture (dung mixed with water) is fermented
2) An inlet tank in which the feed is mixed and let into the digester
3) Gas holder/dome in which the gas that is generated is collected
4) Outlet tank to remove the slurry
5) Distribution pipeline (s) to transport the gas into the kitchen
6) A manure pit, where the slurry is stored.
Biomass Briquetting:
Biomass Briquetting is the process of densifying loose agro -waste into
solid biomass of high density and which can be conveniently used as a
fuel. Biomass Briquette is also called as Bio -coal and is pollution free and
eco-friendly. After suitable pre -treatment some of the agricultural and
forestry residues can be briquetted.
4) Hydro energy:
munotes.in

Page 103

Rural Energy Resources
103 Hydro energy is generated by using water to power machinery or make
electricity. Water steadily moves through a vast global cycle – evaporating
from the oceans and lakes, forming clouds, precipitation in the form of rain
or snow, and again flowing back down to the ocean. Hydropower uses
water as fuel as the water cycle is an endless, constantly recharging
system. Therefore, hydropower is considered as a renewable energy.
When flowing water is captured and turned into electricity, it is called as
hydroelectric power or hydropower. There are many types of hydroelectric
facilities all powered by the kinetic energy of flowing water as it moves
downstream. Turbines and generators convert the energy into electricity,
which is fed into the electrical grid that is supplied to homes, business and
in the industries.
5) Geothermal Energy:
Geo means earth and thermal means heat and geothermal energy is thermal
energy which is generated and stored on earth. The temperature of the
matter is determined by the thermal energy. The geothermal energy is
sustainable, cost-effective, and environment friendly. Geothermal pipe
buried 4 feet deep in the earth pumps a liquid to absorb the heat and bring
it indoors. The heat exchanger carries heat from the liquid to use it to
warm the house. In the same way geothermal energy can be used to cool
our houses in summers. It works reverse of the heating system and makes
our homes cool in summers.
Merits of geothermal energy:
i) Geothermal energy is renewable energy like solar and wind. Hot
reservoirs extract the geothermal energy from the earth naturally.
ii) Geothermal energy is a good source of green energy therefore it is also
called as environment - friendly energy. Its production neither creates
any of the harmful substances nor any pollution. Geothermal energy’s
advancement will be a better option for global warming and will be a
long-term energy solution.
iii) It requires no fuel - Like solar and wind energy, geothermal energy is
also a natural process. It is not produced but is harnessed and
converted into electricity. There is no requirement of large amount of
fuel and therefore no pollution.
iv) A good option for homeowners - The c limatic change created an
increase in demand for the geothermal heater and cooler for homes.
Geothermal energy proves to be the topmost priority for many
homeowners as it renewable form of energy. Though in the initial
stage it seems to be expensive but in a year; savings can be seen on
cooling and heating costs.
v) An Evolving Technology - With the advancement in technology,
geothermal energy is in the arena for exploration. The production
process is improved with the help of new technology, which makes it
the first choice for many people. munotes.in

Page 104

Rural Resource Management
104
Demerits of geothermal energy:
i) Side effects for the environment - The production of geothermal
energy does not release greenhouse gases but during digging some
gases is released and they become part of the atmosphere. Even
though it is not because of human interference still, it is treated as a
demerit for our surroundings and environment.
ii) Cause of Earthquakes - While digging the earth, there are high
chances that earth structure may be altered, which may result in
earthquake s and natural disasters usually occur with life-threatening
incidents.
iii) Sustainability Issues - Geothermal energy is produced by taking
extremely hot water from the reservoir of the earth. If the reservoirs
are used too fast then the supply of energy will b e stopped. As a result
if geothermal energy is not managed effectively, there would arise
sustainable issues.
iv) High Investment Cost - Harnessing geothermal energy system
requires high investment cost.
v) The Requirement of Land for the Geothermal Installation system
- The main disadvantage of geothermal installation system is the
specific requirement of land and a particular area on earth. There are a
few zones or places on earth where geothermal power plants can be
installed.
6) Wave energy:

munotes.in

Page 105

Rural Energy Resources
105
Wave energy or oc ean Wave Energy, is ocean based renewable energy
source which uses the power of waves to generate electricity. Wave
energy uses the vertical movement of the surface water that produces tidal
waves. Wave energy converts the recurring up -and-down movement of the
oceans waves into electricity. By placing the equipment on the surface of
the oceans it captures the energy produced by the wave movement and
converts this mechanical energy into electrical power. Actually wave
energy is a concentrated form of solar p ower generated by the action of
the wind blowing across the surface of the oceans water which is used as a
renewable source of energy.
Tidal Energy:

Tidal energy or Tidal power is an alternate energy or better known as
the renewable source of energy. It is one of the forms of hydropower
energy that utilizes the tidal energy to generate electricity. The motion of
water is transformed into energy. As the celestial bodies earth, sun and
moon change their positions throughout the year with these changes in
position the gravitational pull exerted by these celestial bodies result in the
water movements and thus the energy created can be harnessed to
generate electricity.
7) Alternative Fuel:


This fuel is derived from non -crude oi l sources such as bio alcohol
(methanol, ethanol and butanol), hydrogen fuel cell, Bio -CNG, Drop -In
fuels, Bio Hydrogen, biodiesel, etc. These are the future renewable sources
of energy which are available indigenously. The alternate fuels are both
environ mentally and economically beneficial.

munotes.in

Page 106

Rural Resource Management
106
8) Smokeless chulas:

Smokless chulha doesn’t mean cooking without smoke. It generates
smoke but is vented out of the room using pipe. A smokeless chulha
saves fuel and keeps the cooking area free from smoke. It can be made up
of native clay, mud. It burns, wood, coal or charcoal. It gives good heat
and also saves fuel. Few layers of fine red clay mixed with cow dung
prevent the chulha from cracking. Energy efficient smoke less chulha
reduces
a) Firewood consumption subs tantially,
b) Pressure on CPR/forest
c) Time and effort on collection of firewood
d) Smoke related health hazard as women are at high risk due to long
exposure to smoke
e) Environmental hazard, and thereby make their utility economical &
effici ent.
9) Energy from Waste:

Most of the solid waste is dumped to landfills or in water bodies, causing
serious pollution with methane and CO2. Permanent and eco- friendly
solution is the need of the hour by utilization of the garbage into energy,
by processi ng and treating the waste before final disposal. This will
reduce the waste by 90%, and recover fuel gas for cooking, lighting and
electricity. Waste -to-energy conversion is possible in many ways. Refuse -
munotes.in

Page 107

Rural Energy Resources
107 Derived Fuel (RDF) processes the MSW prior to direct combustion
involving the shredding of the MSW, and removal of metals and other
bulky items. There is no pollutant released or carbon emission that will
increase and speedup global warming and waste to energy plants can be
very cost efficient. India ranks second in the world in biomass utilization.


When garbage decomposes, methane gas is produced and natural gas is
made up of methane. Pipelines fitted into the landfills collect methane gas,
which is then used in power plants to generate electricity called landfill
gas. Landfill gas is gathered from landfills through extraction wells
depending on the size of the landfill. This gas is then used to produce
electricity, heat, fuels and chemical compounds.
7.5 SUMMARY
There is close relation between human development and clean energy use.
Serious planning is necessary to select appropriate technologies suitable in
local context to be successful in clean energy technologies adoption. The
technology has to be need based, easy to adopt and be capable of
generatin g employment and income, leading to sustainable livelihood.
Technology should be launched as part of the on - going development
programs, by involving efficient agricultural extension network to ensure
the backward and forward linkages. To overcome the initial hurdles before
wider replication financial and technical support should be available.
Energy is the primary and most universal measure of all kinds of work by
human beings and nature. Energy is the major input that drives the life
cycle and improves it. Whatever happens in the world is the expression of
munotes.in

Page 108

Rural Resource Management
108 flow of energy in one or the other form. Progress of mankind is closely
related the energy consumption. Energy resources have a greater
significance in the development process. The unlimited use of the natural
resources (i.e non -renewable source of energy) by human beings is on the
verge of extinction. As a result an imbalance in the nature has been
created. A solution to this problem is to find an alternative source of
energy. In other words we can say w e have to use renewable source of
energy like solar energy, wind energy, hydroelectricity, nuclear power for
peaceful purpose. Renewable sources of energy are those sources that are
continuously replenished by natural processes and they are also called as
non-conventional energy sources. Solar energy, wind energy, bioenergy,
and hydroelectricity are some of the examples of renewable sources of
energy. The energy obtained from sunlight, wind, falling water, sea waves,
tides, geothermal heat or biomass is con verted by renewable energy in the
form of heat or electricity.
7.6 SELF -STUDY
Q-1 What do mean by renewable or non-conventional source of energy?
Q-2 Write short note on concept of renewable source of energy.
Q-3 What are the different types of energy sources?
Q-4 What are the various forms of renewable energy sources?

Q-5 Explain in detail Geothermal Energy.

Q-6 What are the different solar powered equipments?

Q-7 Write short note on:
a) Solar Energy;
b) Wind Energy;
c) Bio-energy;
d) Hydro energy;
e) Geothermal energy;
f) Wave energy;
g) Tidal energy;
h) Alternative fuels;
i) Smokeless Chulha
j) Energy from Waste;
k) Biogas Plant;
l) Solar Photovoltaic Energy or PV solar energy.

munotes.in

Page 109

Rural Energy Resources
109 7.7 REFERENCES
http://bie.telangana.gov.in/Pdf/Nonconventionalenergy sources.pdf
www.indiacore.com/bulletin/kssidhu -non-conventional -energy -
resources.pdf.
Alternate Energy Sources by T H Taylor. AdamHilger Ltd, Bristol
Renewable Energy Sources for rural areas in Asia and Pacific, APO,
Tokyo, 2000
www.ireda.org
www.windenergy.com
https://beeindia. gov.in/sites/default/files/4Ch12.pdf
https:// www.jagranjosh.com/general -knowledge/nonconventional -sources -
of-energy -1448698715 -1
https://madhavuniversity.edu.in/non -conv entional -energy -sources.html
https://iasgatewayy.com/non -conventional -sources -of-energy/
https:// www.toppr.com/guides/physics/sources -of-energy/non -
conventional -sources -of-energy /
https://greentechlead.com/renewable -energy/india -to-achieve -63-of-
power -capacity -from -renewable -energy -cea-35487
https:// www.hindustantimes.com/business -newspaper/global -debate -on-
government -moves -hydro -projects -to-renewable -ministry -in-india/story -
sHbuutRTsbOPrEJzieorTJ.html
https:// www.freestudy.com/pros -and-cons-of-geothermal -energy -essay-
tips/
https:// www.thebetterindia.com/121267/solar -panel -rooftop -net-metering -
home -india/
https://mnre.gov.in/solar/current -status/
https://mnre.gov.in/bio -energ y/current -status
https:// www.slideshare.net/energysector/tidal -power -in-india
https:// www.academ ia.edu/20245194/Wind_energy_in_India_Status_and_
future_prospects
https:// www.energy.gov/eere/wind/advantages -and-challenges -wind -
energy
Magtapp Application.

munotes.in

Page 110

[Time: Three Hours] [Marks:100] Please check whether you have got the right question paper N. B:- 1) All questions are compulsory. 2) All questions carry equal marks. 3) Figures to the right indicate marks to a sub-question. Q.1) Describe the various factors of human resource development 14 Marks OR Q.1) Suggest the remedial measures to control the population 14 Marks Q.2) State the nature of transport and communication 14 Marks OR Q.2) State the need of rural electrification 14 Marks Q.3) State the consequences of extension education in rural area 14 Marks OR Q.3) State the role of KVK in rural development 14 Marks Q.4) Describe the traditional sources of energy 14 Marks OR Q.4) Describe the non-traditional sources of energy 14 Marks Q.5) Write short notes on any two of the following 14 Marks a) Problems of rural health b) Problems of rural electrification c) Bio gas Unit d) Solar powered devices munotes.in