The State of Development in Villages of India: An Analysis of the 2011 Census Data

The present article uses data available through the 2011 population census to analyze the state of development in the villages of India on the basis of a village development index that has been constructed for the purpose following the capabilities expansion as development approach. The analysis reveals that the state of development in the villages of the country varies widely and there is only a small proportion of the villages where the state of development can be termed as satisfactory. The analysis also reveals that the state of development in the village is influenced by its selected defining characteristics. The article calls for a village-based planning and programming approach for meeting the development and welfare needs of the village people