Ensuring Quality of Life and Enhancing Rural Income: Role of Gram Panchayats

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to highlight the role of Gram Panchayats in ensuring quality of life and enhancing rural incomes. This paper also highlights budgetary allocation of those programs which are quite effective in improving quality of life and enhancing rural incomes. Study is based on secondary sources of data and mainly utilizes the data obtained from economic survey 2022-23 and relevant government reports. Presently, the percentage of the population living in India's rural areas stands at 65%. Various measures have been taken to enhance the quality of life in rural areas encompassing rural housing, drinking water, clean fuel, social protection, rural connectivity etc. Further, in order to enhance rural livelihoods programs like MGNREGA, NRLM, PMGSY, PMAY-G, PM-KISAN are also prominent. Most of these measures and programs are directly implemented through Gram Panchayats. The NSS data for 2019-20 shows a significant improvement in a number of indicators concerning the quality of rural lives. But data also reveals that average salary income has stagnant in rural India while it has been rising in urban India. It is well established that measures such as supporting farm income and increased public spending on rural infrastructure will have substantial impact on rural India income. The analysis of the performance of Panchayats in different states and reasons in India shows that Panchayats have been relatively more successful in contributing development in places where the literacy rate and education status were higher.