Encyclopaedia of Rural Development (Rural Poverty and Unemployment‪)‬

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 percent of the lndian 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 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. The members of the Editorial Board of the Encyclopaedia of Rural Development are specialists and having expertise in their subject areas with large practical experience. A team of highly specialised members of lnstitute for Sustainable Development (lSD) have put in their efforts in preparing this Encyclopaedia. The resource Centre of ISD is mainly on socio economic and sustainable participatory development, a specialised information centre, engaged in identification, collection and documentation of information. To strengthen its research and training and to facilitate NGOs, the institute is going to publish two books in Hindi very soon 'Training Games' and 'Funding Schemes for NGO's.