Employment Potential in Rural India-An Analysis

An alarming aspect of the Indian economy during the recent past has been the deceleration in the growth of employment which accompanied the accelerated economic growth. This article systematically explores the employment potential in the rural areas with particular emphasis on agriculture and allied sectors. It attempts an analysis of trends in distribution of operational holdings on the basis of the available time series data. The employment potential of animal husbandry and allied activities and their spatial distribution are also discussed, and a later section deals with the irrigation resources of the country and their regional distribution. A detailed analysis of labour absorption in the crop sector on the basis of cost of cultivation data for all the major crops in the country is presented with a discussion of issues emerging from the present analysis which have a bearing on public policy planning for the current decade.