Nature n scope of rural devlopment research
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CHAPTER -1
NATURE AND SCOPE OF RESEARCH STUDY
Background and Relevance of the Topic:
The research work titled "Khadi and Village Industries Commission's Contribution to
Rural Development. A Performance Appraisal is undertaken with a specific focus on
KVIC's role in promoting Village Industries for the purpose of employment
generation and thereby to facilitate rural development.
Indian industry at the beginning of the 19'*' century consisted of village handicrafts.
The rural industries were closely linked through a system of commonalities with
agriculture, as well as handicrafts, cottage industries and small manual establishments.
The system of hereditary specialisation in certain crafts ensured good quality products
and services. However, the division of labour was of low level, which was responsible
for comparatively low productivity.
The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) have contributed significantly
to the rural development of the Indian economy through its presence - prior to
independence in an unorganized, unstructured manner; as well as in the post
independence era in a structured, organised manner. KVIC as a statutory organisation
was established in 1956, under the Act of the Parliament. It started functioning in
1957, as an apex all India level organisations for the development of Khadi and
Village Industries in the rural areas. It took over the activities of the All India Khadi
and Village Industries Board and was operational as an exclusive, premier institution
wedded to the objective of promoting employment opportunities in the rural areas by
developing Khadi and Village Industries. It aims at providing financial support to rural
artisans to retain and develop their skills, so as to produce marketable goods and
service, thereby contributing fairly to the family income. Since its inception, KVIC
has been working in a dedicated manner, to bring about rural development in India.
KVIC's role was analysed in terms of:
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Employment generation
Contribution to overall socio economic development of the country
Implementation of the planned strategies / schemes for fulfilling its objectives.