Rural Development

Rural Development is an important area of development in any country. For a country like India whose majority of the population resides in rural areas, rural development becomes the key infrastructure that can benefit and support the people and their livelihood. Rural development goes hand-in-hand with urban planning and development and is not a separate part of it but complementary. Rural development includes careful planning and implementing policies that benefit the rural population, generate employment opportunities, and create facilities and amenities that improve living standards. Rural development is the development of rural economic resources. There are various approaches to rural development from the initial top-down approach. In developing countries, the process of rural development was brought about by the strategic decentralisation process. Integrated developmental approaches have been adopted as a part of nationwide governmental efforts. 

For a long time, rural development had only focused on improving agriculture and forestry by bringing in as much land under cultivation as it was possible. This however had led to a careless disregard of forested areas and led to land exploitation. Rural areas in recent times are no longer marked with absences or lack but are characterized differently due to increasing urbanisation and international production networks. Niche manufacturers, localised tourism, and recreational attractions have transformed rural areas into semi-urban localities with economic drivers that are not limited to agriculture and animal husbandry. Rural development is not generalized and requires different approaches in different rural settings. This is different than urban development which is the same in broad strokes everywhere. Rural development is meant to bring economic and social welfare and progress into rural areas that have not been completely urbanised. The following MCQs have been provided to understand the topic better. 

MCQs on Rural Development

Q1. Which of the following is not what is understood by rural development:

1. 1. it is the development of rural facilities 
   2. it is the improvement in economic facilities and infrastructure
   3. it is the economic and sociological improvement of the rural population to increase the standard of living
   4. all of the above

Answer – D)

Q2. Rural development means:

1. 1. improving rural lives, meeting the fundamental needs of the rural population, encouraging rural people to participate in social, economic, and cultural activities
   2. introducing new policies related to political institutions at the basic level
   3. carrying out surveys, recording data, and gathering information on demographic statistics
   4. introducing laws and regulations

Answer – A)

Q3. Which of the following countries given in the list is not a developing country:

1. 1. China
   2. India
   3. the UK
   4. Nepal

Answer – C)

Q4. This process helped in allocating power to lower strata of the administrative process, therefore, facilitating ease of management and operations. Not only did it help innovate the administrative processes in developing countries but also helped in bringing non-profit organizations and other non-governmental organizations to come in and perform various other important duties in the country, ushering in new opportunities and varied developmental programmes. 

1. 1. bureaucratisation
   2. institutionalisation
   3. rural development
   4. decentralisation

Answer – D)

Q5. The following is a rural developmental agency that works on a national level to encourage new research into rural development programmes. It is a non-profit organisation. The developmental research is carried out on renewable energy, agriculture, sustainable development, and animal husbandry. It was established in 1968. 

1. 1. Department of Personnel and Training
   2. Nimbkar Agriculture Research Institute
   3. National Commission on Agriculture
   4. National Cooperative Development Corporation

Answer – B)

Q6. Which of the following are important for the development of rural areas in India?

1. 1. Social Infrastructure
   2. cottage industries
   3. Global market
   4. NGOs

Answer – A)

Q7. The present objectives and strategies of Rural Development are:

1. 1. Generating Self-employment, introducing innovative wage programmes, providing basic amenities, giving better opportunities at livelihood, and providing brunette infrastructure facilities. 
   2. introducing better municipality amenities that would help in the better management of municipalities in rural areas
   3. introducing departments that would help people to address their grievances easily and enable government officials to quickly address those grievances and solve these problems
   4. helping farmers to buy better grade seeds and get access to manures and fertilizers for farming

Answer – A)

Q8. Which of the following is a type of rural development in India?

1. 1. Growth Center Approach and Community-driven Development
   2. Sectoral Approach
   3. Integrated Development Approach
   4. all of the above 

Answer – D)

Q9. How many types of rural development approaches are applicable in India at the present moment?

1. 1. 3
   2. 5
   3. 4
   4. 2

Answer – C)

Q10. Community size, population density, Homogeneity, Social interaction, Agriculture as the main occupation, natural contact, social interaction, social stratification, and social mobility are markers of which type of demographic?

1. 1. urban population
   2. rural population
   3. semi-urban community
   4. semi-rural community

Answer – B)

Q11. This is considered to be important for the all-around growth of the country and leads to increased productivity, encourages ambition and generates higher incomes, and brings instability and improvement in economic and social developments. 

1. 1. urban improvement
   2. bureaucratic improvement 
   3. rural development
   4. economic development

Answer – C)

Q12. Which of the following things is a deterrent to the progress of rural development in India in recent times?

1. 1. housing infrastructure
   2. water management
   3. agriculture
   4. roads development

Answer – A)

Q13. NITI Ayog is a:

1. 1. government organization that looks after the social welfare of the country
   2. is a government organisation that is responsible for carrying out rural development and management of various schemes and policies 
   3. Provides information on competitive and cooperative federalism
   4. all of the above

Answer – D)

Q14. Financial institutions other than banks can play an important role in supporting small-scale businesses and individual businessmen or farmers to venture into the domestic market. These financial institutions can help in bringing in credit and investment to those people who are usually not benefited from usual banks and give them a fighting chance to make their lives better. Fostering and encouraging rural property is done through various channels that do not only depend on agricultural channels. One such financial institution in India is:

1. 1. NGOs
   2. NITI Ayog
   3. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development 
   4. State Bank of India

Answer – C)

Q15. The full form of NIDA is:

1. 1. NABARD Infrastructure Development Assistance
   2. National Institution of Development and Assistance
   3. New Innovative Developmental Assistance
   4. None of the above

Answer – A)

Q16. The Ministry of Rural Development is a branch of the Indian government and is responsible for supporting the economic and social rural development in India. It emphasizes education, supply of clean drinking water, health and hygiene, as well as the maintenance of roads and public housing. This showcases the importance of rural development in India. This area has received special interest and support to enhance and improve various civic amenities. The Minister of Rural Development of India is:

1. 1. Giriraj Singh
   2. Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti
   3. Narendra Singh Tomar
   4. Nagendra Nath Sinha

Answer – A)

Q17. Various schemes are in place for the benefit of the rural population. Most of these plans are sponsored and enforced by the Indian Government. Three of these rural schemes are PMGSY or Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, DRDA or District Rural Development Agency, and SSGY or Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana. These schemes have organizations that are autonomous and operate within the guidelines set up by the government and the branch of concern. What is the name of this branch?

1. 1. Neerachal National Watershed Project
   2. National Rural Road Development Agency
   3. National Rural Institute of Rural Development
   4. Ministry of Rural Development

Answer – D) 

Q18. Rural development has three dimensions or aspects. These three dimensions are:

1. 1. agricultural, animal husbandry, horticulture
   2. drainage, roads, and airways
   3. social, economic, and political
   4. housing, urban planning, economic

Answer – C) 

Q19. Rural Development in a country requires systematic planning and implementation of these policies. Certain activities are considered important markers for development in rural areas. Those activities are:

1. 1. a good water management system, transportation system, road constructions, education system
   2. Holistic village development, rural development, poverty eradication
   3. electrification, water management system, poverty eradication
   4. corporate management

Answer – A)

Q20. Sustainable development means improvements in social, economic, and cultural aspects which can result in long-term benefits for the rural community. This sustainable development facilitates progress and development at multiple levels. Suitable development is visible in rural development as:

1. 1. sustainable agriculture
   2. sustainable irrigation
   3. sustainable forestry
   4. none of the above

Answer –A)