Notes on Development Communication, Unit 3-3.1- Rural Development and Village Communication in India

 

 

 

Rural Development and Village Communication in India

 Unit 3-3.1

Notes by Sis Patricia Michelle Mathias

 

Introduction

India is primarily an agrarian economy. It basically means that a large part of India has as its main source of income ‘agriculture’. Madhusudan L states that Indian agriculture sector accounts for 18 % of India’s gross domestic product (GDP) and provides employment to 50% of the countries workforce.[1]

Despite this as our fact, it’s the urban cities that get developed due to industrialisation. The urban cities are provided with infrastructure and facilities. The rural areas in many parts of India often suffer neglect. Much of agriculture is done with the same old techniques as only a few farmers can afford the modern-day technology or machines. While roads have been built in many places, there is still a lot of work done in order to commute to certain places.

 

Rural development: Farming and Agricultural woes

 

Farmers often reel under heavy loans. One of the primary reasons is either bad monsoon or heavy rainfall. A bad crop leads to bad loans which has further led to massive farmer suicides in India. The farmers often feel betrayed by urbanisation, industrialisation and Government apathy towards them. The villages also have a strong cultural background which often causes loopholes in the process of growth or equal access to growth amidst all. In such a scenario, Rural Development is required, but the process is slow.

Most of the rural Indians are  directly  or  indirectly  dependent  on  agriculture. Some are directly attached with the farming and some other people are involved in doing business with these goods. India has the capacity to produce the food grains which can make a vast difference in Indian Economy. To achieve this targeted mark. the government needs to provide support in case of land, bank loans and other machineries to the small farmers along with the big farmers in order to help the Indian economy.

The governments – both at the Centre and States have tried to provide aids. For instance, “the first Five Year plan had agriculture as the most important focus. Even though it may not have been given the primary status in other Five-Year plans, yet it was accorded a major position in terms of developing it.”[2]

The Green Revolution in the 1960s turned beneficial for many in Punjab as attempts were made to bring in the aid of Industrialisation, new techniques, modern methods, high yield seeds, tractors, other pest control methods along with the use fertilisers. Punjab was spear-headed into this direction. However, while the Green Revolution in India was a huge respite, especially in the aftermath of many famines, over the period of years, one realised that while the green Revolution bought in a huge success at one point, the agricultural experts didn’t realise that in the long run, environmental harm has occurred with Soil degradation, land losing fertility and water levels going down to extreme low levels in many areas. Today many environmentalists point out that despite becoming self-sufficient at one point with regard to food production,  the Green Revolution, was not an actual success when one thinks of the harm done over time to environment which is now getting back at the farmers themselves.

Also, the seeds used, primarily aided the Multi-National companies that sought to diffuse particular types of seeds. In the long run, while Punjab initially became a model, today it is not so. The model of Green Revolution has back-fired. Many farmers are poor and are not provided with aid for their fields. Others cannot manage to pay back loans they have take for pesticides and fertilisers. In other parts of the country, natural calamities also contribute to the anxiety of farmers Many farmers, even today commit suicide as they are unable to sustain themselves and pay back their loans.

In a world that has become far more conscious of Sustainability, agriculturists have realised, that indigenous varieties have a natural tendency to deal with pests. However, the green Revolution and maximising yields of particular crops to bring in prosperity has led India to lose a large number of indigenous varieties of rice, crops, pulses, vegetables and fruits.  Besides, this over use of pesticides and insecticide have also led to the destruction of insects that actually aid farming and pollination. There is also a huge loss of bio-diversity. 

Many of the farming families were un-educated, and accepted the modern technologies as ventures of becoming prosperous only to have these ventures turn into disastrous over many years for some. Many don’t realise the harm done by pesticides. Others do, but use very heavy pesticides which gradually harms humanity at large. The government went forward with this initiative with a noble mind, however, it has backfired as in the long run people have discovered that sustainability is the only solution, using pesticides and fertilisers in the long run harms both water and soil.  

The year 2020, saw the government bring in policies they believe will aid farmers. However, the farmers in many parts of the country are sceptical and consider it another invasion of the MNCs who will takeover all rights. A lack of proper communication has only aggravated the farmer -government issue. 

On a positive note, the agricultural studies and related sciences use a term called Extension Education or Extension Communication which basically means Development Communication that is used to promulgate agricultural practices, new research findings and developments in agriculture to the farmers. Many states have the department of agriculture and veterinary with a agriculture or veterinary extension officer who is primarily responsible in disseminating the newer developments to the farmers for their benefit and in encouraging them in adopting these practices. “Below this category of officials, there is another layer of field-level workers called gram sevak and gram sevikas. Their task is to practically demonstrate these new findings to the farmers in a hands-on manner. This is also nothing but a specific form of development communication.” Besides this there are also various agriculture universities, veterinary colleges in every state along with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) based at Delhi that caters to growth and research in the agrarian field. (Introduction To Rural And Agriculture Communication, Krishna Kanta Handiqui State Open University,  http://www.kkhsou.in/main/masscom/rural_agriculture.html)

While we have looked at agricultural issues, Rural development also includes promotion of hygienic practices, introduction of vaccines related to health, tackling problems of water, electricity, sanitation and mal-nutrition.

 

Rural Development: Health Issues and Initiatives in India

 

Health is an important factor that does make an impact on the economic growth of any country. Covid-19 has sent many countries and their economies tumbling down. This is a huge example that points out the need for health and well-being of individuals in a country. Another fact is that the World Health Organisation has pointed out that 1.7 million Indian deaths are caused by Heart diseases. Tuberculosis is another matter of concern.

India ranks at number 129 among 189 countries in the Human Development index as of 2019. India barely spends 1.45 of GDP on health despite the fact that over 469 million people having no regular access to medication, 63% of primary health centres having no operation theatres, 29% lacking labour rooms, and India lacks massively in the availability of surgeons, gynaecologists and pediatricians.[3] (oxfamindia.org, 2018)

Furthermore, surveys in India have pointed out that the rising expenses of Health care have sent over 32-39 million Indians, below the poverty line, while 23% can’t even afford Healthcare services, besides 7% are below poverty line due to loans taken in order to deal with health expenses. (oxfamindia.org, 2018)

This is indeed a sorry state of affairs. However, the Government is indeed trying to reach out to the poor. A good governance can help. For instance, under the initiative of the Delhi State Government of the Aam Aadmi Party, many ‘Mohalla Clinics’ were initiated to provide medication to the poor and this was widely appreciated by the people of Delhi. Initiatives such as these require a non-corrupt administrative process. Delhi’s venture can be a role model for villages if the middle men are cleared off the path and the resources reach the right recipients.

Some of the health initiatives by the Government in rural India are remarkable. The administration of the Polio Vaccine leading to India overcoming the disease completely is remarkable. And the Government needs to be lauded for these efforts. Communication being used to spread awareness of Hygiene and sanitisation is another admirable step.

The Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadhi Parriyojana (PMBJP) was a campaign launched by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Government of India to provide generic drugs at inexpensive prices to the citizens of the country especially the poor through special kendras. Initially launched by the UPA government and re-christened by the present Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, these medicines are available only through certain exclusive outlets meant for the same purpose. The Bureau of Pharma Public Sector undertakings of India  (BPPI) has been established for co-coordinating the procurement, supply and marketing of these generic drugs. Government initiative of this type are praise worthy. However, the loop holes rise everywhere in a good initiative due to lack of authenticity and proper transactions.

The Indian Express in one of its articles however pointed out that in certain places like Ludhiana, Punjab in India barely 20% patients are able to access this facility and that many stores lack the stock of common medicines for seasonal infection dieases. While the officials state this is due to logical issues.[4] (New Indian Express)

 

Rural Development: Malnutrition Issues and Initiatives in India

 

While many things have occurred, India being a huge country a lot more has to be done. India still has a large number of malnutrition cases. India has around 46.6 million cases of stunted growth among children, (i.e. almost one third of the world’s malnourished children), as per the Global Nutrition report 2018. The lockdown has escalated the problems.

In one incident in India, when a journalist pointed out that children in the midday meal scheme were being fed Chapati with salt, while the menu had Rice, pulses, vegetables, chapati, fruits and milk as per time-table. The School principal and the staff was suspended, but the hard step taken against the journalist by filing a criminal conspiracy case against him was an unwise decision by the state for bringing to light the truth and corruption that happens in our villages in the name of the mid-day meal scheme.  The State’s encouragement of the journalist and the teaming up of media and the government to search loop-holes and rectify them, would have been a better solution to the issue. Such cases are rampant across India, and perhaps in many other countries too, where the poor get hoodwinked by those with greed and the rich.

The NDTV website in an article has enlisted the various schemes that have been made by the Government to deal with Malnutrition. These include

1.     Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) – Launched in 1975 to provide food, preschool education, primary healthcare, immunization, health check-up and referral services to children under 6 years of age and their mothers. (NDTV, 2020)

2.     National Health Mission (NHM) launched in 2013 to address the health needs of 18 states that had been identified as having weak public health indicators, this was then extended to the whole country. (NDTV, 2020)

3.     Mid-Day Meal Scheme implemented since 1995, in order to provide one nutritional mean by the school to better the nutritional standing of school-age children nationwide

4.     Rajiv Gandhi Schemes for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG) also known as SABLA, was launched in 2011 to improve nutrition and health status of adolescent girls aged between 11–18 years. (NDTV, 2020)

5.     Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojna, launched in 2010 to provide incentives for improved health and nutrition to pregnant and lactating mothers. The scheme also educated the women about the benefits of breastfeeding for the optimal nutrition of their newborns. (NDTV, 2020)

6.     Poshan Abhiyan in 2018 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, headed by Ministry of Child and Women Development, to reduce stunting in children aged between 0 and 6 years from 38.4 per cent to 25 per cent by 2022. The programme also attempted to reduce the level of under-nutrition, anaemia and low birth weight in children, and special attention to adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers, thus holistically addressing malnutrition.[5] It also clubbed all the previous schemes under one scheme. There has been a huge fund allocation for the same. (NDTV, 2020)[6]

 

Rural Development: Hygiene and Sanitation in India

 

Some of the primary problems in India that one sees while looking around is the lack of basic hygiene. Spitting after consuming betel nut leaves, spitting on walls, defecating and urinating in the open, dirty toilets, etc. More than one billion people worldwide defecate in the open without using a toilet or latrine. Open defecation is particularly widespread in India, and it has been suggested that this fact can help explain why children in India are among the shortest in the world (Spears, 2013).[7]

According to joint UNICEF and WHO (2012) estimates for 2010, 15% of the world population and 19% of people in developing countries defecate in the open without using any toilet or latrine. Of these 1.1 billion people, nearly 60% live in India, which means they make up more than half of the population of India. People in India are much more likely to defecate in the open than even people in much poorer sub-Saharan African countries, on average, and open defecation in India has declined little despite rapid economic growth (Coffey et al., 2014). [8]

Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC, 2016) says that there are various barriers which aggravate the situation. For instance, the council highlights how financial limitations, physical limitations and also gender inequalities are a cause to lack of building toilets in many households in India. Another cause pointed by them states that despite being aware of cleanliness and hygienic practices withing their homes, many people do not adopt these practices.  The report highlights how many faecal related diseases are often relegated to villages. But open defecation has drastically reduced over the years and the report affirms it. [9]

Moreover, the study highlighted that people do not attribute lack of sanitation to be the primary cause for major illness but think that it is due to a lack of proper nutrition, hard physical labour or general weakness of the human system over the years from early marriage, child birth, weakness from repeated attacks of malaria and viral fevers, etc. Subsistence livelihoods and living conditions, generate a lower hope for improvement. “Aspirations for a better quality and healthy life do not include sanitation and toilet in their list of priorities,” the report reads. Notions of purity and cleanliness (purity is not equated with cleanliness, hence higher caste and purer people may display a poor hygiene standard) are very different in some tribal areas. A belief that open defecation is a safer sanitation management practice—not related to notions of purity-, dominates the tribal communities and other lower castes.[10]

The Government of India (GOI) has been promoting sanitation coverage by introducing an award based Incentive Scheme for fully sanitized and open defecation free Gram Panchayats, Blocks, Districts and States called “Nirmal Gram Puraskar” (NGP) in October 2003 and gave away the first awards in 2005 as a component of its flagship scheme Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC).[11] Villages certified by central government auditors to be open defecation free receive a trophy and a cash prize, presented to the village chairman at a prestigious ceremony in the state or national capital (World Bank, 2010b, Lamba and Spears, 2013). However, only 45 of all villages have won prizes, but this is atleast a start.

The Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan initiated in October 2014 was a motivational move under the leadership of prime minister Narendra Modi to keep surroundings clean and to build and use toilets to be open defecation free India by 2nd October 2019[12] was a good campaign.  Actors and Actresses too were roped in to promote this campaign to create a better impact.

 

Rural Development: Rural Road Infrastructure in India

 

Roadways are a necessity for development to occur as roads provide a means of connectivity to the world outside leading to further business activities and also have access to amenities like medication, education, jobs, etc,. “Rural roads comprise over 85 % of the road network and their being kept in serviceable condition is crucial  to  the  rural  /  agricultural  growth  and  affording means of access to millions of rural people to social facilities viz. medical, education as also to market. Lack of maintenance affects the poor people badly as the time for access to  markets  and  other  social  infrastructure  is  increased.” (niti.gov.in)[13]

Madhusudan Ghosh in his paper points out that “better road conditions lead to more efficient allocation of resources by reducing transaction and  marginal  costs  of  agricultural  production”. [14] He further explains the trickle down effects of Road infrastructure benefits by saying that  “Higher  agricultural production and productivity reduce rural poverty through trickle-down  effects.  Rural households  gain  better  access  to  health  care,  education  and  credit  facilities  through  improved  road  and  transport  facilities.  Better  road connectivity invariably improves rural–urban linkages, and strengthens backward and forward linkages in the farm sector. This also opens up avenues for employment outside the village, improving the living conditions of the poor.” (Ghosh. 2017) [15]

There have been many road-pans made over the period of years right from 1943 onwards. For instance, the Nagpur Plan (1943-1961), the Lucknow Plan (1981-2001), etc meant to aid rural road infrastructure. However, most of the road plans were badly executed due to lack of proper planning, design and engineering. The roads got battered in no time, worse still other elements like drainage were not considered, resulting in poorly built roads.

The Government website of India states that “some  of  the  major  constraints  and  bottlenecks  in  providing  rural connectivity faced were insufficient funds with States for rural roads, inadequacy and unpredictability  of  funds  for  rural  roads,  inadequate  maintenance  of  rural  roads  by many States due to inadequate funds, inadequate maintenance of MDRs resulting in pressure  on  rural  roads,  quality  and  specifications  not  strictly  adhered  to,  layers  of informal  sub-contracting  at  the  cost  of  quality,  some  roads  constructed  without bridges etc.” (niti.gov.in)[16]

There have also been many number of government initiatives like the  Rural  Infrastructure  Development  Fund  (RIDF) which supports rural infrastructure,  Accelerated  Irrigation  Benefits  Programme (AIBP) for  accelerating  the  implementation  of  major/medium  irrigation  projects,  Pradhan  Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) was launched in December 2000  to  provide  all-weather  road  connectivity  to  eligible  unconnected  habitations, and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005.

Roads have indeed been built over the period of years and the programme continues. The Central Government has indeed spent large amounts from 2000 onwards towards better connectivity and making of highways. In fact, the study by Madhusudan Ghosh reveals a  four-fold  increase  in  total  expenditure  on  rural  infrastructure  between  2000/01  and  2010/11,  but  a  subsequent  decline  in 2011–12 from the previous years. During the entire period (2000–12), rural roads received the  highest  share,  followed  by  drinking  water  and  sanitation,  rural housing and irrigation. Currently, the present Central Government has reached out to far-away Leh Ladakh in order to construct Roads. And this is a remarkable gesture.

Greed of certain officials has led to faulty contracts being taken, badly constructed roads and mismanagement of funds. For instance, in cities like Mumbai, which is an urban area, numerous accidents take place due to large potholes in the monsoon which are a result of faulty road construction.

The Government has reached out and has to reach out continuously to rural areas in order to provide aid to those living in pockets which lack accessibility. India is vast and construction of roads has become a vital requirement. Road building initiatives must always be given priority. The country’s growth depends on each one of us. Unless we overcome our greed, as politicians, government officials or ordinary citizens, we become the cause for our own downfall. The government faltered at many points to keep all of this in check, however, it has made efforts too.

 

Rural Development: Electricity and Water issues

 

Electricity and Water are like basic amenities to develop any given place. However, ‘Roads, electricity supplies, telecommunications, and other infrastructure services are limited in all rural areas, although they are of key importance to stimulate agricultural investment and growth’ (FAO, 1996, Chapter 10, p. 15). In India too, this is still a fact in many rural areas. Some villages have electricity, but face huge power cuts.

Under  Rajiv  Gandhi  Grameen  Vidyutikaran  Yojana(RGGVY), which was launched to (i) electrify all the villages, (ii) provide electricity to all rural households and (iii) provide electricity connection to all the households below poverty line (BPL) free of charge, a total amount `138,698.3 million was disbursed during 2010/11–2014/15. (Ghosh. 2017) [17]

The current Central Government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, promised electricity to all villages within two years. As of May 25, 2017, 13,523 villages had been electrified, however, not all households received electricity. Only 1,089 villages had electricity reaching all households, not others according to data in the power ministry’s Grameen Vidyutikaran (GARV) dashboard. Besides 45 million people of rural households across the country still have no electricity. In Uttar Pradesh, Nagaland, Jharkhand and Bihar, fewer than 50% of rural households have electricity (Hindustan Times, 2017).[18]

The task is daunting. Hopefully the governments in unison with the state governments will reach out to different households and work to provide electricity for all households in the future.

Drinking water is another main concern for many people across India. Especially, towards late summers. Too many dams have caused major hazards to the environment. While, in some places, pelting rains have deprived people. India needs to spend wisely in water conservation in a sustainable manner across many places, especially those that have less water.

 

Government Initiatives for Rural Development

 

Employment through MGNREGA

Farmers still reeling with loans. Roads, Hospitals and Medical units are still a major requirement in many villages. In many villages, the people have to  travel for hours to reach a hospital. Another problem is that since farming is risky and sometimes doesn’t bring in the stipulated income, the farmers or villagers migrate to the cities in search of odd jobs, to sustain themselves and their families. This leads to over crowding in cities. It also helps us to realise that we live in a community, if one is affected all get gradually affected.

The government initially launched “several employment generation and poverty alleviation programmes of the Central and State Governments to achieve the goal of rural connectivity such as the Minimum Needs Program (MNP), National Rural Employment Program (NREP), Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP), Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY) etc.; but these programmes failed to achieve their desired goals. A pragmatic analysis of the past schemes reveals many deficiencies in the whole process from planning to implementation and monitoring to evaluation”. (Samanta, 2015)[19]

However, one programme that was appreciable was the MGNREGA. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 by the Government of India. [20] The world bank termed it as the “stellar example of rural development”. The MGNREGA aims at enhancing the livelihood security of people in rural areas by guaranteeing 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to a rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. This was indeed a good initiative by the Government under the Prime Ministership of Manmohan Singh with Raghuvansh Prasad Singh as Minister of Rural Development. Although this act was proposed in 1991 by P V Narsimha Rao, it got gradually accepted after many years. The Gram Panchayats (Village authoritative bodies) were involved in the implementation and contractors were kept out. According the the ministry of Rural Development, apart from providing security and creating rural assets, NREGA can help in protecting the Environment, empowering rural women, reducing rural urban migration and fostering social equity among others. (Ministry of Rural Development 2005, pp1-2

MGNREGA also aimed at creating durable assets like roads, canals, ponds, wells. Employment according to the act was to be provided within 5 kms of a person’s residence and minimum wages were to be paid. If work was not provided within 15 days of applying, applicants were entitled to an unemployment allowance.

A large number of poor people did benefit from this scheme in rural areas. However, there were also many cases, where people got unpaid due to middle men siphoning off the funds. These are loopholes that occur all across the world. Any good project runs into troubled waters due to corruption and greed of certain few citizens of the country.

 

Swacch Bharat Abhiyan

 

Swacch Bharat Abhiyan which in English means Clean India Mission was also another scheme of the Government of India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014 that grew popular and created a conscientisation about cleanliness.

The objectives included eradication of manual scavenging, creating an awareness with regard to sanitation and becoming free of the open defecation status.   Under this initiative, the rural areas were financed and monitored by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and subsidies were provided to build toilets. This was a boon for many.

While, there were many cases of fake publicity and photo-ops by celebrities, the idea itself was noble. The cleanest village award or Swacchhata awards for 20 individuals and agencies  in seven categories for furthering the  Clean India objective was also a welcome initiative. It  is also a boon and encourages villagers to participate in the activity of keeping their surrounding clean. It further also led to the construction of toilet facilities, cleaner surroundings and upgradation of many parts of India. This scheme is notable.

However, as citizens, we are still a long way, despite rules and repeated encouragement by the government. We the people of the country often lag and take rules for granted, Spitting, defecating in public, dumping garbage anywhere, wherever we find a place, is often the case. The initiative also floundered in many places as the villagers were not used to accessing Toilets, or there was lack of water, etc. However, this venture was much needed and the efforts are commendable.

 

 

Village communication

 

Ø  The government permitting NGOs and Colleges to promote Community Radio that reaches out to the villagers is another positive step in the field of Rural Development in many parts of India. In some parts of India, NGOs have also teamed up to help farmers to discover the benefits of Solar lights thus benefiting Rural development.

Ø  E-choupals to aid farmers in a huge blessing for many farmers.

Ø  Street plays are often used to communicate social messages.

Ø  While infrastructure is a major concern and often political leaders in nexus with contractors turn into greedy money launderers often swindling funds mean for people’s welfare. Despite the unholy nexus, many villages have seen the building of roads due to good leadership.

Ø  Certain films with social messages have also become very beneficial.

Ø  Non-Governmental Organisations too have carried out varied services of providing medication, solar lamps, women’s welfare initiatives and making bank accounts.

Ø  Graffiti, posters, village groups are all means of communication.

Ø  Today, Social Media is also being used to communicate and get people together.

Ø  Meetings, and community entertainment during fairs, markets, religious place corridors, etc are platforms that become hosts to variety of messages which get diffused.

 

The topic of village communication can also be answered through my noted on the topic Role of media in development communication. Please refer to the same, by following the link. 

https://michellemathiasfsp.blogspot.com/2020/10/notes-on-development-communication-unit_9.html

 

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[1] Madhusudhan L, Agriculture Role On Indian Economy, Business And Economics Eco J 2015, 6:4DOI: 10.4172/2151-6219.100017, Retrieved 09-10-2020

[2] Introduction To Rural And Agriculture Communication, Krishna Kanta Handiqui State Open University,  http://www.kkhsou.in/main/masscom/rural_agriculture.html

[3] 15 healthcare schemes in India that you must know about, 12 Dec 2018, oxfamindia.org

[4] Governments cheap medicine Scheme falls sick, New Indian Express,

[5] Aishwarya Upadhyay , Edited By: Sonia Bhaskar , Malnutrition In India: Has This Decade Laid Down A Blueprint For A Malnutrition-Free India? Malnutrition, Nutrition, Swasth India

January 02, 2020, NDTV, https://swachhindia.ndtv.com/malnutrition-in-india-has-this-decade-laid-down-a-blueprint-for-a-malnutrition-free-india, -40644/

[6] Aishwarya Upadhyay , Edited By: Sonia Bhaskar , Malnutrition In India: Has This Decade Laid Down A Blueprint For A Malnutrition-Free India? Malnutrition, Nutrition, Swasth India

January 02, 2020, NDTV, https://swachhindia.ndtv.com/malnutrition-in-india-has-this-decade-laid-down-a-blueprint-for-a-malnutrition-free-india, -40644/

[7] Jeffrey Hammera and Dean Spears, 2016, Village sanitation and child health: Effects and external validity in a randomized field experiment in rural India, J Health Econ. 2016 Jul; 48: 135–148, doi: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2016.03.003, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4920645/

[8] Jeffrey Hammera and Dean Spears, 2016, Village sanitation and child health: Effects and external validity in a randomized field experiment in rural India, J Health Econ. 2016 Jul; 48: 135–148, doi: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2016.03.003, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4920645/

[9] Study on rural sanitation in India aims to answer questions on behaviour change, July 05, 2016, Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), https://www.wsscc.org/media/news-stories/study-rural-sanitation-india-aims-answer-questions-behaviour-change

[10] Study on rural sanitation in India aims to answer questions on behaviour change, July 05, 2016, Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), https://www.wsscc.org/media/news-stories/study-rural-sanitation-india-aims-answer-questions-behaviour-change

[11] Nirmal Gram Puraskar, Government Of India, Department Of Drinking Water And Sanitation, Ministry Of Jal Shakti, https://jalshakti-ddws.gov.in/nirmal-gram-puraskar

[12] Study on rural sanitation in India aims to answer questions on behaviour change, July 05, 2016, Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), https://www.wsscc.org/media/news-stories/study-rural-sanitation-india-aims-answer-questions-behaviour-change

[13] Final Report, Working Group on Rural Roads in the 12th Five Year Plan, October 2011, Government of India, Planning Commission, Ministry of Rural Development, https://niti.gov.in/planningcommission.gov.in/docs/aboutus/committee/wrkgrp12/transport/wgrep_rural.pdf

[14] Madhusudan Ghosh, Infrastructure and Development  in Rural India, Margin—The Journal of Applied Economic Research 11 : 3 (2017): 256–289SAgE Publications Los Angeles/London/New Delhi/Singapore/Washington DC/Melbourne, DOI: 10.1177/0973801017703499

[15] Madhusudan Ghosh, Infrastructure and Development  in Rural India, Margin—The Journal of Applied Economic Research 11 : 3 (2017): 256–289SAgE Publications Los Angeles/London/New Delhi/Singapore/Washington DC/Melbourne, DOI: 10.1177/0973801017703499

[16] https://niti.gov.in/planningcommission.gov.in/docs/aboutus/committee/wrkgrp12/transport/wgrep_rural.pdf

[17] Madhusudan Ghosh, Infrastructure and Development  in Rural India, Margin—The Journal of Applied Economic Research 11 : 3 (2017): 256–289SAgE Publications Los Angeles/London/New Delhi/Singapore/Washington DC/Melbourne, DOI: 10.1177/0973801017703499

[18] Mukta Patil (IndiaSpend), May 26, 2017, In 2 years, BJP govt electrified 13523 villages; only 8% were completely electrified, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/in-2-years-bjp-govt-electrified-13523-villages-only-8-were-completely-electrified/story-FWzAtRcHnCbEwF1DcV3pmM.html

[19] Dr. Pradeepta Kumar Samanta, Dr. Pradeepta Kumar Samanta, Pacific Business Review InternationalVolume 7, Issue 11, May 2015, http://www.pbr.co.in/2015/2015_month/May/12.pdf

[20] www.nrega.nic.in