Rural industrialstion : challenges and Perspectives

Rural industrialisation, outside the field of agriculture, offers greatest scope for the labour-absorption and income-genera tion; yet, it remained most neglected and most debatable area since Independence. The rural industrial scene, therefore, continues to be characterised by the predominance of traditional crafts, heredi tary mode of production, low levels of technology, poor productivity and returns and low labour efficiency and inability.

Consequently, there has of late been a renewed interest in the promotion of rural industrialisation as a process of expansion of inanimate sources of power in the production of goods and services. How far development strategy pursued since dependence could bring about such a shift in our economy? This book sets out to answer this central question while analysing forces responsible for the sluggish growth of rural industries.

This absorbing collection of twenty four papers, some previously published while others especially commissioned, examine perspectives which were hitherto missing in any such endeavours, and probe into organisational framework, technology system underlying production structure of rural industries and labour utilisation in them. It is noted that the glorification of traditional crafts and self-employment, caste-industry nexus and above all policy bias in favour of agriculture as against industry and large and medium capital intensive industries as against small village and cottage industries have also worked as major impediments to the growth of rural crafts.

Providing a comprehensive, coherent and interdisciplinary perspectives concerning the issues and problems of the growth and modernisation of rural industries, the book argues that the challenge of poverty and unemployment can be successfully met through rapid industrialisation of rural areas with full package of organisational, managerial, financial, technological and marketing support and integration of the development of rural industries with the overall programme of industrialisation.