Will the govt change its development strategy to raise rural incomes?

While the earlier Modi govt fared well on rural schemes, both farming and construction activity in the village economy were muted

Rural development was the key focus area of the previous government. Toilets, houses, roads, electricity and LPG connections were words we heard quite frequently from the government, and from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, under the government’s previous tenure.

But looking at the broader rural economy as a whole, the last five years were peculiar in three aspects. Firstly, in terms of incomes, wholesale food prices grew slower than before. As a result, daily wages to labourers working on farms and construction sites did not grow substantially.

Secondly, tractor and automobile sales, which had boomed even during years of scarce rainfall,