Rural employment
A happy and prosperous village is a pre-condition for a happy and prosperous nation. The question of employment in rural areas is though important. However, in the present context, this question has become more important because a large number of people have gone back to the villages from the cities in the ongoing lock-down crisis.
It is possible that many of these “reverse migrants” again will back to their cities. But still a large number will remain in their villages. They defiantly will need employment in their native place.
The rural employment also need to check imbalanced migration from rural areas to urban areas. Due to this migration all major cities of India facing excess pressure on its infrastructure
Special features of rural employment
The nature of employment in the village is slightly different from that of the cities. These facts have to be kept in mind for employment in the village:
1. Due to migration from villages to cities, the number of women and elderly in the villages has increased. Therefore, special care has to be taken in any kind of employment schemes.
2. Localism will also have to be taken care of. Local and traditional products, arts, crafts etc. have to be linked with employment.
3. For this type of development, raw materials, technical skills and labor will be found at the local level. But training, capital and market will be required.
Government schemes for rural employment
For rural employment, many schemes are being run at both the state and central level.
State and the central govt. running so many schemes for rural development and rural employment. Most of such schemes are running under supervision of five of central government ministries.
These ministries are:
Ministry of Rural Development (the Ministry of Rural Development) –
It has been formed with the objective of socio-economic development in rural India. Health, education, drinking water, housing, and road construction, etc. in rural areas are its primary responsibility.
The Ministry of Rural Development has two departments:
1. Rural Development Department; And
2. Department of Land Resources.
The Rural Development Department is currently running three schemes of rural development. These schemes are:
- 1. Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)
- 2. Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SJSY)
- 3. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana
These three schemes are being run with the aim of rural road construction, employment in rural areas and housing construction in rural areas respectively.
The Ministry of Rural Development conducts these schemes through the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA).
Three autonomous bodies also work under it:
Council of Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART),
National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD)
National Rural Road Development Agency (NRRDA)
The Department of Land Resources of the Ministry is running these schemes:
- 1. Prime Minister Agricultural Irrigation Scheme;
- 2. Digital India Record Modernization Program;
- 3. Neeranchal National Watershed Project.
Apart from the above three, this department is also running
GIZ led Pilot Land Use Planning and Management Project and Ease of Doing Business – initiatives.
Currently, the most prominent and well-known scheme of integrated schemes for rural development and employment is Mahatma Gandhi Employment Guarantee Scheme – MNREGA.
The Mahatma Gandhi Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 was passed in 2005 to implement MNREGA. It is a consolidated scheme that aims at employment as well as labour safety and social security.
This is the first law that guarantees at least 100 days of “right to work” in a year. Infrastructure in rural areas is also developed by the construction work done under it. It is cover 625 districts of the country.
The nodal agency for this scheme is the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India. It is implemented by the gram panchayats. There is a complete restriction on the use of contractors for any work at any level.
It is the world’s largest and ambitious plan “for social security and public works”. The World Bank in its “World Development Report, 2014” called the scheme “stellar example of rural development”.
Various studies show that apart from socio-economic security and construction of rural infrastructure, MNREGA has also promoted the conservation of the environment, women empowerment, social equality, etc. Such schemes can also help in reducing migration from villages to cities.
Ministry of Labour and Employment
It serves to protect the interests of workers, especially the poor, deprived, and weaker sections. So that the work environment can be favorable and productivity can be increased.
Prior to the establishment of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in 2014, training for skill development was also under it but now it has been transferred to the newly formed Ministry.
The Ministry of Labour and Employment launched a National Career Service Portal on July 20, 2015 with the aim of bringing together both the job seeker and the employer.
Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
The third ministry to ensure rural employment is the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. This ministry strives for skill development across the country so that there can be a balance between demand for employment on the one hand and supply of skilled labour as per its requirement.
It is being seen that on the one hand people are not getting employment, on the other hand, those providing employment are not getting skilled labour as per the requirement. Its purpose is to eliminate this gap. The Ministry also encourages new and innovative ideas that create employment.
Some other ministries like the Ministry of Textiles (especially Khadi and Handloom Department), the art & craft Department under the Ministry of Tourism, etc. are running many schemes for the development of local crafts and arts and for related training.
Such schemes are also being run by the central government, state governments and many non-governmental organizations. Efforts are also being made to promote local art organising ship mela, exhibition etc.
Barriers to self-employment in rural areas
But despite so many efforts, there is still a need for employment in the villages. It is not possible to get employment on such a large scale through MNREGA or any scheme. Self-employment is must for this. The main barriers are:
- Lack of training and capital
- Lack of access to the market for the sale of products at a reasonable time and at reasonable costs;
- Lack of basic facilities like cold storage.
- Lack of education, health, energy etc. in the villages due to which a large part of the working population has migrated to the cities leaving behind women and elders. These people should also be taken care of in any employment scheme. If there is employment facility in the villages, then migration from there will also stop and required work force will be available.
Step to be taken for promoting self-employment in rural areas
- To promote small-scale industries in line with sector-specific requirements, resources, and geographical features. There is immense potential in the country at present for the development of agriculture-related industries.
- To promote local arts and crafts.
- To promote inter-state tourism.
- Arrangements to keep local products safe and reach the market on time. Even if many farmers find the market for their products using modern means of information. Even then they cannot afford to send there his product because it can increase time and cost many folds which won’t be profitable for him. In such a situation he is forced to sell his product in the local market at low prices. Even sometimes, crops are spoiled or thrown away.
Conclusion
For the balanced development of both villages and cities, it is necessary that both should be self-sufficient to an extent. The cities should have such a relationship with their nearby villages that the production of the village can get the city markets as early as possible. On the other hand, the facilities of the city can also be available to the villages at the time of need.