E-ISSN:2583-0074

Research Article

Social Development

Social Science Journal for Advanced Research

2025 Volume 5 Number 3 May
Publisherwww.singhpublication.com

Government Development Schemes in Rural Society: A Social Study

Sharma J1*
DOI:10.5281/zenodo.16939953

1* Jagdeep Sharma, Research Scholar, Department of Sociology, M.J.P. Rohilkhand University, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India.

India is a country of villages. Hundreds of villages are attached to every big city. About 72 percent of the population of India still lives in villages. The residents of villages produce food grains, clothes, fruits, milk, sugar and vegetables etc., essential items for life for the entire countrymen. For this reason, villages have special importance in this country. The prosperity and development of the country is based on the development of villages. The progress of the country lies in the progress of villages.
The residents of villages are hardworking, straightforward and truthful. They are far away from pomposity and deceit. They do not like fashion and external glamour. They roam in the open environment of nature. The natural beauty of villages is also very captivating. The lush green land here takes on new forms in different seasons. The mango and other fruit orchards around the villages, the cool, fragrant breeze of the morning and the variety of animals and birds are rare things for the city dwellers. The atmosphere of the villages is always peaceful and noise-free.

Keywords: rural, social development, development plans, social change

Corresponding Author How to Cite this Article To Browse
Jagdeep Sharma, Research Scholar, Department of Sociology, M.J.P. Rohilkhand University, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Email: 		Sharma J, Government Development Schemes in Rural Society: A Social Study. Soc Sci J Adv Res. 2025;5(3):124-128.
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Manuscript Received Review Round 1 Review Round 2 Review Round 3 Accepted
2025-04-24 2025-05-12 2025-05-26
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© 2025 by Sharma J and Published by Singh Publication. This is an Open Access article licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ unported [CC BY 4.0].

Soc Sci J Adv Res 2025;5(3)124
Download PDFBack To Article1. Introduction2. Rural
Problems3. Suggestions
and ConclusionReferences
Sharma J. Government Development Schemes in Rural Society

1. Introduction

The consciousness of rural development in India was initiated by the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. Addressing a gathering of village servants in Vrindavan on 6 May 1939, he said, “It pains me to see that most of you have either come from the city or have become accustomed to urban life. Unless you turn your mind away from the city and focus on the villages, you cannot serve the villagers. You must also understand that India is made up of villages, not cities and unless you can revive rural life and cottage industries in the villages, you cannot rebuild them. The flow of life in our villages has been blocked and they are almost dead. Industrialization cannot breathe life into them. The farmer living in his hut will get life only when he gets his cottage industries back and when he will depend on the villages for his essential commodities, not on the cities, as he is forced to do today. If you do not imbibe this basic principle, then the time spent in that task of rural reconstruction will be wasted. All the time left will go waste.”

But the truth is that villages have lagged behind in the race of development and have been deprived of being integrated into the mainstream of development, whereas the rural community has an important contribution in the national income of the country. It has been 74 years since independence, but even today there is a wide gap between the rural and urban areas of the country from many perspectives. On one hand, there are cities in the country that are shining, equipped with many facilities, and adorned with grand buildings, which are giving concrete form to the concept of 'Shining India', while on the other hand, there are cities deprived of basic facilities, away from the light of development and struggling with various deficiencies. Villages, where the soul of the country resides.

The study of rural society shows that along with the increase in production due to government development schemes, there has been an increase in commercial and traditional crops as well. Due to development schemes, they have got better housing, food and means of happiness and prosperity than before. Through the health program, success has been achieved to a great extent in controlling diseases, increasing cleanliness and work efficiency etc.

The health of the people has become better than before. Development schemes have stopped migration of people and labourers today work on their terms and conditions. Thus, if we see, despite the positive impact of development schemes, the negative impact that has come to the fore is related to administrative difficulties, ignorance about the scheme and non-receipt of full amount of the schemes. India has been a welfare nation since the time of independence. Its main objective is to ensure welfare of its millions of people. If we see before independence, experiments related to rural development were being done, which were and are largely influenced by Gandhiji's philosophy, that is, the villages were to be developed as self-governing, self-administered, economic and social units. Villages have been a part of the administrative, economic and social system in India since the time of the Indus Valley Civilization. Barring a few areas, the villages have had almost the same form in the rest of India. Therefore, the development, progress and growth of the present form were their own perspectives. It is not appropriate to evaluate or analyze that era. Every era has its own characteristics, problems and limitations. But it can be said without hesitation that the concept of rural development is ancient and the ancient villages in India were self-sufficient. During the British rule, the village administration system, village council and panchayat went out of the hands of the villagers and came directly into the hands of the employees. During the British rule, the administrative system was based on landlordism and contracting. Many English administrators brought about reforms in India at personal level in their own way. A.O. Hume, Lord Irwin, Ripon and Dufferin etc. contributed to the development process in their own way.

More specific experiments were done for rural improvement. Despite the absence of any definite policy of the British government, sporadic efforts were made to improve the condition of Indian rural development at the local level. Many programs were run from time to time for rural development. In 1927, G.F.L. Crane started the program of village improvement in Gurgaon. Mahatma Gandhi did the Sevagram experiment in 1939 which was popular as the Vardhagram Upliftment Program. Rabindranath Tagore established the Sri Niketan Institute in 1921 through which he experimented with rural upliftment.


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In 1948-49, the Progressive Development Project was started in 64 villages of Mahoba Etawah district. In this way, the British government did not make a planned program of village improvement, but an administrative structure for some main items was gradually established. Under which agriculture, animal husbandry, public health, education, irrigation and roads etc. were included. After independence, the main focus for development was given to agriculture, industry, education, health and rural development related areas. But later it was realized that rapid development can only happen when there is direct and indirect participation of people at the lower level in government efforts. After this, the Community Development Program was started on 2 October 1952, which proved to be a milestone in the history of rural development, which later turned into national expansion.

By reviewing many newspapers and books, we come to know that the experiments related to rural development that were being done before independence were largely influenced by Gandhiji's philosophy, that is, villages were to be developed as self-governing, self-administered economic and social units. Before the arrival of the British, 80 percent of the village families were dependent on agriculture, the remaining 20 families were engaged in their ancestral occupations like blacksmith, potter, carpenter, barber, cobbler and washerman etc. The farmer families of the village used to give them grain, clothes etc. annually or crop-wise. In ancient times, villages in India were self-sufficient. Generally, they were self-governed and prosperous. During the British rule, the system of governance was based on Zamindari and Thekedari, Mahalwari, Rayatwari etc. Zamindari and Talukdari gradually became so strong that the common people started considering it a part of the administration. But after the country became independent, the first community development program was started on 2 October 1952. This is a system of all-round development in which an attempt is made to raise the standard of living of the community through public participation. The long political subjugation in India for centuries had completely ruined the rural life here. After this, many schemes were started by the government for rural development. Some of them are as follows-

1- MNREGA (2014)

2- Indira Awas Yojana (1985-86)

3- Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (28 August 2014)

4- Make in India (25 September 2014)

5- Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (2 October 2014)

6- Sansad Adarsh ​​Gram Yojana (11 October 2014)

7- Mission Indradhanush Abhiyan (25 December 2014)

8- Pehal Yojana (1 January 2015)

9- Hriday Yojana (21 January 2015)

10- Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (22 January 2015)

11- Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana (9 May 2015)

12- Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (25 June 2015)

13- Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (1 January 2015)

14- Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (16 July 2015)

15- Stand Up India (5 April 2016)

16- Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (1 May 2016)

The facts have been collected through theoretical studies, magazines, newspapers and books, knowledgeable persons and research done earlier. Hence, in conclusion it can be said that the schemes run by the government have had a great impact on the development of rural society. In which both positive and negative effects are visible. The schemes run related to agriculture helped in getting rid of problems like famine, drought. Due to which production increased, consumption increased and the economic life of the people was affected. Due to MNREGA we see that awareness has increased due to which they are working on their service conditions. The problem of housing has been solved through Indira Awas Yojana. Through Ujjwala Yojana, women got the facility of smokeless stoves, which improved their health and saved time. Many unemployed youth got employment through Kaushal Vikas Yojana. Female literacy rate has increased due to Beti Bachao Beti Padhao. The programmes run in relation to health and family welfare have brought a lot of benefits, people's health has improved and population growth has decreased. But the negative effects of these development schemes have also been seen.


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The money that comes from the government for this scheme is spent but the benefits are not received in proper amount. People in the rural society are not yet so educated, hence the rural people do not have the right knowledge of these development schemes. Due to which they are not able to take advantage of it and the employee who tells them about this scheme also takes his share in it.

Rural development should be viewed separately from agricultural development. To solve the problem of rural poverty, the strategy adopted was to give maximum loans to farmers, but this strategy failed in countries like India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh. Such a strategy can give rise to a small middle class of farmers in some areas. Therefore, rural poverty cannot be solved in the entire rural area with this strategy. Many types of programs are also run to increase the income of poor people. Even these cannot fulfill the collective needs of welfare and other services.

Therefore, “rural development must include such programs whose aim is to improve the life opportunities of the individual and collective welfare”. If this concept is followed, then the form of rural development will not only be different in different countries, but there will also be a difference between one region and another within the same country.

The question also arises to what extent rural development should depend on external motivators. Excessive dependence on external motivators will turn the local population away from self-reliance. This will strengthen their dependency. Hence “the concept of rural development must include a strategy which focuses on the allocation of new energy within the rural production system so as to increase employment opportunities and provide ample occupational opportunities to the people.”

According to B.K.R. Rao, “Development is a process which is essentially a means of development of individuals to enable them to realize their full potential.” In other words, it is also related to the achievement of human values ​​and human dignity. Hence his view on rural development was influenced by his larger human perspective.

In his words, “Non-agricultural development and the development of social and cultural services are as important as agricultural development for solving the complex problems of rural poverty and unemployment.”

According to Yogendra N. Das, “There are different views on the concept of rural development, but my conclusion is that it is primarily related to the psychological and cultural needs as well as the basic needs of the rural population so that they can be made productive and enlightened.

2. Rural Problems

It is surprising that villages are centres of peace and health, but the villagers are leaving the villages and running towards the cities. The only reason for this is the complex problems of rural life. What an irony it is that the farmer who gives food and clothing to the world himself remains hungry and naked. The villagers are suffering from many difficulties, are tormented by lack. There are many problems of villages, the main ones of which are as follows-

1. Problem of Loan- Most of the people of the village do farming. The farmer does not have money for modern machinery, good seeds, fertilizers and irrigation system for farming. For this, he is not able to get loan at a cheap rate of interest. The government has tried to overcome this difficulty of the farmer by establishing cooperative banks, land development banks etc., but the village The farmer is illiterate, he is not able to take advantage of this facility due to ignorance.

2. Illiteracy- Most of the farmers are illiterate. The children of farmers still study less and those who study, do not want to do farming. They wander around in search of jobs. Due to illiteracy, the farmer is not able to get information about new methods of farming, machines and crops and is also deprived of the facilities provided by the government.

3. Evil Practices- The farmer is trapped in many evil practices, bad influences and customs. Even in this age of science, he has not been able to get rid of the superstitions of untouchability, child marriage and witchcraft.

4. Mutual Conflict- The people of the village fight among themselves for small things and every inch of land. They make a small matter a matter of honor, there is a fight, heads are broken, even death occurs. There is litigation, thousands of rupees of hard-earned money are spent on litigation. It happens. What could be a bigger loss than this?


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5. Problem of Medical Treatment- There is lack of health and medical facilities in villages. Hospitals and good doctors are not available in villages. If someone falls ill, he loses his life due to lack of medical treatment. Those who have money and other resources rush towards cities. But many times it happens that by the time the patient reaches the city hospital, he loses his life.

6. Poverty- Poverty and unemployment are the main problems of villages. Due to lack of money, villagers are unable to use modern comfort items like fan, fridge, cooler etc. They are troubled a lot by heat and cold. Leave aside luxury items, they are unable to fulfill even the most essential needs of life.

7. Other Problems- Apart from the above, there are many problems of drinking water, electricity, means of transport etc. in villages, without the solution of which the villagers are unable to experience happiness. Development of the nation is impossible without the development of villages.

3. Suggestions and Conclusion

For the progress and development of villages, the government should solve these problems quickly. Facilities of education, medical care, security, health, drinking water, entertainment and transport should be provided in every village. For the progress of agriculture and increase in production, farmers should be introduced to the latest agricultural equipment, means of irrigation should be expanded, farmers should be provided loans at cheap interest rates for the purchase of good fertilizers, improved seeds and machines, if cottage industries are developed in villages and small industries are established, then certainly the standard of living of the villagers will rise. Villages will develop.

It is the duty of our government and society to make efforts to solve these problems of villages and give their full cooperation in the development of villages. The progress of the country depends on the progress of villages.

References

1. Desai, A.R. (2014). Indian rural sociology. Bombay: Popular Prakashan.

2. Prof. Rajendra Prasad. (1914). Outline of rural development. Jaipur, New Delhi: Rawat Publications.

3. Sharma, Omprakash. (2015). Planned social change in rural society. New Delhi: Rawat Publications.

4. Prasad, Aavad. (2016). Social, economic and political change in villages. Jaipur, New Delhi: Rawat Publications.

5. Gupta, Prof. Rajeev. (2018). Social consciousness of alternative system and sociology in India. Rajasthan Journal of Sociology, 1.

6. Dainik Bhaskar. (2020). Government cannot provide employment to everyone, making them self-reliant is the only solution.

7. Hindustan Newspaper. (2017), p. 7.

8. Sharma GL. (2018). Social issues. Jaipur: Rawat Publications.

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