Rural development - Googlecloud12/New GitHub Wiki

Rural development Rural development is the process of improving the quality of life and economic well-being of people living in relatively isolated and sparsely populated areas.[1] Rural development has traditionally centered on the exploitation of land-intensive natural resources such as agriculture and forestry. However, changes in global production networks and increased urbanization have changed the character of rural areas. Increasingly tourism, niche manufacturers, and recreation have replaced resource extraction and agriculture as dominant economic drivers.[2] The need for rural communities to approach development from a wider perspective has created more focus on a broad range of development goals rather than merely creating incentive for agricultural or resource based businesses. Education, entrepreneurship, physical infrastructure, and social infrastructure all play an important role in developing rural regions.[3] Rural development is also characterized by its emphasis on locally produced economic development strategies.[4] In contrast to urban regions, which have many similarities, rural areas are highly distinctive from one another. For this reason there are a large variety of rural development approaches used globally.[5] Development actions Rural development actions are mainly and mostly to development aim for the social and economic development of the rural areas.[6] Rural development programs are usually top-down from the local or regional authorities, regional development agencies, NGOs, national governments or international development organizations. But then, local populations can also bring about endogenous initiatives for development. The term is not limited to the issues for developing countries. In fact many of the developed countries have very active rural development programs.The main aim of the rural government policy is to develop the undeveloped villages.This was designed by Eric Kiplagat. Rural development aims at finding the ways to improve the rural lives with participation of the rural people themselves so as to meet the required need of the rural area. The outsider may not understand the setting, culture, language and other things prevalent in the local area. As such, general people themselves have to participate in their sustainable rural development. In developing countries like Nepal, India, Bangladesh, integrated development approaches are being followed up. In this context, many approaches and ideas have been developed and followed up, for instance, bottom-up approach, PRA- Participatory Rural Appraisal, RRA- Rapid Rural Appraisal etc. Rural development agencies • Observatory of Rural and Local Development www.observalocal.com • Aga Khan Rural Development Programmes • Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) Agricultural and rural information provider • USDA Rural Development, an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture • European Network for Rural Development • Rural Development Council (RDC) of Northern Ireland • England Rural Development Programme by DEFRA • Rural Development programmes in Pakistan • The George Foundation, India • Agricultural Development & Training Society, India • Village Earth: The Consortium for Sustainable Village-based Development • Tipperary Institute, Ireland • AsgiSA Eastern Cape, a South African rural development agency • Azerbaijan Rural Investment Project in Azerbaijan

District Rural Development Agencies (India) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia DRDA has traditionally been the principal organ at the district level to oversee the implementation of anti-poverty programmes of the Ministry of Rural Development. This agency was created originally to implement the Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP). Subsequently the DRDAs were entrusted with number of programmes of both state and central governments. From 1 April 1999[1]a separate DRDA Administration has been introduced to take care of the administrative costs. This aims at strengthening the DRDAs and make them more professional in managing the anti-poverty programmes and be an effective link between the ministry and the district level. Rural development and poverty alleviation programmes are implemented on a decentralised basis, keeping in view the large geographical areas, the administrative requirements and the need to involve grassroots-level officials and the community in the implementation of the programmes. At the central level the Ministry of Rural Areas & Employment has been implementing these programmes. The Ministry is responsible for the release of central share of funds, policy formulation, overall guidance, monitoring and evaluation of the programmes. At the State level Prl Secretary, Rural Development and the Commissioner of Rural Development are overall incharge for implementation of the rural development programmes. At the District level, the programmes are implemented through the DRDAs (District Rural Development Agencies). The governing body of DRDA includes Members of Parliament (MPs), Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs), District level officials of Development Departments, Bankers, NGO’s and representatives of weaker sections of the society. The District Collector used to be (but not always at present) the Chairman of the Governing Board. The Governing body at the district level provides guidance and directions to DRDA. The body in DRDA responsible for actual implementation is headed by an Additional District Collector. Many Schemes of the Central and State Governments are introduced from time to time. Several schemes are available providing support to different components of Rural Development. Schemes are also periodically modified to reflect the experience over the years. The task of DRDA has been to identify the needs of the rural population and reach the appropriate schemes where they are needed. In implementing the schemes, the role of the DRDA has been Technical, Managerial and Financial. Thus DRDA is not only a body to disburse the funds for the schemes but also provide appropriate Managerial and Technical support. District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs) are district level development execution and monitoring agencies created under the Indian Societies Registration Act. Substantial sums of rural development funds of government of India were transferred and routed through them under various Centrally Sponsored Schemes. From purely a financial resource from Rural Development point of view the DRDAs are extremely important institutions at the district level Context of decentralization With the adoption of the Constitutional mandate for decentralization of powers that privileged those self-government institutions in planning for economic development and social justice, the proposal to re-think the status of DRDAs and also to merge them with the panchayats had emerged. Under the section on 'devoluton of functionaries' the 1st Round Table had adopted a resolution, number IV(i), for reconceiving the role of District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs). DRDAs were to be progressively merged with the District Panchayats and their technical expertise made available to all tiers of Panchayats. At an all India level, the progress reported in this regard is far from satisfactory. There are some vexed issues, one among which is the 'reported' reluctance on the part of some of the institutions of Union Government for the proposal of merger of DRDAs with the district Panchayats. The complete merger seems to have happened only in Kerala and Karnataka. The latter has a much longer history of doing this. In both the States the DRDAs function as if they were the cells for poverty alleviation/ rural development schemes within the Zilla Panchayats. West Bengal is reported to have taken similar steps; yet, it does not measure up to the yardstick of complete merger. Rajasthan and Lakshadweep State/ UT Profile make a similar assertion; this report is unable to confirm this. Status of DRDAs in the States In 10 States/ UTs the DRDAs continue to be separate with the only linkage established with the ZPs is making the President of ZP the Chairperson of the DRDA. These are Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Lakshadweep. In Gujarat the District Development Officer, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Zilla Panchayat, continues to chair the DRDA. In nine States/ UTs either the Collector continues as the Chair or some other arrangement has been made in this regard. These are Assam, Goa, Haryana, Jharkhand, Manipur, Tamil Nadu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, and Pondicherry. Andhra Pradesh has made the Zilla Panchayat President the Chair of the DRDA while designating the Collector as the Executive Chairperson. Similarly, in Maharashtra, while the President Zilla Panchayat is made the Chair of the DRDA, the Chief Executive Officer of the Zilla Panchayat is designated as the Executive Chairman of the Management Committee.[2] Table : Status of DRDAs in the States Providing Urban Amenities to Rural Areas Provision of Urban Amenities to Rural Areas (PURA) is a strategy for rural development in India. This concept was given by former president Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and discussed in his book Target 3 Billion which he co-authored with Srijan Pal Singh. The genesis of PURA concept can be traced to the work done by Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute in early 1990s on Taluka energy self-sufficiency.[1] It was shown in the study that energy self-sufficient talukas can be a new development model for rural India in terms of creation of jobs and better amenities to its population.[2] PURA proposes that urban infrastructure and services be provided in rural hubs to create economic opportunities outside of cities. Physical connectivity by providing roads, electronic connectivity by providing communication network, and knowledge connectivity by establishing professional and Technical institutions will have to be done in an integrated way so that economic connectivity will emanate. The Indian central government has been running pilot PURA programs in several states since 2004. Introduction To make the basic amenities like good roads and drinking water accessible to people even in remote villages, The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India has re-launched the scheme Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) as a Central Government scheme during the remaining period of the eleventh five-year plan. MoRD, with support from Department of Economic Affairs and the Asian Development Bank (which provided the technical assistance), intends to implement the PURA scheme under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between Local executive bodies like the Gram Panchayat(s) and private sector partners. The vision of the scheme in particular is providing dual benefits like rural infrastructure development coupled with economic re-generation activities; it is the first attempt of the government in this direction of delivering basic amenities and infrastructure through this model to people in remote rural areas. All the efforts are directed to obtain dual benefits, provide a different framework for the efficient implementation of rural infrastructure development schemes and benefit from the private sector efficiencies in the management of assets and delivery of services. Background After India gained its independence, despite of a plethora of welfare schemes and activities aimed at rural areas in successive five year plans, a skewed development model increasing the disparities between the rural and the urban areas has proliferated. Lack of livelihood opportunities, modern amenities and services for decent living in rural areas lead to migration of people to urban areas. There are wide gaps in the availability of physical and social infrastructure between rural and urban areas. To address these issues, the President of India A.P.J. Abdul Kalam highlighted a vision of transformation of rural India by launching a large-scale mission for Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA). On the eve of India’s 54th Republic Day, in 2003, Dr. Kalam addressed the nation explaining them his vision for a new India. He visualised providing four elements of connectivity: physical connectivity, electronic connectivity, knowledge connectivity leading to economic connectivity of rural areas and where there would be a lesser urban-rural divide. PURA was envisaged as a self-sustainable and viable model of service delivery to be managed through an implementation framework between the different stakeholders involved, namely local people, public authorities and the private sector. The Government support would be in the form of finding the right type of management structure to develop and maintain rural infrastructure, empowering the management structure and providing initial economic support. Subsequently, the Prime Minister of India also announced implementation of a PURA scheme in his Independence Day speech on 15 August 2003. Mission "Holistic and accelerated development of compact areas around a potential growth centre in a Gram Panchayat (or a group of Gram Panchayats) through Public Private Partnership (PPP) framework for providing livelihood opportunities and urban amenities to improve the quality of life in rural areas"[3] Vision The vision of transformation to a 'developed' India can only be realised if we launch a mega mission for empowering the rural people. Creation of Physical, electronic and knowledge connectivities leading to economic connectivity in villages. Such a model of establishing a circular connectivity among the rural village complexes will accelerate rural development process by empowerment. Strategy Public–private partnership (PPP) The Mission & Vision of PURA is to bring together the experience & expertise of both public & private players to achieve the objectives which are proposed to be achieved under the framework of PPP between Gram Panchayats and private sector partner. Core funding shall be sourced from the Central Sector scheme of PURA and complemented by additional support through convergence of different Central Government schemes. The private sector shall also bring on board it’s share of investment besides operational expertise. The scheme would be implemented and managed by the private sector on considerations of economic viability but designed in a manner whereby it is fully aligned with the overall objective of rural development. To attract the private sector, there is a need to design the scheme that would be 'project based' with well defined risks, identified measures for risk mitigation and risks sharing among the sponsoring authority (Gram Panchayat), Government of India, State Government and the Private Partners Pilot-testing and up-scaling Seven pilot projects were implemented during the 10th Five Year Plan in Basmath (Maharashtra), Bharthana (Uttar Pradesh), Gohpur (Assam), Kujanga (Orissa), Motipur (Bihar), Rayadurg (Andhra Pradesh) and Shahpura (Rajasthan). An evaluation study of these pilot projects was carried out by (NIRD) National Institute of Rural Development which identified the necessity of community and private sector participation as essential factors and the need for factoring infrastructure development with lead economic activities and livelihoods creation, requirement of project site selection on the basis of growth potential and need for convergence with other schemes of the government. Based on the findings of the evaluation study by NIRD, Comments, Feedback received from different stakeholders like various Ministries/Departments, feedback received during consultations with private sector representatives and officials of State Governments, and the recommendations of the consulting team of Asian Development Bank), the scheme of PURA has been restructured for implementation on pilot basis during 11th Five Year Plan[4] as a Central Sector scheme Through the implementation of proposed pilot projects at different places of INDIA different from each other, the unique features of this scheme would be tested on the ground that will provide lessons for upscaling in the future and extending PURA throughout the country.Besides, the entire process shall help strengthen the institutional ability of a Gram Panchayat to undertake PPP and help pilot-test the viability of PPPs in rural infrastructure development. Planning For a Scheme of this magnitude and importance and the impact it could have in the future and change the very face of Rural Areas in a developing country like India, Proper back ground research and planning has to be undertaken for the success of this project. The Private Partner selected after properly analysing his financial and operational abilities to undertake PURA projects shall identify a Gram Panchayat, a cluster of geographically contiguous Gram Panchayats for a population of about 25,000– 40,000. Whereas, the cluster would be the project area, there may be sub-projects to cover each of the Panchayats within the cluster. Alternatively, a large single Panchayat could individually provide critical mass to make the project viable. In the pilot phase, the Private Partner is given the flexibility to identify and select the Gram Panchayat(s) for undertaking PURA projects based on their familiarity with the area or past experience of working at the grassroots level. In this identified PURA area, the Private Partner shall plan for the development/re-development of selected infrastructure services along with economic activities, after undertaking baseline studies Identification of infrastructure needs and urban amenities The different Amenities & activities can be divided into three types: 1)Amenities/Activities to be provided under MoRD Ministry of Rural Development) Schemes (Mandatory), 2) Amenities to be provided under Schemes of other Ministries (non-MoRD Schemes), 3) Add-on Projects (Revenue earning, people centric projects).[5] Business model The essence of the PURA scheme is to have the best of both the worlds Private & Public, The leveraging of public funds with private capital and management expertise for creation and maintenance of rural infrastructure. Funding Funding for the various projects taken up under the PURA scheme depending on the priority, relevance to the objectives of the government may come from four sources: MoRD schemes, non-MoRD schemes, private financing[6] and Capital Grant under PURA. MORD schemes As the main vision of PURA scheme is the convergence of various schemes and a sustainable framework for long term maintenance of assets keeping in view the long term vision of the government, most of the capital expenditure will have to come from government schemes. Only community development schemes would ordinarily be included as the private partners would find it difficult to manage individual beneficiary schemes Non-MORD schemes The private partners selected shall also be responsible for delivering certain services under schemes of other ministries, as per the guidelines of those schemes. Alternatively, the concerned Ministry may make funding available if it finds the service to be very relevant to the local people there and under those schemes through DRDA.[7] Private funding In some cases and schemes It is possible that the essential infrastructure may not get fully funded by Government schemes to give equal responsibility and ownership to the private player in such instances wherein the Developer shall invest some capital of its own to fund the CAPEX of such infrastructure and to meet the operations and maintenance (O&M) costs. Financing of commercially viable add-on projects will be done fully through private funding. Current status of PURA Failure of PURA Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on 24 February 2012 launched the restructured PURA scheme that combines rural infrastructure development with economic regeneration in Private Public Partnership (PPP) mode and seeks to harness the efficiencies of the private sector. He slammed former president APJAbdul Kalam’s concept of PURA(Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas) as a failure. Ramesh said that while the PURA Launched by Kalam has failed, the reworked PURA will succeed.[8] The minister was optimistic about the success of the new PURA because of the difference in the objectives. He was of the view that, now the focus was on water supply, sanitation, physical infrastructure rather than knowledge connectivity. Extension to 2000 new towns The Rural ministry plans to reform one of its ambitious yet not so successful programme – Provision of Urban amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) – to facilitate creation of urban infrastructure in around 2,000 new towns that have been identified by the 2011 decadal Census. It is also trying to restructure the old PURA objectives laid down by the then President[9] Under payment of wages MGNREGA scheme The Prestigious scheme proposed providing livelihood and urban amenities in compact areas around a potential growth centre in Gram Panchayats through Public Private Partnership (PPP) framework to provide guarantee employment to rural areas so that they could have an assured income for at least 100 days of a year. the scheme is now facing rampant corruption, cases of underpayment of wages have been received by the government from all over the country.[10] Make in India is an initiative program of the Government of India to encourage Multinational Companies and domestic companies to manufacture their products in India. It was launched by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on 25 September 201

Make in India is an initiative program of the Government of India to encourage Multinational Companies and domestic companies to manufacture their products in India. It was launched by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on 25 September 201 History Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the launch of Make in India Modi and Cabinet ministers at the concluding session of the national workshop on Make in India in New Delhi, 25 December 2014. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Make in India program on 25 September 2014 in a function at the Vigyan Bhawan.[1] On 29 December 2014, a workshop was organised by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion which was attended by Modi, his Cabinet ministers, chief secretaries of states and various industry leaders.[2] Overview The major objective behind the initiative is to focus on 25 sectors of the economy for job creation and skill enhancement. Some of these sectors are: automobiles, chemicals, IT, pharmaceuticals, textiles, ports, aviation, leather, tourism and hospitality, wellness, railways, design manufacturing, renewable energy, mining, bio-technology, and electronics.[1] The initiative hopes to increase GDP growth and tax revenue.[3] The initiative also aims at high quality standards and minimising the impact on the environment.[4][5] The initiative hopes to attract capital and technological investment in India.[3] The campaign was designed by Wieden+Kennedy.[6] Under the initiative, brochures on the 25 sectors and a web portal were released. Before the initiative was launched, foreign equity caps in various sectors had been relaxed . The application for licenses was made available online and the validity of licenses was increased to 3 years. Various other norms and procedures were also relaxed.[7] In August 2014, the Cabinet of India allowed 49% foreign direct investment (FDI) in the defence sector and 100% in railways infrastructure. The defence sector previously allowed 26% FDI and FDI was not allowed in railways. This was in hope of bringing down the military imports of India. Earlier, one Indian company would have held the 51% stake, this was changed so that multiple companies could hold the 51%.[8] Out of 25 sectors, except Space(74%), Defence(49%) and News Media(26%), 100% FDI is allowed in rest of sectors.[9] Between September 2014 and August 2015, the government received ₹1.10 lakh crore (US$17 billion) worth of proposals from companies interested in manufacturing electronics in India. 24.8% of smartphones shipped in the country in the April-June quarter of 2015 were made in India, up from 19.9% the previous quarter.[10][11][12] Responses In January 2015, the Spice Group said it would start a mobile phone manufacturing unit in Uttar Pradesh with an investment of ₹500 crore. A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Spice Group and the Government of Uttar Pradesh.[13] In January 2015, HyunChil Hong, the President & CEO of Samsung South Asia, met with Kalraj Mishra, Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), to discuss a joint initiative under which 10 "MSME-Samsung Technical Schools" will be established in India.[14] In February, Samsung said that will manufacture the Samsung Z1 in its plant in Noida.[15] In February 2015, Hitachi said it was committed to the initiative. It said that it would increase its employees in India from 10,000 to 13,000 and it would try to increase its revenues from India from ¥100 billion in 2013 to ¥210 billion. It said that an auto-component plant will be set up in Chennai in 2016.[16] In February 2015, Huawei opened a new research and development (R&D) campus in Bangalore. It had invested US$170 million to establish the research and development center.[17][18] It is also in the process of setting up a Telecom hardware manufacturing plant in Chennai, the approvals of which have been granted by the central government.[19] Also in February, Marine Products Export Development Authority said that it was interested in supplying shrimp eggs to shrimp farmers in India under the initiative.[20] In June 2015, France-based LH Aviation signed an MoU with OIS Advanced Technologies to set up a manufacturing plant in India to manufacture drones.[21] In February 2015, Xiaomi began initial talks with the Andhra Pradesh government to begin manufacturing smartphones at a Foxconn-run facility in Sri City. On 11 August 2015, the company announced that the first manufacturing unit was operational and introduced the Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime, a smartphone that was assembled at the facility.[22] On 18 August 2015, Lenovo announced that it had begun manufacturing Motorola smartphones at a plant in Sriperumbudur near Chennai, run by Singapore-based contract manufacturer Flextronics International Ltd. The plant has separate manufacturing lines for Lenovo and Motorola, as well as quality assurance, and product testing. The first smartphone manufactured at the facility was the 4G variant of the Motorola Moto E

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• India This article is about the Republic of India. For other uses, see India (disambiguation).

India, officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya),[13][c] is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;[d] China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma (Myanmar) and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia. Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history.[14] Four religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism and the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region’s diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi. This article is about the Republic of India. For other uses, see India (disambiguation).

India, officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya),[13][c] is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;[d] China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma (Myanmar) and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia. Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history.[14] Four religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism and the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region’s diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi. Etymology Main article: Names of India The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hinduš. The latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River.[15] The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi (Ινδοί), which translates as "the people of the Indus".[16] The geographical term Bharat (pronounced [ˈbʱaːrət̪] ( listen)), which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country,[17] is used by many Indian languages in its variations. The eponym of Bharat is Bharata, a theological figure that Hindu scriptures describe as a legendary emperor of ancient India. Hindustan ([ɦɪnd̪ʊˈst̪aːn] ( listen)) was originally a Persian word that meant "Land of the Hindus"; prior to 1947, it referred to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan. It is occasionally used to solely denote India in its entirety.[18][19] History Main articles: History of India and History of the Republic of India Ancient India The earliest authenticated human remains in South Asia date to about 30,000 years ago.[20] Nearly contemporaneous Mesolithic rock art sites have been found in many parts of the Indian subcontinent, including at the Bhimbetka rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh.[21] Around 7000 BCE, the first known Neolithic settlements appeared on the subcontinent in Mehrgarh and other sites in western Pakistan.[22] These gradually developed into the Indus Valley Civilisation,[23] the first urban culture in South Asia;[24] it flourished during 2500–1900 BCE in Pakistan and western India along the river valleys of Indus and Sarasvati.[25] Centred on cities such as Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, Dholavira, and Kalibangan, and relying on varied forms of subsistence, the civilisation engaged robustly in crafts production and wide-ranging trade.[24] Map of the Indian subcontinent during the Vedic period During the period 2000–500 BCE, in terms of culture, many regions of the subcontinent transitioned from the Chalcolithic to the Iron Age.[26] The Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism,[27] were composed during this period,[28] and historians have analysed these to posit a Vedic culture in the Punjab region and the upper Gangetic Plain.[26] Most historians also consider this period to have encompassed several waves of Indo-Aryan migration into the subcontinent.[29][27] The caste system arose during this period, which created a hierarchy of priests, warriors, free peasants and traders, and lastly the indigenous peoples who were regarded as impure; and small tribal units gradually coalesced into monarchical, state-level polities.[30][31] On the Deccan Plateau, archaeological evidence from this period suggests the existence of a chiefdom stage of political organisation.[26] In southern India, a progression to sedentary life is indicated by the large number of megalithic monuments dating from this period,[32] as well as by nearby traces of agriculture, irrigation tanks, and craft traditions.[32] In the late Vedic period, around the 6th century BCE, the small states and chiefdoms of the Ganges Plain and the north-western regions had consolidated into 16 major oligarchies and monarchies that were known as the mahajanapadas.[33][34] The emerging urbanisation and the orthodoxies of this age also created heterodox religious movements, two of which became independent religions. Buddhism, based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha attracted followers from all social classes excepting the middle class; chronicling the life of the Buddha was central to the beginnings of recorded history in India.[35][36][37] Jainism came into prominence during the life of its exemplar, Mahavira.[38] In an age of increasing urban wealth, both religions held up renunciation as an ideal,[39] and both established long-lasting monastic traditions. Politically, by the 3rd century BCE, the kingdom of Magadha had annexed or reduced other states to emerge as the Mauryan Empire.[40] The empire was once thought to have controlled most of the subcontinent excepting the far south, but its core regions are now thought to have been separated by large autonomous areas.[41][42] The Mauryan kings are known as much for their empire-building and determined management of public life as for Ashoka’s renunciation of militarism and far-flung advocacy of the Buddhist dhamma.[43][44] The Sangam literature of the Tamil language reveals that, between 200 BCE and 200 CE, the southern peninsula was being ruled by the Cheras, the Cholas, and the Pandyas, dynasties that traded extensively with the Roman Empire and with West and South-East Asia.[45][46] In North India, Hinduism asserted patriarchal control within the family, leading to increased subordination of women.[47][40] By the 4th and 5th centuries, the Gupta Empire had created in the greater Ganges Plain a complex system of administration and taxation that became a model for later Indian kingdoms.[48][49] Under the Guptas, a renewed Hinduism based on devotion rather than the management of ritual began to assert itself.[50] The renewal was reflected in a flowering of sculpture and architecture, which found patrons among an urban elite.[49] Classical Sanskrit literature flowered as well, and Indian science, astronomy, medicine, and mathematics made significant advances.[49] Medieval India The Indian early medieval age, 600 CE to 1200 CE, is defined by regional kingdoms and cultural diversity.[51] When Harsha of Kannauj, who ruled much of the Indo-Gangetic Plain from 606 to 647 CE, attempted to expand southwards, he was defeated by the Chalukya ruler of the Deccan.[52] When his successor attempted to expand eastwards, he was defeated by the Pala king of Bengal.[52] When the Chalukyas attempted to expand southwards, they were defeated by the Pallavas from farther south, who in turn were opposed by the Pandyas and the Cholas from still farther south.[52] No ruler of this period was able to create an empire and consistently control lands much beyond his core region.[51] During this time, pastoral peoples whose land had been cleared to make way for the growing agricultural economy were accommodated within caste society, as were new non-traditional ruling classes.[53] The caste system consequently began to show regional differences.[53] In the 6th and 7th centuries, the first devotional hymns were created in the Tamil language.[54] They were imitated all over India and led to both the resurgence of Hinduism and the development of all modern languages of the subcontinent.[54] Indian royalty, big and small, and the temples they patronised, drew citizens in great numbers to the capital cities, which became economic hubs as well.[55] Temple towns of various sizes began to appear everywhere as India underwent another urbanisation.[55] By the 8th and 9th centuries, the effects were felt in South-East Asia, as South Indian culture and political systems were exported to lands that became part of modern-day Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, and Java.[56] Indian merchants, scholars, and sometimes armies were involved in this transmission; South-East Asians took the initiative as well, with many sojourning in Indian seminaries and translating Buddhist and Hindu texts into their languages.[56] After the 10th century, Muslim Central Asian nomadic clans, using swift-horse cavalry and raising vast armies united by ethnicity and religion, repeatedly overran South Asia’s north-western plains, leading eventually to the establishment of the Islamic Delhi Sultanate in 1206.[57] The sultanate was to control much of North India, and to make many forays into South India. Although at first disruptive for the Indian elites, the sultanate largely left its vast non-Muslim subject population to its own laws and customs.[58][59] By repeatedly repulsing Mongol raiders in the 13th century, the sultanate saved India from the devastation visited on West and Central Asia, setting the scene for centuries of migration of fleeing soldiers, learned men, mystics, traders, artists, and artisans from that region into the subcontinent, thereby creating a syncretic Indo-Islamic culture in the north.[60][61] The sultanate’s raiding and weakening of the regional kingdoms of South India paved the way for the indigenous Vijayanagara Empire.[62] Embracing a strong Shaivite tradition and building upon the military technology of the sultanate, the empire came to control much of peninsular India,[63] and was to influence South Indian society for long afterwards.[62] Early modern India The Indian early medieval age, 600 CE to 1200 CE, is defined by regional kingdoms and cultural diversity.[51] When Harsha of Kannauj, who ruled much of the Indo-Gangetic Plain from 606 to 647 CE, attempted to expand southwards, he was defeated by the Chalukya ruler of the Deccan.[52] When his successor attempted to expand eastwards, he was defeated by the Pala king of Bengal.[52] When the Chalukyas attempted to expand southwards, they were defeated by the Pallavas from farther south, who in turn were opposed by the Pandyas and the Cholas from still farther south.[52] No ruler of this period was able to create an empire and consistently control lands much beyond his core region.[51] During this time, pastoral peoples whose land had been cleared to make way for the growing agricultural economy were accommodated within caste society, as were new non-traditional ruling classes.[53] The caste system consequently began to show regional differences.[53] In the 6th and 7th centuries, the first devotional hymns were created in the Tamil language.[54] They were imitated all over India and led to both the resurgence of Hinduism and the development of all modern languages of the subcontinent.[54] Indian royalty, big and small, and the temples they patronised, drew citizens in great numbers to the capital cities, which became economic hubs as well.[55] Temple towns of various sizes began to appear everywhere as India underwent another urbanisation.[55] By the 8th and 9th centuries, the effects were felt in South-East Asia, as South Indian culture and political systems were exported to lands that became part of modern-day Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, and Java.[56] Indian merchants, scholars, and sometimes armies were involved in this transmission; South-East Asians took the initiative as well, with many sojourning in Indian seminaries and translating Buddhist and Hindu texts into their languages.[56] After the 10th century, Muslim Central Asian nomadic clans, using swift-horse cavalry and raising vast armies united by ethnicity and religion, repeatedly overran South Asia’s north-western plains, leading eventually to the establishment of the Islamic Delhi Sultanate in 1206.[57] The sultanate was to control much of North India, and to make many forays into South India. Although at first disruptive for the Indian elites, the sultanate largely left its vast non-Muslim subject population to its own laws and customs.[58][59] By repeatedly repulsing Mongol raiders in the 13th century, the sultanate saved India from the devastation visited on West and Central Asia, setting the scene for centuries of migration of fleeing soldiers, learned men, mystics, traders, artists, and artisans from that region into the subcontinent, thereby creating a syncretic Indo-Islamic culture in the north.[60][61] The sultanate’s raiding and weakening of the regional kingdoms of South India paved the way for the indigenous Vijayanagara Empire.[62] Embracing a strong Shaivite tradition and building upon the military technology of the sultanate, the empire came to control much of peninsular India,[63] and was to influence South Indian society for long afterwards.[62] n the early 16th century, northern India, being then under mainly Muslim rulers,[64] fell again to the superior mobility and firepower of a new generation of Central Asian warriors.[65] The resulting Mughal Empire did not stamp out the local societies it came to rule, but rather balanced and pacified them through new administrative practices[66][67] and diverse and inclusive ruling elites,[68] leading to more systematic, centralised, and uniform rule.[69] Eschewing tribal bonds and Islamic identity, especially under Akbar, the Mughals united their far-flung realms through loyalty, expressed through a Persianised culture, to an emperor who had near-divine status.[68] The Mughal state’s economic policies, deriving most revenues from agriculture[70] and mandating that taxes be paid in the well-regulated silver currency,[71] caused peasants and artisans to enter larger markets.[69] The relative peace maintained by the empire during much of the 17th century was a factor in India’s economic expansion,[69] resulting in greater patronage of painting, literary forms, textiles, and architecture.[72] Newly coherent social groups in northern and western India, such as the Marathas, the Rajputs, and the Sikhs, gained military and governing ambitions during Mughal rule, which, through collaboration or adversity, gave them both recognition and military experience.[73] Expanding commerce during Mughal rule gave rise to new Indian commercial and political elites along the coasts of southern and eastern India.[73] As the empire disintegrated, many among these elites were able to seek and control their own affairs.[74] The "single most important power" that emerged in the early modern period was the Maratha confederacy.[75] By the early 18th century, with the lines between commercial and political dominance being increasingly blurred, a number of European trading companies, including the English East India Company, had established coastal outposts.[76][77] The East India Company’s control of the seas, greater resources, and more advanced military training and technology led it to increasingly flex its military muscle and caused it to become attractive to a portion of the Indian elite; both these factors were crucial in allowing the Company to gain control over the Bengal region by 1765 and sideline the other European companies.[78][76][79][80] Its further access to the riches of Bengal and the subsequent increased strength and size of its army enabled it to annex or subdue most of India by the 1820s.[81] India was then no longer exporting manufactured goods as it long had, but was instead supplying the British Empire with raw materials, and many historians consider this to be the onset of India’s colonial period.[76] By this time, with its economic power severely curtailed by the British parliament and itself effectively made an arm of British administration, the Company began to more consciously enter non-economic arenas such as education, social reform, and culture.[82] Indian-owned industry.[98] After World War I, in which approximately one million Indians served,[100] a new period began. It was marked by British reforms but also repressive legislations, by more strident Indian calls for self-rule, and by the beginnings of a nonviolent movement of non-cooperation, of which Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi would become the leader and enduring symbol.[101] During the 1930s, slow legislative reform was enacted by the British; the Indian National Congress won victories in the resulting elections.[102] The next decade was beset with crises: Indian participation in World War II, the Congress’s final push for non-cooperation, and an upsurge of Muslim nationalism. All were capped by the advent of independence in 1947, but tempered by the partition of India into two states: India and Pakistan.[103] Vital to India’s self-image as an independent nation was its constitution, completed in 1950, which put in place a secular and democratic republic; upon Indian independence in 1947 George VI ceased to be the Emperor of India, a title rescinded retroactively by an Act of Parliament on 22 June 1948, and became King of India until 26 January 1950.[104] In the 60 years since, India has had a mixed record of successes and failures.[105] It has remained a democracy with civil liberties, an active Supreme Court, and a largely independent press.[105] Economic liberalisation, which was begun in the 1990s, has created a large urban middle class, transformed India into one of the world’s fastest-growing economies,[106] and increased its geopolitical clout. Indian movies, music, and spiritual teachings play an increasing role in global culture.[105] Yet, India is also shaped by seemingly unyielding poverty, both rural and urban;[105] by religious and caste-related violence;[107] by Maoist-inspired Naxalite insurgencies;[108] and by separatism in Jammu and Kashmir and in Northeast India.[109] It has unresolved territorial disputes with China[110] and with Pakistan.[110] The India–Pakistan nuclear rivalry came to a head in 1998.[111] India’s sustained democratic freedoms are unique among the world’s new nations; however, in spite of its recent economic successes, freedom from want for its disadvantaged population remains a goal yet to be achieved.[112] Geography Main article: Geography of India See also: Geology of India

A topographic map of India India comprises the bulk of the Indian subcontinent, lying atop the Indian tectonic plate, and part of the Indo-Australian Plate.[113] India’s defining geological processes began 75 million years ago when the Indian plate, then part of the southern supercontinent Gondwana, began a north-eastward drift caused by seafloor spreading to its south-west, and later, south and south-east.[113] Simultaneously, the vast Tethyn oceanic crust, to its northeast, began to subduct under the Eurasian plate.[113] These dual processes, driven by convection in the Earth’s mantle, both created the Indian Ocean and caused the Indian continental crust eventually to under-thrust Eurasia and to uplift the Himalayas.[113] Immediately south of the emerging Himalayas, plate movement created a vast trough that rapidly filled with river-borne sediment[114] and now constitutes the Indo-Gangetic Plain.[115] Cut off from the plain by the ancient Aravalli Range lies the Thar Desert.[116] The original Indian plate survives as peninsular India, the oldest and geologically most stable part of India. It extends as far north as the Satpura and Vindhya ranges in central India. These parallel chains run from the Arabian Sea coast in Gujarat in the west to the coal-rich Chota Nagpur Plateau in Jharkhand in the east.[117] To the south, the remaining peninsular landmass, the Deccan Plateau, is flanked on the west and east by coastal ranges known as the Western and Eastern Ghats;[118] the plateau contains the country’s oldest rock formations, some over one billion years old. Constituted in such fashion, India lies to the north of the equator between 6° 44' and 35° 30' north latitude[e] and 68° 7' and 97° 25' east longitude.[119] Major Himalayan-origin rivers that substantially flow through India include the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, both of which drain into the Bay of Bengal.[121] Important tributaries of the Ganges include the Yamuna and the Kosi; the latter’s extremely low gradient often leads to severe floods and course changes.[122] Major peninsular rivers, whose steeper gradients prevent their waters from flooding, include the Godavari, the Mahanadi, the Kaveri, and the Krishna, which also drain into the Bay of Bengal;[123] and the Narmada and the Tapti, which drain into the Arabian Sea.[124] Coastal features include the marshy Rann of Kutch of western India and the alluvial Sundarbans delta of eastern India; the latter is shared with Bangladesh.[125] India has two archipelagos: the Lakshadweep, coral atolls off India’s south-western coast; and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a volcanic chain in the Andaman Sea.[126] The Indian climate is strongly influenced by the Himalayas and the Thar Desert, both of which drive the economically and culturally pivotal summer and winter monsoons.[127] The Himalayas prevent cold Central Asian katabatic winds from blowing in, keeping the bulk of the Indian subcontinent warmer than most locations at similar latitudes.[128][129] The Thar Desert plays a crucial role in attracting the moisture-laden south-west summer monsoon winds that, between June and October, provide the majority of India’s rainfall.[127] Four major climatic groupings predominate in India: tropical wet, tropical dry, subtropical humid, and montane.