{"id":40317,"date":"2025-04-03T19:03:02","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T13:33:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=40317"},"modified":"2025-04-03T19:03:04","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T13:33:04","slug":"sc-on-rural-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/03-04-2025\/sc-on-rural-development","title":{"rendered":"SC On Rural Development"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Issues Relating to Development; Health; GS3\/Infrastructure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recently, the Supreme Court of India has emphasized the critical need to prioritize education, hygiene, and healthcare in rural areas to foster holistic development.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Observations by the Supreme Court\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Focus on Basic Infrastructure<\/strong>: The court underscored that ensuring access to quality education, healthcare, and hygiene is essential for improving the living standards of rural populations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Budgetary Allocations:<\/strong> It suggested that states allocate <strong>at least 10-15% of their budgets<\/strong> to enhance rural infrastructure, addressing long-standing disparities in resource distribution.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Libraries vs. Basic Needs:<\/strong> The court acknowledged the importance of public libraries, and stressed that immediate priorities should include addressing hunger, healthcare, and education.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Rural Landscape in India: Positive Transformations in Rural India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India is home to 6.65 lakh villages, with 2.68 lakh Gram Panchayats and Rural Local Bodies, which form the backbone of the nation&#8217;s rural landscape.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Report:<\/strong> Declined from 24.85% to 14.96% between 2015-16 and 2019-21 (13.5 crore individuals escaped multidimensional poverty during this period).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Rural Internet Connectivity:<\/strong> India had 954.40 million internet subscribers (March 2024). Out of this, <strong>398.35 million were rural internet subscribers.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Income Distribution (Gini Coefficient):<\/strong> Declined from 0.266 in FY22-23 to 0.237 in FY23-24, for rural areas.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Rural Wage Growth:<\/strong> As per data from the Labour Bureau, rural wages in FY25 showed a <strong>growth of above 4% each month year-on-year:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Agriculture wages grew by 5.7% for men and 7% for women.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Non-agricultural wages grew by 5.5% for men and 7.9% for women.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) of 2024<\/strong> reveals improvements in rural education, including<strong> pre-primary enrollment and learning outcomes,<\/strong> with a focus on<strong> foundational literacy and numeracy,<\/strong> and increased digital literacy among older children.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Government Initiatives<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Education in Rural India:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan:<\/strong> Integrates Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), and teacher education programs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mid-Day Meal Scheme:<\/strong> Aims to improve nutrition and attendance rates.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Digital India Initiative:<\/strong> Promotes e-learning and smart classrooms in rural schools.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Beti Bachao Beti Padhao:<\/strong> Encourages education for girl children.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Health &amp; Hygiene in Rural India:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (G): Currently in Phase 2 <\/strong>the focus is on maintaining the ODF status, managing solid and liquid waste by 2024-25 and transitioning all villages from ODF to the ODF Plus model.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Other schemes include Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-NRLM, Ayushman Bharat Yojana (PM-JAY), Poshan Abhiyan, Jan Aushadhi Yojana, Total Sanitation Campaign, National Rural Drinking Water Programme, and National Rural Health Mission (2005).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"d3d3d2\" data-has-transparency=\"true\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"692\" height=\"297\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Health-and-Hygiene-in-Rural-India.png\" alt=\"Health and Hygiene in Rural India\" class=\"has-transparency wp-image-40320\" style=\"--dominant-color: #d3d3d2; width:528px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Health-and-Hygiene-in-Rural-India.png 692w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Health-and-Hygiene-in-Rural-India-300x129.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 692px) 100vw, 692px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>For Betterment of Socio-Economic Conditions:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Water Supply &#8211; Jal Jeevan Mission<\/strong> (extended until 2028): Operation and maintenance of <strong>rural piped water supply schemes<\/strong> through a <strong>citizen-centric approach<\/strong>, known as &#8216;Jan Bhagidhari&#8217;.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>India Post as a Catalyst for Rural Economy:<\/strong> 1.5 lakh rural post offices, India Post Payment Bank, and 2.4 lakh Dak Sevaks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) \u2013 Roads:<\/strong> rural connectivity through a single all-weather road.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) \u2013 Housing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges in Rural Development<\/strong> \u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Financial Constraints:<\/strong> States often cite limited budgets as a barrier to implementing comprehensive rural development programs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Inadequate Infrastructure: <\/strong>Many villages still lack basic amenities like clean drinking water, functional schools, and healthcare services.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lack of Policy Focus:<\/strong> The absence of targeted policies for rural areas has led to uneven development and persistent inequalities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Forward <\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Integrated Development Approach:<\/strong> Governments must adopt a holistic strategy that simultaneously addresses education, healthcare, and hygiene to ensure sustainable rural development.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR):<\/strong> The court suggested leveraging CSR funds to establish e-libraries and other essential facilities in rural areas.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Community Participation:<\/strong> Empowering local communities to take ownership of development initiatives can lead to more effective and sustainable outcomes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/supreme-court-disposes-plea-for-libraries-in-villages\/article69403273.ece\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source: TH<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recently, the Supreme Court of India has emphasized the critical need to prioritize education, hygiene, and healthcare in rural areas to foster holistic development.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40317"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40322,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40317\/revisions\/40322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}