Apart From MNREGA, The Rural Economy Needs Skilling And Entrepreneurship Incentives

India’s growth story cannot be complete without a truthful representation of its rural economy.

- Saptarshi Deb

The latest Census report, released in 2011 stated that around 73% of Indian households were rural and this can be seen as an indicator of its rural extant and the report establishes that India is still overwhelmingly a country of rural realities. Decades ago, Mahatma Gandhi had said, “India lives in villages.” The latest Census indicates that still, almost 68% of India’s population lives in rural areas.

The irony of agriculture

Agriculture and allied sectors form the basis of India’s rural economy. The imminent problem in India’s rural economy can be assessed from the fact that around 52% of India’s population is linked directly or indirectly to agriculture whereas the sector now only contributes around 14% towards the country’s economy. Its contribution has reduced from 51.88% in 1950. The overwhelming deprivation visible in the rural/agricultural sector can be linked to this sharp drop of the sector’s contribution to GDP with reference to its employability. The former has shirked over the years whereas the latter remains high.