The present Encyclopaedia introduces the readers, the students of rural development, the economists, the planners, the administrators, the sociologists and the functionaries to the development of the rural areas in which around eighty per cent of the Indian population have been living and particularly the rural poor who have been unconcerned about the fortune makers in Delhi for the last four decades since we attained Independence.

Rural Development not only is the result of efforts made through economic planning and resource allocation but also depends upon the positive response of various determinate factors operating in the rural economy. These factors are both economic and non-economic which determine the shape, level and direction of rural development. So far, as the book reveals the issues have not been fully appreciated while formulating the plans and putting them into practice. The result has been that the country has more or less failed in its attempt to impart socio-economic justice to a vast majority of people.

The adhoc and fragmented approaches, some of them working simultaneously at cross purposes, are not going to solve the problem of rural poverty. There is a pressing need for a comprehensive rural development policy and pooling of resources involving both men and material to achieve the designed national goals. Thus, the present work is an attempt to provide a comprehensive approach covering aspects of reading materials as well as some critical analysis.

Rural Development is backbone of total development of a nation-state. Amidst the plenty of literature, the present book is unique. The salient features of the present book are: Rural Development: Conceptual Framework; Approach, Strategic Issues, Historical Background, Concepts and Methods, Historical Analysis; Agriculture and Rural Development in the Asia-Pacific Region; Monitoring and Evaluation Mechanism of Agrarian Reform and Rural Development; Strategies for Democratic Decentralisation, Agricultural Development and Panchayati Raj in India; rural Development and Agriculture; Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fishery; Land Reforms and Rural Development; Minimum Wages for Agricultural Labour; Indian Agriculture and Rural Development at Crossroads; The Experience of Agrarian Change and Its Implications; Ploughman and the Moneylender; Spatio-Temporal Variations and Determinants of Rice Cultivation in Bihar; Adoption Status of Innovations for Paddy Production; Labour Use and Estimation of Rice Production; and Extension Methods, etc.

No doubt, administrators, policy planners and officials, executing the development programmes at the grass root level will be benefited immensely by this book. Students, researchers and academics in the field will also find this book most useful and informative.

Rural Development is backbone of total development of a nation-state. Amidst the plenty of literature, the present book is unique. The salient features of the present book are: South Asia: Those Who are Left Behind-Issues and Perspectives; Spectrum of Views and Experiences; Problems of Integration in Rural Development; The Concept of an Indian Village; Development Strategy; Decentralisation Perspectives, Lessons for Planning and Research; Rural Planning; District Plans, Monitoring and the Poor-An Administrator's View Point; Administration of Agricultural Development in Block Level Planning; Literate Rural Youth as a Human Resource-Imperatives for Planning; Strategy for Employment Generation; Portrait of Rural Women Work Force; Women in Industry and Agriculture in Kerala; Strategies for Rural Development; Planning for Integrated Area Development; Spatial-Functional Planning for Integrated Rural Development; Spatial-Sectoral Framework for Integrated Rural Development Planning; Industrial Potential of Rural Settlements: An Integrated Rural Development Planning Strategy. No doubt, administrators, policy planners and officials, executing the development programmes at the grass root level will be benefited immensely by this book. Students, researchers and academics in the field will also find this book most useful and informative.

Rural Development is backbone of total development of a nation-state. Amidst the plenty of literature, the present book is unique. The salient features of the present book are: South Asia: Regional Perspectives on the New World Interdependence; Volume and Intensity of Poverty in Rural Landless Labourers; Upliftment of Weaker Sections: Prospects and Implementation; Employment Characteristics of Rural Areas; self Employment for the Educated Unemployed through Rural Industrialisation; Approaches to Planning of Employment Creation in Rural Areas; Basic Issues in Rural employment; Measurement of Employment and Unemployment in the Indian National Sample Survey; Employment, Unemployment and Under-employment; Conceptual and Measurement Issues; Rural Employment Policies; employment and Poverty Alleviation; employment Characteristics of Rural Area and Gender and Rural Poverty, etc.

No doubt, administrators, policy planners and officials, executing the development programmes at the grass root level will be benefited immensely by this book. Students, researchers and academics in the field will also find this book most useful and informative.