,

~.""

"

.-"

.;:,:

',4."

~-

'".

"",".

....:

\,

..

I.

..

Handlooms constitute onC Of th~ major sectOrs

emPloying largest humber of perSOns next only to .
, agriculture.

Handlooms
Haml"ooms, the largest cottage industry ranks in importance 'next only to agriculture in
employment. potential. It provides employment to 20 million people which is twenty times
of people employed in milUndustry. Besides direct emp.'oyment to weavers, this industry
100 generates indirect employment 10 loom manufacturers, dyers, twisters, warpers, sizers,
processors and printers leaving aside those engaged in spinning mills. The twofold objec'
tives for the development of this industry include provision. of continued employment and .
an .assured and steady income. to the weavers ill the cooperative fold. These objectives are achieved by forming new cooperatives, providing assistance for organising,
common worksheds for loomless workers, revitalising the existing cooperatives; strengtf,ening the equity base of weavers' societies in the State: providing marketing support and
supplying inputs incfuding cheaper credit.

A number' of development programmes have been

taken uP to provide colltinuous emPloyment snd an
. assured income to the handloom weavers.

\.

Vol. XXXI
No.9

Editorial

February 1,15, 1983

Magha 12, 1904

".~
Hurukshelra
\

<India's )ournal of Rural Development)

CONTENTS

CAN IT LlVIPROVERURAL
INCOME DISTRIBUTION
R. lli. Tewari and Kanwar Prakash :Chand

10

IMPORTANCE OF FEASmlLlTY
STUDIES IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT

IRDP:

Ilaunched

NTEGRATE~

RURAL

UE~ELO.PMENT

PROGRAMME

was

m 1978-79 m 2350 Blocks all over the

country but was subsequently introduced in 'all the
Bloc.ks. The main ohjective of this programme was
to raise the families in the identified target groups
ahove the poverty line and to raise substantial employment opportunities in the rural sector. The targei
groups, include small and marginal farmers, agricultural and. non-agricultural labourers, rural artisans,
scheduled castes and tribes. The responsibility for im.plementation of the programme' has been entrusted to
District Rural Development Agencies 'who will discharge it in coordination with other Government
departments and the financial institutions.

P. N. Pande

12

14
17

STREAMLINING PANCHAYATI RAJ

ADMINISTRATION
G. MdUikarjunayya
CREDIT .USE BY SMALL FARMERS
M. D. Pawar and C. D. Deole;
CARING FOR OUR AGED
B. Malljeshwar Dinesh and P. Hanumamha
.

Rayappa

THEY SHOW TIlE WAy ....

20

EDITOR
RATNA JUNEJA

ASSTT. EDITOR
N.

N.

SHARMA

SuB-EDITOR
PARAM.TEET

.TlVAN ADt\LJA

Enquiries regarding SUb~ptiODS, Agencies, eCc

Business Manager, Publication.q Division,
Patiala ROD'se, New Delhi-IIOOOl
Tel:

387983

Editorial Office-: Krishi.,Bhavan, New Delhi.l10001

,
.,
.. Telephones:
384888 & 382406
Editor's Residence: 615920, ---,

-'. ----.:r'"...,..~,~---

__

~_----

SUBSCRIPTION

.
.
:1 While the programme is definitely making headway
I
and identification, <;Ifbeneficiaries among the rural poor
.
~
.
has h~lped generate, an initiative to work for a better
standard of life among the rural poor, there is a feeling, though at an' academic level, that IRDP despite
all its ..benevolent intentions, is gradually heading towards becoming an 'another programme administered
by the Government'.

G. STNGH

COVER

,;4

The success of the programme depends upon the coor.

dinated efforts of various Government departrne~ts/
agencies and the financial institutio.ns and the beneficiaries are to be fully.involved in the selection of the
. schemes ,md they should also be convinced of their
usefulness. As far as finance is cO'ncerned the IRDP
will be fin.anced by.a cqmhination of snhsidies by the
i Govcr~ment and the loans to he advanced by the co./ operative and comm'ercial banks.

SINGLE COPY: !le. I

FOR ONE YEAR: RS.' 20

In this issue we are carrying a very scho.lastic and frank

study of this aspect of the programme. The authors
on,lhe basis of a very matter-of-fact study of the programme',s impact on smtaII and marginal farmers and
agricultural labourers draw inferences which though
not empirical hold a word of caution for those in
charge of the implementation of the programme. The
authors believe that, the, quality and adequacy of the
programme's organisational set-up should be judged
With reference to cogent results they a~e expected. to
generate and not purely as one meant to enforce rules
'to aclminister funds,

'

..

IRDP: can it improve

rural income distribution ?

R. N. TEWARI and KANWAR PRAKASH

Xavier ~itute

XISTENCE OF special prograli:Imes, like the Small

,
Farmcrs Development Programme
(SFDP)I
Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP) IConulllmd
Area Dev_elopmel)( Programmc
(CAD) IIntegrated
Rural Development Programme (IRDP) etc. per se
cannot be viable strategies to redeem the rural poor
from ihe abysmal poverty and from the continuous
deterioration in their living standard.' Their capability,
particularly of the IRDP, for improving the income
distribution, will be defined by two factors viz" (a)
effectiveness in integrating the activities at the household level; (b) organisational and managerial efficiency
of the delivery system. The present IRDP programme
appears to be one' more2 "rellledial" activity~ The
emphasis and the priority has yet not shifted to the'
broader development of organisational efficiency and
managerial resources needed to operate such an integ~
rated programme: Those involved with the planning
and with the 'administration' of the Programme, express interest in the subject (the weaker sections) but
are not able to achieve much, There is nothing
wicked or conspiratorial about this but a consequence
of fundamental belief in tbe efficacy of a particu!Jlr

lThe NSS data on consumption expenditure during the .Period

1960..61 to 1973-74 revealed that the estimated percentage of.
persons below the" poverty line (this norm itself is too inadequate but for its capacity to allow the rural being to subsist)
in rural areas has gone up from 55"'3 in 196Q..61to 62 '9% in
1973-74. Ironically, this increase in the proportion of the rural
poor has taken place against a background-increase of 27 -2%
over the period in rthe net national income from agriculture
and. allied activities at the coristant prices.
2A perusal of IRDP aocument would clarify' this' ooncept of
'additionality' and 'remedial' thrust. Refer to the letter of .
the then Secretary, Department of. Rural _Development,
Ministry. of Agriculture, G.O.I. -addressed to the Chief
Min!ste:r;sof.all Stat~l ~ated Man;h 2\ 1978!
._'."

"

of M~gemeDt

CHAND

andlLabO~ Relations, JamSbedP.~..

type of organisational style, and in mauagerial skills'

that ultimately 'administers' alI such programmes' of
rural development..

Objectives of the study

'T only to evaluate

is neither an empirical presentation
the nature and quantum of the
HIS PAPER

benefits nor to judge the le.gitimacy of the beneficiaries ..

. 'It uses the standard tools of evaluation to draw con~l
elusions related to two basic issues :
' "-

. 1
The capability Of the strategy of 'remedial action',
that IRDP signifies, to render 'basic chauges' in the
rural scenario Le.} its effectiveness

for improving

income distribiItion and making

the target group

the

viable;

2
Now the concept of "integration" is being ope.rationa1ised at the field level: is it integration of
economic activities of the farmer to render him
'viable' or to develop a 'common agency to assist for '
alI sorts of programmes inventoried in. the Mauu~'
. on IRDP issued by the Government of India.
In other words, it seeks to examine the behaviour
of the organisation, let alone of the'policy, vis-a-vis
,its adequacy to attain the goals.
Scope,-Data ,for this paper pertains to one IRDPblock located in the geographical belt of the Chotanagpur and Santhal Parganas, a predominentIy tribal
: belt, forest-dependent.cconomy,
The block chosen for
. KURUKSHETRA

February 1, 198~

the Pilot Study'. is .a supposedly better 'managed

affair in this 'area. Ano):her consideration gUiding the
choice has been the' rampant poverty, and consequental
sOCialtension in and around this belt that covers many
States, i.e., Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal and Madhya

'::::~ns.-Data
presented in this slndy should be
taken 'to represent a 'trend' and not 'absolute' dimension of the phenomenon. For draWing out conclusions" the following facts be borne in mind :

(i) It has to be acknowledged that a vast country

like India lives in diversity i.e., geographical and
administrative both: IRDP, a programme in the
Central Sector, raises a s~rious 'apprehensipn : would
the administrative style and achievements nnder
similar organisational pattern, differ much within ,a
State , and in-between the States? To the
. extent it
...would vary the results, hence efficiency shall stand
altered. ,
(li) IRDP is. a very new programme, initiated in
1978-79; hence the data is available for ouly two'
years at the most. Thus conclusions are bound to
be indicative of a probable pattern that would requke validation O'Vera longer period of time. Of
course, the implementing agency for IRDP is one'
of the subsisting organ~ations like the SFDP /
DPAP/CAD etc.

J he 1RD P : DUling the Fourth

and Fifth' Plans, speciill

schemes were' initiated to bring about improvement in
the existing pattern of distribution of income particu. lady for the agricultural labourers, marginal farmers
and the small farmers. The realisation that general
measures ,of rural development like agriculture, irrigation, 'animal.busbaiJdry etc. have bypassed the weaker
sections. in the countryside, hence specific measures to
make the non-viable weaker sections viable are needed
and thus SFDA/MFALICAD/DPAP
etc. came to be
established. In 1978-79, one. more special assistance
programme was added, called the IRDP which according to the Government of India, is. a 'synthesis' of the
strategies tested thus far. lRDP's main objectives
are:

~~to
raise families in the identified' target groups,
abOve tqe poverty line; poverty line defined, in
3

The Public Syst~ms Management Ce~tre; XLRI-Jamshedpur

.
has a major programme of research ..on IRDP covering .
many situations and States. The" focus of this reseaich
to
capture the experience so as to find out how the Programme
can be effectively delivered. in many situations.

is

The sample siz'e in Pilot ':was 10 per cent of the beneficiaries

subject to .cent :per cent selection' for- :activiti~s where' th~
beneficiaries were not more than five.
'. ';r_~~'~",-'
.~..

' ..

..

the then .money values as families having in income

. Gf Rs. W/- iJoc month;
:-10 create .ubstantial additional opportunities of
employment in the rural sector.

As mentioned earlier, the !afget group consists of the

pooresJ among the poor iIi the 'rural areas~small ar;d
marginal .farmers, agricultural and non-agricultural
labourers, rural artisans and' craftsmen, scheduled
castes and scheduled .tribes.
Field level agency for implementing IRDP is either
an SFDA or the subsisting organisation for the DP AP!
CAD. Uulike the SFDA, IRDP approach is an integ- ,
ration' between the three sub-sectors of the rural sector i.e., agricultural sector with the industrial' (rural
industries) and tertiary" (services and business)
segments.' Heavy subsidy; rising froin 25 per cent to
the Small Faimers (SF), 33-1/3 per cent for the
Marginal F~ers
(MF) and Agricultural Labour
(AL) to 50 per cent for the tribals, be they in al)Y
category noted above, has been justified on certain
groUJids i.e., to enable the target-group (a) to undertake investments in capital projects, which could not
otherwise be financially viable from the viewpoint of
the financing agency, and (b) to take up new activities
like dairy, poultry, piggery etc. as.a supplementary
sour""" of income.
.,

Methodology
NE MORE l'ACET 'of the IRDP, that is the strategy.
.
for IRDP, deserves mention before we elaborate
the methQdolbgy for evaluating the effectiveness of the
organisation and procedures. The strategy in short is
as below:

1 The' ide~ is not to provide. "some" kind of assistance

but. on providing """bstantial" assistance which
should 'enable the beneficiary to cross the "poverty
line". This strategy Can be broken down into operational ,:omponents inter alia:
'-the
'family' be taken as the 'bl\Sic unit' of
development; activity profile under IRDP be
developed for the family as a: whole; assistance
should cover and provide the whole range.
(package)' of services considered essential to ex.ploi~.family's 'resources' to meet the 'need'; in
consequence activity profile has to be visualised
and sef"icect to realise these goals-IRDP
goals.
-The enumerated activities are to' be financed
'partly' by bank loans; the practice of assisting
t)le 'beneficiaries"in' acquisition of one of these

...

4:IRIJp is supposed to develop links with the activities of the K.

and V. J. Commission, ,and the District Industrial Centres tl;i
enabie weak~~~ections to haye access to this infrastructure.
6TRY8EM..:....scbeme for ..Training of

employrilent. :. . -

Rural Youth

for self~,

. .

c-

ICURUKSHETRA' February '1, 1983

small items; i.e" pump~/:lil"icultural implements,

laying of'delllon~tration on farms "te. nave ~ ~
linked to a package preferably in canjunctio,n
willi some capital investment linked with the loan.
This can be possible only when the IRDP-staff,'
and the bank with the active consent of the beneficiary workout. the package.
2. DevelojJment of the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors (ISB) is the 'prime' need. In fact the
'package' of
is dependent on this integta, assistance
.
tion since non-viable or marginal farmers and landiess agricultural labourers fall in. the same category;'
.for both wage is the main source of income. .Thus,
ISB and TR YSEM are the IRDP's uniqueness critical. to attain the goals'of tlie programme and to
divert the rural people to the 'non-agricultural' sector (does not necessarily imply urban sector) occupation and/or

occupation

mix is,. therefore, more

likely than not should change;

3. Follow-up of' the .assistance is in-built into .the'
IRD package. For the convenience. of subsequent
discussion,

We

can classify this

into

-,-the Bank has to follow it up for proper utilisation of the lOan and consequential recovery;
-the IRDP-Block (st~iI) is to render the sup'por1/services/t~hnical advice etc.. suchwise that
the 'assisted family' is enable to break4hrough the
poverty trap; monitoring of additi'oital income
generated in the case of "each" participant will
be futile without apparent gains.

Results and discussion

and not for'any other reason,

we propose to limit the nnmber of tables to the

minimum. Landless agricultural labourers and marginal farmers constituted two-third of the target group
identified under the Programme, If we include owners
of land upto 3 acres, from this mono-crop region, then
it would rise to 84 per cent; for thent }vagelabour is
the major. source of income. Under. the Programme,
assistance h~s been provided for acquiring pumpsets
and bullocks, village artisans have been' assisted,
piggery and goatteries have been encouraged..
SPACE,

The practice. thus far has been to assist ihe beneficiaries in the acquisition of agricultural implements
etc, as 'single' item assistance Le., a purnpset, 31 pair
of bullocks and so on and so forth.' Acceptance of
requests for assistance to buy bullocks and pumpsets
was 100 per ~ent; maximum request Were for jJiggety
and goattery and for those rejections Wer substantial
(40 per cent). Reasons assigned by the bank for re"'
jecting those were that the beneficiaries are either
located at a far away place from the bank anp/or the
bene.ficiar~f.iled to offer accepi..ble securities' to the
6

\.

assistance, in terms of a~tiC.-.~ity-bix and size ofof assistance

minimal to break"
RIT~CAL

ASPECTS.

through the poverty line, was the worst casuality; the

concept of viability, package-cum-integrated service,
is non-existent. Tables 1-3 suggest following obserVjltiODS :

1
Irrespective of the fact whether the. assistance was
.rendered for piggery, goatery or to a village artisan
in AL,MF, and SF group, improvement in their
income was positive, though not substantial or relatively significanit;they 'continued to remain non-.~ ..
viable and below the poverty line.
.

an operative

structure for the involved actors :

OR WANT'OF

bame. tho tokI!.number of requests received for all

tJPO~.'of .acti.itics; amounted llr~about (j, . cent of
the target group; tho.so really..benefitted were rnQCh,'
less.on account of rejections. In the. quantum of.
assistance 15. per 'cent went to AD group, 60 per cent
.f
to MF and 25 .percent to SF.

Assistance to such activities helped in generating

employment which, at occasions, acted as artificial
prop, i.e., cost of incremental input of family labour
in such activities.valued m the 'going wage rate.' at
time yielded a negative. inc.rementalincome. in the.
case of piggery and goattery-the. size of the herd
provided for was too small to be viable.

3 .
Even in this Plateau region, Programme's assistance
t'o farming and farm-borne activities generated higher

\.

income and-employment .. e.g., provisioll of- a pump

set, a pair of bullocks. Since those .requi.reoperational holdings, all of the. AL and a .sizable portion
of the MF group' can hope.notto benefit. Provision
of a pump-set helped to make viable. farme.r 'more
comfortable in that scale; renti~g out the pumpset
added to the. incremental value.

Ownership of a pair of bul10cks alone. could not

render the assisted farmer viable; it rendered larger

gains to SFs than to MFs.

However, provision of bullock-pairs helpCd in in- ~
creasing the cropped area as well as generated more

work for the family labour. Per acre increme.ntal

valUe has been positive, sizable but inadequate as to'
render the beneficiary via_ble. This furnishes proof to'
15Incase the following should happen then the AL may stand
to. gain : .they be trained in the rudiments of"operating a
pump-set so as to run a custom-service, that- there is an
increasing demand for such a facility at a level that it can
be viable propositioa, and .thai the- bank wouhl agree to fund
an ~L for the P1U'Pose..
.

. KURUKSHETRA February 1, 1983

).

,
to AL and
the futility 6f rendering 'some' assistance
...
MFs etc. in the re,ginn.
Elimination of unemployment and under-employment and eradication of po~erty, amOJig landless AL
. :~.and MF groups, suggest' diversification .. in occupation
:as well in occupation-mix. It"is realised, that considerable diversion froin the farm to the non-farm' sectors,
as supplementary or I complimentary to the eXisting
agricullural activities, is imperative.. Since TRYSEM,
and for that reason, ISH"thrust as a. whole. is yet to
gain 'momentum, we do not propose to evaiuate their
relevance. , What we' propose is t'o examine the environment of occupational changes as experienced by
the beneficiary. consequent to IRDP. Below noted
observations are based on data in 'Table.4 which iives'
out the da\a for two periods i.e. change in the beneficiaries main occupation from those of their parerits,
and changes 'in pre- and post-IRDP periods :

ance that they requested for. In tliis' choice-assistance

system, ownerhip of land seemed to have played
'some role.

/-

'.

(i) '71 per .cent ,of the beneficiaries' continued to

follow their parents occupation before receiving the
assistance under the Programme; some 31 per cent
had changed their occupation' for one or the other
reasons. This reflects beneficiaries' adaptability, if
not dynamism, to adjust under circumstances that
could have been; '(a) because the parental occupation was inadequate to meet their economic needs
and aspirations (push factors); (b) a new oppor-'
tunity was available (pull factors). IRDP is expected to act as an incentive to diversify, a pull factor.
However, nothing like this seems to have happ- ,
'ened.7
(ii) Chan~e in occupatiOJ\ is both it function of
opport~nit~' and ability. i.e. not all can work
'a
village artisan; nor can all have farms. Subject to
limitations, target groups seemi to have no particular
bias against any single activity; resumption of farming on a recogriisable scale was due to availability
of assistance under the Programme thus facilitating
expansion and lor to intensify cultivation.

as

assistance has been rendered

to individuals without fully examining the resource
. and need profiles of the family. Selection of activity
for assistance was based more on 'a prior' understaridi!1g 'of the environment in genral. '~.
An enquiry into' the beneficiaries awareness of the
Programme, assi~tances they are entitled' to, reve'aled
that approximately half of the beneficiaries were
ignorant of the range of options' open to them. Most
'of the remaining beneficiaries could obtain the assist-

STATED

EARLiER,

"

'Here only changes' in the main occupation (income criteria)

were recorded. Could. 'be that IRDP induced changes were
marginal (in terms of mandays/incorrie), hence not reflecfcd in
this study. It suggests, therefore, an" inventory .of occupationmix by ranking those into descending order. of importance,
two periods of time ..

lnferences
OF lRDP is a function
of two
basis 'inputs, ie. programme ma~ager's ability to
identify a 'package' that would render the beneficiary
viable; and the effectiveness with which the support
system is geared to service that end. " Experience in
this region belies both the expectations. What could
be the probable reasons?
This research sugoests
~O
certain causes. let those be called hypotheses; in terms
of organisational behaviour; ..those are :
.

FFECTIVENESS

A. Pertaining to the Beneficiary: That the target

group is indefferent to becoming 'viable' and/or
servicing' them' is too inconvenient if not
'unattractive' proposition."

an

,B. Pertaining to ,the Banks-more

particularly
the lendillg illstitutiollS: Find it difficult to finance
, lSB activities of AL and MF particularly for
various reasons; lack of acceptable security for the
proposed activity; lack of skills to identify bankable
acti~ities for family and/or logistical difficulties in
funding families located at a dist~nce from the
bninch office of the Bank.' Yet the Bank provided
assistance to individuals much below the critical
mlmmum. It is because of the RBI/GOI compul- '
.sions that they. must .lend to? If 'yes' then why
hesitate to fund each family to a 'critical. minimum',
so as to make the family 'viable' ? It is an' enigma
that deserves in-depth non-ideological introspection.

C. lRDP-Organisatioll:
the field level organi-,
sa~ion and'the programme authorities :
consider rendering 'some- sort' of assistance
. adnrinistratively convenient. (and/or advisable)
than servicing an integrated package;
are ill-equipped to formulate family-oriented
project profiles. hence preference to give a stan. dard remedial capsule, unmindful to deficiencies;

find. it difficult to internalise the dynamism' illld

goal orientation that the Programme requires;
may even believe thaf the poorest, of the poor'
in the rural sectorcamiot be rendered 'viable.
8Michael Lipton would ascribe this failure to 'urban-bias~'bf
the programme "administrator'; according to him it is .a 'state
of mind' that deflects the gain;.a
sort of ,mis-delivery. Of
course,' Lipton is analysing issues. of rural poverty and
development in general. However, implications are apparent
and he is relevant in specific situations too.
Refer:
Michael. Lipton : "Why Poor Peo'ple Stay Poor Urban Bias "in World Development", p'p. 44-49, 69-70.

'~

" KURUKSHETRA

February 1, 1983

In other words .is there a dichotomy betwen.

the disposiiion. of the 'administration' and the
'programme manager'?
A very' basic issue.
D. And/Or the operational frame of IRDP is
'intrinsically' infirm. Is it that the investment ceile
ing of Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 9,000 per beneficiary cannot help AL and MF groups to break-th~ough the
po\'erty barrier?
Field conditions vary, returns to,
investments would iherefore vary too. It would
be. worthwhile to review whether this quantitative
approach has succeeded on any. large scale; if 'yes'
then under. what .couditions ?

of'the results, appears to summarise the environment

truthfully: (excerpts).
."Panchayati 'Raj and CD Programme tontinued
slowly but steadily, going downhill all the time,. with
merciless {Iilution in personnel, dyarchy in adminis;
tration, absence of~ elections, abolition of training
centres and programmcs; withdrawals of authority
'and resources, from institutions built for unique
coverage . '. . . There is a new Ministry again
called Ministry' of 'Rural Reconstruction' though
'Rural Development' and 'Integrated Rural Development' has been a long circle over 27 years."

IRD's delivery system as a whole, a problem that 'probably runs common in India to the
whole gamut of organisational and management struc-.
ture interface .with the rural sector, deserve a fresh.
look. S. K.. Dey's observation,' viewed in the light

To conclude, the quality and' adequacy of . the

IRDP's orgauisational set-up should be judged with
referencc to the results they are expected .to generate
and not purely as Qne meant to enforce rules to ad.
minister funds.

N BRIEF,

TABU'!

"

IRDP-assisted Activities and Economic Gain in the Pre and Post Assistance Pe~iods...

Rs.

-------

Rural

",Indicators

Goat/ery

Artisan

J. Incremental Family Employment per beneficiary/year (mandays)

2. Total Incremental Income per beneficiary/year
3. ,Incremental net IncomeLper beneficiary/year after IRDPAssistance
4. Per C.?pita Jn~orne Month (from all source~)2
(i) Before the Assistance
(ii)
E
(iii) After the Assistance
(iv)
E

Note:

.hggery

MF

SF

AL

MF

125'8
715.7

18.7
359.7

54.0
300"0

72.0
220.0

106.7

266.z

30.0

32.5
-32.5
46'3
-18.7

35'7
-'29 .3
.41.0
-24.0

20.8
--4.('2
27.1
-37'9

SF
108.0
360.0

-140.0

_180.0

22.6
-'42.4
26.3
-18.i

E
J.
2.
TABLE II
Per Capita Per Month Income of the Beneficiaries from all sources after IRDP Assistance to AgricUlture
(in Rs.)
Pumpset

Bullocks

SF

Ai Differen!'Jntel'es~ Rates

MF

Per
Ca'pita
-Income
. 1. Interest at the rate of 4 % on the. loan
2.. Interest at the ra~e-of 4 % on th~ loa~n + Subsidy
3. 'Interest at the ratc'of 14 % on the loan
4. Tnterest at the rate of 14% on the lo'an + Subsidy
.
Note:

87.4
(43'5)
86'3

+22'4
+ 2t .3

~~

82.8
(38.9)
78.7
(34'8)

+ 17.8

+ 13.7
"

Pet
Capita
Income
30.7
(4'9)'
30 '5'

~m

29.5
(3 '7)
28.8
(3 '0)

SF

E.
-34'3
-34'5
--'-35.5
-36'2

Per
. Capita
Income
.49-6
(Ii '9)
49.4
(12m
48'3
(ll '6)
47.5
(10'8)

E
-15

-4

-15,6

.:....16.7
....,17'5

Excess (+) 'o~-Deficit (...:.-)of the 'per ~apita income cO\:erthe poverty line (Rs. 65f- per capita/month).
----In case of IDflrginal farmers 'other sources' of income were greater than income from activities assisted under. IRDp.
n'ot as much yet quite substantially true for small farmers aiso.
'.
.'
Value of farm output is net of paid .out costs .only; same for the incremental value of output i:e., value of additional
production (post-IRDP value less Pre-IRDP value) is net of paid au.! costs'only ..
Figures in brac~et~ indicate .the in<:re~entai.income generated through th~ IRpP assisted component only~

lOSec; 'PO\.\.'er.to the People', in Rural Development:

The Truth and The Myth, Kur/(kshe/~~ . Vol. XXVIII, No. 1 (l~n9),p.

KU~UKSiIETRA

27.

February 1, 1983'

.
TABLEffi
'~

Critical Indicators of Change in the Farining Sector: '

Pre-and Post.Assistance Environment.
Percentage
"

Indicators

'

Cha;/ge he/w~en the

periods (+ )

BuRocks .

Pumpset

+'22.7
+ 58.5 "

2. Gross Cropped Area

.
.3. Net area sown as p'ercent of total owned ~re~
4. Intensity' of crop.p.ing
".'- -f
5. Area under cash c.rops (Veg) as percent of GCA

"+.12.2
+27.5

-;

+ 22)')

+ 51.8

+ 266.7
+53 .8

+ 75.3

.6. Total rnaildays (Family)

7. Total mandaysfGross cropped Ar~',

+25.9

+ 10.0

+ 15.1
+92.)

SF

MF

SF
1. Net Area Sown

(11'0

+20.0
+2.8

+9'1
.8

+ 27i

+81"6

+ 3.6

+ 1.4

+ 21.2

TABLE IV
Occupational

Changes (Main Occupational) ,Between' the Parents' Occupation

. Beneficiaries (Pre and Post.IRDP Periods-)

as . of the
,
'(Per cent)

Beneficiaries Pre~IRDP . Beneficiaries Post IRPP

Occupation ~ compared
Occupation as compared
to their Pre-IRDP
to Parents' Occupation

Occupational Combination

occupati~n
A -

Ch~ngc o,"cr the Period

1. Cultivation
2. Cultivation

t6 AL

to Ru;al

Artisan'

3.. Cultivation to Service

4. Cultivation tQ Livestock f~rming
5._CuItivati0!1 to 'Trade and ~usiness.
G. AL to cultivation
7. AL to livestock fa!"Illing
8. Rural Artisan to Cu~tivation
9. Service to Cultivation
10. Trade and Business to Cultivation
"B -

16.7
50"0
33.3

No Change. over t~e. period

53 .3
80.0
100.0

1. Cultivation
2. AL
3. -Rural Artisan
4. Service
5. Trade and Business
6. Over-all Status for No Change

100.0
71 .0

77'8"
87.5
83 .3
5Q"0
66.7
78.6

)KURUKSHETRA February 1, 1983

, I

,(

"lInportance,(lf- feasibility studies

in rural development
P. N. PA;"DE
Giri Ins~itute of De,elopment Studies, Luckoow (u.P.)\

EX~ERiENCE

OF SOCIAL,

ECONO:rv~lC

AND .POLITICfL

history of development have recently converged,

to impart a new idea of urgency to problem of rural'
development in developing' countries. Persistence of
rural poverty and the existence of miserable level of
living for the masses in these countries have posed
serious questions regarding the techniques of conventional policies and theories of'development.
Rural
area of our country is asscciatecl with unemployment,
nlaSS,'poverty, illiteracy and unhygienic conditions of '
living. TIlere cannot be two opinions' about the
fact that development of any kind is not possible unless we develop our villages where more than 75 per
:cnt of our population lives, among them about 50
per cent pcople are living below thc povcrty line,
Thc problem of rural devefopment can be seen from
two angles, onc is from productivity and the, other
from the distribution' pattern. Rural development has
been a mattcr ,of great concern for overall' socioeconomic upliftment in terms of social justice,ec,,:
nomic nccd and mutual integration. Economic development is a term most often assoelated with underdeveloped countries.

The prime task' of our economic planning is to

.bring ~bout a structural change of economy, so as
to achieve. a . high rate of growth: a progressive im. provement in the standard of masse? and to provide a

lead, to a high degree of productivity. The prograinme

. of economic development for those. areas which' are
backward, will 4ave to be governed with referenc.e
to their resources, both human and natural.

Need to have svrveys

I,

.!

and 'fol1milation of
, , variouS"development;lprogrammes
in rural areas,
it 'is generally and widely felt that the targets and
objectives of these plans have not been fulJiJled, The
desired, level bf development could not be achieved.
There may be many reasons for' which we. could not
obtain lhedetermined .targets of programmes. There
is a need to have a feed-bacK' system for which it
would be possible to compare' tIie output of develop~
ment with jnputs utiliUct in it. 'The development
plan that is formulated for implementing a projcct can
be based upon its feasibility in terms of economic
,viability and so~ial acceptability.. To make the development process more effective and productive, there
is ~eed to have survey ~echanism in terms of feasibility study;input-outpur
analysis, need context and
its consequential impact on environment. The developmel,lt plans in rural India cover two broad aspects :
thc first aspect covers' strutural change in over-aIl)-,
rural life and the second aspect relates to target'
groups of'rural commuruty. An emergence of strucN 'SPiTE OF'IMPLEMENTATION

tural differentiation

and integr~tion

(social,

economic

!]laterial' base for further production so .'that the, economy may achievc a path of seif-reliant economy.
Any kind of strategy'for rural development and village
uplifjment 'is, necessarily associated with productivity.

and national) can be defined as astate of development.

A feasibility study forraising the. socio-ecOnbmic level
of small farmers; marginal farmers, "agricultural arid
other non-agricultural labourers is necessary.
Deve-

Productiyity "and poverty have'

lopment of a society, in general, iJbplies not merely

negative'

correlation.

Poverty can bc eliminated by high level efforts and

effective role of production components' which . will
10

progress taking place but also the potential for continued progress in future.

KURUKSHETRA

February I, 1983

rr

HE TERM ':FEASIBILITY
STUDY"has many connolatIOns In Its broader aspect. Normally, it ,is an'
analysis to determine, whether a given course of action
is possible, practical, suitable and workable or. not ?
Feasibility study covers a broad spectrum of possible
:~ applications and, alternative procedures or methods,
'\ The term feasibility can be defined as "capable of
_being used or de<llt with successfully". Feasibility
study is a guide for proper implementation of schemes
or programmes of development and effective utilization
of available resources (man and material) which offer
maximum income and employment opportunities
compatible with the region's resources. The potential
resources can be identified through a general inventory
survey method or by developing input-output model
for a region. Ample occasions of more production
remain untapped due to lack of knowledge (information) a!?<'uttheir feasibility.

.i
Feasibility studies are more explicitly treated ir! the
/~. rural development research. Rural development research consists of selection of area. survey, investigations and basle feasibility studies in any field of discipline and which may develop many facts, scientific and

technical

knowledge;

new innuvations

and other in-

formation that may be useful to those projects which

are involved in programr..les and activities for rural
development.
Feasibility stUdies are most important to encourage.
the. network for creating the jobs and income in rural
areas which provide more avenucs for further development. . Rural Development Extension Programmes
~
should consist of collection of information (basic data),
analysis, interpretation, "and dissemination of useful
information and other sources to the various units
of government, regional agencies, voluntary organisations and other institutions of citizens contributing
to rural development. The process of eradieation of .
. poverty starts not only when funds are given for
developmental schemes, but information about thc
need of the people, estimates of return (output).
benefits to society (economic and social viability),
future. potential and other imp~ct on environment is ..
equally needed. This C<lnbe possible only through
feasibility study. .There is no standard or. generally
accepted objective or format for a feasibility study,
..The analysis of a feasibility study for a particular
"""" objective cannot be universally recognised. The challenge is to construct a research package that will
address the problem and provide the needed information in a' useful and reliable manner. A dearly defined
objective for every feasibility study is absolutely
essential.

The guiding question

"for what and

for

whom'; is prime theme of feasibility siudy. Without

defining the objective of a feasibility study, it is impossible to rationally. choose appropriate research techniques; because every feasibility study has its own
techniques of research. Once potential development
'I

''i-: KURUKSHETRA February 1, 1983

opporturiities have been identified for a particular region the subsequent task is to design feasibility study
of a specific venture. N1 investment is made only after
,either an' informal or formal inve~tigation has been
made of the .feasibility of the propo~ed venture.

Components of study
.
,

OR EXAMPLEA FEASIBILITY
study on a proposed
manufacturing decision .can be viewed in three
major components, such as the supply of raw material
used in' manufacturing, the manufacturing operation
and 'marketing of the product. A feasibility study on
an 'agricultural processing operation relates to these
components: (a) availability and costs of raw product
supplies; (b) the technical engineering components of
the plant; (c) associated input-output data; and (d)
the demand for the particul.ar product.

Basically, the feasibility study covers the following

contents which needs detailed analysis:
(i) Context of need, (Ii) Primitive statement of
need; (iii) Need analysis; (iv) Activity analysis;
(v) System conceptualisation; (vi) Economic viability; (vii) Financial feasibility; (viii) Social acceptability; (Ix) Environmental constraint; and (x)
Concluding remarks.
FEASIBILITY
STUDYis designed and-initiated
with a clearcut objectirvein mind, implementation'
I. F THE
would become easier. The feasibility study should not
be undertaken at all witbout a clear-cut .objective in
the 'first place. However, during ttie course of feasibility study, new, alternative uses should be thoroughly explored. The most prestigious methodology and
model-building .became relevant only on appropriate
application made to a specific study. Rural development programmes need a. well-grounded research,
base to fully.understand the complex and highly inter-,
related variables in rural India. Feasibility study ';s!
an economic analysis of viability. It is impossible to
achieve' development of it relevant set of strategies'
without a research.base to draw on. In promoting the
developmen~ of' societal resources as a network of
social aoq economic activities, concrete information
about the available- resources. and viable technique
to harness the resources .should be known. The feasibility study can be more helpful in tracing the viable
and gainful scope of activities for rural development.
Appropriate technology. which applied after the feasibility study, may be more effective and rational
in the backward. regions of rural India. Tho~gh a
specific technology may be feasible in short run it
may not be'viable in the long run. Therefore, feasibility study 'is a tool which we C<lnmeasure whether
a poposed technology is appropriate in terms of via~
bility, workability and acceptability or not.
11

~~
"

~'-

~.
;

~- .. j

>

.~,"~

..

,-

~.

."

.'Streamlining p.~nchayati raj.

.
. iidnlinistration .

v.,,,

G, .MALLIKARJIlNAYY A

", ,'.'," Lecturer,.

"',:' "Railway,
'. ,., ..J?egree
" -,."College;'
.. ,Secunde~b8~
,- ','" (A.P.) J-.,.
',' t

..

....

..

"-','

. ~.

A:.l-~~~f:iaJ~~~Y~~\'~~'\~~il~tta:f~t~n:e;~
lines ~uggested by Baiwantnu Mehta, it has not made
any notable progress., After a lapse of J1 years, .eleclions ,(0 the .Panchayati Raj b.adies )Vere condu'cte.d'in
1981. The Chairman of Zila' ParisJiads:and,Presidents .
of Panchayat Samithis who were;eleCted have felttl;at
they .are di"e.st~ of powers which are' enshrined in the
B~lwanthii Mehta COD;uilitteeRepoit.This
paper is
fbcussed mainly on the working of Zila Parlshads and
Panchayat Samithis and attempts to study their problems. The autlior met so~e of the chairmen of"Zila
Parishads 'and Presidents of Panchayat Samithis and
exchanged opinions .a:t random, regarding the working
of Panchayati Raj inStitutions in some asl'eCls in, ilie
S~at.eand the artic1"" therefore, lacks sysretbatic treiit~
ment' of iiie."subjeet..' c: ',':.: ,""
.. ,: ' . .,.. ' :
:'-,":-:-:";: :.'.: .

":'

.:",':;;

~;.-<~~.

'.- -''', .'.., .;;.. :.>~--,

The' fust .problem that was. discussed was the District Selection Coinmittee and Coinmittees" of Zilli
PilTishads. The Government. constitutes' , for" each
District' a SeleCtion Cocim;ttee for the putpose""6i
seieCting:'p,;rsonneP to."serve: .in ":ihe"'Pahchayati .Raj
institutions and the Cominittee consists of the .Chilirman of the Zila Plirishad, Chief Executive Office-rand
one. member elected by ",~mbers of the Zila Parishad
~o.m' among themsel~e~~l~.
.
.
, ,.

HE

SELECTION

COMMlTTE~

~.
_-:"~:;:~
~:i~
_',,~.;::-.;'.~
_,';
',)
':.-'~
: -.
., : -,:
.'
tee instead:of,theDistrict
Collector who can be tJ1ade- '
t1i"ome,;;'b~r:. the,Coinmittee to keep .him abreas.t
,,(ihe de~elopmenis'o~ changes that take place in the
District. on' the analogy of the Municipal Corporation
of Hyderabad 'where ,the selection Cimmittee consists
of the Municipal Coinmissioner, who invariably hap'
pens to be an LA.S, Officer. the Additional Commis~
sioner orDep~ty: Coiiuniisioner;theChairman
of the
Standing Corn.initte and the Mayor as the Chairman
of the Selection Committee, Moreover, the Andhra
Pradesh Panchayat Samitliis and Zi1a Parishads' Act,
1959 isillso silent as regards the Chairman of the \..
Seledion Committee. In this context, it is not out oJf
place to menlion. here that Chairman' of the Zila Parisha~ j~ not the 'C~afri:nan of all qoinmittees except
ihe 'StaTiiiing'ComIDitt2e 'riii-' Finance.' In order to
enable. the Chairman "or: the Zila' Parishad to' .be in
to~ch with a 'variety of rural developmental activities
it is desir~ble-th~t 'ihe:Chai~n
'of theZila Panshad
be n'-adeCh~imlan ~f'all. StaIiding' Cominittees. The.
slaius of the C6mmittees also increases if the 'Chairman
is cio,iely' assOCiated"With 'them as'. theii--Chairman.
Mbreo~er,
'who' i~ " member lif the~
. "
. _. when'.;;':
.. Sarp~rich
~..- .
Panchayat. Samithihappens to be the Chairman of its
Stqndjng'Committee, theie is no point why the Chairman .or Zila Parlishad.is riot made the ,Chairman of
ail' its Standing Commit,tees,
,);

or'

'.

lThe Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Samithis .and Zila Parishads

Act, ]9.59 (as amended upto 7th May. 1981), page 64 ..

~.'

,,-,

.'

More freedom to .Panchayats

is, at present, headed

, by the District Collector. In view of prominence

of ,the Panchayati Raj institutions which ought to pla,y
a vital Tole.in developmental activities in rural areas,
the Chairman of Zila Parishad. is required to be
made the Chairman of the District Selection Commit- .

12

~," ~

T nature of developmental activities In the PanchaHE

NExT PROBLEM THAT

cropped

up

the

was

)'ati Raj bodies, In developmental activities like housing' programme, ,school building, drinking water, etc,
the Chairman of the Zila Parlshad is required to have
a voice and therefore, .he should be closely associated
'Ibd,.

p, 57,

KURUKSHETRA
.

February 1; 19S3

with them. In order to .undertake the developmentM

activities, the concerned district officers of the deve-
lopment departments should .be transferred to the
Zila Parishad or at least their c()-{)peration to the
,Chairman is to be ensured. It is required that the.
''I;;uperintendingEngineers of Roads, Building; Irriga-,
tion and Electricity Board attend the meetings of Zilla
Parishad without fail to furnish the technical information or advice to the Chairman of the Zila Parishad. It is also desirable to hand over the Social
Welfare Department to the Zila Parishad~ to enable
them to undertake welfare activities of women and
children. ,

. Thc Chairman of Zila Parishads and Presidents of

It is desirable that the Chairnien of Zila Parishads
Panchayat Samithis expressed their 2pinions as regards
be provid~ greater freedom in formulating and sancthe. implementation of recommendations of various
tioning development programmes in the districts, en- .. ."committees. They have observed that the Governabling them to take works under the National Rural
ment seems to be not serious in taking any political
Employment Programme and every Zila Parishad
dccision as regards. the devolution of pOwer to the
should be provided with
Zila Parishads, Panchayat Samithis and villages in
_ ..adequate
~ -. fund of Rs. _. 2 lakhs
to take up new works. . It is also desirable to' raIse
. the light of. recommendations of various committees
the sanction limit of works in Zila Parishads from
appointed by the Government of Andhra Pradesh.
Rs. 1 lakh to. Rs. 2 lakns;o view of the rise in price
'.-

~'-

-"

the Zila Parishads and the Presidents of the Pancha-.

yat Samithis have become public issues in the wake
of Government Orders from time to time which are
. interpreted as restricting their powers. There has
been a growing resentment against the interference of
officialswith the powers of the Chairmen of the Zila
Parishads and the Presidents. of the Panchayat Samithis in this state. There are a number of instances
where the officialS are interfering in the working of
the Panchayati Raj bodies. Undue official interference in the affairs of these Panchayati Raj bodies
would hinder their smooth and proper functioning.

structure,

,'.

It is also observed that the supplying of seedlings

to the farmers by the Forest Department under Social
Forestry Programme seems to be costller and it is
desirable that various types of seedling can be developved locally depending upon soil conditions and supplied at comparatively. low rates, thus lessening that
.cost of scedling. It is therefore desirable that the
dcvelopment of seedling can be entrusted to the Panchayati Raj bodies under the supervision of the Forest
.Officer.
.

rJ

It is discuSsed that' some powers like setting apart

lZS. 2 'Iakhs. towards developmental efforts iii each
samithi, allbCationof land. revenUe to samithis making
samithi presidents cO:Opted members. of agricultural
developmental bariks, co-operative banks, ex-officio
members in land distribution committees, be given to
the presidents of the PanchayatSamithis. ThePresidents of the PanchayatSamithis at Zila Parishad meeting, .had expressed their resentment at political interferenCein the working of the Panchayat samithis and
asserted their right to carry on the work in .their
samithis independently. The Presidents may be made
.. the c()-{)ptedmembers of the baiIks some share of the
~'land revenUe be made 'available to' samithis to undertake development activities.
Pinchayati Raj fell' into a
state of neglect as in other States due to a number
of factors. The State Government does not seem to be
sincere in' the--!ransfer of real powers and resol,ITces
to these institutions. The Presidents of Samithis felt
that real transfer of power to non-officials as envisaged .
in the Pan~hayati> Raj seHip had not taken place in
Andhra' Prarlesh,'The powers of the Chairmen of

N ANDHRA

PRADESH,

Panchayai~ rieed t6' be rejuvenai:~d

_.

_..

_c_o

OF Chairmen"f ZiJa Parishads imd . Presidents of. Panchayat Samithis is

that the J:'anchayati.Raj institutions which came into
existence in Andhra Pradesh recently after a long gap
of 11 years are only a farce or for norilinal sake. The
real 'powers of controllingthePanchayati
Raj institutionsare 'in th~ hands of officials and the political
executives of the Panchayati Raj bodies are feeling the
lack of operational freedom. If the
Government
really wants the rural local bodies to be effective instruments of rural development as envisaged by Mahatiria
Gandhi; it' isrequiredt"
'rejuvenate them by giving
them ad6qmite powers.: "'The ;G6vernme'i1t empow"
eted'either '.to' supersede or". dissolve' a' Panchaj'at
Samitbior Zlla Parishad inCabuses its powers" and
therefore, there. is no scope to hesitate to entrust' the
powers pertaining to. developmental activities either
to the Panchayat Samithis or Zila Parishads.

HE' ~-'AiN' CON'Tm<TION

is

..

"'

-"

The remarkS of Balwantl'ai Mehta "as long as'we

are not wilhng to create representative and democratic institutions with adequate powers and necessary
fiiuincial resources which will supply the badly wanted
interest, care and supervision necessary
e-nsure that
expenditure of money upon local objects confirms
with the needs and wishes of the locality, we will never
be' able to evoke IbCai intere~t and excite local initiative in the field of local development" seems to be far
froin reality in this State.

to

3Ibe Andhra Pradesh Panchayat S~mithis and Zila Parishads

Act, 0/ cit., Section, 63, pp. 72~73.

;"1

~~
.(KURUKSHETRA February 1,1983

]3

A Maharashtra

study

Credit use by small farmers

, , .
~Ptt.

M.D. PAWAR and C.D. DEOLE

of Economics" Marathwada ~grJ. University, parbban~~

would be
,
incomplete'if they do not attempt to solve the
problems of small fanners such as absence of timely
credit, proper guidance and essential snpplies of seed
etc. Efforts in this area needs to be intensified in order
to have a better pe~pective of the economic and' social
problems of these farmers. About 49 million operational holdings in the country, a IitIle over 40 percent
are less. than' 2.5 acres formed 34.5 percent of the
total number of household and accounted for 40.7 per
cent of the holdings' owning 6.8 per Cent of the total
cultivated area.

LANS

FOR AGRICULTURAL

DEVELOPMENT

o~ectives of
HE

I>RE5ENT

bn

...

Where,
Y
Xl

Total amount of credit (Rs.)

A!IlOunt paid as wages to hired human'

labour (Rs,)
'"
Inve:;tment on ,lraft cattle (Rs.)

the study

is an. attempt .to provide an

insight into these unsolved problems
of small, farmers in Nanded district consisting of,
48,000 small farmers. Keeping in view the problems
in the area, the study was undertaken with the follow
objectives :- .

T cmperical

Statistical analysis was done with the help of Cobb-,

, D,)uglllS production function of the type;

STUDY

Investment 'o~ manures and"

fertilizers (R:..)
a

Inierceflt.
','

Partial regression

Go-effiGients

I
(cla'.ticitie~ c.f

To projeCt the credit requirements with, traditional

and modern farm technology on small farms.

XJ.

!<2' X3~ OU

Y)

2
To examine the pattern of credit use on small farms.

Methodology
,"

was underiaken in the year 1975-76

, for which four villages, ,viz. Tuppa, Wadgaon~
Dhanegaon and Wadi were' selected randomly from
Nanded taluka in the vacinity of S.F.D.A. Agency of
Nanded district. In all, a sample 60 farmers was
HE

selected

STUDY

and it was furthe~r classified

int'Q two Jiroup

Le.'Rainfed (48) and Irriga'ed (l2)holdings,'

14

'

Findings

of the study

'C lated,OFtaking into conllderation

various cr?PSblwas cafixlCU
ed
vana. e and'
,
OST

PROJ?UC:TION

~f

cost concepts.
An estimate of the requirement of working capital
based on existing level of resources and farm technology was worked out' and is given in Table.-l.
KURUKSHETRA

February I,

tABLE

Pcr holding credit requirement for"next )o'ear with the same leyel
Ho/dings

Working capital
requirement (Rs.) .

-_._--~-----~----_._----;.

--------

Rainfcd
\

ot technology.
. Last year's
balance (Rs.)

Credit need/or
next year (Rs.)

962 A9

~26.42_

988.91

2767.81

+ 325.28

2442.53

'}
Irrigated

Taking inlo account the equity capital, the credit

requirement for next year was estimated to Rs. 988.91
and Rs. 2442.53 for rainfed and irrigated holdings,
respectively.

tain.Jimits is dependent upon the amount.of

.used.

capital

A farmer should al~ays determine whether' the investment he is about to make in farm capital will be
'Productive, it will enable him to increase his income
and improve his standard of Living. Capital that will
accomplish either or both of these objectives farms the
real basis for credit.

..

Experience has shown that it famier's income to a

large extent del'ends upon the quantity of farm pro ..
duce. And the productivity of his labour within eer-

TABLE2

--_. __. ---

Per holding working cDpital rcqUirmc'it for the next year .with the same cropping patter!1 with
all recommended levels of inputs'

..

------------

...

_._--------------------Working capita!
requirement (Rs.)

Holdihgs

Existing capital
requirement (Rs.)

------_._-------Rainfcd.

1785'57,

Irrigated

3982.20

,
HE

CAPITAL

T . holdings

of the selected small

with al! recommended practices and
REQUIREMENTS

manurial doses were worked .out and is given Table 2.

,... It can be seen that if cultivators from selected holdings

wil! take the crops with small acearage and with. all
rcconllnendeU package. of .practices, thc capital requirements .for rainfed and irrigated holdings will be

Per holding ~rcdit requirement

----

---

----

Percent increased
due to improved
technology

962"49

85.51

2767.81

30.50

----------

_._--------

Rs. J 785.57 and Rs. 3982.20 ~espectively.

The per-

certtage increase over nbrma!. requirement

was 85:51

per' cei,t .and 30.50 per celit in rainfed and irrigatcd

holdings-, respectively,
. The credit rcquirement with existing cropping pattern
and with rccommendend package of. practices was
worked out and shown in Table' 3.
.

with all recommended

package of practices

and with the same croppjng pattern

(Amount

---

---~..,.-._._-_.

-----------_._.-~-~------

.. Holdings

--_.
~.

Working capital

__ ._----~----_ _----...

reqliiremeJIt

------------------

Rainf~d'

1785 '57'

Irrigated.

3982.'20

Last year's profit

or loss

._--------~------26.42
325.28

in Rs.)

Credit lleed (Rs.)

.

J811 .99
3656'92

-_._---_._------------------------

Taking into consideration the last year's profits and

losses, the total credit requirement of irrigated farm
was more than double, .than that of rainfcd farm.
Functional analysis was done to examine the relationship of _hired human labour. Invcstment on draft

-.i KURUKSHETRA

February 1, 1983

cattle, expenditure on. manure and fertilizers with the

level of crcdit use .on' farms under study.
T.he result of the functional analysis alongwith the
significance of regression coefficient and marginal
value product of each variable conside"red in the analysis are' given in Table 4.
'
15

TABLE 4

Results of the CoblJ..Douglus production function

Xl

Hired human labour

. X2

?,3

Investment on draft animal

Investment on manures

Calculated
't' value

Value. of
regression
"coefficient

Regression
coefficient

Input factor

bI

-0 ,8680

b,
'b,

0,2345

.2.6121

**

MVP

,-6,5574

'

1 '2145
6,3587

2'1534'
2,4606'

0,6875

Remarks

Significant at 5
and 1%.

r t'

Signifi~nt at 5/'P.
Significant at 5 %

Significant at 5.and 1 per cent.

Significant at 5 p<:rcent level.

The final

form

of the, functional'

analysis is,

. "given below;

-0.8680
Y -

10.67 Xt

60

0.405('.

X2

Sigruficance of the elasticies of input faCtors tested

by 't' test, indicated significance of inve~tme:ilton draft
cattle as well as expenditure on manures and fertilizers. :

0.2345 0.6875
X,

",'

'"

'

'

_ "

A_

The Study concluded that the, credit requirements

on irrigated farms were double than that of rainfed
farms
2

The functional analysis indicated decreasing returns

to scale. Coefficient .of multiple determination (RT
explained 40 per cent v,ariation. in credit due tovariabies considered in the functiomil analysis. Tberegressian coefficient for hired human labour showed inverse
relationship with credit .and it was statistic311y sign;-.
fieant. While, the coefficient of investment of draft
animals an>! .manures and fertilizers showed positive,
. 'relationship with. credit.

Working capital requiremenis with improved tech, nology showed 85.5 and 30.5 pcr cent increase 'over
traditional farming on rainfed and irrigated farms,
respectively.

:3
.Small farmers are' unable to take advantages of new
technology due to insufficient availability of capital
and credit.
4

. Response function indicated decreasing returns to .

scale.

REFERENCES

I. DUlla,

P.c.

(1972)

.'Credit. requirement of.. sm<.tHfarmers in As.sam.

Vol. 21. No. 12.pp,13-14 .

2. Kablon and Kapoor, (1968)

3. Saini, A.S: and Sidhu, D.S. (1975)

4. Singh, M. and Nandla! (1973)

~urukshetra,

. Estimation offarrn credit requirement of LA.D.P., Distt. Ludhia1)a

from 1968-69 to 1972~73, Journ. Res. P.A.U.. Ludhiana .
'Estimation of capital and credit requirements of different farm
situations in Punjab' Financing 19riculture, Vol. 7 No.3, pp. 19.,
'Short-term capita1.and credit req"uiremenlS \vith improved p.r:odu;'
don technology in Hissar'. Journ. Res. H.4.U., Hissar, Vol. 3.t-:.
. No, I .p. 44.

.'

KURUKSHETRA

/.

February 1, 1983 ('"

Caring for our aged

B. MANJESHWAR

DINESH and P. HANUMANTHA

RAYAPPA

Population Research Instjtute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore

fA..

BO\JT 6 PER CENT of the world', population constitute those who have completed 64 years of ag!'.
Thus, out of a total of 4321 million persons in 1979,
25'9 million persons were those who had
survived
their 64th birthday.
As provided by the Population
Reference. Biueau the pen;entage of population over 64
Years to the total
population
in the ~e~s and more
developed con'ntries of the world were four and six

other countries regard 55 y~ars or 65 years as the. age

at retireme-nt.
While in Ind~a, the census'
reports
,hayc_ accepted 55 years as the age for. treating a I:'crson
as 'aged', in the U.S.A., U. K. and other
Western
countries, it happens to be 65 years. . However, in
'majo'rity of the developing countries, the age at which
one is treated 'as 'old' varies from 55 to 60 years.

res~ctively.

. The length of life in less developed countries has

remained relativelvat
a lower ievel. The life expec.
taney at birth in India; for example, was 50 years for
males and 48.7 'years for females in 1975 _compared
to 68.7 and 76.5 years in the U.S.A., 71,8 and 77
years in Japan' and 71.1 and 76.8 years in Denmark.
Similarly, the life expectancy of the aged population
is high among the more'developed
couhtries, thari the
less developed countries and this difference is more
prominent amoug the fem'ales than males.
With a few
exceptions aged' females, in general, liyc for
more
number of years than the aged males.

In l~ss developed countries" the proportion of aged

in the total population has been relatively lower than
the more developed countries.
The difference is more
...-J p'rominent in the case of females than males. With
i
a few exceptio~_s' among the developing count~ies,. the
proportion of ageo females to the totaJofemale population is lower than th" proportion of aged males to the '
fatal male population.
Among the developed countries .the reverse is the case. In more developed countries, .in" general, females outnumber males in the population 'over and above 60 years. Obviously,: factors
which had a stronger influence on the age and sex
composition of the population account for this situatioD.

'T-

The aged in India

HOUGH SOME of those who are 60 years.and

over
"
do work, generally the aged are consIdered as
,.-., "dependents".
The aged dependency fOtio (Population aged 60+ population between 15-59 years) is
higher among, the' developed c~uJ1tries than among the
developing countries.
This pattern is a reflection of
the higher life expectancy at birth as well as at different ages- in more developed countries compared
to
tho' less developed countries.
An important point to
. be noted while compariu)( the dependency ratios different countries is that of the difference in the definition
of .a ~dependent'.
While somle coul1tries .consider 60
sears as the age at which one has to cease working,
o

J--~_.-

.~

KURUKSHETRA

Febru~ry

1, 1983

The aged population

I-

1971, India had a1>ouj 33 million persons aged,

60 years and over, accounting for nearly 6 per cent
of the total .population in the country.
Assuming the
same proportion
of the aged in the total population,
the' number of the aged in 1981 is estimated to' be
about 41 million.
When compared to the developed
countries of the world, the proportion of the aged in
the total population of India is apparently
smaller.
Nevertheless, the aged'dependency
in ruml as well as.
in urban India have increased during 1961~71
census
re'riOiI for both the sexes.
Though not significant,
the aged dependency ratios for males have increased
at a higher rate (1.45 per cent or rnral and 0.62 per
cent or urban) when compared 'to females (0.76 per
cent for rural and 0.25 per cent for urban) over this
Period.
relation to the child dependency, tJIe aged
,N

In

17

dependency has increased at a fa'ster rate both in rural

and urban areas. The ratio of the aged dependents
(60+) to the child dependents (";; 14)
inereas~d
from 13.4 per cent in 1961 to 14.2 per cent in 1971
among rural males and from 13.7 per cent to 14.6
per cent over the same period among urban
males.
With regard to the females this increase over 19617.1 period was very marginal.
In 1971, 83.8 'per cent of the male aged. and 82.8 ..
per ceht of the female aged in India died before they
completed their 75th year of living in rural areas and
84.6 per cent of the male and 82.2 per cent of the
female aged died in urban areas before attaining. 75th
year.
Females outnumbered males above age 69 in
1961 as well as in 1971 censuS in both rural and urban populations. Over 1961-7.1 period, the survival
of the aged population after 75 years of age has not
improved substantially.
About 2 per cent of the aged males in India remained unmarried in 197] .. Marriage, of course, wa~ al.
most universal among the females. While nearly three-.
fourth of the aged males in India were currently married almost the same proportion was widowed among
the females.
Higher percentage of widows
than
widowers among the'aged may be due' to. higher longevity mnong the aged females than the males. The
fact that, gencraUy, men marry to younger brides may
also account for the-higher .percentage of widows in
the aged population.

The state of the aged

ROM
THE INFORMATION
presented above it is evi. dent that in deyeloped countries, aged have better
longevity while the aged dependency ratio is high and
in developing countries like India, longevity is low
while the aged dependency ratio is also'low. What is
concerning in the Indioh' context is not the aged dependency ratio, but the growing number of aged who unlike
their countemarts in developed countries live in abject
poverty, in the absence of old age social security and
'insufficient savings to look_after themselves. The main
ways for them to survive in old age are (a) to receive
support from their children, and lor (b). to work for
pittance by sacrificing their leisure which they amply
deserve.

The demographic literature distinguishes two kinds

of motives. of parents desire to have. children viz" the
satisfaction they get by having. children and the prospective .tan!tible returns that they may accrue from their
children. .The latter motive c-onstitutes (a) the,.lienefits parents expect from their children as productive
agents by contributing to the family income directly.
Or (b) by workin!! as substitutes for hired labour at
home. on the family farm, in the family business or .
elsewhere, and (c) the security they expect from their'
children when they are old and disabled. Demogra-

phers call these economic benefits from children as

Income Utility, Work Utility and Security . Utility,
y
respectively..

Children as old-age security.,

UTILITY the children render to '.
during ,old age is an economic
motive for high fertility in peasent"societies is a debatable issue. The empirical evidence on the relationship
between the security utility of children and fertility in
rural settings are lacking. However, there are some
studies, conducted in Nigeria and Thailand on how
parents perceive children as old age security in rural
areas. These studies highlight their observation that
a significant proportion of parents mention the support
they receive from their children as one of the important
advantages of having. a large family. . It has been
pointed out by these studies that parents, generally,
rely on their children for old-age support (financial or-\
otherwise) .. Data collected from three ,'ilIages in
South Kanara district of Karnataka State of India
Corroborate t~e above observations. Besides, information from these villages show that parents' perceptions
of old-age security vary by the socia-economic and'
educational ~roups,

W their parents
ETHER

SECURITY

Though there is no consensus regarding the relationship between the parental perception of the security
utility of children and fertility, there is agreement that
parents do get support from .their children during old
age. While studying the economk value of children in \
Java and Nepal, most of the aged parents were fO)lnd 'to be depending upon their chiidn,n' by' living with
them or in their neighbourh::>od. Similarly, data col. lected from the South. Kananidistrict
of Karnataka
State alSo showed as high as 95 per cent of the aged
parents in rural areas Jiving with their chiidren.
Assuming no old-age social security, negligible or
zero net savings of the a~ed and the help the aged
,receive from others' than their children to be insignificant in rural areas, the work status of those aged who
are living with their .children will indicate the extent of .
their dependency on their children. If those aged who
are staying w.ith.their children are working, then, the
terms 'depending on' and 'living with' cannot be used
interchangeably and. as a consequence the residential,...
pattern of the aged will cease to be a 'good indicator'
of the sUPPol\ receiv~d by them. .Hence, data caneeted
from the South Kanara district of Karnataka State were
cross-classified by work status and residential pattern
to know how many of those aged who live with their
children d" work. Results iI;ldicatethat though as high
as 95 per cent of the aged stay with 'their children; most
of them were repqrted to be working. But'the term
"'work participation' has'.a broader connotation in the
sense that it is inclusive of both who are 'willingly
working' without Rpy monetary motivation and those

("

18

KURUKSHETRA

February 1, 198~

who are forced to work for monetary 'benefits. While

aDB!yiingthe dependency of the aged on their children,
these tWo distinguishable terms have to be borne in
mind, for those who are willingly working are doing
so
, not because they do not get adequate support from .
,Jheir children but may be to keep themselves away
from boredom at home. During the field work in the,
South Kanara district when an old man living with
three sons was asked to remark on why he reported
as working for 6 hours on normal days, his instanta"neous emotional response was as follows:
,
..

'Listen young man, I was taught, to work by my

parents when I was 6 years old. Now I am 65. I got,
addicted to this hard work as I got to the beedi I. am
smoking now. By God's grace, I have 'land' to work
and 'sons' to support; still I won't abstain from work

unless mighty fate deprives me of it". The above remark is an example of aged men's willingness to
work.

Majority of aged workers in rural areas are cuidvators. The various capacities at which cultivators
perform activities as defined by the Census of India
include cultivation of land by oneself or by supervi:sian or by direction.
Most of the aged workers in rural areas who work
, for wages in cash or kind are agricultural labourers.
After adjustiug for the differences in the definition of
work employed in 1961 and 1971 censuses, it has
been noted that there was an actual increase in the
'percentage of agricultural labourers during 1961-71
period. The trend of iucreased participation in wage
labour among the aged in rural India may be due to
different factors like decrease in the intensity of old
age security the aged realize from their children, persisting poverty, the ch~ging attitude of the aged in
recent years, etc,

/'.

Regardless of ihe data problems, there exists marked

difference in thelabour force participation of the aged
between developed and developing countries. The ,difference is more clear for males than females as their
participation rates are very high among' the less
developed countries as compared to those in more
developed countries. "
Higher labour force participation of the aged in
developing countries does not imply that their prodnc, tivity is higher. When the productivity of population
i in the economically productiv~ age-group (15~59)
of the less developed countries are severely affected
by malnutrition, the productivity' of the aged whose
nutritional standards are worse will expectedly be very
poor; The aged are prone to old age ailments' such as
constipation,

indigestion,

chronic

backaches

other than cultivators

concentrated in traditional
activities like shoe and leather goods making, carpentry' and related wood work, glass forming, pottery and
related work, spinning, weaving and related work,
'Iaundry, dry cleaning and pressing, hair dressing, etc.
The aged female workers are concentrated in shop
keeping and trading, shop assisting and related works
and in cooking and other house-keeping services. The
concentration in traditional activities could be attributed
to higlI illiteracy among the aged in rural India. While
the literacy level of the adult populati()'n is very low
in rural areas the literacy level of the aged in particular
could be expected to be' the lowest as they belong to
an older generation,

T in rural India are

HE

AGED

MALE

WORKERS

and

urinary troubles 'whkh adversely affect their working

cap~city. Moreover, most ,of them are ,physically
disabled due to impaired eyesight. In rural areas
where the nutritional standards are poorer and the
medical facilities are inadequate, the health condition
of the aged is expected to be, much below the urban
standards.
more than, 75 per cent
C of the aged males in !hat
India were working. While
ENSUS

The aged artisans

DATA INDICATE

89 per ceni of the aged females were non-workers in

1971, the corresponding figure for males was only 23.
Out of 89 per cent female non-workers, about onehalf of them were dependents and another half of
them were eng'\ged in household duties.

'The year 1982 was designated the International Year

of the Aged; it became obligatory on the part' of
the Goveirunent to look into the problems of the aged
and to 'laUnch programmes of support for the aged
especially in rural areas. It would be enough if it was
able to create a consciousness aIuong people and the
gavernment of the problems of the aged and their care.
, Ina country like India these programmes should
include work, programmes and programmes to give
attentioIi.to the health of the aged. The work programmes should aim at utilizing the skills and experiences of the aged and shauld not come in the way of
employment programmes for the unemployed youth.
It is higlI time"that the Government to initiate some
programmes for ,the care and the welfare of the aged.

"

KURUKSHETRA February 1, 1983

19

., .

This feature is based. on success stories viz. acmev'ements g"ainedin various .

spheres of rural development by farmers, institutions, experiments, and individuals. There is hardly an argument over the fact that dedication and zeal' to
put in hard work can achieve'anything.
' And one achievement inspires and shows
,
the way'to others!
,

We hope our esteemed readers will send us,their'own experiences in the

field so that others can ,benefit 'by them to usher in a better life for our rural
people. (Editor)

20-point programme gams momentum,

implementatio~ of ,the 20e
.
point programme has picked up. According to
a review made by the Planiring Cominission, ~any
.s'ohemes under the programme registered accelerated
progress during the period July-September as compared
to the quarter previous to this, i.e. April-June. ,Thus;
13,087 lxmded labourers were rebabilitated during
July-September' as against only 2,404 bonded labouters
during April-June. The number of Scheduled Caste
families assisted rose to 4.78 lakhs in the second quarter
of the year as against 1.30 lakh families, during the
first quarter. Similarly, Scheduled Tribe families
assisted were 3.40 lakhs as against 0.26 lakh families
during the first quarter.
.

OMENTUM

OF

THE

Tree Plantatian.-There was a marked improvement

in'tbe scheme of tree plantation also. Between July
and September, 13,589.7 Iakh trees were planted as
against 1,444.7 lakh trees dnring the period April-June
, notwithstanding that a number of States were affected
by floods and drougbt. Thus, 77.7 per cent 'of this
'year's target of planting 19,373.5 lakh trees has already
been acbieved in' the first six months of the year.
Excepting Jammu & ,Kashmir and Tamil Nadu, other,
States pursued this scheme vigorously.
20

. The public distribution system was greatly strengthened with the addition of 12,118 fair price shops as
against 2,358 shops during the first quarter.
Drinkin~ Water.-As
many as 8,576 pmblem viIl- I\!
ages were provided with a source of safe drinking water
during the second quarter as against 6,266 villages in
Ihe previous quarter. Encouraged by the progress of
this scheme, the Government is contemplating an upward revision of the annual target of ,covering 33,848
. villages to 42,000 villages. An additional allocation
of Rs. 24 crores has been approved by' the Plamiing
Cominission under the Centrally-sponsored Accelerated
, Rural Water Supply Programme ..
Family Planning.-The number of sterilisations done
during' the July-September quarter was 7.65 lakhs as
compared to 4.35 lakhs d~g
the first quarter. The
States and Union H;rritories which recorded imptes- ,"
sive 'increase were Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Haryaua; .
Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Madhya Pradesh,
Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and'
Delhi.
The progress of some of the schemes has been slow
or unsatisfactory. The Government has noticed iliat
the progress of the Natjonal Rural Employment Programme has not been satisfactory. The objectives of
providing emergency-employment and its linkage with
KURUKSHETRA February 1, 1983

wage structure are often neglected. Despite these

drawbacks, the reports received by the Planning Com, mission indicate that 741lakh mandays'of employment
were generated in the second quarter as against 574
. lakh mandays during the previous quarter.
',
~, The number of new biogas plants at 4,520 during
the second quarter was marginally higher than 4,471
biogas plants set up during the first quarter.
-Press lnforination Bureau

Towards a life full of sunshine

SCENARIO is the Harijan Basti of Village Shahpur, three, kms. from Nissang Block headquarters
in Kamal District. Marnmu Ram has caine back to the
warm coziness of his small ,two-room house' of halfbaked bricks. Tired, yet satisfied. The 'hukka' has
been made though it will be a little while before, the
. dinner is announced. Bali the yomlgest is already fast
asleep.

HE

Jhotta Buggy was delivered to him in the credit camp

organised in Shahpirr with the help of Chirao branch
of the Punjab National Bank in September, 1981. The
asset cost him Rs. 4600, the entire amount being
paid by the Bank and subsidised by the Agency. Since
then his life has' taken an 'abrupt turn' promising him
days of bellyfurs for. his family. He now plies his
Jhotta Buggy between Shahpur and the grain-market at
Karnal during. the harvesting seasons, earning upto
R,s, 1200 a-month for four glorious months of the
year. For the rest of time he ~ither plies his buggy
in earth filling operations on contract basis or picks
up non-farm labour, earning on an average Rs. 400
p.ni. His eldest son Bishwa, sixteen, helps him get
his gross annual income of Rs. 8000. After paying
his monthly instalment of Rs. 125 to the Bank; a Bank

<

'How much are the day's savings?' Kalawati shouts

from the kitchen. 'God is graceful', Mammu blows
into his 'hukka', and adds 'fifty rupees.'
'Have you paid the bank instalment?'
'It is due tomorrow.' He switches On his newiy
acquired transistor radio,
Mammu's is the story of a success denied to his
father after his grandfather; generation after generation.
A Ramdasia Harijan and forty years old, Mammu'
Ram was born the only son of Matu Ram who died
when Mammu was a lad of nineteen, leaving the
burden of marrying three sisters bn his very young
shoulders. His mother's death following shortly there_'after left a raw, hungry and unsure youth to the' socioeconomic' exploitation of
caste-ridden rural society.
Plodding through the squaior around and pessimism
within, Maminu Ram took to the family profession of
agricultur31 labour.
'There were times when my ,
children had to 'go on for days withoutl a meal, worth
a name,' he recalls, 'having to do with Jawar which
even my cattle now eat rather reluctantly.'

With his only material possession, a buffalo gifted

by his brother-in-law and yielding two Iitres milk,
Mammu Ram could earn only Rs. ISO" cash and kind,
to support his large family ,of six. His eldest' son
helped during the harvesting season-perhaps the only
ime of comparative plenty in the family.
Mammu Ram was identified during the, baseline
rvey conducted by the Distt. Rural Development
gency in March, 1981 and he opted for assistance to
y a he'buffalow driven cart ('Jlwtta Buggy'). The
UKSHETRA February 1, 1983,

Mammu Ram astridehisjhotta

buggy .

he never knew could help the' poor, he saves enough

for his family who now. consume the buffalo milk
rather than' sell.it. The per capita annual income
shooting up from Rs. 300 to Rs. 1080 has enabled
Mammu Ram to buy a three-band transistor radio a'
month back.
-'
, Though his.second son Jeetu, thirteen, will continue
to'graze cattle and daughter Santosh at eight will continue tn' assist her mother, Mammu Ram plan~ to send
his youngest dllUghter, Bali to school. He has to buy
new clothes for the familY,next harvesting season, his
own wrist watch can wait for a while, but Mammu Ram
is already a very busy man.

For Mamniu Ram the ray of hope

has

brought.

sunshine ..

-Po K. Chaudhery, lA .S.

Chief Executive Officer, DRDA,
Karna!.
o

"

21

The best gram panchayat

is a small village on the roadside in
. Anokel taluk of BangaJore district. The village
Panchayat has taken up almost all the rural development works in a humble manner and implemented them
with a firm determination. The conscientious efforts
of the village panchayat were duly recognised. This
Panchayat was judged as the best panchayat in Bangalore district in 1981-82. A cash award of .Rs. 300
was given to the Panchayat..

AREGADDE

The next competition was .the divisional level competition of the hest village panchayat. The election of
the best Village Panchayat was based On the following
criteria:
(a) utilisation of 18 % grants meant for the welfare
of Harijans; (b) efforts made in eradication of untouchability; (c) taxes levied and collected; (d) steps
taken for creating permanent, remunerative aspects to

the village panchayat; and (e) other special activities.

There is. no practice of ,untouchability in the village.

Apart.from the'panchayat.building, a row of shops .and
a silk-worm' rearing centre are constructed by the
panchayat which fetch about Rs.' 400 as rent every
month.
..Forest, afforestation, protected water supply to the
village, pop\}larising the gobar gas plants etc., ar.e among
the other :welfare activities of thc panchayat.

'A divisional level judging committee unanimously

deClared Haregadde Village Panchayat as the best
panchayat in the 'revenue division of Bangalore and
awarded a cash prize of Rs, 1000 in the form of
N.S.So>certificates. Thus fhe panchayat lias earned a
.distinction' for its dedicated work. The panchayat is
being headed by an engineeri'ng graduate, Shri Basavaraj .with Shri Seetharamaiah, a devoted panchayat
s_etretary to a~sjst ~irn.

'\

Haragadde panchayaf, today, is a model to the '.

neighbouring villages.

Haregadde Panchayat has fully utilised the 18 per

cent grant for laying drainage system to the Harljan
colony and provide street lights. New taxes to the tune
of Rs. 10,550. levied and Rs. 7,919 have been collected

-v. S.

S,!ryallarayana

FPO, Mysore

..

NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMME

PROVIDES JOB OPPORTUNITIES
IN AND NEAR YOUR VILLAGE
"

22

KURUKSHETRA

February 1,

Added emphasis is being given in all States for 3etting uP Of

Handloom Development Corporations duriRg the Sixth Plan.
Handloom industry has a Potential target to produce 6,000
million metres Of clothannualy.

r
\

Handlooms
There are about 40 lakh handloomsin the cOlintry half of which are in the cooperative
sector. There are more than four lakh power-operatedlooms. They have a potential
target to produce 6,000 million metres of cloth onnua/ly~3,700 million metres for hand-.
looms and 2,300 million metres for power looms at the rate of five metres per loom per
.day with 300 werking doys in a year. This amounts to about 50 per cent of the total
requirement of cloth in the country. The silk hand'ooms of Kamataka account for over
8Qper cent of mulberry silk produced in India. The handloom industry have achieved an
important position in exports and is a top foreign echange earner for t(le COljntry.

The handloom sector can meet the

comPetition from the powerlooms Only
through diversification and statwtory
prote~tion by the Government.

d
I

Regd. No. D(DN)/39

(Licensed under U(D)-54 to post without prep"ymen. at Civil Lines Post Office, Delhi).

RN 702/57

.\
'.

The silk handloom"s re"igll' supreme in design and weaving as

far as s.arees ~.nd shirtings a~c concerned.

'.

r';-

Development of hand/oom sector Iras been given a prominent place in the new 20-point
programme. With the commencement of the Cell/rol Plan for handloom de.velopment, a
comprehensive prqgramme has been undertaken for its all-round development. Immediate
action has been. initiated for survival of Jick industrial units, setting up of a National
Hand.'oom Development

An- export-oriented
1,000 looms.

PUBLISHED
THE

project is being taken up in Bangalore amI Tumkur covering about

BY THE

MANAGER,

Corporation and of cooperative spinning mi.'ls and anci.'/arisation.

DlRECfOR,

GOVERNMENT

PUBLICATIONS

DIVISION, NEW

DELm=-lIOOOl

AND

OF DlDlA PRESS, FARID,\BAD BUSINESS MANAGER:

ASST.- DlRECPOR

(P):

K. R. KRISHNAN

pRINTED

BY

S. L. ,JATSWAL:

1/

(,