Rural Areas and Development

Rural areas currently are home to 70 per cent of India's population. Providing rural India with better access to services, technology, education and health care will reduce inequality and alleviate poverty for hundreds of millions of its citizens. It is critical that rural initiatives be linked to empowerment and capacity-building, to achieve a sustainable and inclusive rural development in the context of the Millennium Development Goals.

About the Volume

The present volume is a collection of theme papers of the Third International Conference on Rural India: Achieving Millennium Development Goals and Grassroots Development organized by Bhoovigyan Vikas Foundation, New Delhi. Based on specific themes the book is divided into three parts.

Part I: Transformative Rural Development and MDGs

Part I: deals with Transformative Rural Development and MDGs and consists of nine papers.

Part II: Participation and Empowerment

Part II: deals with Participation and Empowerment and consists of five papers.

Part III: Bridging the Digital Divide

Part III: focuses on Bridging the Digital Divide and has four papers.

The papers are written by well known academicians, scientists, technocrats, researchers and policymakers. The papers review the current rural scenario, policies, programmes, and draw lessons for developing a professional development strategy to strengthen the rural base of the country. The book is useful for researchers, policy-makers and development practitioners.