Rural Transformation in India : The Role of Non-Farm Sector

Contents: Preface. 1. Introduction/Rohini Nayyar and Alakh N. Sharma. I. Rural Non-Farm Sector: The International Experience: 2. Growth in Rural Non-Farm Sector: some lessons from Asian experience/C.H. Hanumantha Rao. 3. Rural industrialisation in China : a saga of township and village enterprises, 1978-2002/Kamal Nayan Kabra. 4. Rural non-farm economy: Latin American experience/Peter Lanjouw and Felicity Proctor. II. Pattern and Dynamics of Growth: 5. Rural employment: patterns and trends from national sample survey/Abhijit Sen and Praveen Jha. 6. Rural workforce diversification and performance of unorganised sector enterprises/Sheila Bhalla. 7. Economic structural change and occupational diversification/Yoginder K. Algah. 8. Rural Non-Farm Sector: a state level profile/Arup Mitra and Siddhartha Mitra. 9. Economic growth, poverty and non-farm employment: an analysis of rural-urban inter-linkages/Amitabh Kundu, Niranjan Sarangi and Bal Paritosh Das. III. Access of Disadvantaged Groups of RNFS Jobs: 10. Gender and non-farm employment/Jeemol Unni and Uma Rani. 11. Rural non-farm employment and scheduled castes: activities, education and poverty inter-linkages/Sukhadeo Thorat and Nidhi Sadana Sabharwal. IV. State and Micro Level Experiences: 12.  Transforming rural economy in Andhra Pradesh/S. Mahendra Dev and Vijay Mahajan. 13. Rural Non-Farm Sector in Gujarat: growth and emerging nature/S.P. Kashyap and Niti Mehta. 14. Role of Rural Non-Farm Sector in rural transformation: evidences from Uttar Pradesh/Ajit Kumar Singh. 15. Rural industrialisation in Kerala: re-examining rural growth linkages/Mridul Eapen. 16. Rural Non-Farm Sector in Himachal Pradesh: patterns, processes and implications/H.R. Sharma. 17. Influence of wealth on patterns of livelihood diversification: evidence from field studies in Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh/Daniel Start, Priya Deshingkar and John Farrington. 18. Sustainable rural livelihoods and rural non-farm employment: observations based on some village studies from South India/D. Narasimha Reddy. 19. Developmental role of agricultural and rural diversification: illustrative profiles from drought-prone villages/V.M. Rao and D.V. Gopalappa. V. Sectoral Scenario: 20. Dynamics of rural timber industry/Sukhpal Singh and Vishwaballabh. 21. Employment and growth in handloom sector/C.P. Chandrasekhar. 22. Achieving human dignity: exploring a third perspective on Khadi/Amita Shah. 23. Potential of livestock sector in rural transformation/Pratap Singh Birthal and Jabir Ali. VI. Policies, Programmes and Institutions: 24. Rural industrialisation in India: a critical assessment of policy perspectives/G.K. Chadha and P.P. Sahu. 25. Can firm clusters foster non-farm jobs?: policy issues for rural India/Keshab Das. 26. Micro-finance and Rural Non-Farm Sector: some NGO experiences/D. Rajasekhar. 27. Self-Help Groups and rural non-farm employment opportunities/Binayak Rath. 28. Training and capacity building in micro-finance and micro-enterprise sector/C. Upendranadh. 29. Entrepreneurship, technology and Rural Non-Farm Sector: field experiences and policy imperatives/Dinesh Awasthi. 30. Institutional framework and enabling environment for Rural Non-Farm Sector/Vijay Mahajan and B. Yerram Raju. 31. Towards a policy agenda for Rural Non-Farm Sector/T.S. Papola and Alakh N. Sharma. Glossary. Index.

"The role of Rural Non-Farm Sector (RNFS) is crucial both in generating productive employment and alleviating poverty in rural areas because of the limited absorptive capacity of the urban sector and near saturation of the agricultural sector in further absorption of workers. Policy workers are increasingly recognising the importance of RNFS in providing sustainable livelihoods to a large number of people in rural areas.

However, in spite of a lot of research that has been carried out, our understanding of the RNFS, particularly its role in the broader development process, is relatively poor and does not provide adequate insights to policy makers grapping with the enormous diversity of the sector. There is, thus, an urgent need to address the specific requirements of the RNFS so that these can be better integrated into policies and strategies at various levels in order to effect poverty reduction and ensure growth with equity.

This volume, containing twenty nine papers, apart from the introductory and concluding ones, analyses the various aspects and issues relating to the RNFS so as to acquire a better understanding of the processes and dynamics of the sector. The various papers look at in depth aspects such as international experience with regard to RNFS and its lessons for India; patterns and dynamics of growth including linkage with urban areas; state and micro-level experiences; change and dynamics of some important sub-sectors; impact on women and other disadvantaged groups; and working of various policies, programmes and institutions for the growth of RNFS.

This comprehensive volume will be extremely useful for further consultations on policy and research activities." (jacket)