Which of the following does NOT focus on rural development?
2026
Which of the following does NOT focus on rural development?
Answer: B. Enhancement of income levels in industrial sectors — Concept. Rural development is the overall process of improving the economic and social life of people who live in villages. The standard treatment of the…
- A.
Development of literacy and skill development
- B.
Enhancement of income levels in industrial sectors
- C.
Infrastructure development and special measures for poverty
- D.
Development of the productive resources of each locality
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept. Rural development is the overall process of improving the economic and social life of people who live in villages. The standard treatment of the subject (NCERT, Indian Economic Development, chapter on Rural Development) fixes its scope as a definite list of key issues, and any focus area is judged as rural development or not by whether it appears on that list:
Development of human resources — literacy, especially female literacy, education and skill development, and health covering both sanitation and public health.
Land reforms.
Development of the productive resources of each locality.
Infrastructure development — electricity, irrigation, credit, marketing, transport facilities, village roads, and facilities for agricultural research and IT.
Special measures for poverty alleviation and for bringing about a significant improvement in the living conditions of the weaker sections, by stressing access to productive employment opportunities.
Application. Match each stated focus against that list:
Stated focus | Item of the rural-development list it matches |
|---|---|
Development of literacy and skill development | Development of human resources |
Infrastructure development and special measures for poverty | Infrastructure development, and special measures for poverty alleviation |
Development of the productive resources of each locality | Development of the productive resources of each locality |
Enhancement of income levels in industrial sectors | No match — it is not an item on the list |
Three of the four stated focus areas sit on the list word for word. Raising income levels in industrial sectors sits on none of them.
Cross-check. Enhancement of income levels in industrial sectors is an objective of industrial development policy, not of rural development. It is pursued through instruments such as industrial investment, technology upgrading, capacity expansion and industrial productivity, and its success is measured by the output and earnings of manufacturing units. Rural development is instead measured by village literacy, rural roads, irrigation and electrification, the rural poverty ratio, and the incomes drawn from local land, water and livestock. The two sit in different chapters of economic policy.
Guard against one trap the stem invites: agro-processing and village industries genuinely do exist and do raise rural incomes. But what is named here is income in industrial sectors as a whole, which remains the concern of industrial policy, and it is not one of the listed rural-development priorities.
Result. The focus area that does NOT belong to rural development is “Enhancement of income levels in industrial sectors”.