This chapter examines key questions about the purpose, design, implementation and impacts of government initiatives in rural areas. How have rural transformation policies been conceptualised and what are the outcomes for those at the bottom of the rural socio-economic and political pyramid? While notions of participatory development continue to occupy a central place in rural development interventions after twenty years, the substantive content and ground-level implementation of government's participatory approach need clarification. Moreover, considerable amounts of fiscal resources flow into rural areas, yet improvements in the quality of life of rural people remain limited.
Human Sciences Research Council (Sat,) studied this question.