The Punjab model of agricultural development has evoked a keen interest and curiosity on a wide scale. Some researchers observe that the benefits of the agricultural development have not reached the weaker sections in the rural areas of the Punjab. In this backdrop, the objective of the present study is to examine the dynamics of rural poverty prevailing among agricultural labourers, marginal farmers and small farmers. It elaborately examines the sources, composition and patterns of income and consumption; and magnitude and determinants of indebtedness of agricultural labourers, marginal farmers and small farmers in differentially developed regions of the Punjab.

The painstaking study yielded that agricultural labourers are enjoying a high level of living vis-à-vis marginal farmers. The proposition of persons below the poverty line has been found to be the highest in the case of marginal farmers and this proportion was the highest in the least developed region. In general, it appears that the extent of poverty is inversely related to the productivity levels of the regions but the magnitude of indebtedness is directly related to the productivity levels of the different regions of Punjab.

The book will be of immense value to the students and research scholars of economics and sociology besides the academics and policy planners in the field. And it will enrich the valuable collection of every library.

Every programme for the development of the rural poor, should be in consonance with local resources, local enterprise, and should be based on an intimate knowledge and understanding of local conditions, local needs and local possibilities. So the plan should be based on the human resources and land resources, which the rural people have in plenty, and at least some capital, which if mobilized may reduce poverty and improve the quality of life. The urgent need is to manage the rural resources properly, and put them into effective utilization for turning the villages of problems into the villages of prosperity. This book is the outcome of the National Seminar sponsored by the Universities Grants Commission and it is divided into seven sections. According to the managerial streams, of which the first section deals with the basic issues of managing change in the rural sector, based on the socio-economic infrastructure; second section analyses the development and constraints in the agriculture sector; third section makes an impact analysis of the various strategies of rural development adopted by the government; fourth section presents the rural industrial scenario; fifth section determines the role of rural marketing in developing rural areas; sixth section evaluates the role of banking and finance in the rural sector; and the last section presents the problems and prospects of the rural sector.

This book will be an immense value to all those who are engaged rural Development.

RRBs have been established with a view to provide banking services to the rural masses and extending wide variety of financial assistance to the weaker and poorer sections of the rural society.RRBs have been viewed as an important instrument for serving the weaker sections of the society.

The present work on RRBs is a wishful attempt to study and analyse the operations of these banks in recent years. The study focusses various facets of the working of these banks. Though the research work confined to fives selected RRBs in Gujarat, most of the Findings and suggestions made here will be quite useful to direct mould operations of RRBs to fulfil their expectations.

Today's burning problem of the viability and profitability of RRBs is also dealt in the study which will provide necessary guidelines for future restructuring of the RRBs to perform well.

The small-scale sector is an effective instrument of social change and economic growth in a number of countries. In modern India the Small-scale Industries have been a success story. The have emerged vibrantly in the face of rising threats from large-scale sectors inside the country and multinationals from abroad. At the micro-level the small-scale sector has succeeded in diffusing entrepreneurship culture and played a prominent role in converting the physical, material and human resources into productive assets.

The post-liberalization business environment has turned harsh for the small scale sector due to increased internal and external competition. The far reaching impact of various WTO norms has also posed a threat to the future of small scale sector in India. This book, presented in four sections, contains articles written by different scholars and experts in their respective fields. Section-I deals with an overview of the SSI policy perspectives during the era of planning and the growth of the sector. Section-II presents a brief account of WTO and Small industry development in India. Section-III analyses the genesis, scope and role of District Industries Centres (DICs) and various issues confronting them. Section-IV provides an insight into the role of Government institutions in the development of infrastructure to motivate and encourage small entrepreneurs with special reference to Andhra Pradesh.