Rural development, a comprehensive term, essentially means a plan of action for the development of the rural areas which are lagging behind in terms of socioeconomic development. It includes many areas of development like:

• Development of human resources like literacy (especially female literacy), education and skill development, health etc.
• Land reforms.
• Infrastructure development focussing on electricity, irrigation, credit, marketing, transport facilities, information dissemination etc.
• Special measures for alleviation of poverty laying emphasis on access to productive employment opportunities.